Hezbollah Threatens Israel, Intensifies Attack on US

 London-based Energean’s drill ship begins drilling at the Karish natural gas field offshore Israel in the east Mediterranean May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ari Rabinovitch
London-based Energean’s drill ship begins drilling at the Karish natural gas field offshore Israel in the east Mediterranean May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ari Rabinovitch
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Hezbollah Threatens Israel, Intensifies Attack on US

 London-based Energean’s drill ship begins drilling at the Karish natural gas field offshore Israel in the east Mediterranean May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ari Rabinovitch
London-based Energean’s drill ship begins drilling at the Karish natural gas field offshore Israel in the east Mediterranean May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ari Rabinovitch

Hezbollah intensified its attack on the United States, accusing it of “working to weaken and blackmail Lebanon to subject it to Israeli conditions.”

The party has also threatened Israel over the border dispute and the oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean.

With the arrival in June of the Energean vessel to the coast of Haifa to begin gas extraction from the Karish field, Hezbollah officials repeated their threats, saying that the party would not allow Israel to produce gas without Lebanon obtaining its rights to explore energy in its territorial waters. They set September 2022 as a deadline to reach a border settlement mediated by the United States.

Deputy head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Sheikh Ali Damoush said that the US was seeking to “weaken and blackmail Lebanon to subject it to Israeli conditions,” adding that the party, in return, “was working to impose power equations that Lebanon possesses to achieve its demands and rights.”

“The resistance in Lebanon is no longer just an option for liberation and defense; with the equations it imposes on the enemy, it has become a means to restore wealth and rights and save Lebanon from its economic and living crises,” he stated.

A Lebanese newspaper close to Hezbollah published reports on Friday, saying that the party’s missile capabilities had developed “to reach areas exceeding 450 kilometers.”

It quoted a military leader in the party as saying: “The resistance in Lebanon has capabilities that match its needs, capabilities that do not exist even in Iran.”



South Korea Establishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria

 In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
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South Korea Establishes Diplomatic Ties with Syria

 In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo provided by South Korea Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani after signing a joint statement on the establishment of diplomatic ties between the countries in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (South Korea Foreign Ministry via AP)

South Korea and Syria have signed an agreement in Damascus establishing diplomatic relations, the South Korean foreign ministry said on Friday, opening new ties with a traditional ally of its rival North Korea.

The event marks a milestone for South Korea now having established diplomatic ties with all 191 UN member states and opening "a new chapter for bilateral cooperation with Syria, which had long remained distant due to its close ties with North Korea," the South Korean foreign ministry said.

South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba last year, another old ally of the North.

North Korea's state media ceased mentions of Syria since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December except leader Kim Jong Un once referring to "the Middle East crisis" in passing.

A joint communique was signed by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Syria's Asaad al-Shaibani on Thursday, and Cho expressed willingness to share South Korea's development experience to support Syria's reconstruction, the ministry said.

Cho later met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, it said.