- The Guardian
- Issue #2120
SYRIA: Bashar Al-Assad, Syria’s head of state and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Damascus last week to discuss the current situation in the region and address defence matters. During the meeting Bashar Al-assad stressed the importance of the partnership in addressing the challenges and dangers that threaten the region and its people, especially the continuing Israeli occupation of Arab lands and crimes committed against civilians in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. The Syrian president also pointed out that “resistance against all forms of occupation, aggression and mass killing is a legitimate right.” The Iranian Foreign Minister expressed the view that the bilateral cooperation was of great importance, and also highlighted the need to coordinate with all countries supporting efforts to stop the aggression. Both sides agreed to coordinate and provide aid to the Lebanese people, specially to refugees and displaced by Israeli incursions, and stressed the importance of cooperation between the Syrian and Iranian Red Crescent Societies.
RUSSIA: The Biden administration froze over $7 billion in Afghan assets in August 2021 as Kabul fell and the NATO puppet government crumbled, with another $2 billion stuck in Europe and UAE. Afghanistan has been in an extremely difficult economic and humanitarian situation since then. Last week Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov hosted the Moscow Format Consultation on Afghanistan meeting with the Taliban acting foreign minister and senior representatives from other countries. It was announced at the meeting that Moscow was preparing to remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist groups. Russia is one of the countries looking for pragmatic diplomatic and economic ties with Afghanistan with others including China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan interested in cooperation ranging from joint infrastructure and investment to trade and regional security.
NATO: Jens Stoltenberg has stepped down as NATO’s secretary-general. Former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is the new NATO head. There would not be any change in NATO’s policies and its eastwards expansion plans. Rutte said his priorities would be to continue NATO’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, increasing defence spending and strengthening partnerships with other countries around the world, notably in Asia and the Middle East.
YEMEN: Houthi government has claimed that they shot down another United States-made MQReaper drone over Yemen. If confirmed, it would be the 8th Reaper brought down by the Houthis. On 24 September Houthis managed to hit a US Navy supply ship for the first time. According to Reuters, the Houthis are negotiating with Russia about the transfer of long-range anti-ship P-800 Onix missiles. If the deal comes through, the Houthis will be able to sink US aircraft carriers using these missiles. According to Jacov Kedmi, an Israeli military analyst, the P-800 missiles will be programmed by Russian officers, just as American officers program US-made Atacmc missiles for strikes on Russian targets.
IOC: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has lost one of its major sponsors. Toyota is officially ending its Olympic sponsorship following the Paris Games. According to chairman Akio Toyoda, this summer Olympics showed that the event has become “increasingly political”. Toyota’s Olympic Partner contract was signed in 2015 and was worth $835 million, the IOC’s largest sponsorship deal at the time. It was to cover four Olympic games and could be renewed upon expiry in 2025. Toyota chairman has become disillusioned with the event which no longer puts athletes first. As he pointed out “the Olympics should simply be about watching athletes from all walks of life, with all types of challenges, achieve the impossible.”
UAE: Major UAE airline Emirates has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on board of its passenger aircraft following device explosions in Lebanon. “All passengers travelling on flights to, from or via Dubai are prohibited from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies in checked or cabin baggage. Such items found in passengers’ hand luggage or checked baggage will be confiscated by Dubai Police,” the air carrier said. The move came after a series of explosions in Lebanon which killed over 40 people and injured and maimed nearly 3,500 others in September.
