Syria Today: The Battle for Qusayr

Regime bombardment of the town of al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, on Sunday

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Deaths in Lebanese City of Tripoli

In two days of renewed fighting in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, five people have been killed and about 50 wounded.

Clashes in Tripoli have recurred since last year between groups supporting and opposing the Syrian regime.

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Syrian activists say the latest fighting was ignited by tension over the assault by Syrian force on Qusayr, near the Lebanese border.

Three people were killed in the Sunni district of Bab Tabbaneh and another in the adjacent Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen. The fifth fatality was a Lebanese soldier.

Video of Hezbollah Involvement in Qusayr?

An opposition activist claims evidence of involvement of Hezbollah fighters and weapons in the battle for Qusayr near the Lebanese border:

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Iran Today: Presidential Election --- The Field Starts To Narrow

Ramin MehmanparastInternet Watch: Even Google Doesn’t Come Up

Radio Farda reports that the internet has been mostly down throughout Iran since Saturday, and claiming that “even Google doesn’t come up anymore.”

Some observers have linked the internet slowdown indirectly to the forthcoming election, suggesting that the internet still works for government officials. Radio Farda notes that one student was unable to access a foreign Embassy’s website, while a user from Tehran commented that even with 512kb connections webpages are not loading properly.

Presidential Election Watch: Rafsanjani Edition --- Hashemi's Third Statement

Former President and Presidential candidate Hashemi Rafsanjani has issued a third statement, entitled Campaign Ethics, Good Promises and Converting Enemies to Friends, Khabar Online reports.

The statement opens with a citation from the Quran --- Surat al-Muminum 23:96: Repel evil with that which is better. We are Best-Acquainted with the things they utter.

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Turkey Snap Analysis: Will Syria & Reyhanli Protests Undermine the Government?

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Since the double car bombing on 11 May that killed at least 46 people in Reyhanli, kilometres from the Syrian border, there have been a series of protests in the city calling on the government to resign due to its Syrian policy. In the latest show of opposition, 1500 people gathered in the town hall and marched toward police barriers, clashing with security forces.

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Middle East Today: Tunisia --- Clashes as Salafist Conference Banned

Iraq: Death Toll Rise from Car Bombs

The death toll from today's car bombs is now at least 68, with 195 injured.

More than 200 people have been slain in the past week.

The heaviest-hit area today was Baghdad, where ten car bombs hit open-air markets and other areas of Shia neighbourhoods, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 150.

Photo: Reuters

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Syria Today: The Back-and-Forth Fight Around Damascus

Assad Forces "Storm" Insurgent-Held Qusayr, Homs

Amid reports that the Syrian military took the town of Qusayr near the Lebanon border after weeks of attacks, a "source close to" Hezbollah has said that at least four members of the Lebanese group were killed in the overnight assault.

More footage of the town:

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Syria Analysis: How The Media is Expanding the Simplistic Narrative of "Al Qa'eda"

Video Showing Execution In Raqqa Last Week

Scott Lucas and Joanna Paraszczuk write:

For weeks, we have noted how the media and "experts" have used one paragraph from the statement of a leader of the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra --- ripping it out of context of the rest of the statement, let alone developments on the ground or an understanding of the Syria conflict --- reducing the group with the simplistic tag of "Al Qa'eda-linked" or "Al Qa'eda affiliate".

For weeks, we have tried to knock down that too-easy and misleading narrative, offering a full translation of Jabhat al-Nusra's statement and evaluating the complex political and social situation in Syria, especially in the north, and discussing how the media has created a misleading myth of "Al Qaeda" that precludes any deeper understanding of the nuanced reality on the ground in Syria and elsewhere.

However, the simplistic story that Al Qa'eda is "taking over Jabhat al-Nusra" persists.

Indeed, for some journalists, that easy narrative is no longer enough.

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Syria Feature: Rights Activists On Trial Today in Damascus

Mazen DarwishFive leading activists of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, accused of promoting terrorism, stand trial on Sunday at the Counter Terrorism Criminal Court in Damascus.

The five men --- Mazen Darwish, Hussein Gharir, Hani Zaitani, Mohammad Mansur Al-Omari and Abdul-Rahman Hamada --- were arrested on 16 February 2012 during a raid of the Centre's premises. Since then, they have often been kept in solitary detention, denied access to their relatives and lawyers, and subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

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Iran Today: Still No Unity Candidate

Presidential Candidate Saeed Jalili

With less than three days to go before the Guardian Council declares its final list of candidates, the principlist 2+1 coalition --- established in December with the aim of finding a single candidate behind whom conservatives could rally --- has yet to announce that candidate.

Instead, each member of the 2+1 Coalition continues pre-campaigning with no sign that any of the three will step down in favor of another. Top Khamenei advisor Ali Akbar Velayati urged Iranians to avoid a Western lifestyle and praised the Resistance Economy.

Meanwhile, the hardline Perseverance Front also faces a decision about which candidate it will back after the Guardian Council returns the final list of candidates on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the Perseverance Front's initial choice, former Minister of Health Kamran Baqeri Lankarani denied he would step down in favor of Supreme National Security Council secretary Saeed Jalili.

Amid the uncertainty, Jalili continues to present himself as a front-runner, extending his social media campaign by opening an Instagram account, disseminating campaign ideas via podcast and downloadable leaflets, and continuing to use Twitter.

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Presidential Election Watch --- Jalili Edition

Jalili Extends Social Media Presence

Supreme National Security Council secretary, Perseverance Front member and Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili, who has shown savvy use of social media in the opening stages of his pre-campaign efforts, has extended his social media presence by joining photo-sharing and micro-blogging network Instagram.

The Official @instagram instagram.com/saeedjalili/ #Jalili #Iran #Iran92 #Iran2013 #انتخابات #جلیلی

— Dr Saeed Jalili (@DrSaeedJalili) May 18, 2013

The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also uses Instagram --- which is not blocked in Iran --- to disseminate publicity photographs.

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Middle East Today: Iraq --- Deadliest Day in More than 8 Months

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Bahrain: Protests Against Raid on Senior Cleric's Home

Thousands of Bahrainis marched on Friday to protest the early-morning raid by security forces on the home of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the leading leading Shia cleric in the Kingdom.

Qassim, a supporter of the mass pro-reform demonstrations that began in February 2011, was not at home but his family was present during the operation.

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Turkey Analysis: Beyond the Car Bombs --- The Kurds, Iraq, and Syria

Last week, two car bombs exploded in Reyhanli in southern Turkey, close to the Syrian border, killing almost 50 people and injuring more than 100.

While nobody claimed responsibility for the deadly incident, it raised the immediate question of whether Turkey would escalate its intervention in Syria, either alone or with others.

However, that reaction was too narrow and missed the wider context. This is not just about the Syrian conflict but also Turkey's internal politics, specifically its attempt to resolve the sensitive Kurdish issue.

The primary concern for the Erdogan government is the ongoing peace drive with the Kurdish leadership, including imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. So the question is not just whether the events in Reyhanli complicated Turkey's position inside Syria but also whether they threaten these delicate internal negotiations.

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