Voting did not take place in areas controlled by Syrian rebels or Kurdish forces. Five million Syrian refugees largely refrained from voting. US, European officials question legitimacy of election.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who appeared thin and frail in a recorded message earlier this week, just needs a few days of rest, Naim Qassem insists. Israeli officials believe Hassan Nasrallah is suffering from a chronic illness.
Noting commercial uranium enrichment is 2-3%, Rafael Grossi says, "A country enriching at 60% is a very serious thing – only countries making bombs are reaching this level."
"The Assad regime’s so-called presidential election is neither free nor fair," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
A January declaration put an end to a diplomatic crisis that began in 2017 with a rift between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on one side and Qatar on the other.
Hassan Nasrallah, appearing thin and frail and coughing consistently throughout a televised speech marking the 21-year anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, warns Israel that any violations of Jerusalem and sites holy to Muslims would lead to a regional war.
The announcement carried by state television puts judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who is linked to mass executions in 1988, in the dominant position for the upcoming vote.
"The establishment of the Jewish state was phase one of the Zionist plot to take over the world," says video titled "The Big Lie" that aired earlier this month.
Libyan intelligence officials tell Israel Hayom that radical Islamist groups in Libya, funded by Turkey, Qatar, and Iran, handled the contacts with Hamas.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad tells Lebanese TV station that Russia will now provide protection for tankers coming into Syria.
