Tehran has plans to maintain its grip on Syria, even while Washington and Russia are pressing on with secret discussions on the fate of Syrian president Bashar Assad and, in Damascus, international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi Tuesday, Dec. 25, gave himself an extra six days to mediate a deal for ending the war. debkafile:  Saudi intelligence chiefs at the GCC summit in Manama revealed that Iran intends launching Hizballah and local militias to sabotage any international deals and any transitional regime.

The US exit from Iraq at year's end leaves in place 30,000 fighters of Iran's Al Qods Brigades trained in elite guerilla warfare. At least half are disguised as private security personnel for Iraqi ministers and politicians in Baghdad, providing Tehran with a strong lever of manipulation. America's Iraq war therefore draws to a close as thousands of Al Qods operatives take up positions in the Green Zone, the Baghdad enclave built at great cost for US headquarters in Iraq.   

Hizballah's Iranian commander, Gen. Hossein Mahadavi of Al Qods  Brigades, has  , ,        , ha   polished a plan for seizing power in Beirut just before the UN tribunal delivers indictments for top Hizballah officers'  trial in the murder of Rafiq Hariri. Joint Hizballah, Syrian and Iranian forces ...