Muqtada Sadr Says Siege Must Be Lifted Off Syria after Earthquake

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr (AFP)
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr (AFP)
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Muqtada Sadr Says Siege Must Be Lifted Off Syria after Earthquake

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr (AFP)
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr (AFP)

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, said on Saturday that any international economic sanctions against regimes and governments have not and will not help achieve the “colonial” state's desired goal.

Sadr expressed his strong opposition to Western sanctions imposed on Syria, noting that the Syrian people suffer from epidemics, diseases, hunger, poverty, terrorism, injustice, and lack of fuel, funds, and fruits.

Sadr tweeted about the sanctions on Syria and wondered if the injustice facing Syria was for the sake of the Golan Heights and Israel or for bringing Syrians down and subjugating them to the colonial West.

The leader appealed to all nations and peoples to support Syria, noting that Syrians were facing death and that it was necessary to unite to save them and lift the siege entirely.

He indicated that the Syrian people deserve life because they rejected oppression, terrorism, and occupation, urging supporters not to leave Syria alone.

Sadr did not mention Türkiye, Iraq's neighbor, in his tweet, his first statement on regional developments for a while. He did not comment on the political developments in Iraq, including the end of the hundred days of the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, or the efforts to change Iraq’s electoral law.

Iraq established air and land bridges to send aid convoys to Syria following the earthquake that killed and injured thousands.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.