Iranian Efforts to Form another ‘Dahieh’ in Damascus

 "Hezbollah" banners raised in Syria on May, 15, 2020 (Reuters)
"Hezbollah" banners raised in Syria on May, 15, 2020 (Reuters)
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Iranian Efforts to Form another ‘Dahieh’ in Damascus

 "Hezbollah" banners raised in Syria on May, 15, 2020 (Reuters)
"Hezbollah" banners raised in Syria on May, 15, 2020 (Reuters)

Head of the Trade Promotion Organization in Iran Alireza Paymanpak said that Iran and Syria are considering launching a joint bank to facilitate bilateral trade.

At the same time, reports pointed to Iran expanding its influence in southern Damascus with the hopes of establishing a Hezbollah stronghold similar to Lebanon's Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Paymanpak revealed that four agreements had been signed with Syria during the Iranian industry minister’s visit to Damascus. He confirmed that Syria and Iran intend to grow the trade between them.

He added that this visit and meetings with senior officials in Syria had achieved many gains that will pave the way for the development of trade between the two countries.

In 2019, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran discussed with his Syrian counterpart the issue of establishing a joint bank and facilitating the activity of businessmen.

The two sides agreed to establish a joint banking committee that includes representatives of the banks of the two countries. The committee was established to follow up on the implementation of the memorandums of understanding signed between the two central banks.

It is noteworthy that a Syrian delegation has participated in the annual conference of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), which started in the Bahraini capital, Manama, two days ago.

The Syrian delegation was headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Muhammad Issam Hazimeh.

In a statement, the Syrian Central Bank pointed out the importance of Syrian participation in this two-day conference. It noted how Islamic banking has developed in Syria over the course of the last fourteen years.

On the other hand, reliable sources have told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the construction of several buildings is proceeding in the Al-Bahdaliyah area in Babilla district in southern Rif Dimashq, neighboring the Sayeda Zeinab area, which is a prominent stronghold of Iranian-backed Syrian and non-Syrian militiamen, particularly of the Lebanese Hezbollah, in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus.



Japanese Police Arrest Man after Car Ploughs into Schoolchildren

Police officers investigate the scene in Osaka's Nishinari district on May 1, 2025. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT
Police officers investigate the scene in Osaka's Nishinari district on May 1, 2025. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT
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Japanese Police Arrest Man after Car Ploughs into Schoolchildren

Police officers investigate the scene in Osaka's Nishinari district on May 1, 2025. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT
Police officers investigate the scene in Osaka's Nishinari district on May 1, 2025. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT

Japanese police arrested a man after they said he ploughed his car deliberately into seven primary school children in the western city of Osaka on Thursday.

The children, who had been on their way home from school, were injured and rushed to hospital but all seven remained conscious.

An Osaka police official, who declined to be identified, said the driver was a 28-year-old man who lives in Tokyo and gave AFP an account of what he said after his arrest.

"I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by ramming the car I was driving into several elementary school children," the official quoted the man as saying.

Police are holding him on suspicion of attempted murder, the official said.

The children are aged seven and eight and police said the most serious injury was a fractured jaw suffered by a seven-year-old girl.

The other six, all boys, appeared to have suffered comparatively milder injuries that included bruises and scratches and they were under examination, police said.

The car was "zigzagging" as it hit the children, with one girl "covered in blood and other kids suffering what appeared to be scratches", a witness told Nippon TV.

The driver was wearing a surgical mask and "looked like he was in shock" after he was dragged out of the car by school teachers, Nippon TV quoted a witness as saying.