Iranian officials appear committed to reinforcing the notion that, should the West strike the Iranian-allied Bashar al-Assad regime Syria, Israel would be attacked in turn. Iranian officials have longed issued explicitly genocidal threats against the Jewish state in the context of attacks on Syria. Hossein Sheikholeslam, the director of parliament’s...

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The sectarian conflict in Syria long ago drove the Sunni-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to align itself against Iran and its proxies and allies throughout the Middle East, most prominently the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal last June accused Damascus...

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Iran yesterday threatened that Western action against Syria would escalate into a regional war, pointedly warning of “perilous consequences” in the aftermath of harsh statements from the State Department and White House accusing the Bashar al-Assad regime of crossing Washington’s long-standing “red line” against the use of chemical weapons. Iranian foreign ministry...

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The West appears prepared to strike Syrian military infrastructure perhaps as soon as this week, amid threats by both Damascus and its Iranian patrons to respond to Western action by attacking Israel and with “surprises.”  Syria vowed defiantly to defend itself against any attack with “surprise” measures, while its close ally Russia...

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Sectarian violence inside Syrian is cascading across the Middle East. In Lebanon, Shiite Hezbollah and Sunni jihadists are locked in a spiral of violence. In Jordan, King Abdullah II is warning of sectarian “destruction.” Arabic media sources are openly worrying that Turkey will be pulled into a “sectarian swamp.” And...

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Syrian state television reported this weekend that the governor of the Hama region was killed in a car bomb, likely by rebels battling to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime. Though a Sunni, Anas Abdel Razzaq al-Naem was an Assad loyalist and Baath party member. The car bomb was one of...

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As the West gears up for near-certain strikes against Syrian military infrastructure, analysts are moving to unpack what might have motivated the Bashar al-Assad regime to unleash what appears to be the most devastating chemical attack since Saddam Hussein unleashed similar weapons against restive Kurds in Halabja in 1988. On...

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Secretary of State John Kerry this afternoon labeled Syria’s use of chemical weapons “undeniable,” declaring that U.S. officials will soon release “additional information” about what is widely believed to be a nerve gas attack conducted by the Bashar al-Assad regime against rebel-held suburbs of Damascus last week. “What we saw in...

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Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad today rejected widely aired allegations by Western intelligence agencies that regime forces had used chemical weapons in a mass attack last week. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon had already said last Wednesday that “it was not the first time they used chemical weapons,” referring to previous...

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Iranian media outlets are bragging that the Iran-backed Syrian army has pacified portions of Homs and the adjacent countryside. The claims come weeks after fierce fighting triggered the detonation of an ammunitions depot in the strategic Syrian city, killing at least 40 people. Rebels were at the time firing rockets...

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