A week after Palestinian Authorities President Mahmoud Abbas appeared before the U.N. Security Council, Tehran led a counter-attack by gathering its allies in the non-alignment bloc in a conference dedicated to the Palestinian cause where the Imam Khamenei spewed messages and warnings in all directions.
The most intriguing point of the conference was the presence of Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal who distanced himself and his party from the ongoing events in Syria. Also in attendance was Damascus resident Ahmad Jibril along with the delegations from Lebanon, led by Speaker Nabih Berri, and several Arab countries.
Khamenei categorically rejected Abbas’ speech and called for a free Palestine from the river to the sea, proclaiming that his missiles will be at the ready if Iran is threatened.
At a time when the Ankara-Tehran crisis is at its peak --following Turkish authorization of a NATO early-warning radar to protect Western allies in the region-- the Iranian president said that this sophisticated system will not be effective, and warned Israel of painful blows.
In Syria, the army secured the city of Rastan after five days of heavy fighting with defected soldiers and other armed groups. The Syrian opposition still enjoys full American and Turkish support to reduce the gap between the Muslim Brotherhood, Kurdish minorities, tribal representatives and the scholar Burhan Ghalioun in order to have a successful conference for the Syrian National Council in Istanbul tomorrow, at the latest.
In Lebanon, the Maronite Patriarch’s visits and speeches still raise controversy and open many unhealed wounds. Of particular importance today was Rai’s speech at the Beirut airport prior to his trip to the United States where he stated that his stances are consistent with those of the Vatican and referred any questions on the matter to the proper Vatican authorities.