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Recent Appearances... Rantburg
Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Nasco Nasreddin Holding Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Nasco Investment Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Amana Holdings Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Nascotex SA Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Nascoservice Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin al-Qaeda Terror Networks 20031115  
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Al Taqwa Bank Europe Nigerian At Large Money Man 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Malaysian Swiss Gulf and African Chamber Iraq 20031030  
  Ahmed Idris Nasreddin Nasreddin Group International Holding Ltd. Europe 20050701  
    Al Taqwa is an association of offshore banks and financial management firms that have helped al-Qaida shift money around the world
Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah Hizbollah Syria-Lebanon-Iran 20050331  
  Hassan Nasrallah Hizbullah Israel-Palestine-Jordan Lebanese At Large 20060830 Link
  Hassan Nasrallah Hizballah Israel-Palestine-Jordan 20060724 Link
Idris Nasreddin Idris Nasreddin al-Qaeda Terror Networks 20031214  
  Idris Nasreddin al-Taqwa Bank Africa North 20060304 Link
Mostafa Hassan Nasr Osama Mostafa Hassan Nasr Osama Ansar Al-Islam Europe 20050701  
Nasr Abu Hamid Nasr Abu Hamid Tanzim Middle East 20020815  
Nasr Aweis Nasr Aweis Tanzim Middle East 20020815  
Nasr Jarrar Nasr Jarrar Hamas Middle East Palestinian Deceased 20020904  
    Zionist troops engaged in assassinations of Hamas members, two of whom are Salah Shehade in Gaza Strip and Nasr Jarrar in the West Bank.
Nasr Khamis Al-Mallahi Nasr Khamis Al-Mallahi Tawhid wal Jihad Africa North 20060510 Link
Nasr Khamis Al-Milahi Nasr Khamis Al-Milahi Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Africa North 20060428 Link
  Nasr Khamis Al-Milahi al-Tawhid Africa North 20060428 Link
Nasr Mustafa Nasr Mustafa al-Qaeda in Europe Europe 20051002 Link
Nasreddine Fekhadji Nasreddine Fekhadji al-Qaeda in Europe Europe Algerian? Arrested Tough Guy 20030129  
    charged with conspiring to develop or produce chemical weapons
  Nasreddine Fekhadji al-Qaeda in Britain Europe 20030121  
Nasreddine Fekhhadji Nasreddine Fekhhadji al-Qaeda Europe 20030113  
Nasri Ait El Hadi Mustapha Nasri Ait El Hadi Mustapha Salafist Group for Call and Combat Africa North 20040303  
Nasrullah Khan Nasrullah Khan Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal India-Pakistan 20020610  
Nasrullah Khan Shajee Nasrullah Khan Shajee Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Afghanistan/South Asia 20050703  
Nasrullah Shaji Nasrullah Shaji Jamaat-e-Islami India-Pakistan 20031206  
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal India-Pakistan 20020309  
  Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy India-Pakistan 20020821  
Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr al-Qaeda Home Front: WoT 20051214 Link
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Hizbullah Syria-Lebanon-Iran 20051029 Link
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Hasan Nasrallah Hezbollah Terror Networks Lebanese At Large 20040323  
  Sayyid Hasan Nasrullah Hezbollah Syria-Lebanon 20030902  
  Sheik Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Syria-Lebanon-Iran 20021204  
  Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Hizbollah Syria-Lebanon-Iran 20011214  
  Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Middle East 20020619  
  Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Middle East 20020915  
Taysir Nasr Allah Taysir Nasr Allah Palestinian National Council Israel-Palestine 20040627 Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Twilight of the Mullahs? - REVIEW: ‘Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History' by Vali Nasr
2025-07-14
[Free Beacon] In publishing, as in much of life, timing is everything. And by that measure, if by no other, Iran’s Grand Strategy, Vali Nasr’s latest analysis of the Islamic Republic, is a smashing success.

First available just two short weeks before Israel’s stunningly successful aerial campaign against the mullahs, Nasr’s book attempts—but fails—to frame the Islamic Republic as having "evolved into a prototypical nation-state" whose "aims are now secular in nature."

