Panorama: Escalation between Iran and Israel and difficult prospects facing Lebanon

During the past week, Arab newspapers reported on the polarization of the Syrians by Iran, in addition to the escalation between Iran and Israel, as well as the Lebanese crisis.

'The Fatemiyoun Brigade attracts the Syrians and recruits Shi’ite. ”

The beginning of the Syrian issue, and in this context Al-Arab newspaper said: “The militias that Iran brought to fight alongside the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for a decade ago did not hesitate to exploit the Syrians’ need for a livelihood and to get out of their worsening economic crises to recruit them into its ranks, taking advantage of this weapon of money and Shiism."

A new report revealed "the militia of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, which is made up of Afghan Shiite fighters, to intensify recruitment among Syrians in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, referring to the expansion of the scope of these militias' work and their shift from defending the regime to strengthening their religious and social influence."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement published on Sunday, that "the recruitment process for the Fatemiyoun Brigade continues in full swing through the recruitment of young men and women with Shiite weapons and money in the context of exploiting the disastrous living conditions in various Syrian regions."

The observatory stated that "the number of recruits in the ranks of these militias has risen to about 740 people since the increasing of recruitment  in the early last February in the areas of Maskan, Al-Sefira, Deir Hafer, and other towns and villages east of Aleppo."

Since its direct intervention in Syria, Iran has strengthened its military and economic presence in a completely destroyed country, looking for opportunities for its reconstruction.

Militias in their recruitment operations take advantage of the difficult living conditions, lack of job opportunities, high prices and extreme poverty, which have become the main feature in various Syrian regions.

'Iran admits to explosion in' Natanz '... and vows Israel'

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper spoke in its issue today, about the Iranian-Israeli conflict, and said: “Iran accused Israel of sabotaging the Natanz nuclear facility and vowed to retaliate, amid discrepancies among Iranian officials regarding the size of the losses at the facility.

The "Nour News" agency, affiliated with the Supreme Council for National Security, reported that the person who caused the electricity cut in Natanz has been identified and will be arrested.

The spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalondi, acknowledged that an explosion he described as "al-Saghir" in Natanz, adding: "The affected sectors can be repaired quickly," contradicting the organization's head, Ali Akbar Salehi, who confirmed the operation of the reserve power line at the facility, and that the uranium enrichment operations "Continuing strongly," according to the French Press Agency.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned against "falling into an Israeli trap" and thwarting the Vienna talks to revive the nuclear deal, adding: "But we will take revenge on the Zionists."

The EU and Russia, both participating in efforts to revive the nuclear deal, expressed their hope that the accident would not "undermine" the talks, while the White House said that "America did not participate in the attack on the Iranian nuclear facility."

Several Israeli media outlets quoted intelligence sources as saying that the Israeli Mossad carried out a successful sabotage operation at the Natanz site, which included planting explosive devices, which would likely hinder the enrichment work there for several months.

While Israel has not officially commented on this incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, yesterday affirmed Israel's determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

'Lebanon ... open doors on difficult odds'

In Lebanon, Al-Bayan newspaper said: "Nothing is active in Lebanon except the Corona virus, and the struggle of declarations between its political forces, while the country has been without a government since last August, when a massive explosion destroyed the Beirut port.

The political stalemate remains unchanged, the accusations between the political elites are burning and the indications of consensus on a solution to the intractable crisis are absent, and the future of Lebanon is threatened if this blockage continues, according to the Lebanese themselves and international institutions, perhaps the last of which will not be the World Bank, which said, yesterday, that it is difficult to help Lebanon from Without forming a new government. 

In the last mutual accusations that widened, the "Free Patriotic Movement" accused the prime minister-designate, Saad Hariri, of “failing” the French initiative to form a government, considering in a statement issued by the “political committee” that “the prime minister-designate seeks to delay the formation of the government, and this comes about The context is its breakdown of the latest French effort. ”

"The movement" said that "the serious test of the approaching date of formation is that Hariri will present an integrated and unambiguous governmental formula to the President of the Republic, which will reveal his true intentions to seek to obtain half of the cabinet members plus one."

The Future Movement responded with a statement saying, “The leadership of the Free Patriotic Movement suffers from confusion and political denial in its worst stages, and it has provided evidence after another of its behavior as a ruling party that seizes the signature of the Presidency of the Republic regarding the formation of the government.”

Faced with this continuous blockage, the Mufti of Lebanon, Abd al-Latif Derian, considered that Lebanon is witnessing the deliberate destruction of its institutions, and has become a victim of “the dependence of the axes,” and that every day of delay in forming the new government represents a heavy loss to the country, and held Lebanese politicians responsible for the deterioration of the situation significantly in light of their persistence In their positions, he wondered: Is it a difficult demand for the country to have a responsible government?

The Maronite Patriarch, Mar Bishara Boutros Al-Rai, for his part, pointed out that “it is shameful for suspicion to reach the campaigns of accusing persons and institutions, which leads to the loss of the people's trust in institutions and states in their country,” stressing that “the owners of suspicious campaigns must stop them.” Governor of the Banque du Liban, will not take place until after the formation of the government.

Lebanese analysts believe that if the balance of political forces remains the same, and none of them retreat from its high ceiling, then most of the initiatives proposed, including the French, will enter the orbit of grave danger, according to what the "Al-Ghad" channel reports on the political analyst George Shaheen, who sees That ending the effects of the French initiative and the Arab initiatives leads to negative expectations.

The Lebanese do not deny the influential influence of Western and regional forces and interventions, and the reflection of a long history of "the culture of exceptional circumstances." Political analyst Ahmed Al-Ghaz believes that despite the suffering of the Lebanese and the sagging statehood, and the disintegration of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, the doors in Lebanon are still open for all catastrophic possibilities There is still a long way to go to reach a state of stability and general order in Lebanon.

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ANHA