Egypt braces for massive protest

Thousands of protesters are expected to march on the streets demanding his resignation after Mubarak remained defiant.



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121125158705862.html

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters are expected to march on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities on Friday, in what could become the largest - and some fear the most violent - protests thus far.

The demonstrators’ hopes for the resignation of the President were dashed on Thursday as Hosni Mubarak, in a 17-minute address on television, said he was determined to stay in power until September, when his current term ends.

Mubarak said he was handing "the functions of the president" to Vice-President Omar Suleiman and that he would oversee an "exit" from the current crisis, and "realise the demands voiced by the youth and citizens ... without undermining the constitution in a manner that ensures the stability of our society".

Before he finished his anticlimactic speech, protesters camped in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s revolution, shouted "donkey, leave!"

Rabab Al Mahdi, a professor at the American University in Cairo, told Al Jazeera that the level of anger and frustration at the square was "unprecedented".

"This is putting us into a messy situation that can turn bloody at any moment," she said, adding that the fact that Mubarak "for more than 10 minutes, was talking about himself - very narcissistic, again, giving the message that he's still in control, and this, in and by itself, offended people."

Egyptian state television did not broadcast the scenes of anger after Mubarak's speech.

'People in tears'

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that halfway through Mubarak's speech, when the president spoke of his years in public service, people began taking off their shoes and waving them in the air in a dramatic Arab show of contempt.

"You could also see tears in some of the people's eyes ... a lot of screams of anger, people just breaking down in tears, people just breaking down in pain," our correspondent said.

Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice-President Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."

"Youth of Egypt, heroes of Egypt, go back to your homes and businesses. The country needs you so that we build, develop and create," Suleiman said.

"Do not listen to tendentious radios and satellite televisions which have no aim but ignite disorder, weaken Egypt and distort its image."

But the demonstrators were undeterred by his appeal and began to immediately mobilise for fresh protests on Friday in response to Mubarak's speech.

Protesters had previously planned "Friday of martyrs" to memorialise the 300 or more who have been killed during pro-democracy protests, which now have entered a third week.

More than 1,000 protesters moved overnight nearer to the presidential palace in the upscale neighbourhood of Heliopolis in central Cairo but only a few of them were still there on Friday morning.

In addition to occupying Tahrir Square, pro-democracy protests blocked access to the parliament building near the square.

Thousands of protesters were also surrounding the radio and television building in Cairo, which they see as a mouthpiece for Mubarak's regime.

"This marks a new front in our struggle against this illegitimate regime," wrote one protesters on the microblogging site Twitter. "Now that Mubarak has refused to quit, gracefully, he'll pay the price."

Workers on strike

Union workers have joined the protests over the past few days, effectively crippling transportation and several industries, and dealing a sharper blow to Mubarak’s embattled regime. Outraged by Mubarak’s defiance, many more workers vowed to join the planned protests on Friday.

The people's anger was not restricted to Cairo. In Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, crowds began roaring and shouting and headed toward the military base of the northern command.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from that city, said pro-democracy protesters were "more offended than ever" at hearing that Mubarak's intention to remain in power until September.

"They really do not understand how President Mubarak cannot comprehend the strong sentiments which they have been expressing over the past two weeks," he said.

The US and EU said the announcement to transfer some powers to the vice-president was grossly insufficient and falls short of genuine reforms demanded by the people.

"The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient," Barack Obama, the US president, said in a statement.

Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure, said Egypt "will explode" as a result of Mubarak's defiance and called on the Egyptian army to intervene "to save the country."

Egypt military to issue statement

State media reports that Egyptian military leaders held an important meeting as protesters plan new demonstrations.

Defence Minister Tantawi visited Tahrir Square, the focal point for the protests, last week [AFP]

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121161511674298.html

Egyptian state news agency MENA has reported that Egyptian military leaders held an "important" meeting and plan to issue a response as protesters enraged by President Hosni Mubarak's latest refusal to step down gather for new demonstrations.

According to MENA, Hussein Tantawi, the chief commander and defence minister, chaired a meeting on Friday of the Armed Forces Supreme Council and it is expected that the military will issue an important statement to the people afterwards.

Protesters, streaming into Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Friday, have stepped up calls for the army to intervene against Mubarak, a former air force commander and one of its own.

The role of the military is seen as key in the outcome of the crisis.

An Egyptian army officer who has joined the protesters said 15 other middle-ranking officers had also gone over to the demonstrators.