To Nasr, a professor and distinguished Middle East specialist at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies who emigrated from Iran to the United States after the ayatollahs seized power in 1979, Islam is merely "an instrument in the hands of [Iran’s] political class and military leaders to realize political and economic interests at home and define national interest abroad." Iran, he argues, is essentially a normal country following a rational path.

Yet Nasr’s analysis repeatedly undermines his own thesis, as history amply demonstrates how the regime’s insistence on religious and ideological purity has over and over again—including in its most recent humiliation by Israel—stymied the country’s political, economic, and military goals. As Henry Kissinger famously put it in 2006, "Iran has to take a decision whether it wants to be a nation or a cause"; since then, it has repeatedly opted for the cause.

Nasr begins his narration in earnest with the revolution, when the clerics overthrew the shah and kidnapped 66 American embassy employees. He concedes that "Iran’s foreign policy effectively abandoned any pragmatic considerations that could have involved engaging the United States; instead, it became a battle between good and evil."

So, too, did Ayatollah Khomeini’s determination to "export the revolution" to neighboring countries, entailing the expenditure of vast sums on proxy armies across the Levant, short-circuit any reasonable prospects of economic and political success. The absurd nine-year-long Iran-Iraq war, which claimed over one million lives and resulted in no territorial gains, served to consolidate the clerics’ viselike grip on the country and calcify its combative approach to foreign policy. Far from practical, Khomeini announced that "the path to Jerusalem ran through Karbala," a city in Iraq.

His successor as supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has proven even more conceptually rigid. Nasr observes that Khamenei regarded the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the consequence of the dissipation of ideological vigilance and embrace of Western liberal ideas in its stead" and, accordingly, has steadfastly resisted any meaningful efforts at political or religious reform. He repeatedly crossed swords with would-be reformers within the regime, and he always prevailed. Nasr notes that, decades ago, Khamenei articulated a set of industrial, economic, cultural, and technological targets to be reached 20 years hence but candidly acknowledges that "Iran has not progressed on the goals of its Vision 2025."
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Barrack says ''Bilad Al Sham'' remarks not a ''threat to Lebanon'' — Naharnet
2025-07-14
[NAHARNET] U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has clarified his remarks about the possibility that Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
might be swallowed by Syria, after they sparked outrage in Lebanon.

''My comments yesterday praised Syria's impressive strides, not a threat to Lebanon. I observed the reality that Syria is moving at light speed to seize the historic opportunity presented by

@POTUS's (U.S. President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
's) lifting of sanctions: investment from Turkiye and the Gulf, diplomatic outreach to neighboring countries, and a clear vision for the future,'' Barrack said in a post on X.

''I can assure that Syria's leaders only want co-existence and mutual prosperity with Lebanon, and the United States is committed to supporting that relationship between two equal and sovereign neighbors enjoying peace and prosperity,'' Barrack added.

He had warned in an interview with the UAE's The National newspaper that Lebanon risks being swallowed by regional powers unless it acts to address Hezbollah's arms and implement reforms.

''You have Israel on one side, you have Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn't move, it's going to be Bilad Al Sham again,'' he said, using the historical name for the Syria region.

''Syrians say Lebanon is our beach resort. So we need to move. And I know how frustrated the Lebanese people are. It frustrates me,'' he added.

Barrack also said that the U.S., Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
and Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
are ready to help if Lebanon takes the lead.

As for Lebanon's response to his latest proposal, the envoy said: ''I thought it was responsive, very responsive,'' while acknowledging that sticking points remain.
Related:
Tom Barrack 07/11/2025 Report: Barrack to ask Israel to lower military pressure on Lebanon — Naharnet
Tom Barrack 07/10/2025 Report: Hezbollah tells US ready for concessions in return for ''victory image'' — Naharnet
Tom Barrack 07/08/2025 Leb: 10 hurt in Israeli strikes on South and Bekaa Sunday, 2 airstruck Monday

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Qassem denies divisions within Hezbollah, says group ''has recovered'' — Naharnet
2025-07-10
[NAHARNET] Hezbollah "has recovered and is now ready" to confront Israel in case of an attack on Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, the group's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
said in a televised interview.

