BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Wednesday entered the town of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, on Lebanon’s eastern border with the Syrian Arab Republic.
Its vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps.
According to these maps, the town is divided into two: one part in Syrian territory, inhabited by Lebanese citizens; and the other in Lebanese territory.
The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday as a result of disputes among smugglers in an area teeming with illegal crossings.
The conflict escalated on Monday after the killing of three Syrian gunmen, and evolved into a broader confrontation between Lebanese tribes and armed members of the new Syrian authorities.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the clashes and killings resulted in “the death of seven Lebanese citizens and the injury of 52 others.”
Additionally, property and buildings suffered heavy damage in the exchange of shelling between Syrian forces and Lebanese tribes.
Forces affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense entered the Syrian part of the Lebanese town on Monday night.
Negotiations between the Lebanese and Syrian sides over deployment zones, based on border maps between the two countries, delayed the Lebanese army’s deployment for several hours, when a Lebanese army convoy of 60 vehicles arrived on the outskirts of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali.
An official source in the area said the Lebanese army’s deployment “was not smooth, as it faced protests related to the confiscation of weapons belonging to local clans. However, the situation soon returned to normal, allowing the army to continue its mission.
The Lebanese army command announced that its units “commenced implementing security measures in the Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali area of Hermel, including the deployment of patrols, to maintain security and ensure stability in the border region.”
It said the army has taken measures “to close illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria,” adding: “As part of the efforts to monitor and secure the borders in light of the current situation, and to prevent infiltration and smuggling activities, a unit of the army has closed the illegal crossings, which include Al-Matlaba in the Qasr-Hermel area, as well as Al-Fatha, Al-Maarawiya, and Shahit Al-Hujairi in the Mashari’ Al-Qaa-Baalbek region.”
President Joseph Aoun monitored the security developments along the northeastern border through a series of communications with army chief Gen. Rodolphe Haikal.
According to the presidency, Haikal briefed the president on “the measures being implemented by the army to restore calm and stability to the area.”
Aoun underlined “the importance of consolidating the ceasefire, halting aggression, and controlling the borders adjacent to the villages.”
On Monday he said that the situation on the eastern and northeastern borders cannot persist and that “the army will not allow the chaos to continue.” He then ordered the Lebanese army to respond to the sources of fire.
Subsequently, communications between Lebanon and Syria intensified, including talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers to find solutions to the escalation in border incidents.
These efforts led to a ceasefire agreement between the intelligence services of the two countries after a call between Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra.
Syrian media outlets on Tuesday night reported that “Syrian forces seized a Hezbollah operations room in Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, which contained large quantities of weapons, ammunition, drugs and equipment used to manufacture counterfeit tobacco.”
After the army’s deployment, displaced families from Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali on Wednesday started preparing to return to their homes.
Hezbollah has firmly denied any involvement in the border clashes with Syria.
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Lebanese army begins securing border with Syria, closes illegal crossings
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Lebanese army begins securing border with Syria, closes illegal crossings
- Lebanese Army vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps
- The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday
Trump says new Iran leader won’t last long without his approval
TERHAN: US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader would not last long without his approval, as Tehran prepared to reveal the successor to the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Nine days after US-Israeli strikes on his compound killed Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Iran’s Assembly of Experts met privately and chose their next leader, members of the body said.
The clerics did not say who had been selected, only that a name would be announced soon. Some suggested Khamenei’s 56-year old son Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his father.
Trump had previously demanded a say in the appointment and dismissed the younger Khamenei as an unacceptable “lightweight.”
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday, referring to Iran’s next leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long.”
But Tehran’s top diplomat said earlier in the day that the decision was Iran’s alone, adding it would “allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs.”
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went on to demand that Trump “apologize to people of the region” for the spiralling war.
The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of his ties to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic’s military.
Israel’s military has warned any successor that “we will not hesitate to target you.”
- Air ‘unbreathable’ -
Israel’s reach was underlined by two new operations overnight — strikes against fuel dumps in and around Tehran, and an attack on a hotel in the heart of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that targeted suspected Iranian commanders.
Warplanes hit five oil facilities around the Iranian capital, killing at least four people, according to a state oil executive, and blanketing the city in acrid smoke.
Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been “temporarily interrupted” in the capital.
A dark haze hung over the city of 10 million people, blocking out the sun, while the smell of burning fuel lingered in the air.
Authorities warned the fumes could be toxic and urged citizens to stay indoors, but many windows were blown out by the force of the blasts.
“The blaze has been burning for more than 12 hours, the air has become unbreathable. I can’t even go out to do the daily shopping,” said a 35-year-old from Tehran.
“At first, I supported this war. After Khamenei’s death, I celebrated with my friends: we drank wine and we danced.
“But since yesterday... people say there’s not even any gasoline left at the gas stations,” she said in a text message to Europe.