"The armed forces' solidarity movement with the people has begun," Major Ahmed Ali Shouman told Reuters news agency on Friday. "Our goals and the people's are one."

Shouman said the officers would address the crowd after Friday midday prayers.

The army, sent onto the streets after police withdrew following their failure to crush protesters on January 28, has promised not to fire on demonstrators.

Pressure mounting

While refusing to resign or leave the country, Mubarak gave most of his powers to his vice-president late on Thursday, hours after the military made moves that had all the markings of a coup.

"We are waiting for a strong reaction from the army to Mubarak's speech," said Mohammed Mustapha, a protest spokesman. He said "huge numbers" of protesters were expected on Friday.

Organisers said protesters were already camped outside the presidential palace and buildings housing the cabinet, parliament and state TV. They planned rallies at six separate protest locations, in addition to Tahrir Square, the centre of the mass rallies that began on January 25.

"We are going to camp everywhere to put more pressure on the regime," said Abdel-Rahman Samir, an organiser.

Prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, whose supporters were among the organisers of the 18-day-old wave of protests, warned in a Twitter message that "Egypt will explode".

"The army must save the country now," the Nobel Peace laureate said. "I call on the Egyptian army to immediately interfere to rescue Egypt. The credibility of the army is on the line."

Protesters' hopes that Mubarak would resign had been raised on Thursday when a council of the military's top generals announced it had stepped in to secure the country, and a senior commander told protesters in Tahrir Square that all their demands would soon be met.

Hints of rift

The military's Supreme Council said earlier on state TV that it was in permanent session, a status that it takes only in times of war.

It said it was exploring "what measures and arrangements could be made to safeguard the nation, its achievements and the ambitions of its great people." That suggested Tantawi and his generals were in charge of the country.

The statement was labelled "Communique No. 1," language that also suggests a military coup.

State TV showed Tantawi chairing the council with around two dozen top stern-faced army officers seated around a table.

Mubarak and Vice-President Omar Suleiman, a former army general and intelligence chief named to his post after the protests erupted, were not present, the strongest indication during the day of a rift

Mubarak refuses to leave office

Egyptian leader vows to cling to power until his term ends in September, putting to rest speculation that he will quit



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/02/2011210215024957458.html

President Hosni Mubarak provoked rage on Egypt's streets when he said he would hand some powers to his deputy but disappointed protesters who had been expecting him to step down immediately after two weeks of demonstrations.

"Leave! Leave!" chanted thousands who had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square in anticipation that a televised speech would be the moment their demands for an end to Mubarak's 30 years of authoritarian, one-man rule were met.

Instead, the 82-year-old former general portrayed himself as a patriot overseeing an orderly transition until elections in September. He praised the young people who have stunned the Arab world with unprecedented demonstrations, offering constitutional change and a bigger role for Omar Suleiman, the vice-president

Defiant Mubarak refuses to resign

Egyptian president vows he will stay in office until September, and will not bow down to 'foreign pressure'

Thousands thronged Tahrir Square after the army's statement, in anticipation of Mubarak possibly resigning [EPA]

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011210172519776830.html

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has refused to step down from his post, saying that he will not bow to "foreign pressure" in a televised address to the nation.

Mubarak announced that he had put into place a framework that would lead to the amendment of six constitutional articles in the address late on Thursday night.

"I can not and will not accept to be dictated orders from outside, no matter what the source is," Mubarak said.

He said he was addressing his people with a "speech from the heart".

Mubarak said that he is "totally committed to fulfilling all the promises" that he has earlier made regarding constituional and political reform.

"I have laid down a vision ... to exit the current crisis, and to realise the demands voiced by the youth and citizens ... without undermining the constitution in a manner that ensures the stability of our society," he said.

He said he would stick by his earlier announcment of not seeking re-election in September, though he did delegate some powers to Omar Suleiman, the vice-president.

"I will remain adamant to shoulder my responsibility, protecting the constitution and safeguarding the interests of Egyptians [until the next elections].

"This is the oath I have taken before God and the nation, and I will continue to keep this oath," he said.

Mubarak said the current "moment was not against my personality, against Hosni Mubarak", and concluded by saying that he would not leave Egyptian soil until he was "buried under it".

Mubarak's comments were not well-received by hundreds of thousands gathered at Cairo's Tahrir Square and in other cities, who erupted into angry chants against him. Pro-democracy protesters had been expecting Mubarak to resign, and their mood of celebration quickly turned to extreme anger as they heard the president's speech.

