Syria Audio Feature: What Now For Western Intervention? --- James Miller with Monocle 24

Dawn shelling of Saraqeb in Idlib Province

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EA's James Miller spoke last night with Monocle 24's The Daily about this week's developments in Syria, considering the question of Western intervention in the escalating crisis.

To listen to the discussion, go to The Daily's homepage, click on the programme for 24/8 (possibly 25/8 in certain time zones), and start at the 8:24 mark.

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Deaths, More than 200,000 Refugees

2000 GMT: Syria. The violence is usually the headline. The story is usually about the regime dropping bombs, or battles between the military and the insurgents, or the worsening humanitarian crisis, or the international response to the death. But an activist reminds us that, though they've been largely pushed to the shadows because of all the violence, there are still protests, even in the center of Damascus:

Despite all the battles! RT @lccsy: مظاهرة مسائية في كفرسوسة بدمشقEvening Demonstration in Kafar Souseh, #Damascus... fb.me/1G9jAHIKh

— zain (@ZainSyr) August 25, 2012

...Even though the most likely form of protest is a protest at a funeral, like this one in Idlib province:

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Lebanon Analysis: The Surge of Fighting in Tripoli --- Serious, But Not Out of Control (Nassif)

The latest clashes in Tripoli are being seen as a message related directly to the disturbances in Syria, but into which not too much should be read. They are not about to expand further, despite the heavy casualties, nor is this the last round in a long series. In context, they can be viewed as part of an expected, even normal, course of developments.

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Syria All-Is-Well Snapshot: "All Food Items Available at Moderate Prices"

State news agency SANA puts claims of inflation and shortages in Syria to rest:

Prime Minister, Dr. Wael al-Halki, said that all food items are available in the governmental sale centers at moderate prices.

During a tour of a number of sale centers on Thursday, al-Halki said that are diverse food items, including vegetables, fruit, meat and oil, since they are domestic industries that are a source of power for Syria in the face of schemes to subdue the Syrian people.

Dr. al-Halki stressed that the national economy is robust and capable of withstanding the economic sanctions against the Syrian people.

The Latest from Iran: Nuclear Talks Resume With IAEA

See also The Latest from Iran (23 August): Arrested...for Helping Earthquake Victims

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1936 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Talks between Iranian officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna have not resolved outstanding issues over inspection and supervision.

"The discussions today were intensive but important differences remain between Iran and the U.N. that prevented agreement," Herman Nackaerts, the IAEA's chief inspector, said after about seven hours of talks. "At the moment we have no plans for another meeting."

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, was more upbeat: "Undoubtedly some progress [was made]....I have to say that we are moving forward...and we are going to continue this process so that we at the end of the day will have a framework agreed by both sides."

Soltanieh rationalised the failure to get an agreement today, "Because it is a very complex issue...Issues related to national security of a member state are something very delicate."

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Syria Snap Analysis: New Patterns in a Bloodier Conflict

Tracer fire, or perhaps even rockets, reportedly fired from regime aircraft over Darayya Wendesday night.

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The clashes of recent days have been far more widespread, but smaller in scale. The Free Syrian Army is conducting more guerrilla-style warfare, individual attacks designed to remove the regime's initiative, cramp its supply lines, soften its hardened locations, and damped its morale. The response to those attacks has been disproportionate, indiscriminate, and ruthless, with the civilians paying the highest toll.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Nationwide Battle

1944 GMT: Syria. Some of our readers and Twitter followers have been asking us about Austin Tice, an American journalist who was covering the conflict in Syria. Tice's Twitter account went dark last week, and while initially the lack of Tweets was unnoticed, in recent days it has caused concern.

EA has contacted Tice's editor, and she has just shared with us an article explaining that Tice is missing.

His subsequent silence didn’t raise immediate alarm because he’d planned to leave that week, on a journey to the Lebanese border that often takes days because of the fighting en route. The Damascus suburb where he was last known to have been has faced heavy bombardment in recent days that has made communications difficult. Tice’s family and colleagues are concerned for his safety and are asking anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to come forward.

"We understand Austin’s passion to report on the struggle in Syria, and are proud of the work he is doing there. We trust that he is safe, appreciate every effort being made to locate him, and look forward to hearing from him very soon,” Tice’s parents, Marc and Debra, said in a statement from Houston, his hometown.

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Syria 1st-Hand: Clashes and Foreign Fighters in Aleppo (Chulov)

Martin Chulov of The Guardian reached Aleppo soon after insurgents entered Syria's largest city last month, providing a series of vital reports. Five days ago, he "disappeared" because of a lack of Internet access. This morning, however, he returned with a series of Twitter messages pointing to the continued presence of insurgents in the city, despite sustained regime attacks on the ground and from the air, with foreign fighters among those challenging the Syrian military:

#Aleppo more foreboding than a week ago. Everything closed in east of city. Besieged & deserted. #Syria

— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) August 21, 2012

Haven't had web access for 5 days. Tanks rounds crashing into suburbs near #Salahedin. Scores/hundreds of residents fleeing #Syria

— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) August 21, 2012

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The Latest from Iran (21 August): All Hail the Supreme Leader

2214 GMT: Military Watch. An Iranian commander, Mohammad Hosseini, has said that the Islamic Republic has started construction of its largest air defence base.

Hosseini said the base in Fars Province in southern Iran would be built at the cost of $300 million and will have 6,000 personnel.

Rahim Zare', an MP for the area, said, "This air defense site will be the product of the achievements gained in all areas of science in the world."

2206 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Iranian officials have written the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to call on the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the alleged support of Western states for "terrorists" in Syria.

"It is much clear that certain western countries along with their regional allies intend to change the Syrian government at any price and they don't pay any heed to the bloody and inhumane consequences of this seditious measure whose painful manifestations are already evident," the letter asserted. "We demand your Excellency to compile a report on the role of such countries in equipping and arming the terrorists in Syria, which has had a direct effect in increasing the number of human rights violation cases in the country and committing of crimes against humanity, and inform the world of its results."

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Syria 1st-Hand: On the Ground in Zabadani --- "We are All Prepared to Die" (Kouddous)

Claimed footage, posted Saturday, of a regime tank destroyed in Zabadani

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Seventeen months after the Syrian revolution began, the people living in this town have grown grimly accustomed to a daily routine of indiscriminate violence, of shelling from afar.

Unlike the raging street battles in the nearby capital or in Aleppo to the north, the armed struggle for strategic control of this town of 40,000 people has effectively reached a stalemate. The town is, by and large, controlled by residents and fighters with the Free Syrian Army --- which in Zabadani are made up almost entirely of local volunteers and defecting soldiers hailing from the area.

“Zabadani is largely ours, we control it,” says Khaled al-Tinnawi, a 65-year-old influential town elder. “Yes, they shell us but if they try and come in they know we are all prepared to die.”

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