The interview was recorded on June 11 but only broadcast Tuesday on Lebanese pan-Arabist news channel al-Mayadeen.

Qassem said that President Joseph Aoun is being "very pressured" by the U.S. and other Arab countries to disarm Hezbollah by all means, even by force. "But he knows this would lead to strife and would not be fruitful," Qassem told journalist and director of al-Mayadeen Ghassan Bin Jeddo.

"Lebanon is strong because of Hezbollah's weapons and we will not accept that Lebanon becomes weak," Qassem said, adding that the medium and heavy arms that have been destroyed during the war with Israel are south of the Litani River, in a hint that Hezbollah has weapons in other regions across the country.

Qassem denied internal divisions within Hezbollah. "Usually, when there are wings, you can see them, right? Because they fly... I haven't seen any wings yet," he sarcastically said.

Two months of full-fledged war with Israel last fall dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah, with its longtime leader Sayyed
...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
killed in a September Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
. Hezbollah also lost a strategic ally when Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
.

"Hezbollah communicated with the Lebanese army when problems occurred in the Hermel area" on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Qassem told Bin Jeddo. "There were gunnies trying to enter Lebanese territory but Hezbollah was not involved and we have no intention of fighting them so we communicated with the army."
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah chief admits to wildly underestimating Israeli capabilities before pager blasts
2025-07-09
[IsraelTimes] Naim Qassem says Lebanese terror group ‘didn’t know the supply chain had been exposed,’ suggests operatives’ growing suspicions about the beepers led Israel to detonate them

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
admitted that the Lebanese terror group drastically underestimated the extent of Israel’s surveillance capabilities in the run-up to the pager operation last September, when thousands of beepers used by Hezbollah operatives went kaboom! across Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
, injuring thousands and killing dozens.

In an interview released Tuesday with the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen news outlet, Qassem said an investigation in the wake of the pager operation uncovered serious flaws in Hezbollah’s procurement process, dating back more than a year.
Much more than a year. Mossad ha to be seeing what was there in order to be able to devise a scheme like the pagers. And how many years have they had phone lists that they called directly, just like they’ve been doing for years in Gaza? It’s a thing they're known for.
"We didn’t know the supply chain had been exposed," he said.

He said that although Hezbollah’s security checks failed to find the explosives that had been placed within each individual pager, operatives began suspecting something was wrong with them in the days leading up to the attacks.

"There were efforts to examine the pager differently, including attempts to break it open, prompted by some anomalies that raised questions," he said, suggesting that those efforts may have prompted Israel to detonate the pagers sooner than planned.

Qassem, who took over as the leader of the Iran-backed terror group following the liquidation of his predecessor His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
, also conceded that Hezbollah had no idea that Israel’s surveillance capabilities were as advanced and far-reaching as they are.

He said they were aware that there had been possible wiretapping but "did not realize the extent — that it was near-total and very extensive."

The Hezbollah chief estimated that Israel has been collecting data through aerial surveillance for the past 17 years — since the end of the Second Lebanon War — and that the terror group "couldn’t grasp how deep" it went.

He denied, however, that there were any serious cases of Israeli spies infiltrating Hezbollah’s senior ranks, saying no evidence had so far been uncovered of "vast human infiltration."

The pager attack marked the opening blow in an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah, following nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes that began when the terror group began carrying out solidarity attacks a day after its ally Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...
’s October 7, 2023, onslaught. The fighting ended in November with a US-brokered ceasefire deal.

In the al-Mayadeen interview, Qassem explained Hezbollah’s decision to launch near-daily attacks on Israel in wake of the Hamas attack rather than a full-scale war.

"The outcome of a full war is predictable. It requires preparedness that simply wasn’t available," he said. "We had to enter the battle with limited support and observe developments closely. Based on how things evolved, we could make a clearer choice."