Army meeting

Earlier, the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces had met to discuss the ongoing protests against Mubarak's government.

In a statement entitled 'Communique Number One', televised on state television, the army said it had convened the meeting response to the current political turmoil, and that it would continue to convene such meetings.

Thurday's meeting was chaired by Mohamed Tantawi, the defence minister, rather than Mubarak, who, as president, would normally have headed the meeting.

"Based on the responsibility of the armed forces and its commitment to protect the people and its keenness to protect the nation... and in support of the legitimate demands of the people [the army] will continue meeting on a continuous basis to examine measures to be taken to protect the nation and its gains and the ambitions of the great Egyptian people," the statement.

Tens of thousands poured into Tahrir Square after the army statement was televised. Thousands also gathered in Alexandria, Egypt's second city, our correspondent said.

Earlier, Hassan al-Roweni, an Egyptian army commander, told protesters in the square that "everything you want will be realised".

Hassam Badrawi, the secretary general of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), told the BBC and Channel 4 News earlier on that he expected Mubarak to hand over his powers to Omar Suleiman, the vice-president.

"I think the right thing to do now is to take the action that would satisfy ... protesters," Badrawi told BBC television in a live interview.

Ahmed Shafiq, the country's prime minister, also told the BBC that the president may step down on Thursday evening, and that the situation would be "clarified soon". He told the Reuters news agency, however, that Mubarak remained in control, and that "everything is still in the hands of the president".

However, Anas el-Fekky, Egypt's information minister, denied all reports of Mubarak resigning from early in the day.

"The president is still in power and he is not stepping down," el-Fekky told Reuters. "The president is not stepping down and everything you heard in the media is a rumour."

Mubarak met with Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, at the presidential palace ahead of his address.

'Witnessing history unfold'

Mahmoud Zaher, a retired general in the Egyptian army, said that Mubarak's absence from the army meeting was a "clear and strong indication that [Mubarak] is no longer present", implying that the Egyptian president was not playing a role in governance any longer.

In short comments ahead of a scheduled speech at Northern Michigan University, Barack Obama, the US president, said the US was watching the situation in Egypt "very closely". Mubarak had not spoken at that time.

"What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold," he said, adding that this was a "moment of transformation" for Egypt.

"Going forward, we want ... all Egyptians to know that America will continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy."

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, responded to reports that Mubarak may resign by saying that he hoped whoever replaced him would uphold Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, according to an Israeli radio report.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foriegn affairs chief, said that the 27-nation bloc is ready to help Egypt build a "deep democracy".

"I reiterated that no matter what happens in the next hours and days, the European Union stands ready to hep build the deep democracy that will underpin stability for the people of Egypt," she said in a statement, referring to a conversation she had with Aboul Gheit, the Egyptian foreign minister, earlier in the day.

Protesters had earlier responded to statements from political leaders as indicating that they had been successful in their key demand of wanting Mubarak to step down.

Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who has played a key role in helping protesters get organised, said on the microblogging site Twitter on Thursday evening: "Mission accomplished. Thanks to all the brave young Egyptians."

Jacky Rowland, our correspondent in Tahrir Square, described the atmosphere as "electric", with "standing room only" in the central Cairo area. She said that thousands gathered there were "celebrating a victory which has been anticipated, rather than actually achieved".

In Alexandria, Jamal ElShayyal, our correspondent, said the atmosphere had turned "from joyous to now furious".

Labour union strikes

The developments came as the 17th day of pro-democracy protests continued across the country on Thursday, with labour unions joining pro-democracy protesters.

Egyptian labour unions held nationwide strikes for a second day, adding momentum to the pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.

Al Jazeera correspondents in Cairo reported that thousands of doctors, medical students and lawyers, the doctors dressed in white coats and the lawyers in black robes, marched in central Cairo earlier on Thursday and were hailed by pro-democracy protesters as they entered Tahrir [Liberation] Square.

The artists syndicate and public transport workers, including bus drivers, also joined the strikes, our correspondents reported.

Pro-democracy supporters across the country had early on Thursday called for a ten-million strong demonstration to take place after this week's Friday prayers.

Russia refutes anti-Iran nuclear claims

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162184.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed baseless US-led allegations that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

"The international community so far has no proof that Iran is building nuclear weapons," he said at the annual World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

The Russian president told world leaders and top executives at the forum that his country has long-term relations with Iran.

He further pointed out that he hopes Moscow can play a fruitful role in the ongoing dialog between Iran and the West.

