Iranian 'Rumors' Speak of Attempt to Assassinate Assad

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hassan mosque in Damascus, Syria May 2, 2022. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hassan mosque in Damascus, Syria May 2, 2022. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Iranian 'Rumors' Speak of Attempt to Assassinate Assad

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hassan mosque in Damascus, Syria May 2, 2022. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attends Eid al-Fitr prayers at al-Hassan mosque in Damascus, Syria May 2, 2022. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was the victim of a failed assassination attempt on Monday, claimed Iranian sources.

The failed attack allegedly took place as he arrived at the al-Hassan mosque in Damascus to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Iran's Mehr and Isna state agencies based their claims on a news alert by Lebanon's al-Manar television, the mouthpiece of the Hezbollah party.

Iran's Tabnak news site reported that Assad had greeted citizens at the mosque and that he appeared in good health.

The Iranian sources said Syrian security sources did not address the details of the attempt on Assad's life.

It noted that he appeared well in the footage that showed him upon his arrival at the mosque and as he greeted the people before the prayer.

Isna later said that al-Manar did not report further about the attack, while Syria's state news agency SANA made no mention of it.

Mehr reported that Syria's al-Watan daily had dismissed the claims of an assassination as a "rumor".

It accused opponents of the regime of manipulating the image that accompanied the news of the attack.

Iran's Tasnim agency noted that al-Manar did not publish a news report about the assassination, while the Syrian opposition did.



Lebanon to Cooperate with Interpol on Arrest of Syrian Official Accused of War Crimes

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
TT

Lebanon to Cooperate with Interpol on Arrest of Syrian Official Accused of War Crimes

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Türkiye, 18 December 2024. (EPA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday Lebanon will cooperate with an Interpol request to arrest former Syrian intelligence officer Jamil Hassan, accused by US authorities of war crimes under the toppled Assad government.

Last week, Lebanon received an official notice from Interpol urging judicial and security authorities to detain Hassan, whose whereabouts remain unclear, if he is found on Lebanese soil, three Lebanese judicial sources told Reuters.

"We are committed to cooperating with the Interpol letter regarding the arrest of the Director of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, as we continue to cooperate on all matters related to the international system," Mikati told Reuters.

The directive also called for Hassan's arrest if he enters Lebanon, with the ultimate aim of extraditing him to the United States, the sources said.

On Dec. 9, a US indictment unsealed charges against Hassan, 72, with war crimes, including the torture of detainees, some of them US citizens, during the Syrian civil war.

Hassan is also one of three senior Syrian officials who were found guilty by a French court in May of war crimes over their involvement in the disappearance and subsequent death of a French-Syrian father and his son.

According to Lebanese judicial sources, the Interpol arrest warrant accuses Hassan of involvement in "crimes of murder, torture, and genocide."

Hassan is also allegedly responsible for overseeing the deployment of thousands of barrel bombs against the Syrian population, leading to the deaths of countless civilians, the sources said.

The Interpol request was circulated among Lebanon’s General Security and border control authorities.

Up to 30 lower-ranking former intelligence and Fourth Division army officers under the Assad administration are now in police custody in Lebanon following their arrest by Lebanese authorities, two security sources told Reuters.