As the war extended into its ninth day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had enough supplies to continue their drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months.
Several blasts were heard over Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv after the Israeli military said it had detected a salvo of missiles from Iran. The Magen David Adom emergency services said six people were wounded in central Israel.
- Advanced missiles -
Trump again refused to rule out sending US ground troops into Iran, but continued to insist that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes.
The US President spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday, Downing Street said, after Trump had lobbed insults at the premier and accused him of trying to join a war “we’ve already won.”
The pair discussed military cooperation, London said, with Britain having granted the US use of its military bases for “collective self-defense of partners in the region,” having refused to allow their use for the initial strikes on Iran.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and second-generation missiles, but would use “advanced and less-used long-range missiles” in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia said two people were killed and 12 wounded by a “projectile” on Sunday in Al Kharj province, having earlier said it intercepted a wave of drones headed for targets including the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh.
Kuwait, meanwhile, said an attack hit fuel tanks at its international airport and Bahrain reported a water desalination plant had been damaged.
Iran’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded — figures AFP could not independently verify.
Lebanon’s health minister said at least 394 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes since Lebanon was dragged into the war a week ago, including 83 children and 42 women.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the fighting in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.
Trump on Saturday attended the return of the bodies of six American service members who were killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
- No clear way out -
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and Israeli officials say could last a month or longer.
Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader “acceptable” to Washington replaces the late supreme leader.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said the war in the Middle East should “never have happened,” telling a press conference in Beijing: “The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.”
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed “that the roar of the bombs may cease, the weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open.”
Nine days after US-Israeli strikes on his compound killed Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Iran’s Assembly of Experts met privately and chose their next leader, members of the body said.
The clerics did not say who had been selected, only that a name would be announced soon. Some suggested Khamenei’s 56-year old son Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his father.
Trump had previously demanded a say in the appointment and dismissed the younger Khamenei as an unacceptable “lightweight.”
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday, referring to Iran’s next leader. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long.”
But Tehran’s top diplomat said earlier in the day that the decision was Iran’s alone, adding it would “allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs.”
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went on to demand that Trump “apologize to people of the region” for the spiralling war.
The younger Khamenei is regarded as a conservative figure, notably because of his ties to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic’s military.
Israel’s military has warned any successor that “we will not hesitate to target you.”
- Air ‘unbreathable’ -
Israel’s reach was underlined by two new operations overnight — strikes against fuel dumps in and around Tehran, and an attack on a hotel in the heart of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that targeted suspected Iranian commanders.
Warplanes hit five oil facilities around the Iranian capital, killing at least four people, according to a state oil executive, and blanketing the city in acrid smoke.
Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been “temporarily interrupted” in the capital.
A dark haze hung over the city of 10 million people, blocking out the sun, while the smell of burning fuel lingered in the air.
Authorities warned the fumes could be toxic and urged citizens to stay indoors, but many windows were blown out by the force of the blasts.
“The blaze has been burning for more than 12 hours, the air has become unbreathable. I can’t even go out to do the daily shopping,” said a 35-year-old from Tehran.
“At first, I supported this war. After Khamenei’s death, I celebrated with my friends: we drank wine and we danced.
“But since yesterday... people say there’s not even any gasoline left at the gas stations,” she said in a text message to Europe.
As the war extended into its ninth day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had enough supplies to continue their drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months.
Several blasts were heard over Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv after the Israeli military said it had detected a salvo of missiles from Iran. The Magen David Adom emergency services said six people were wounded in central Israel.
- Advanced missiles -
Trump again refused to rule out sending US ground troops into Iran, but continued to insist that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes.
The US President spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday, Downing Street said, after Trump had lobbed insults at the premier and accused him of trying to join a war “we’ve already won.”
The pair discussed military cooperation, London said, with Britain having granted the US use of its military bases for “collective self-defense of partners in the region,” having refused to allow their use for the initial strikes on Iran.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and second-generation missiles, but would use “advanced and less-used long-range missiles” in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia said two people were killed and 12 wounded by a “projectile” on Sunday in Al Kharj province, having earlier said it intercepted a wave of drones headed for targets including the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh.
Kuwait, meanwhile, said an attack hit fuel tanks at its international airport and Bahrain reported a water desalination plant had been damaged.
Iran’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded — figures AFP could not independently verify.
Lebanon’s health minister said at least 394 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes since Lebanon was dragged into the war a week ago, including 83 children and 42 women.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the fighting in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.
Trump on Saturday attended the return of the bodies of six American service members who were killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
- No clear way out -
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and Israeli officials say could last a month or longer.
Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader “acceptable” to Washington replaces the late supreme leader.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said the war in the Middle East should “never have happened,” telling a press conference in Beijing: “The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.”
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed “that the roar of the bombs may cease, the weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open.”
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