Iraq’s parliament fails to approve cabinet, Prime Minister-designate resigns, rockets hit Green Zone
Press TV – March 1, 2020
Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Tawfiq Allawi has withdrawn his candidacy after the parliament failed to approve his new government.
Allawi asked the Iraqi presidency to excuse him from forming a new government in a speech on Sunday.
He added that he made the decision after seeing that “certain political factions are not yet ready reform” and that continuing his tenure under such circumstances would run contrary to his promises to the Iraqi people.
Allawi’s withdrawal comes a few hours after Iraq’s parliament failed to reach a quorum necessary to hold a vote-of-confidence session for Allawi’s new government for a third time in a week.
Allawi was tasked early February with forming a new government after former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in the wake of unprecedented anti-government protests which accused the former government of corruption and mismanagement.
The demonstrations, which started in early October last year, have since regularly turned violent amid reports of foreign intervention.
Several hundred people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence.
Rockets hit Green Zone
A few hours after the resignation was announced in the early hours of Monday, media reports claimed that two blasts were heard from rockets targeting “US assets” in the Iraqi capital’s “Green Zone”.
The Green Zone is home to several Western embassies and government offices including the parliament, the prime minister’s office, and the presidency.
In recent months the fortified zone has been repeatedly targeted by Katyusha rockets by unknown parties.
Iran and Hezbollah warn Turkey: all your forces are in our line of fire
Iranian Advisory Center in Syria: we call on Turkish forces to act rationally for the benefit of the Syrian and Turkish peoples
Al-Manar, February 29, 2020
The Iranian Advisory Center in Syria, which takes part in the fighting in northern Syria, issued a press release through the news agency U-News in reaction to the recent confrontation between the Syrian army and the Turkish army. It should be noted that the Iranian Advisory Center is made up of the group of Iranian experts who advise the Syrian State and its armed forces, and that this is the first statement it has issued since the beginning of the war in Syria.
Full text of the statement
In reaction to the latest confrontation between the Syrian Arab Army and the Turkish Army, it is important for us to inform the public of the following:
First: We fought alongside the Syrian Arab army and supported it, at the request of the Syrian State, to open the M5 highway, with a Syrian force led by elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and of Hezbollah, and with the participation of factions of the Resistance within the force; and we have helped civilians and residents of the liberated villages.
Second: Protected by the Turkish army, the armed (terrorist) groups attacked the positions of the Syrian army, and so we participated in the fighting aimed at preventing the M5 highway to fall again in their hands.
Third: Since the beginning of the presence of our forces, the Turkish positions located in the Syrian territories have been in the sight of our forces, whether they comply with the Astana Agreements or violate them, but the elements of the Resistance did not strike these Turkish forces out of deference to the decision of their (respective) leaders, and this decision remains in effect until now.
Fourth: Four days ago, foreign elements, Tajiks from the Turkestan Party, elements from the Al-Nusra Front, as well as other terrorist factions, carried out a large-scale attack on the positions of the Syrian army. Our forces directly supported the Syrian Army to prevent the liberated areas from falling into their hands.
Fifth: Despite the defensive nature of the action of our forces, the Turkish army targeted our elements and our forces from the air, with precision missiles and artillery support, which prompted us to send mediators to the Turkish army to end its attacks and renounce this approach
Sixth: Our mediators announced to the Turkish army that the terrorists attacked our positions with their support, that our forces are there to confront the terrorists, and that we are on the side of the Syrian army for this mission; but unfortunately, the Turkish military ignored this request and continued its bombing, and a number of our fighters (Iranian & Hezbollah’s) were martyred.
Seventh: Syrian army artillery responded by striking the source of the fire; for our part, we did not retaliate directly, and once again, we announced to the Turkish army through mediators that we have no objective or decision to confront the Turkish army and that our leadership is determined to reach a political solution between Syria and Turkey.
Eighth: We have informed our forces since morning not to target Turkish forces inside Idlib in order to spare the lives of their soldiers, and our forces have not opened fire, but the Turkish army continues to shell the points and locations of the Syrian army (where we are also located) with artillery fire.