According to Qassem, Hamas did not coordinate with Hezbollah in advance of October 7, and the two terrorist organizations later discussed whether the latter should intensify attacks on Israel.

"Doing more than support would not have changed the outcome," he insisted, saying "we came to see that the Israeli aggression was extreme, supported by new rules of engagement and US backing."

Addressing recent Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Qassem threatened that "resistance will not wait forever. There are limits." Israel says it reserves the right under the ceasefire agreement to act against imminent threats by Hezbollah, and accuses the terror group of ceasefire violations, which it denies.

"There is no third option between victory and martyrdom. We do not have surrender as an option," Qassem said.
Related:
Naim Qassem 07/08/2025 US envoy ‘unbelievably’ satisfied with Lebanese response on disarming Hezbollah
Naim Qassem 07/07/2025 Hezbollah chief vows not to surrender weapons under Israeli threats
Naim Qassem 07/05/2025 Hezbollah to reply within 48 hours to Lebanese paper after Aoun-Berri talks

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah chief vows not to surrender weapons under Israeli threats
2025-07-07
[IsraelTimes] Shrugging off US disarmament plan, reportedly in exchange for Israeli pull back, Naim Qassem says that ‘aggression’ must stop first, insists missiles needed to resist Israel

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats, despite pressure from Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
’s Western-backed government demanding the terror group disarm.
If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, Israel won’t abide either. Enjoy your natural consequences, my dear, and remember that it was your choice.
The response came after Lebanese leaders sought the group’s input as it formulates an answer to a proposal raised by US envoy Tom Barrack that would reportedly see Israel halt attacks on Lebanese soil in exchange for Hezbollah giving up its arms.

"This threat will not make us accept surrender," Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of his supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, during the Shiite Moslem religious commemoration of Ashura.

Qassem, who succeeded longtime leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
after Israel killed him in September, said the group’s fighters would not abandon their arms and asserted that Israel’s "aggression" must first stop.

"How can you expect us not to stand firm while the Israeli enemy continues its aggression, continues to occupy the five points, and continues to enter our territories and kill?" Qassem said in his video address. "We will not be part of legitimizing the occupation in Lebanon and the region. We will not accept normalization [with Israel]."

Israel has regularly carried out dronezaps in Lebanon it says are aimed at operatives belonging to the Iran-backed group, despite a ceasefire in November that followed over a year of conflict, and two months of open war, sparked by daily Hezbollah rocket, missile and drone attacks on northern Israel starting on October 8, 2023.

It has also kept troops deployed at five border points inside Lebanon it deemed strategic.

Barrack was expected in Beirut on Monday. During the visit, Lebanese authorities are due to deliver a response to Barrack’s proposal for Hezbollah to be disarmed by the end of the year, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Disarmament would end Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah members and unlock funds to rebuild parts of Lebanon destroyed by Israeli forces last year, sources with knowledge of Barrack’s proposal told Rooters. It would also include Israel pulling out of Lebanon, according to the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

"America’s equation asking us to choose between being killed or surrender does not concern us and we will cling to our rights," Qassem said in his speech, according to an English-language report from the Naharnet outlet.

In response to those who ask why the group needs its missile arsenal, Qassem said: "How can we confront Israel when it attacks us if we didn’t have them? Who is preventing Israel from entering villages and landing and killing young people, women and kiddies inside their homes unless there is a resistance with certain capabilities capable of minimal defense?"

Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south, near the Israeli border.

Israel says it reserves the right under the ceasefire agreement to act against imminent threats by Hezbollah, and accuses the terror group of ceasefire violations, which it denies.

Jerusalem also says that Beirut is not doing enough to disarm the group in southern Lebanon.

Related:
Naim Qassem 07/05/2025 Hezbollah to reply within 48 hours to Lebanese paper after Aoun-Berri talks
Naim Qassem 07/05/2025 Aoun denies reports about fighters build-up on Lebanon's eastern border
Naim Qassem 07/04/2025 Hezbollah Leader: Israel poses strategic threat to region and beyond

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IAF strikes target Hezbollah positions in the Boday Hills area in southern Lebanon
2025-07-07
[X]

IDF says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon a short while ago.

