International News
Syria, Lebanon discuss plan to repatriate 15,000 refugees per month
Syrian and Lebanese officials have discussed ways to facilitate the monthly return of 15,000 Syrian refugees to their home country.
Syrian Minister of Local Administration and Environment Hussein Makhlouf held a meeting in Damascus on Monday with visiting Lebanese Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine, during which they touched upon measures taken by Syria to secure a safe and quick home return for the refugees based on a timeline set by both countries, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media reports.
“Lebanon and Syria agree on the necessity to facilitate the return of all refugees to their homeland, not just 15,000 monthly, as stated in the plan presented by the Lebanese side,” Makhlouf told a joint press conference with the Lebanese Minister.
The Syrian government has pledged to secure basic services including transportation, accommodation, medical care, and education for all the Syrian refugees who want to come back, said Makhlouf.
He said the Syrian army has restored security and stability to large swathes of territories over the past few years, and the government has so far enabled the home return of 4 million internally displaced people and 1 million refugees overseas.
He also called on UN organisations to be “an active partner in the return of the displaced, especially when Syria is open to cooperation with Lebanon and others to facilitate the return of all the displaced, allowing them to have an active role in the reconstruction process”.
On his part, Charafeddine said “we discussed our plan in detail with Syrian authorities who expressed readiness to receive all refugees, pledging to provide them with needed facilities”, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The Lebanese officials intended to visit Syria soon to further coordinate their return with Syrian authorities, he added.
Charafeddine also held a separate meeting with Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun, during which the latter said the Damascus government allows holders of expired passports to return home and the registration of children who were born overseas.
Al-Rahmoun added that immigration centres at Syrian borders were all connected with the central database for civil affairs in order to provide the returnees with needed documents upon arriving in the country.
Earlier this month, Charafeddine had said that Lebanon would implement its plan regardless of the UN position as his country suffers from an unprecedented financial crisis and the influx of refugees has weighed heavily on the economy and infrastructure.
Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita in the world, with an estimated 1.5 million Syrians and some 13,715 of other nationalities.
The UNHCR representative in Lebanon has rejected the country’s plan, citing Syria is not safe for returning refugees.
International News
Iran rejects US ceasefire offer, issues 10-point plan calling for permanent end to war

Tehran, April 7: Iran has rejected a US-proposed 15-point peace plan, calling instead for a permanent end to the conflict, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Tehran delivered its response in a 10-point document, citing past experiences as the reason it would not accept a ceasefire, Xinhua news agency reported.
The response outlines Iran’s demands, including ending regional conflicts, establishing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstructing war-affected areas, and lifting international sanctions.
The IRNA claimed the text was presented following recent developments in Iran’s western and central regions and the unsuccessful outcome of a US heliborne operation, with US President Donald Trump extending a previously set deadline again and adjusting earlier threats.
In a press conference on Monday, Trump called Iran’s 10-point response a “significant step” but said it was “not good enough.”
Also on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said a ceasefire would only give opponents time to regroup and commit further crimes, and “no sane” person would accept it.
In late March, US media reported that Washington sent a 15-point plan to Iran through Pakistan to try to end the war. Iran later rejected the plan, calling it “excessive and disconnected from the realities on the battlefield.”
The Islamic Republic set several preconditions for peace. These include ending US and Israeli aggression, creating mechanisms to prevent future attacks, compensating for war damage, stopping fighting across all fronts in West Asia, and recognizing Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders, and civilians. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US assets in the Middle East.
International News
Iran’s supreme leader condemns assassination of IRGC intelligence chief

Tehran, April 7: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei extended condolences for a senior general of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), saying that “assassinations and crimes” against Iranian leadership will not halt the country’s course.
In a written statement, Khamenei praised Majid Khademi, head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization, for decades of “silent efforts in the security, intelligence, and defence fields” of Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.
He also accused Israel and the United States of turning to “terrorism and assassination” after “successive defeats.” Khademi was killed in Tehran on Monday in an airstrike claimed by Israel.
Khamenei extended condolences to Khademi’s family and comrades, as well as the other commanders of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization.
Khademi was appointed as the head of the intelligence organization in June last year following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, in which Mohammad Kazemi, the organization’s former chief, had been killed.
Before his appointment, Khademi served as the head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned a US and Israeli attack on the Sharif University of Technology in the capital Tehran, which severely damaged the building of its information technology center and a gas substation near the academic center’s mosque.
Iran’s army said Sunday it has targeted petrochemical industries and petroleum products storage facilities in southern Israel, as well as US equipment depots, satellite communication units and troops in a base in Kuwait.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.
International News
Israel says Iran’s intelligence chief killed in Tehran air strike

Tel Aviv, April 6: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday claimed to have killed Majid Khatem-Hosseini Khadami, Chairman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) intelligence organisation, in an air strike in Tehran on Sunday night.
“Eliminated: Majid Khademi, the Head of Intelligence of the IRGC. Khadami was one of the most important commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and had accumulated military and security experience over the years,” read a statement issued by the IDF.
It mentioned that the Israeli Air Force, under precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Directorate, attacked during the night in Tehran and killed Khadami.
According to the IDF, Khadmi was appointed to his position after the assassination of Muhammad Khatami in Operation ‘Am Kalavi’. As part of his role, he worked to gather intelligence to form an intelligence picture for the regime’s senior echelons during Operation ‘Roar of the Harrier’.
“Khademi worked to advance terrorist attacks worldwide, and was responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime’s suppression of internal protests. He was a key figure in the campaign, the intelligence he collected was used to promote and execute terrorist operations,” the IDF stated.
“Alongside this, Khadami worked to promote terrorist acts against the State of Israel and against Jews around the world and took part in attempts to harm American targets, and was even responsible for monitoring Iranian citizens as part of the suppression of internal protests in Iran,” it added.
The Israeli defence ministry mentioned that Khadami’s “elimination” constitutes another serious blow to the command and control systems of the Revolutionary Guards, and to its ability to “conduct terrorist activity” against the State of Israel and countries around the world.
On Sunday, the IDF announced that it had killed Mohammad Reza Ashrafi Kahi, the Head of Commerce at the IRGC’s Oil Headquarters in Tehran.
“Ashrafi managed the commercial operations of the Oil Headquarters, estimated at billions of dollars annually, and advanced the development of the IRGC’s military capabilities, as well as those of the Houthis, Hezbollah & Hamas,” the IDF posted on X.
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