Medvedev also said that he told his Iranian counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a recent phone call to show that Tehran's nuclear activities are peaceful, the Associated Press reported.

Western powers accuse Tehran of following a military nuclear program, a charge repeatedly refuted by the Islamic Republic.

Last June, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program under Western pressure.

Describing such sanctions as illegal under international law, Iran says that such measures will not prevent it from pursuing peaceful nuclear technology, which is mostly needed for curing cancer patients.

Iran says it has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Earlier this month, Tehran invited international diplomats to visit the country's nuclear sites as a goodwill gesture aimed at highlighting the "transparency" of its nuclear program.

Last week, representatives from the IAEA, the Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 77, and the Arab League made a two-day tour of the country's nuclear facilities.

The international delegates, who represented more than 120 countries, visited the heavy water reactor in the central Iranian city of Arak and toured Iran's Natanz enrichment facility.

Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh announced that the envoys published a positive report on their visit.

The 41st World Economic Forum, aimed at fighting global financial problems, opened in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos on Wednesday.

Russia against US sanctions on Iran

Head of Iran-Russia friendship association Alexander Palishok

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162188.html

A Russian political analyst says Moscow is opposed to unilateral US sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, describing such one-sided measures as unacceptable.

Head of Iran-Russia friendship association Alexander Palishok told IRNA on Wednesday that Russia believes that one-sided US sanctions against Iran are unacceptable and should be lifted.

He said that the Islamic Republic has the right to develop a peaceful nuclear program, reiterating that Russia supports Iran's nuclear activities.

Iran is pursuing its nuclear program within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Palishok said.

He went on to say that Tehran has every reason to defend its nuclear program, criticizing the West's approach toward Iran's nuclear program as wrong and unacceptable.

This comes as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday dismissed US-led allegations that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

"The international community so far has no proof that Iran is building nuclear weapons," he said at the annual World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

The US and its Western allies have been repeating a rhetorical claim alleging that Iran may be secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim vehemently rejected by Tehran and in an obvious contradiction to numerous inspection reports by the IAEA verifying non-diversion of Iran's civilian nuclear program.

The Islamic Republic, among the original countries to sign the NPT, has initiated the idea of a Middle East free of nuclear arms. Iran has also insisted on a global elimination of nuclear weapons, a call ignored by major nuclear powers.

Apart from the UN Security Council resolutions, Iran is under unilateral US sanctions over its nuclear program.

Iran has described the sanctions as illegal, insisting that the NPT, to which it is a signatory, gives it the right to benefit from the peaceful applications of nuclear technology.

Russia: Iran N-plant immune to Stuxnet

Bushehr nuclear power plant

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160651.html


Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom has rejected media reports that the computer virus Stuxnet has impacted Iran's nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.

"There are no viruses in the power plant's computer network, especially in units responsible for security, because this network is totally autonomous and isolated from external sources," Xinhua quoted Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov as saying on Monday.

His remarks came after Western media outlets claimed on January 17 that the computer bug had caused "enormous damage" to the Bushehr reactor.

Novikov stressed that the virus could not break into the automatic control system of the plant and endanger the reactor control.

Stuxnet, first indentified by Iranian officials in June, is a malware designed to infect computers using German industrial Siemens Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) -- a control system favored by industries that manage water supplies, oil rigs, and power plants.

In July, media reports claims that Stuxnet had targeted industrial computers around the globe with Iran being the main target of the attack. They said the country's newly launched Bushehr power plant was at the center of the cyber attack.

The US and Israel have claimed that their efforts to develop the destructive computer virus have dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian officials, however, have strongly dismissed such claims, saying that Stuxnet was detected early by Iranian experts and thus caused no damage to the country's industrial sites.

Iran should not be threatened: Russia

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160048.html


Russia has denounced threatening Iran with tougher sanctions or use of force as counterproductive, insisting that the deadlock over Iran's nuclear program can be resolved only through diplomatic means.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against “stirring up frenzy” regarding the Islamic Republic's peaceful nuclear program, adding that the United States' recent call to ramp up pressure against Tehran as well as Israel's scheme to threaten Iran with the use of force will be "counterproductive," a Press TV correspondent reported.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for “a credible military option against Iran” in an attempt to coerce Tehran into moving towards halting its nuclear program activities.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, sought to trump up support among Iran's neighboring states to further enforce the Washington-sponsored sanctions against Tehran as she embarked on a tour of Middle East countries this week.