The strikes targeted military sites, infrastructure used for storing and producing strategic weapons, and a rocket launch site belonging to the terror group, it says.

The military says that Hezbollah’s presence and activity in the area constitute a clear violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon.
Related:
Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-05 Wave of Israeli airstrikes target south Lebanon
Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-04 Hezbollah Leader: Israel poses strategic threat to region and beyond
Southern Lebanon: 2025-07-04 IDF has eliminated a terrorist from the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards near Beirut
Related:
Bekaa: 2025-07-05 Report: Over 2,000 Hezbollah fighters quit after Nasrallah's assassination
Bekaa: 2025-06-24 Israeli strike hits al-Manar's transmission building in Toumat Niha
Bekaa: 2025-06-03 ''Region-by-region'' plan may be adopted for Hezbollah disarmament
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Report: Over 2,000 Hezbollah fighters quit after Nasrallah's assassination
2025-07-05
[NAHARNET] Around 10,000 Hezbollah fighters have become completely unfit for combat since the eruption of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
war, sources told al-Arabiya's al-Hadath channel.

''The latest war cost Hezbollah more than 4,000 deaths, including military commanders, politicians and members,'' the sources said.

''The number of Hezbollah's fighters is now estimated to be around 60,000,'' the sources added, claiming that ''around 2,000 fighters quit Hezbollah after the liquidation of the group's former secretary-general His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
Moreover, the sources said ''Hezbollah has closed most of its training bases in the Bekaa and the South,'' adding that ''over 80% of the area south of the Litani River has become under the authority of the Lebanese Army.''

The sources added that ''Hezbollah's medium- and heavy-caliber weapons have either been confiscated by the Lebanese Army or destroyed by Israel.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah Leader: Israel poses strategic threat to region and beyond
2025-07-04
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
, the leader of Hezbollah, declared Israel not only an occupier of Paleostine but a strategic threat to Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, the broader region, and global stability.
Uh huh. Whatevs, dude.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Qassem emphasized that Israel's ideology, actions, and ambitions endanger Moslems, Christians, and Jews alike, destabilizing both regional and global peace.

He noted that the regime's ideology, behavior, and vision endanger both regional stability and global peace.

Qassem said that since the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel took effect, the regime has not stopped its aggression and has violated the agreement more than 3700 times.

He stressed that the regime must adhere to the terms it agreed upon with Lebanon and stop its acts of aggression.

The Hezbollah leader said the movement will not be swayed by threats, nor will it accept surrendering its weapons to Israel.

Qassem firmly rejected calls for Hezbollah to disarm, asserting that Lebanon's defense and illusory sovereignty are internal matters, immune to external pressures.

''We will not submit to humiliation, abandon our land, or compromise under threats,'' he stated, stressing that discussions about Hezbollah's weapons are a domestic issue, with no role for Israel in dictating terms.

Qassem said Hezbollah's resistance is a defense against a strategic threat impacting multiple nations, including Paleostine, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.

Describing Israel as an existential danger, Qassem noted, ''Israel's threat is not limited to Moslems; it endangers Christians and Jews as well.''

He criticized the regime's ideology and actions as a risk to global peace and called on those who avoid confronting Israel to resist on humanitarian grounds.

''Coexisting with an expanding, invasive danger is impossible,'' he warned, emphasizing Hezbollah's resistance as rooted in human, Islamic, and national values for future generations.

LEBANESE STATE MUST ADDRESS ONGOING VIOLATIONS
In late June, Qassem stated that Israel's continued aggression, including attacks on Nabatieh, the targeting of civilians in southern Lebanon, and strikes on the money exchange sector, is now the Lebanese state's responsibility to address.

''The state must apply pressure and fulfill its duties,'' he urged, rejecting claims that Hezbollah provides pretexts for Israeli attacks.

He cited Israel's occupation of 600 km of Syrian territory, destruction of capabilities, and attacks on Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
as evidence of unprovoked aggression.

