Who were the Iranians abducted in Damascus?

The abduction of 48 Iranian nationals on the way to Damascus airport following a religious pilgrimage in Syria is leading Arabic news Sunday, along with the intensification of fighting in the northern city of Aleppo.

“48 Iranians kidnapped in Damascus and the first airplane is downed in Aleppo,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat. The daily displays a photo of a Syrian man running through the debris of the Salah A-Din neighborhood seeking shelter during clashes between government and opposition forces.

“Aleppo burns and Iranian ‘visitors’ are captured in Damascus,” reads the headline of London-based daily Al-Hayat. The daily reports, quoting an Iranian news agency, that Iran knows where the pilgrims are being held and is trying to release them.

Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has called his Turkish counterpart Ahmet  Davutoglu and asked him to assist in releasing the Iranian nationals.

“What are Assad’s choices now?” asks Saudi Al-Hayat columnist Khaled Dhakil Sunday. He claims that the regime has no political “out” from the crisis, and can only continue its military escalation, hoping to break the opposition.

“Is Bashar considering [establishing] an Alawite state as a last resort for him and his family? This option would suit Iran. A secluded Alawite state in the mountains — although weak and politically subordinate to Iran — would allow Iran to maintain at least some of its influence in the region,” writes Dakhil.

“However, I do not believe that Assad will accept this, because it is a miserable choice which will turn the former president of Syria into a mere pawn protecting the Iranian interests in the Mediterranean.”

‘Is Bashar considering [establishing] an Alawite state as a last resort for him and his family? This option would suit Iran’

“The Iranians are in Damascus!” exclaims A-Sharq Al-Awsat editor-in-chief Tareq Homayed in his op-ed Sunday. Reports that the kidnapped Iranians were touring holy sites in Syria are wholly implausible, writes Homayed, given the state of war Syria is currently experiencing. He also refutes the claim of the Syrian regime to be in full control of Damascus, since the Iranians could not have been kidnapped by the opposition near Damascus airport were that true.

“These two reports are very important. They indicate that Assad is unable to impose his control on Damascus and that Iran is clearly and increasingly involved in Syria, try as they may to deny that.”

Saudi king invites Ahmadinejad to Mecca for Ramadan

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has sent a handwritten invitation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit Mecca for the Islamic solidarity conference in Mecca next week, Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya reports.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been tense for years but have deteriorated over the two countries’ opposing positions on Syria, with Iran supporting President Bashar Assad and Saudi Arabia backing the rebels. The news channel did not report whether Ahmadinejad would attend the conference.

Iraqi army arrests anti-terrorism chief

Forces belonging to the office of Iraq’s chief of staff, a position currently held by President Nuri Maliki, arrested the head of Iraq’s anti-terrorism unit Abdul Hussein Amiri and his deputy on Saturday, A-Sharq Al-Awsat reports Sunday.

The arrest comes just three days after an explosion targeted the anti-terrorism headquarters in Baghdad, killing some 30 people. That explosion was attributed to Al-Qaeda. The anti-terrorism unit belongs to the ministry of interior, and according to sources in the ministry, Amiri and his deputy were arrested following an investigation that found their performance to be negligent.