http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/82909-report-hizbullah-fighters-advance-to-syria-jordan-border
and......
http://www.debka.com/article/22967/Saudis-explore-Iranian-options-for-Syria-Lebanon-in-talks-with-Iran%E2%80%99s-Salehi
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal took advantage of the Organization of Islamic Conference-OIC, in Jeddah this week on the Mali conflict for getting together Monday, May 13, with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi who was in attendance.
Our sources report that Riyadh’s first priority is to stabilize Lebanon through a Saudi-Iranian entente on political equilibrium in Beirut. The Saudis would next seek an accord with Tehran on the outcome of the Syrian civil conflict.
The Saudi rulers have come to the conclusion, which the West and Israel have been slow to acknowledge, that since the Iranian-Hizballah-Syrian military alliance is pulling ahead in the Syrian conflict and chalking up victories, they had better look to their interests in Lebanon, which hinge heavily on the Sunni clan headed by Saad Hariri. If they wait till a victorious Hizballah comes marching home and grabs power in Beirut, protecting Lebanon’s Sunni community will be that much harder.
These issues were covered in several hours of discussion between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers.
Riyadh has little faith in the initiative undertaken by US Secretary of State John Kerry to convene an international conference with Russia for ending the Syrian conflict.
Obama himself left a big question mark over the conference at his joint White House news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, when he spoke of “lingering suspicions between Russia and the US” left over from the Cold War.
The US president said he didn’t know if Russia would cooperate in moves to remove Assad from power, so enabling Washington and Moscow to work together for a solution.
The Saudis also deeply disapprove of the Turkish role on Syria.
The track they have opened up to Tehran has the additional purpose of outmaneuvering Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before he reaches the White House Thursday, May 16, to confer with President Obama on the Syrian imbroglio.
Report: Hizbullah Fighters Advance to Syria-Jordan Border
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Hizbullah fighters have been advancing swiftly into southern Syria and have reached the flashpoint southern town of Daraa near the border with Jordan, media reports said on Tuesday.
A source close to Hizbullah told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper that Hizbullah fighters played a significant role in helping the regime troops to take full power of the strategic town of Kherbet Ghazleh near the highway linking the capital Damascus with Jordan.
The source pointed out that Hizbullah fighters are not just groups backing the army regime but comprehensive fighting units that includes a full logistic team.
It said that Hizbullah's military leadership is organizing the transfer of the units and providing them with weapons.
Last week, rebels withdrew from Khirbet Ghazaleh area after several days of fighting.
Government forces conducted house-to-house searches Monday as troops reopened the highway, restoring the supply line between Damascus and the contested provincial capital of Daraa.
Hizbullah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged recently that members of his group are fighting inside Syria and suggested Iran and other states could intervene to support the Syrian regime against rebel fighters.
The party, a staunch backer of Bashar Assad's regime, had announced several burials in past months, without elaborating on the circumstances of its members' deaths.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the opposition say the army is backed by elite fighters from Hizbullah.
Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's spiraling conflict has been condemned by the Syrian opposition, which views it as a "declaration of war," and by the March 14 alliance in Lebanon.
Since it began in March 2011, Syria's conflict has fueled local tensions between the communities in Lebanon, with bouts of street fighting and kidnappings.
and......
http://www.debka.com/article/22967/Saudis-explore-Iranian-options-for-Syria-Lebanon-in-talks-with-Iran%E2%80%99s-Salehi
Saudi Arabia has decided to explore dialogue with its great regional rival Iran for ending the Syrian conflict and assuring Lebanon’s political future, DEBKAfile’s Gulf sources report. They have given up on US policy for Syria in view of Russian and Iranian unbending support for Bashar Assad; his battlefield gains aided by Hizballah and Iranian Bassij forces; and Turkey’s inaction after Saturday’s terrorist bombings in the town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border which caused 46 deaths.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal took advantage of the Organization of Islamic Conference-OIC, in Jeddah this week on the Mali conflict for getting together Monday, May 13, with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi who was in attendance.
Our sources report that Riyadh’s first priority is to stabilize Lebanon through a Saudi-Iranian entente on political equilibrium in Beirut. The Saudis would next seek an accord with Tehran on the outcome of the Syrian civil conflict.
The Saudi rulers have come to the conclusion, which the West and Israel have been slow to acknowledge, that since the Iranian-Hizballah-Syrian military alliance is pulling ahead in the Syrian conflict and chalking up victories, they had better look to their interests in Lebanon, which hinge heavily on the Sunni clan headed by Saad Hariri. If they wait till a victorious Hizballah comes marching home and grabs power in Beirut, protecting Lebanon’s Sunni community will be that much harder.
HIzballah has increased its strategic clout in Lebanon and Syria and its leader Hassan Nasrallah will have a greater say in any deal for Lebanon on the strength of his successful support for Assad.
These issues were covered in several hours of discussion between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers.
Riyadh has little faith in the initiative undertaken by US Secretary of State John Kerry to convene an international conference with Russia for ending the Syrian conflict.
Obama himself left a big question mark over the conference at his joint White House news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, when he spoke of “lingering suspicions between Russia and the US” left over from the Cold War.
The US president said he didn’t know if Russia would cooperate in moves to remove Assad from power, so enabling Washington and Moscow to work together for a solution.
The truth is that Putin has staunchly backed the Syrian ruler in the more than two years of the Syrian conflict.
Any Saudi-Iranian deal, if they do come to terms, would run contrary to Obama’s perception of the Syrian issue. Riyadh would need to meet Tehran at least halfway on Iranian Hizballah aspirations, which center on a role for Assad in any future political accommodation fro ending the Syrian war.
Any Saudi-Iranian deal, if they do come to terms, would run contrary to Obama’s perception of the Syrian issue. Riyadh would need to meet Tehran at least halfway on Iranian Hizballah aspirations, which center on a role for Assad in any future political accommodation fro ending the Syrian war.
The Saudis also deeply disapprove of the Turkish role on Syria.
The track they have opened up to Tehran has the additional purpose of outmaneuvering Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before he reaches the White House Thursday, May 16, to confer with President Obama on the Syrian imbroglio.
« Breaking News »
DEBKAfile May 13, 2013, 10:18 PM (GMT+02:00)
Turkey's military reports that an F16 fighter plane flying along the Turkish-Syrian border crashed Monday and the pilot’s body was recovered. There was no indication of the plane’s mission, the circumstances of its crash or of the pilot’s death. Earlier, Turkish military sources said that contact was lost with the Air Force plane over a mountainous area in Osmaniye province in southern Turkey close to the border with Syria. The statement said the pilot radioed in to say he was ejecting before contact was lost. Turkey's NTV television said the pilot ejected safely from the plane. That report was never confirmed.