The remarks came forth days after Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Tuesday that a host of envoys representing "geographical and political groups in Vienna of the countries represented in the IAEA have been invited to visit Natanz enrichment facilities and Arak heavy water reactor.

Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister hailed Iran's invitation of a group of foreign diplomats to tour its nuclear facilities, saying Tehran's decision “deserves attention.”

“We believe that any gesture that indicates greater openness from Tehran should be welcomed,” Lavrov said during the press conference on Thursday.

Iran and the P5+1 representatives held their previous round of multifaceted talks in the Swiss city of Geneva on December 6-7, during which both sides agreed to hold the next round of negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul in late January.

Diego Garcia bunker-busters meant to threaten Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120910§ionid=351020101


The Sunday Herald has reported that hundreds of powerful US "bunker-buster" bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia.

In January, the US government signed a contract to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island, the Scottish newspaper wrote on March 14.

According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu-110” and "Blu-117" bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures. Crucially, the cargo included 195 smart, guided, Blu-110 bombs and 192 massive 2000lb Blu-117 bombs.

Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, added the newspaper.

There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment.

Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.

The Sunday Herald reported in 2007 that stealth bomber hangers on Diego Garcia Island were being equipped to accommodate bunker-buster bombs.

Although the story was not confirmed at the time, the new evidence suggests that it was accurate, the latest edition of the Sunday Herald said.

A shipping company based in Florida, Superior Maritime Services, will be paid $699,500 to carry many thousands of military items from Concord, California to Diego Garcia.

"The US is not publicizing the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely," the Sunday Herald quoted Dan Plesch, the director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London, as saying.

"The US… is using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran's actions," he added.

According to Ian Davis, the director of the new independent think tank NATO Watch, the shipment to Diego Garcia is a major concern. “We would urge the US to clarify its intentions for these weapons, and the Foreign Office to clarify its attitude to the use of Diego Garcia for an attack on Iran,” he said.

The British Ministry of Defense has said in the past that the US government would need permission to use Diego Garcia for offensive action.

However, the US military used Diego Garcia as a base to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003.

About 50 British military personnel are stationed on the island and over 3,200 US troops.

Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118235&sectionid=351020104


Iran on Tuesday began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility under the surveillance of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog.

The move comes after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tasked the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) with enriching uranium to 20 percent in order to meet the demands of the country's cancer patients.

Iran has earlier informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it would start enriching uranium to 20 percent on Tuesday in the presence of the inspectors and observers from the agency.

Iran needs 120 kg (264 lb) of 20 percent-enriched uranium to fuel the Tehran research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients and is soon to run out of fuel.

The Tehran research reactor, which produces 20 different kinds of radio-medicine for cancer patients, runs on 20 percent-enriched U-235.

The AEOI Director Ali-Akbar Salehi on Tuesday confirmed the beginning of uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity level at Natanz plant.

"The enrichment started on Tuesday in a separate cascade from the production line that enriches uranium in Natanz," Salehi told the Islamic Republic News Agency.

"We opened a new cascade, called S8, in Natanz which is more on a lab scale," he said.

The top nuclear official said that doors are still open for talks with Iran about nuclear fuel swap.

"The beginning of the enrichment is not tantamount to the end of interaction and negotiations on a UN-brokered proposal on fuel swap," he said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is still ready to continue cooperation if the negotiation parties act wisely and end wasting time," Salehi underlined

Syria summons foreign envoys over Israeli war rhetoric

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117879§ionid=351020206


Damascus summoned foreign envoys to Syria on Thursday to discuss Israel's recent military threats against the Arab country.

The meeting was hosted by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and headed by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous, a Press TV correspondent reported.

"Israel is trying to drag Syria and the rest of the Middle East into other wars. The recent remarks by extremist Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are part of an attempt by Tel Aviv to extract itself from big crises it is currently facing…Damascus is, however, fully prepared for any surprise from Israel," Arnous said during the meeting.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel's firebrand Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had warned that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would lose the war and his power, should there be another military conflict between the two sides.

"When there is another war, you will not just lose it, but you and your family will lose power," he had said at a conference on Thursday.

The latest spat between the two neighbors emerged after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Monday that if there is no peace agreement with Syria, "we might find ourselves in a forceful conflict that could lead to an all-out war."

Syria responded furiously, with Assad saying, "it seemed Israel is working towards a war", and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem responding, "do not test the power of Syria since you know the war will move into your cities."