LONDON: The Syrian regime is disguising Iran-allied militias as its own fighters, a battlefield feint that appears calculated to try to avoid further Israeli air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
According to rebels, the Syrian regime is disguising convoys of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and other Iran-backed militias as its own fighters, to avoid further Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria.
Israel, which has said it won’t allow forces loyal to Iran to entrench near its border, has watched closely as the regime and its allies appear to be preparing a military assault on rebels in southwestern Syria.
After initially appearing to withdraw from the border, forces loyal to Iran returned to both Daraa and Quneitra provinces in southwest Syria, near the border with Israel, with rockets and missiles, a rebel commander said.
“It’s a camouflage,” said Ahmad Azam, a commander with the rebel Salvation Army, a group based in Quneitra. “They are leaving in their Hezbollah uniform and they are returning in regime vehicles and dressed in regular [Syrian] army uniforms,” Azam said, adding that many of the foreign fighters in Syria had received ID cards of dead Syrian fighters.
Iran-backed fighters dress in Syrian uniforms to avoid Israeli strikes
Iran-backed fighters dress in Syrian uniforms to avoid Israeli strikes
Qatar joins US-led Pax Silica Alliance to secure semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains
- Doha says participation in alliance will enhance its international partnerships in fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies.
- Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the US-led economic-security coalition, after Israel
LONDON: Qatar joined the US-led Pax Silica Alliance on Monday in a move described as a strategic step to enhance cooperation in advanced technologies and supply-chain security.
The alliance was launched last month in Washington with the aim of securing global supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence technology, critical minerals and digital infrastructure.
Doha said participation in the alliance will enhance its international partnerships in the fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies, helping to boost the country’s technological capabilities and economic diversification efforts, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Ahmed Al-Sayed, Qatar’s minister of state for foreign trade affairs, and Jacob Helberg, the US under secretary of state for economic affairs, signed the Pax Silica declaration during a ceremony in Doha.
Al-Sayed said the world was undergoing a significant transformation driven by AI, rising energy and mineral demands, and rapid technological advancements.
He described the declaration as “a new milestone in the Qatar-US partnership, founded on trust, shared interests, and a unified vision for advancing stability and prosperity.”
He added: “Qatar recognizes that the currency of geopolitical power has changed. Sovereignty is no longer just about protecting borders, it is about securing the supply chains of the artificial intelligence era.”
Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the alliance; Israel signed up in December. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and Australia have also joined the bloc.
“In a region often defined by its fractures, Pax Silica marks a historic opportunity for the region to shift from political rivalry to economic interoperability,” Helberg said.
