Israel Matzav

Nasrallah in Damscus

Al-AP is reporting that Hezbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is in Damascus today (minus his clerical robes) visiting with the chinless ophthalmologist, Bashar Assad. Nasrallah is in Syria for talks on Hezbullah's proxy war with Israel. A senior Iranian representative is also present at the talks.

Kuwait's Al-Siyassah newspaper, known for its opposition to the Syrian regime, said the meeting was designed to discuss ways to maintain supplies to Hezbollah fighters with "Iranian arms flowing through Syrian territories."

Al-Siyassah said it learned of the meeting from "well-informed Syrian sources" it did not identify. According to the newspaper, Nasrallah was moving through Damascus with Syrian guards in an intelligence agency car. He was dressed in civilian clothes, not his normal clerical garb.

The Mehr news agency in Iran said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was in Damascus for meetings on the crisis, but gave no other details. Similar reports were carried by the Iranian Labor News Agency and the Fars agency.

Al-Siyassah said Larijani would meet Syrian President Hafez Assad and Nasrallah.

There was no mention of Larijani's travels in Iranian state-run media.

None of the reports could be independently confirmed.

It's time for Israel to shut down the Tehran - Damascus - Beirut pipeline. And if Nasrallah can be shut down in Damascus too, all the better.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:19 PM