''You must understand this cannot continue,'' Qassem told the public. ''Do you imagine we will remain silent forever? All of this has limits.''

What kind of a threat? This kind of a threat (update from the Times of Israel at 2:15 p.m. EDT)
Saudi report estimates 4,000 Hezbollah fighters killed in war with Israel, another 2,000 deserted after Nasrallah’s death

Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reports, citing unnamed sources, that approximately 4,000 Hezbollah operatives, including fighters, commanders, and senior figures, were killed during the Lebanon-based terror group’s war with Israel, which ended in a ceasefire in November 2024.

On top of that, the report says around 2,000 others deserted following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September last year.

Despite these losses, the report claims Hezbollah still maintains a force of approximately 60,000 members.

The outlet also reports that 80% of the territory south of Lebanon’s Litani River — once under Hezbollah’s exclusive control — is now controlled by the Lebanese Armed Forces. The terms of the ceasefire require that Hezbollah maintain no control in that area.

It says Hezbollah has also shut down most of its training centers in the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon, and much of its medium and heavy-grade weaponry has either been destroyed by Israeli strikes or seized by the Lebanese army.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Funeral procession of Martyr ''Haj Hossein Salem Khalil,'' Abu Ali, in Beirut
2025-07-04
[X]
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US gave Lebanon until today to respond to demand Hezbollah relinquish weapons, sources say
2025-07-02
[IsraelTimes] Lebanese officials are drafting a response to US demands for Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons across the country by November in exchange for a halt to IDF operations there, say two sources briefed on the matter.

The deadline has turned up the heat on the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which was struck hard by Israel during last year’s war, is suffering a financial crunch, and faces pressure in Lebanon to disarm.

Washington’s demands were conveyed by Thomas Barrack, US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, during a trip to Beirut on June 19.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, tell Reuters Barrack had shared a written roadmap with Lebanese officials and told them he expected to hear back by July 1 (today) on any proposed amendments.

The six-page document centers on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other terror groups, and urges Lebanon to improve ties with neighboring Syria and implement financial reforms, they say.

They say Barrack had urged Lebanese officials to seize the opportunity laid out in the roadmap as it “may not come up again.” He is set to return to Lebanon next week.

Barrack had not yet gotten Israeli approval for the roadmap, the sources say. There was no immediate response from the US State Department, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, or Israel’s Foreign Ministry to Reuters requests for comment.

How will Lebanon respond to US paper?

[Naharnet] President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam have made “significant progress” in their deliberations ahead of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s second visit to Beirut, which is expected before July 10, Lebanese sources said.

Representatives of Aoun, Berri and Salam held a lengthy meeting Monday in Baabda and “unanimously agreed” on a draft paper in response to Barrack’s demands, the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, noting that the draft won the approval of Aoun, Berri and Salam and was also discussed between the Speaker and Hezbollah’s leadership.

The sources added that Lebanon will ask the U.S. to seriously press Israel in order to reach a real ceasefire, allow Lebanon to pacify the situation and “dispel Hezbollah’s concerns,” ahead of engaging in Barrack-sponsored negotiations that would “certainly lead to unanimity over arms monopolization, seeing as it is unacceptable for the talks to be conducted under Israel’s military pressure.”

“Hezbollah is still opening a window for obtaining guarantees, which is being comprehended by the three presidents, seeing us it needs to justify to its supporters the shift toward the monopolization of arms,” the sources added.

Hezbollah “needs to reassure its environment that giving up its weapons will be the reason behind Israel’s withdrawal and the release of its captives,” the sources went on to say.

Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that Aoun, Berri and Salam have agreed that “there is no need to hold a special Cabinet session to discuss the U.S. paper, seeing as PM Najib Mikati’s government had agreed to the ceasefire agreement and its stipulations, and because Lebanon should not present additional commitments before knowing the next steps that will be taken by Israel.”

“The unified Lebanese stance is that Lebanon will inform the U.S. administration that Israel has to withdraw, release the captives and halt its daily attacks in return for a Lebanese commitment to tangible measures to control illegal weapons in the areas south and north of the Litani River,” al-Akhbar added.

