Qatari Emir Considering Sending Troops to Syria

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said he would be in support of Arab military intervention in Syria. His comments come in the time of rising violence in Syria. Although the entire interview has yet to be released by CBS, in the excerpts that were provided to The Associated Press, it is clear that the Emir is calling for Arab troops to mitigate the killings in Syria. The Arab League, whose committee on Syria is headed up by the Prime Minister of Qatar, said it would “reassess the work of its heavily criticised observer mission in Syria at a meeting later this month.” Furthermore, amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. officials said “a recent visit of the heads of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force to Syria is the ‘strongest indication yet’ that Iran is supplying the Assad regime with weapons.” Iran officials have denied any involvement in providing arms to Syria, and made a statement that they believe the only way for the violence to end is for the opposition and regime to engage in dialogue.

Meanwhile, following UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon‘s visit to Lebanon, Hezbollah’s leader released a statement reaffirming his organizations strength. Additionally, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah urged the regional powers of the Middle East to help end the violence in Syria. Nasrallah, like the Iran officials, also emphasized the importance of dialogue between the opposition and Assad regime.