Iran & Syria Form Strategic Military Alliance

Israel Prepares For War, Demands Increase For Strikes On Iran

The leaders of Iran, Syria, Palestine and Hezbollah met in Damascus in the past few days, and firmed up new military and strategic alliances, as Israel prepares for war, and calls rise amongst NeoCons in Washington for strikes on Iran's nuclear energy facilities :

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad traveled to Damascus on Thursday along with a high-ranking political and economic delegation at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

During his visit, he met with the Syrian president, Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, and Palestinian leaders based in Syria. Iran and Syria also issued a joint communiqué reaffirming their strategic alliance.

The negotiations between the Iranian and Syrian delegations started on Thursday afternoon, presided over by Ahmadinejad and Assad.

“Iran and Syria were, are, and shall be brothers and allies,” the Iranian president said.

“Iran-Syria ties are deep, enduring, and expanding,” he added.

Time is on the side of regional countries and against their enemies, Ahmadinejad said, adding, “Today resistance is continuing with wisdom and coordination, and I feel sure that God is with regional countries and their enemies will have no choice but to recognize the rights of regional nations.”

Iran and Syria also issued a joint communiqué calling for regional unity.

In the communiqué, the two sides called on all Palestinian groups to resolve their disputes through dialogue and to maintain national unity. The two countries also expressed their support for Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland and to establish an independent Palestinian state with Beit-ul-Moqaddas as its capital.

Both states expressed their support for the Iraqi government and its efforts to maintain the country’s national unity, integrity, and independence, and for the endeavors to facilitate the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

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500,000 LEBANESE RALLY TO CELEBRATE LOOMING HEZBOLLAH VICTORY OVER ISRAEL

From the smh.com.au :

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rejected international calls to disarm his Lebanese guerillas and told 500,000 supporters at a "victory" rally they still had more than 20,000 rockets after a month of war with Israel.

Speaking to a sea of followers at a "divine victory" rally in south Beirut on Friday, Nasrallah said Hezbollah had emerged stronger from a conflict in which Israel declared it had destroyed most of the Shiite Muslim group's arsenal.

In his first public appearance since the war broke out in July, Nasrallah told hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters that Hezbollah had "more than 20,000 rockets" and that it had "recovered all its organisational and military capabilities . . . it is stronger than it was before July 12".

Nasrallah's estimate of Hezbollah's retained arsenal is five times greater than the total number it fired into Israel during the war, and higher than any previous figure he has given.

He also warned the United Nations peacekeepers not to seek confrontation with Hezbollah.

"Your mission is not to spy on Hezbollah or to disarm the resistance," he told a crowd packed into the Shiite Muslim suburbs which were heavily bombed in the 34-day war.

He said measures to stop Hezbollah rearming, including international forces patrolling the Lebanese coast and tighter security on the border with Lebanon, would have little impact.

The huge turnout in a country of 4 million was a gesture of defiance to Israel but also marked a challenge to the US-backed Lebanese Government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Nasrallah called for a change of government in Lebanon and slammed Arab leaders for failing to defend the Lebanese people.

"The building of an able, just and strong state starts first with the establishment of a national unity government. This is our new project that we will work for with all our force in the coming stage."

The rally had been expected to coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south, but Israel's army chief said on Wednesday the pullout might take a few more days.

Israeli forces have been gradually leaving territory they captured in fighting that began after Hezbollah guerillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Israel and Hezbollah have both declared themselves victors in the war which killed nearly 1200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers.

Thousands had walked to the rally from Shiite villages in south Lebanon battered by Israel's bombardment and invasion.

The Beirut crowds carried pictures of Nasrallah and yellow Hezbollah flags bearing the message "Here we are Nasrallah".

Many wore yellow T-shirts and chanted pro-Hezbollah slogans. Some said they were there not only to celebrate but also simply to see the charismatic Nasrallah.

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