But other sources told the daily that the U.S. and Israel “will come up with a lot of excuses to reject the settlement sought by Lebanon.”

Local and foreign parties are meanwhile trying to “intimidate” Lebanon by saying that “Israel is preparing to escalate its attacks with harsh airstrikes that could resemble the ferocity of the strikes that assassinated Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in addition to possible additional land operations,” al-Akhbar said.

Sources close to a top Lebanese leader have, however, expressed optimism that a solution for the issue of Hezbollah’s arms has been put on track, seeing as Iran might have told Hezbollah and Berri to “commit to the requirements of Resolution 1701 with its accurate stipulations,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.

Hezbollah is meanwhile “inquiring about reconstruction” and Israel’s “withdrawal” ahead of agreeing to a timetable for weapons handover, informed sources told the daily, with presidential sources seeing “unprecedented progress in Hezbollah’s stance that made it agree that its arms be discussed in Cabinet soon despite all its declared stances that are rejecting that.”
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Trump formally lifts sanctions shackling Syria amid hopes for transformed Mideast
2025-07-01
[IsraelTimes] Executive order follows through on May promise to remove restrictions blocking Damascus from global finance, in move that could bolster bid to bring country into Abraham Accords

President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
on Monday formally dismantled US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership.

Trump lifted most sanctions against Syria in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa ended a half-century of rule by the Assad family.

In an executive order, Trump terminated the "national emergency" in place since 2004 that imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria, affecting most state-run institutions including the central bank.

"This is in an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told news hounds.

Brad Smith, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions, said the move "will end the country’s isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbors in the region as well as from the United States."

The orders still maintain sanctions on elements of the former government, including Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
, who fled to Russia late last year.

Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani said the US move marked a "major turning point."

"With the lifting of this major obstacle to economic recovery, the long-awaited doors are opening for reconstruction and development" as are the conditions "for the dignified return of displaced Syrians to their homeland," he wrote on X.

Syria recently carried out its first electronic transfer through the international banking system since around the time it descended into a brutal civil war in 2011.

The United States still classifies Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that could take longer to lift and which also severely discourages investment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio
...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
said the State Department would review the listing, along with terror designations on Sharaa and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
, the al-Qaeda offshoot he leads.

TRANSFORMED MIDDLE EAST
Israel kept pounding military sites in its historic adversary after the fall of Assad and initially voiced skepticism over the trajectory of its neighbor under Sharaa, who was formerly linked to an al-Qaeda affiliate.

But Israel said earlier Monday that it was interested in normalizing ties with Syria as well as Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
in an expansion of the so-called "Abraham Accords," in what would mark a major transformation of the Middle East.

Iran’s holy manal state’s once-strong influence in Syria and Lebanon has declined sharply under pressure from Israeli military strikes since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivize overtures by Israel.

Israel’s intensive attacks on Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in June opened a "window that has never existed," said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who serves as Trump’s pointman on Syria.

"It’s an opportunity that we have never, ever seen, and this president’s put together a team that can actually get it done," Barrack told news hounds.

Until Trump’s surprise announcement of sanctions relief during a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United States had insisted on progress first in key areas including protection of minorities.

The country has seen a series of major attacks against minorities since the fall of Assad, a largely secular leader from the Alawite minority sect.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens more maimed in a suspected Islamist attack against a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus on June 22.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IDF says Lebanon drone strike killed intel commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force
2025-06-29
[IsraelTimes] Another Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli dronezap in southern Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
earlier today, the IDF says.

According to the military, the strike in Mahrouna killed Abbas al-Hassan Wahbi, chief of intelligence in a battalion of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.

Wahbi was involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s capabilities as well as transfer weapons, the IDF says.

His actions "constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," the military adds.

IDF says it killed Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon drone strike

[IsraelTimes] A Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Kounine earlier today, the military says.

According to the IDF, Hassan Mohammad Hamoudi was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile unit in the Bint Jbeil area.

During the war, Hamoudi “led numerous anti-tank missile attacks on Israel,” the military adds.
Link



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