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Pompeo: US Is Now Targeting Iran's 'Actual Decision-Makers'

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Pompeo: US Is Now Targeting Iran's 'Actual Decision-Makers'

by newsmax.com --Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday the U.S. strategy in countering Iran is to target the country's "actual decision-makers” rather than to focus on Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. Pompeo was explaining U.S. strategy in the aftermath of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iran's most powerful general, Qassem Soleimani, who was mastermind of the country's military operations outside Iran. That killing has sent shock waves across the Middle East, with expectations that Iran will make good on its threat to strike back, with unpredictable consequences for the U.S. and the rest of the world. Pompeo spoke on ABC's “This Week” amid rising uncertainty about next steps in the U.S.-Iran crisis and the breadth of its ramifications. The U.S. acknowledged an attack Sunday by an al-Qaida affiliate on a Kenyan airfield used by American military forces. It was not immediately clear whether there were U.S. casualties.

In Beirut, Lebanon's Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, said the U.S. military in the region, including bases and warships, were fair targets after the killing of Soleimani. Hezbollah is a primary ally of Iran with broad influence. The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops throughout the region, including in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar — all within range of Iran or its proxy militias. Iraq's parliament on Sunday called for the expulsion of U.S. troops from the country in the wake of the attack in Baghdad that killed Soleimani. There are 5,200 American forces in Iraq. At issue is the fate of the agreement under which Washington sent troops to Iraq more than four years ago to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Nancy Ajram’s Beirut home broken into by armed assailant

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Nancy Ajram

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BREAKING: Nancy Ajram's Husband Killed a Thief Who Tried to Rob Their Villa! (Pictures)

by alkhaleejtoday.co -- Aden - Yasmine El Tohamy - Syrian national Mohammad Al-Mousa approached the superstar's luxury villa, perched on a hilly region of Keserwan, in the central Mount Lebanon Governate, armed with a handgun. Three private security guards assigned to the home of one of the most popular performers in the Arab world were powerless as the invader brandished his weapon, securing entry into the property, according to officials now leading the investigation. With the black-clad thief walking freely inside, Ajram's husband Dr Fadi El Hachem was forced to negotiate. Dr Hachem pleaded that he leave the family home and offered him large sums of money in exchange, An-Nahar reported. Yet Al-Mousa paid no attention his appeals, threatening to kill anyone who dared obstruct him. He then advanced toward the bedroom where the couple's young daughters slept. At this point, Dr Hachem resolved to take matters in his own hands. A brief exchange of gunfire between the two resulted in the death of Al-Mousa and injured Ajram, one of the most famous female performers in the Middle East

A picture circulating on social media shows her face hidden by her hair, while she is comforted on a couch in the couples' home, in the aftermath of the shooting. Police were immediately called to the scene, according to Al-Quds. Ghada Oun, public prosecutor of the Mount Lebanon governate, issued an arrest warrant for Dr Hachem. Security officials investigating the incident are likely to consider Dr Hachem's actions as a use of reasonable force to defend his wife and their children. In 2010, Ajram was announced as the bestselling Middle Eastern female singer of the 21st Century's first decade, and in 2019 she was declared the region's most popular celebrity figure, with nearly 18 million followers on Instagram. In June last year, Ajram made headlines with her first concert in Saudi Arabia, where the kingdom ended a decades-long ban on live music.

Some Lebanon banks close over angry clients’ demands

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by AFP -- Banks in a region of northern Lebanon were closed until further notice on Saturday, the National News Agency said, after lenders balked at customer anger over a liquidity crisis. Since September banks have arbitrarily capped the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn or transferred abroad, sparking fury among customers who accuse lenders of holding their money hostage. There is also a limit on Lebanese pound withdrawals. Clients wanting dollars often have to stand in queues for hours to make withdrawals, only to be told bills have run out once they reach the counter. On Saturday all banks in the northern region of Akkar were closed, the NNA said, following a call from the Association of Banks for them to shut their doors “until further notice”.

On Friday, citizens entered a bank branch in the town of Halba to protest about customers being unable to withdraw enough dollars or their salaries in Lebanese pounds in full, NNA reported. They said they would not leave until a customer -- who suffered an unspecified health complaint while waiting -- was given a guarantee that he would be paid in full. The 10-hour standoff -- which included security forces firing teargas inside the building -- ended with the man being taken to hospital and management promising to pay him in full. The Association of Banks the same day called for lenders in the area to close over the incident, which it described as an “attack” and “a threat to the lives and safety of employees”. Unprecedented anti-government protests have gripped Lebanon since October 17, in part to decry a lack of action over the deepening economic crisis.

US army to 'pay price' for killing Soleimani: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah

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by AFP -- Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday said the US army will "pay the price" for killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and a senior Iraqi commander in a drone strike. "The American army killed them and it will pay the price," the Iran-backed head of the Lebanese Shiite group warned in a televised speech following Friday's strike in the Iraqi capital. "The only just punishment is (to target) American military presence in the region: US military bases, US warships, each and every officer and soldier in the region," Nasrallah said. He added however that American civilians such as "businessmen, engineers, journalists and doctors" should be spared. "When the coffins of American soldiers and officers... start to return to the United States, (US President Donald) Trump and his administration will realise they have lost the region," he said.

