Syrian guns and international roses

As Syrian President Bashar Assad agrees to an April 10 ultimatum for the secession of violence against civilians, killing continues throughout the country, Arab media reports on Wednesday.

Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat argues that “Assad is racing against the ultimatum with shelling,” accompanying its report with a photo of a plume of smoke rising over the city of Da’il in south-west Syria, near the Jordanian border.

Liberal daily Al-Hayat, with a similar take on events, features the headline “Damascus talks about starting to retreat as it continues the killing.” The daily features a photo of a tank patrolling the town of Hamouriya, near Damascus.

Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera, which regularly features footage from the ground in Syria, displays gory images of civilian bodies and a column of tanks crossing an unidentified, ruined city, in its video report.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya reports that a new opposition magazine titled “Syria wants freedom” has begun to appear in the cities of Homs and Damascus.

According to the magazine’s editor Jandali Rifai, the cultural-intellectual magazine “has succeeded in becoming part of the alternative media which is fighting the regime and exposing its crimes.”

“Although Syrian youth have mocked their media for nearly 40 years, they are proving today their capability to create media that reaches professional standards,” comments Al-Arabiya.

Abd Al-Rahman Rashed, director of Al-Arabiya, writes Wednesday in A-Sharq Al-Awsat that Israel has joined Iran in protecting the Assad regime.

“I believe that the Israelis are agreeing with the Iranians this time to protect the Assad regime. There is no doubt that they tried to convince their friends in the West, as well as Russia, to allow the regime to fight the protesters … Israel wishes the Assad regime would survive, because it is the best regime in the region to serve its interests,” writes Rashed.

Secret Iranian unit plans attacks in Turkey

A secret Iranian unit called unit 400 has received orders to plan attacks against American, Jewish and Israeli targets in Turkey, reports Saudi-owned news website Elaph on Wednesday.

According to the site, unit 400, which belongs to the regime’s Quds Force, is subordinate to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. International intelligence agencies are reportedly searching for members of the unit.

According to the report, it is the Supreme Leader and not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who “calls the shots” in Iran, especially with regards to international affairs.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood meets Salafists

Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat Shater has met members of the more extreme Salafist movement in Egypt following their invitation, Al-Hayat reports on Wednesday.

According to the daily, Shater is seeking the Salafists’ support for his candidacy, and will meet their leaders in Alexandria Wednesday.

Sources close to Salafist presidential candidate Hazem Abu-Ismail denied that he intended to drop out of the presidential race in return for the position of deputy president, as Egyptian media reported Tuesday.

“What is Egypt’s future?” asks Al-Hayat columnist Abdullah Iskandar. According to Iskandar, worrying tales of film censorship have begun to emerge in Egypt: classic 40-year-old films are being banned for the official reason of “displaying shameful scenes.”

“It is unfortunate that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the source of all Islamist movements, does not stop for a moment to regard the experience of its victorious counterpart in Tunisia A-Nahda, nor that of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, which is engaged in a battle to change the regime,” he writes.

Abbas threatens to return to the UN

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is threatening Israel that he will return to the UN to seek unilateral recognition of statehood if Israel does not resume negotiations, Palestinian Authority mouthpiece Al-Ayyam reports Wednesday.

According to the daily, Abbas declared that his demand that Israel stop building in the settlements is not a precondition for negotiations but rather an Israeli obligation under international law.

“When Israel accepts these two conditions [accepting ‘international law’ and a halt to building in the settlements], we will be completely prepared to return to negotiations,” he said.

On Tuesday Abbas met Muhammad Mursi, head of the Egyptian Freedom and Justice party, the political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abbas debriefed Mursi on the situation in the West Bank and the “difficult state of occupied Jerusalem,” Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.