Iranian Campaign to Promote Persian Language in Northeastern Syria

 Iran has begun to intensify its efforts to recruit children and teach them the Persian language (Photo: SOHR).
Iran has begun to intensify its efforts to recruit children and teach them the Persian language (Photo: SOHR).
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Iranian Campaign to Promote Persian Language in Northeastern Syria

 Iran has begun to intensify its efforts to recruit children and teach them the Persian language (Photo: SOHR).
Iran has begun to intensify its efforts to recruit children and teach them the Persian language (Photo: SOHR).

Iran has begun to intensify its efforts to recruit children and teach them the Persian language in its areas of influence, especially in northeastern Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that Iran was deploying all efforts to consolidate its presence in Syria in major aspects of life.

“Iran continues its efforts to strengthen its presence in Syria through attracting the Syrian men, women, youth and children, by instilling its ideology in the Syrian society,” the Observatory said on its website.

In this context, SOHR sources in al-Mayadeen city, the capital of the Iranian forces and their proxy militias in west Euphrates region, have reported that the “Iranian Cultural Center” started a free course dubbed “Bara’em al-Atfal” (Children Buds) for teaching Syrian children Persian language. This is the second course of its kind, as the first one was held in mid-September 2020.

Like the earlier course, the Cultural Center has promised to give cash rewards of one million Syrian pounds each to every children who could pass the Persian language test with an excellent grade. Tens of children headed to the Culture Center, SOHR reported.

In December, SOHR sources said that the Iranian Cultural Center in Deir Ezzor city arranged a trip for school students to “Al-Asdeqaa Park” in Hawija Sakr area, as a part of the Iranians’ attempts to impress residents and instill their ideology in the Syrian society in areas under their control in Deir Ezzor province.

The Iranian Cultural Center in al-Mayadeen launched free evening courses, on Sep. 15, aimed at teaching primary-school students the Persian language. Officials at the Center informed students and their parents that a cash reward of one million Syrian pounds will be given to every children who could pass the Persian language test with an excellent grade.



Kremlin Dismisses FT Report that Ukraine Peace Process is Fizzling Out

People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
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Kremlin Dismisses FT Report that Ukraine Peace Process is Fizzling Out

People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed a report by the Financial Times which suggested that the Ukraine peace process was fizzling out because US President Donald Trump's attention was now on Iran and he was losing interest in Ukraine as a result.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had noted such media reports, but had reached ⁠a different conclusion ⁠about Trump's attitude towards Ukraine peace talks.

"President Trump's frequent references to Ukraine in his recent statements suggest the opposite," Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

"Judging by his statements, President Trump has ⁠lost no interest whatsoever. Furthermore, he is strongly urging (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy to strike a deal."

Trump expressed frustration with Zelenskiy in an interview with Politico earlier this month, saying the Ukrainian president "has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done."

Trump also rejected Zelenskiy's offer ⁠to ⁠help the US with downing drones over the Gulf states, telling NBC's Meet the Press that the "last person we need help from is Zelenskiy."

Peskov said Russia was still interested in continuing talks to end the war, but that a venue and date for the next round of negotiations remained unclear.


Iran Issues Threats to USS Ford Strike Group, Fars News

FILE PHOTO: USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrives at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrives at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
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Iran Issues Threats to USS Ford Strike Group, Fars News

FILE PHOTO: USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrives at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrives at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo

Logistics and service centers enabling the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to remain operational were considered to ‌be targets ‌by Iran, ‌the spokesperson ⁠for the unified ⁠command of Iranian armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya, said on Monday.

"Aircraft ⁠carrier Gerald ‌Ford ‌in the Red ‌Sea is ‌a threat to Iran. Accordingly, the logistics and service ‌centers for USS Ford strike group ⁠are ⁠considered to be targets," Ebrahim Zolfaqari said in a video shared by the semi-official Fars news agency.


Russia Says It Foils Biggest Ukrainian Drone Attack in a Year

 Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
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Russia Says It Foils Biggest Ukrainian Drone Attack in a Year

 Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)

Russia said on Monday that it shot down 250 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow over the weekend, in what officials said was the biggest attempted attack on the Russian capital in at least a year.

"Over the past two days, air defense forces have destroyed about 250 enemy UAVs ‌directly on ‌the approach to Moscow ‌and ⁠on the second line ⁠towards Moscow," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

The war in Ukraine and now the Iran war have showcased the effectiveness of relatively cheap drones that can attack far-off targets ranging ⁠from oil infrastructure to major ‌population centers at ‌a fraction of the cost of a ‌fighter jet, Reuters said.

Russia has pummeled Ukraine ‌with artillery and drones while Ukraine has struck deep inside Russia with sabotage groups and drones, killing Russian generals and attacking oil ‌refineries and oil pipelines.

Moscow's main airports imposed flight restrictions amid ⁠the weekend ⁠attack, Russia's aviation watchdog said, though they were later lifted.

There were no reported casualties. Sobyanin thanked the Russian armed forces for their work.

Reuters reporters said they heard loud bangs across Moscow and the Moscow region over the weekend.

Moscow - along with the surrounding Moscow region - has a population of about 22 million. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.