The Iran-Syria-Qatar-Hizbullah Axis - Y. Carmon, Y. Yehoshua, A. Savyon, and H. Migron: As part of Iran's bid for regional hegemony, a political and military axis has formed, comprising not only Iran and Shi'ites in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, but also various Sunni forces that have an interest in opposing Saudi Arabia and Egypt. It was during the 2006 Lebanon war that a distinct Iran-Syria-Qatar-Hizbullah axis first emerged to oppose the Saudi-Egyptian camp. At a later stage, this axis expanded to include Hamas, which has in recent years received increasing support from Iran, as well as from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar played a crucial role in exacerbating the rift in the Arab world by initiating the January 16, 2009 Doha summit, to the dismay of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Qatar's inviting of Iranian President Ahmadinejad to the summit against the will of several Arab countr! ies (such as the UAE, which responded by canceling its participation) clearly identified the summit as a convention of the Iranian-Syrian axis. (MEMRI)

Egypt Labels Hizbullah Leader "An Iranian Agent" (AFP/Daily Star-Lebanon): Egypt on Friday accused Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah of being an agent of Iran, after his criticism of Cairo during Israel's military assault in Gaza. "Hassan Nasrallah's criticism of Egypt confirms once more that he is nothing more than an agent of the Iranian regime and takes his orders from Tehran," a government statement charged.

Egyptian Government Daily: Hamas, Syria, Iran - The New Axis of Evil: The editor of the Egyptian government daily Al-Gumhouriyya, Muhammad 'Ali Ibrahim, who is also an Egyptian MP, wrote a series for the paper titled "Hamas, Damascus, Iran - The New Axis of Evil." Ibrahim stated that Iran and Syria had conspired to keep the Palestinian problem unresolved and to take advantage of it to promote their interests in the region. He argued that Hamas was a tyrannical religious movement which was pushing its people towards catastrophe by preferring Syria's and Iran's interests to those of the Palestinians. (MEMRI)

It's Time For Hezbollah’s Weapons to Return to the Control of the Lebanese State Y. Mansharof (MEMRI): In a speech at a Beirut rally marking the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of the Kata'ib Party and the second anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese industry minister Pierre Gemayel, Gemayel's father Amin Gemayel, who is a former president of the country and who currently is the Kata'ib party head as well as a March 14 Forces leader, harshly condemned Hezbollah for possessing weapons and called for the weapons to be returned to state control.