Syria Today: Russia Holds Off US and British Political Approach

The moment one of two car bombs went off in Reyhanli in Turkey, near the Syrian border, killing more than 40

See also Friday's Syria Today: Turkey "Backs US-Enforced No-Fly Zone"
Friday's Syria Today: Turkey "Backs US-Enforced No-Fly Zone"

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1610 GMT: Deadly Bombing Inside Turkey on the Border

Leading Turkish officials have been issuing statements as the death toll from the two car bombs in Reyhanli, just inside Turkey on the Syrian border, passed 40 with more than 100 injured.

President Abdullah Gul said, "We should be careful against provocations," while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared:

These actions could have been taken to raise sensitivity in Hatay Province. Twenty to twenty-five thousand refugees live in camps and others are our guests.

The culprits could be those who could not digest this. Or it could be those who want to provoke this fact.

I think we need to be very careful and patient.

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Middle East Today: Bahrain --- Opposition Blogger Emerges After 2 Years

Bahraini opposition blogger Ali Abdulemam has re-emerged in public after two years.

On 17 March 2011, two days after the Government declared a state of emergency and suppressed mass protests, the activist posted via Twitter, “I get tired from my phone so I switched it of no need for rumors plz."

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Syria Audio Analysis: Britain's Big Push with Russia on The Conflict --- Scott Lucas with Monocle.

EA's Scott Lucas talked to Monocle 24 on Friday morning ahead of a working meeting between UK prime minister David Cameron and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi, to discuss the Syria conflict.

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Iran Today: Presidential Election --- Still No "Unity" Candidate

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Election Watch: Rezaei Edition

Mohsen Rezaei --- former head of the Revolutionary Guards, Secretary of the Expediency Council, and Presidential candidate in 2009 --- has registered for this year's contest.

Rezaei's outlet Tabnak said he was accommpanied by more than 2000 people who chanted that he would bring the recovery of Iran's faltering economy.

Rezaei used a similar message in the 2009 election and has been highly critical of the Ahmadinejad Government's handling of economic matters.

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Syria Today: Turkey "Backs US-Enforced No-Fly Zone"

Turkish PM Erdoğan1513 GMT: American Ambassador Meets with Opposition inside Syria.

US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, crossed the Syrian border yesterday and met with opposition leaders. What's interesting is that Ford arrived in Turkey after meeting with Russian officials in Moscow. ABC reports:

It is Ford's first visit back to Syria since he left in February, 2012, when the U.S. embassy suspended operations in Damascus as the opposition effort to oust Syrian President Bashar al Assad developed into a full-blown civil war. Since then, Ford has become the Obama administration's point man on Syria and point of contact with the Syrian opposition.

A U.S. official confirmed Ford's secret visit, which occurred along the Turkey-Syria border. He briefly crossed into Syria to meet with opposition leaders before returning to Turkey. Ford did not go deep into Syria, according to the official.

"It was literally just across the border," the official said.

A State Department official confirmed that Ford had "spent some time" at a border crossing to discuss the situation in Syria with members of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian opposition. Ford had gone to the border to participate in the U.S. government's delivery of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) that the U.S. is providing to the Syrian Coalition and Supreme Military Council.

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Middle East Today: Libya --- Armed Groups Increase Pressure on Government

Libya:Armed Groups Form Alliance to Pressure Government

Armed groups surrounding two ministries in Tripoli have formed an alliance with a list of six demands including the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

The groups initially demanded that Parliament pass the "political isolation law" banning from public service any senior official who held a position under the ousted Qaddafi regime.

They presented the expanded list of demands to Reuters late Wednesday. The conditions include the freezing of a recently-released state budget and the right to form a committee to take charge of the Foreign Ministry.

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Iran Election 101: An Animated Guide

As part of our coverage of the 2013 Iranian Presidential Election, an introduction to the different factions and their candidates....

Iran Today: Presidential Election --- All About Rafsanjani So Far

See also Iran Special: EA's Guide to the Presidential Election
Iran Election 101: An Animated Guide
Wednesday's Iran Today: Supreme Leader Losing Control of the Presidential Election?

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Election Watch: Supreme Leader's Committee Edition

Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a member of the Supreme Leader's 2+1 Committee, has indicated that it will not put out a final decision of a "unity" candidate until after the registration of hopefuls.

Haddad Adel announced, "All three of us [the Supreme Leader's senior aide Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, and Haddad-Adel] will register. It is not clear exactly when we will announce the result, but this announcement will not come before the Guardian Council's review [after formal registration closes on 11 May]."

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Syria Today: A Short-Lived Move for Political Talks?

2026 GMT: Rebels Launching Attack in Idlib.

There are reports from every corner of Idlib province that the rebels are in the initial stages of a major offensive against Idlib city and several other Assad strongholds that remain in the province. The offensive is being called "The Retribution for Baniyas," referencing the sectarian massacre that may have claimed hundreds of lives last week. The rebels are reportedly bringing significant amounts of firepower, from Grad rockets to tanks, artillery to mortars, into this fight. We've already seen many videos that reportedly show a significant amount of firepower on the move tonight, though we're still working to verify the locations.

This video reportedly shows a rebel tank attacking an Assad military installation in Idlib:

2008 GMT: US Ambassador inside Syria?

Analysts have been waiting for the arrival of more non-lethal assistance to Syrian rebels from the United States. NPR's Deborah Amos reports that some of that delivery may have arrived, accompanied by the US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford:

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Middle East Today: Israel Detains Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

Israel: Top Muslim Cleric Detained

Israeli police have detained the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, for questioning after Tuesday's scuffle between Palestinians and Israelis outside the city's al-Aqsa Mosque.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Hussein was detained to answer questions about his connection to the "public disturbance" on Tuesday at a compound that houses the mosque and overlooks Judaism's Western Wall.

The incident began, Rosenfeld said, when Israeli police detained an Arab who wanted to enter the plaza but refused to present his identification card.

It developed into a scuffle in which Muslim worshippers threw chairs at Jewish visitors, he added.

The violence coincided with Israel's celebration of "Jerusalem Day", when it marks the anniversary of its capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war.