Not the first ISI president to say this. Will he be the last? “President Pezeshkian says Iran wants peace with region,” Iran International, 12-26-24. The story has it right—“Pezeshkian’s call for diplomacy stands in contrast to the Supreme Leader’s persistent rejection of normalization with the West and Israel, suggesting that Iran’s pursuit of peace may remain contingent upon maintaining its ideological and geopolitical conflicts.”
“Iran Update, December 26, 2024,” Critical Threats, 12-26-24. “Iran is also making remarks that risk stoking sectarian tension. Senior Iranian officials, including the supreme leader, have repeatedly suggested that the Syrian youth will “rise up” in Syria.[xiii] The Iranian supreme leader compared these “Syrian youth” to the Iraqi militia groups that systematically hunted down and killed Sunni civilians in Baghdad as part of a campaign of sectarian cleansing in Iraq.[xiv] Core HTS fighters from Jabhat al Nusra and al Qaeda in Iraq, like Shara, are intimately familiar with the Iraqi context and would presumably read “Syrian youth” as a much more sectarian call than it immediately appears. Sectarian Iranian remarks would provide an opening for Sunni sectarian elements in Syria to portray all Alawites and Shia as pro-Iranian proxies to justify a violent crackdown. Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad Hassan al Shaibani responded to these Iranian statements. He warned Iran against “spreading chaos in Syria” and stated that Syria will hold Iran “accountable for the repercussions of [its] latest remarks,” likely referring to ongoing rhetoric from senior Iranian officials suggesting that Syrian youth will “rise up” in Syria.”
Good news. Lebanon has to pivot from Iran and Hezbollah’s influence and control. “Lebanese army chief visits Saudi Arabia to discuss military cooperation,” AA, 12-26-24.
This headline is funny. The only ones making this announcement are in the Crescent with the proxy the Houthis. No other countries or groups agree. “Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah denounce Israeli airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen,” Iran International, 12-26-28.