Tehran, Damascus Hold Security Coordination Meeting to Confront US Moves

Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

Tehran, Damascus Hold Security Coordination Meeting to Confront US Moves

Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel, Asharq Al-Awsat

Security talks between Iran and Syria were conducted in Tehran at a time when Syria’s Special Adviser at the Republic Presidency Luna al-Shebel announced Damascus having information about extremist fighters leaving the Middle East region and heading to Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Speaking to Sputnik on Monday, al-Shebel revealed that the Syrian government had communicated with representatives from the rebel republics of Donetsk and Luhansk to inform them that Damascus is ready for cooperation as soon as the turbulence in the region settles.

Al-Shebel’s statements coincide with Tehran holding an Iranian-Syrian security meeting on Sunday.

The top Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani held a meeting with the Head of the Syrian National Security Bureau Major-General Ali Mamlouk to discuss bilateral ties, as well as regional and international developments.

According to Iranian media, Mamlouk presented Shamkhani with a security briefing od the situation in Syria.

For his part, Shamkhani asserted that Tehran will continue to back Damascus.

“Iran, which has supported the Syrian government and people in the most difficult circumstances and the height of terrorist group movements, is determined to continue its support for the Syrian government and people,” Shamkhani told Mamlouk according to IRNA.

Mamlouk said that cooperation between Tehran and Damascus in counterterrorism helps in bolstering regional security.

The state-owned SANA reported that Mamlouk and Shamkhani reviewed means for confronting alleged US efforts for reviving terror groups in Syria.

Mamlouk urged all states to unite to end extremism worldwide and praised Iran’s role in fighting terrorism.

Shamkhani pointed to field mobilization to train, arm, and direct terror groups in Syria, and accused the US of playing a “dangerous” part in creating regional and global crises.

“The US occupation of parts of Syria is the biggest obstacle to the full return of security and stability to it,” SANA quoted Shamkhani as saying.



Germany Arrests US Citizen over Accusations of Spying for China

The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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Germany Arrests US Citizen over Accusations of Spying for China

The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Germany’s federal prosecutor office said it arrested an American citizen on Thursday who allegedly spied for China, The Associated Press reported.
The office said that the suspect, who was only identified as Martin D., was arrested in Frankfurt and that his home was being searched.
The accused, who until recently worked for the US Armed Forces in Germany, is strongly suspected of having agreed to act as an intelligence agent for a foreign secret service, the statement said.
Earlier this year, he contacted Chinese government agencies and offered to transmit sensitive information from the US military to a Chinese intelligence service, according to an investigation by Germany’s domestic intelligence service.
He had obtained the information in question in the course of his work in the US army, the prosecutor’s statement said, without giving any further information.
German investigators have exposed several people suspected of spying for China this year.
Last month, German authorities arrested a Chinese national accused of passing information on a major air freight hub to a man who is suspected of spying for China.
And in April, a man who worked for a prominent German far-right lawmaker in the European Parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.