Officials in Israel and other Western countries condemned Iran’s test last week of a ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 km and the capability of launching multiple warheads. Several experts pointed out that such a weapon has no purpose other than to be a platform for nuclear weapons, like Iran constantly denies their attempts to acquire.  Iranian officials defiantly declared their intention to continue building ballistic missiles despite any obstacles or objections from anyone.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced over the weekend that Lieutenant General Valery Asapov, who was serving as an “advisor” to forces in Syria loyal to the regime of president Bashar Assad, was killed when those troops came into contact with forces of the Islamic State (IS) terror militia near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, sight of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Despite this and other setbacks, Assad regime officials have recently expressed their optimism that “victory” in the six-year long multi-faceted civil war in the country is close at hand.

SAP, one of the world’s largest software companies, dealt the effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel another defeat on Sunday when it announced it is acquiring Israeli-founded customer identity management firm Gigya. SAP already has extensive operations in Israel employing hundreds of workers.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, re-asserting his support for the idea of a “Two-State Solution” but adding that time is running out for this idea and that at some point, if they lose faith in it, the Palestinian people would pursue other options.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun gave an interview Friday with French daily Le Figaro in which he said, among other things, that the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah ensures Lebanon’s “resistance against the State of Israel,” and should therefore be allowed to retain its weapons and military capabilities. “You cannot disarm Hezbollah at the same time that Israel fails to respect UN Security Council resolutions,” he said. “Israel would have the right to wage war whenever it wants at the same time that others would be deprived of their right to weapons to defend themselves? No, it’s not possible.”

With an eye to Syria’s postwar period, Iran is working to unite the ranks of the “resistance camp” to continue the struggle against Israel and deepen the dissension in the Arab world. Iran views Hamas, despite its independent path, as an important element of this camp that challenges not only Israel but also the main members of the “moderate” Arab camp.

Sixteen years after 9/11, al-Qa`ida has a new figurehead (if not a new face) in the form of Hamza bin Ladin. On September 14, the group released an audio statement from Usama bin Ladin’s son, calling for jihadis to double down on jihad in Syria and against what he depicted as an American-Russian-Shi`a conspiracy against Islam.