Soleimani and top Iraqi military figure Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike Friday near Baghdad's international airport, sparking fury in Iran and Iraq. Nasrallah's speech was beamed to black-clad supporters who gathered in southern Beirut, waving Hezbollah's yellow flag or holding up portraits of Soleimani and Muhandis. Nasrallah also called on Iraq to free itself of the American "occupation". "Our demand, our hope from our brothers in the Iraqi parliament is... to adopt a law that demands American forces withdraw from Iraq," he said.Iraq's parliament urged the government on Sunday to end the presence of US-led coalition forces in the country, outraged by the American strike. Some 5,200 US soldiers are stationed across Iraqi bases to support local troops preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State jihadist group. They are deployed as part of the broader international coalition, invited by the Iraqi government in 2014 to help fight IS.

Irish troops in Lebanon braced for Hizbullah-Israel rocket fire

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United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (Unifil) armoured vehicles patrol the area around the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila on the border with Israel on January 3rd, 2020. Photograph: Ali Dia/AFP/Getty

Conor Lally - irishtimes.com -- Hundreds of Irish troops serving on a United Nations mission in south Lebanon were bracing this weekend for potential exchanges of fire between Hizbullah and Israel as the fallout continues from the killing of General Qassem Suleimani by a US military drone. Almost 350 Irish troops are serving with Unifil in south Lebanon at present, in the middle of the conflict zone, should strikes occur as feared. Neither the Defence Forces nor Minister of State for Defence Paul Kehoe had made any comment early on Sunday. However, The Irish Times understands the threat level has not been officially increased by Unifil despite the events of last Friday. Iranian military commander Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were both killed in the US drone strike on a convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport. Though there had been no official increase by Unifil to the threat level posed to the Irish and other Unifil personnel in south Lebanon, the troops were in recent days undertaking bunker drills and defence drills to ensure their state of preparedness was sharp.

Sources said in the event of rocket fire, the majority of Unifil personnel, including 336 Irish troops, would remain in bunkers for their own safety. There were now concerns that US assets and US allies in the region would be attacked in revenge for last Friday’s strike, with Hizbullah rocket attacks from southern Lebanon into northern Israel seen as possible within days. Any attacks by Hizbullah would probably take the form of Katyusha rockets being launched from south Lebanon into northern Israel, and the Israelis would launch much larger retaliatory strikes, the sources said.

Lebanon's crisis needs $20 bln-$25bln bailout, former minister says

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Protesters stand near burning tents during anti government protests in Beirut, Lebanon December 15, 2019.

By Eric Knecht, Reuters News --- BEIRUT - Lebanon needs a $20 billion-$25 billion bailout including International Monetary Fund support to emerge from its financial crisis, former economy minister Nasser Saidi told Reuters on Friday. Lebanon's crisis has shattered confidence in its banking system and raised investors' concerns that a default could loom for one of the world's most indebted countries, with a $1.2 billion Eurobond due in March. Lebanon's politicians have failed to come up with a rescue plan since Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri quit in October after protests over state corruption. Depositors and investors say they have been kept in the dark about the country's dire financial situation.

President Michel Aoun said on Friday that he hoped a new government would be formed next week. But analysts say the cabinet to be led by Hassan Diab may struggle to win international support because he was nominated by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and its allies. Saidi said time was running short, and that $11 billion in previously pledged support from foreign donors was now roughly half of what was needed to mount a recovery. "The danger of the current situation is we're approaching economic collapse that can potentially reduce GDP (for 2020) by 10%," Saidi said in an interview. Economists have said 2020 is likely to register Lebanon's first economic contraction in 20 years, with some saying GDP will contract by 2%. Others have predicted a long depression unseen since independence from France in 1943 or during the 1975-90 civil war.

Trump Vows to Hit 52 Iranian Targets If Iran Retaliates After Drone Strike

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President Trump says US has targeted 52 Iranian sites for attack if Iran retaliates

by reuters -- President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites "very hard" if Iran attacks Americans or U.S. assets after a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader, while tens of thousands of people marched in Iraq to mourn their deaths. Showing no signs of seeking to ease tensions raised by the strike he ordered that killed Soleimani and Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad airport, Trump issued a stern threat to Iran on Twitter. The U.S. strike has raised the specter of wider conflict in the Middle East. Iran, Trump wrote, "is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets" in response to Soleimani's death. Trump said the United States has "targeted 52 Iranian sites" and that some were "at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD." "The USA wants no more threats!" Trump said, adding that the 52 targets represented the 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days after being seized at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979. Trump did not identify the sites. The Pentagon referred questions about the matter to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Among the mourners in Iraq included many militiamen in uniform for whom Muhandis and Soleimani were heroes. They carried portraits of both men and plastered them on walls and armored personnel carriers in the procession. Chants of "Death to America" and "No No Israel" rang out.