A pro-regime newspaper announced earlier this week that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will lead the country’s delegation to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Muallem will reportedly speak next Monday. Political intrigue will swirl around whether and to what extent Muallem is treated as a legitimate representative...

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Reuters reports that Russia has expressed hopes that some resolution revolving around some aspect of Syria’s vast chemical weapons arsenal can be hammered out this week. The details of that resolution have yet to be worked out, but Russia officials have very definite ideas about what won’t be included: “There...

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In the aftermath of a speech by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that was panned by journalists and analysts for falling short of expectations built up by the revolutionary-era cleric’s public writings, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez issued a statement reemphasizing a sentiment that has become increasingly heard from lawmakers across the...

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Deepening ties between Iran and Pakistan are triggering expressions of concerns – and, in the case of sanctions-busting energy deals, explicit warnings – from U.S. officials. Iranian media reported this week on overtures by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, which involved emphasizing – according to state-controlled Press TV – “the cultural,...

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CNN describes “bickering” between Western and Russian diplomats struggling to hammer out the details of an agreement that would see the international community acting to seize Syria’s vast arsenal of chemical weapons: The agreement, reached by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the weekend, calls...

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The Bulgarian investigation into the July 2012 Burgas bus bombing is entering its final phase. Bulgarian officials had long ago linked – and then piled on more evidence – implicating Hezbollah operativs in the attack, which killed five Israelis and a Bulgarian. Now Sofia is signalling that it’s time for...

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France has been at the international forefront of emphasizing both that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime has used chemical weapons, and of calling for action against the regime. Some of the differences between France and its more cautious Western allies have been written off as Paris seeking to intervene in what...

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This week’s G-20 conference was overshadowed by the crisis in Syria, with both advocates and opponents of action against the Bashar al-Assad regime seeking to press their case. President Barack Obama had entered the summit hoping to garner momentum in what has become a bruising political fight to gain Congressional...

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In between boasts regarding Western collapse, Iranian and Syrian officials have again threatened to lash out against the U.S. and its allies – France is being explicitly named – should Western powers take military action against the Bashar al-Assad regime. Gen. Hossein Salami, acting commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard...

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Israel’s Defense Ministry confirmed this morning that Jerusalem had carried out a successful anti-missile exercise over the Mediterranean. The test – which came amid renewed, destabilizing threats of attack from the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria – was reportedly conducted as a joint exercise with the United States. The missiles...

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