Ninth: The Iranian Advisory Center and the fighters of the Resistance front call on the Turkish forces to act rationally in the interest of the Syrian and Turkish peoples, reminding the Turkish people that their sons (soldiers) have been in our sights for one month and that we could have targeted them in revenge, but we did not do so in accordance with the orders of our leaders; we call on them to pressure the Turkish leadership to rectify its decisions and avoid spilling the blood of Turkish soldiers.
Tenth: Despite the current difficult circumstances, we reaffirm our continuing position alongside the people, the State and the army in Syria in their fight to defeat terrorism and preserve their full sovereignty over the Syrian territories, and we all call on actors to be rational and aware of the great risks of continuing the aggression against Syria.
Iranian Advisory Center in Syria
Translation: resistancenews.org
Israel Sends Condolences for Turkish “Martyrs”. Erdogan Expands War to Hezbollah, Iran
By Marko Marjanović | Anti-Empire | February 29, 2020
In the aftermath of the (probably Russian) strike that killed 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria late (10pm) Thursday Israel sent its condolences for the Turkish “martyrs”, ie using Islamic terminology:
Israel sends its condolences to Turkey over the killing of Turkish soldiers in Idlib.
“We are deeply saddened by the martyring of Turkish soldiers”
Interesting that they used “martyr” in Turkish https://t.co/X8SCOo3nWO
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) February 28, 2020
In fact, earlier that same day as Turkey was hitting the Syrian army heavily around Saraqib Israel snuck in two attacks on the other country:
Israeli helicopters struck Syrian military positions in the Quneitra province in the Syrian Golan Heights and wounded three Syrian soldiers, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported overnight Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Syrian state TV reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a car in southern Syria, killing one person whom it named as a “civilian.” Several other media outlets aligned with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime said that the man was a local policeman.
Soon after Turkey expanded its Syria strikes to Hezbollah:
Turkish strikes using drones and smart missiles late on Friday that hit Hezbollah headquarters near Saraqeb killed nine of its members and wounded 30 in one of the bloodiest attacks on the Iran-backed group in Syria ever according to a commander in the regional alliance backing Damascus.
Sure the Shia Lebanese Hezbollah is fighting on the other side in Syria so hitting them would have some tactical value (at a great cost in other ways), but even at the time I wondered if that wasn’t really more a dog whistle to Tel-Aviv and the Israel supporters in DC and the US at large.
Apart from State Department apparatchiks and their hack boss Pompeo, Turkey had found itself very lonely in its new Syria adventure. The asked-for US-manned Patriot missiles to somehow wrestle the control of Idlib skies from Russia aren’t materializing.
But start hitting Hezbollah and suddenly you’ve got the attention of the powerful pro-Israel currents in the US, as well as of Israel itself.
My suspicion was confirmed Saturday when it became clear the Turks had hit Iranians as well:
Statement by Iran’s “advisory mission in Syria”: Turkish army is still shooting at our positions and bases. We call on Turkey to show rational behavior. The Turkish nation’s children are within range of our military forces.
(First statement by Iranian command in Syria, I guess)
— Reza Khaasteh (@Khaaasteh) February 29, 2020
The use of the word “children” above is a misleading translation, the Iranian communique spoke about “sons”, which naturally refers to Turkish troops.
Iranian embassy in Syria: “The Iranian government informed Erdogan that it would respond with full force to the Turkish points if it continued to bomb our forces and the Syrian army.”
— Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) February 29, 2020
Iran issued a warning to Erdogan to knock it off or his troops will face the consequences but you get the feeling that may be exactly what Erdogan is trying to provoke. Get the pathologically anti-Iranian Trump administration to see Turkey’s ‘safe-zone-for-bin-Ladenites’ Idlib invasion as an anti-Iranian enterprise and the prospects of American backing look quite a bit brighter.
#Turkey was informed in details of the position of Hezbollah and the Iranian brigades along with the Syrian army but decided to ignore the information and continued bombing these positions over and over again.
It is now clear that Turkey is in the battle with his army to stay.
— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) February 29, 2020
Keep in mind that neither #Iran nor #Hezbollah ever attacked the Turkish army until this hour. It is #Turkey that took the initiative to bomb the Iranian-led forces and Hezbollah HQ and military hospital.
— Elijah J. Magnier (@ejmalrai) February 29, 2020