<b>Hello from </b><i><b>The National </b></i><b>in Abu Dhabi. Here is your morning newsletter with all the top stories from the Mena region.</b> Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria in a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/arab-and-western-powers-discuss-syrias-future-post-assad-in-riyadh/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/arab-and-western-powers-discuss-syrias-future-post-assad-in-riyadh/">meeting in Riyadh of western and Arab powers</a>, marking a major diplomatic boost for the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham government in Damascus. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the expanded ministerial meeting showed the “importance of collective regional, international and UN efforts to support the Syrian people". The EU is set to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syria in a meeting in Brussels at the end of the month, said Kaja Kallas, the bloc's high representative for foreign affairs. Lebanon and Syria are to <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/11/lebanon-and-syria-will-work-together-to-strengthen-borders-najib-mikati-says-after-damascus-talks/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/11/lebanon-and-syria-will-work-together-to-strengthen-borders-najib-mikati-says-after-damascus-talks/">work together </a>to secure their land borders, as well as to delineate both land and sea borders, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during a visit to Damascus over the weekend. Donald Trump's Middle East envoy returned to Qatar yesterday to press ahead with <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/trumps-middle-east-envoy-in-qatar-to-discuss-outlines-of-gaza-ceasefire-deal/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/trumps-middle-east-envoy-in-qatar-to-discuss-outlines-of-gaza-ceasefire-deal/">negotiations </a>to reach a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages as the latest push by Washington to end the war in the enclave gathers steam ahead of the republican president-elect's inauguration next week. The continuing Israeli military operation in northern Gaza over the past 100 days has resulted in 5,000 Palestinians killed or missing, Gaza's media office said. They added that another 9,500 people, including women and children, were injured in the operation. Follow live updates <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/live-israel-gaza-trump-doha/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/live-israel-gaza-trump-doha/">here</a>. Parliamentary consultations will begin today to designate a prime minister to form a government. Israel carried out <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/live-israel-gaza-trump-doha/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/live-israel-gaza-trump-doha/">air strikes i</a>n Lebanon on Sunday, hitting areas in the east and south according to Lebanese state media, with the Israeli military saying it struck Hezbollah targets including smuggling routes along the border with Syria. A “vicious factional struggle” in Iran to succeed ailing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could allow the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/weak-iran-could-see-hardest-of-hardliners-take-leadership-says-former-uk-national-security-adviser/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/12/weak-iran-could-see-hardest-of-hardliners-take-leadership-says-former-uk-national-security-adviser/">“hardest of hardliners” </a>to take power in Tehran, Britain’s former national security adviser Mark Sedwill said. Joseph Aoun's presidency will ignite Saudi-led Arab re-engagement with Lebanon, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/01/12/aoun-presidency-will-ignite-saudi-led-re-engagement-with-lebanon/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/01/12/aoun-presidency-will-ignite-saudi-led-re-engagement-with-lebanon/">writes</a> Raghida Dergham. Biden seeks to define foreign policy legacy in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025/01/13/biden-foreign-policy-speech/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025/01/13/biden-foreign-policy-speech/">key speech</a>. Middle East organisations most confident of their <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2025/01/13/middle-east-organisations-most-confident-of-their-cyber-resilience/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2025/01/13/middle-east-organisations-most-confident-of-their-cyber-resilience/">cyber resilience</a>. There are many <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/01/10/delivery-of-justice-will-depend-by-what-type-of-nation-syrians-want-to-construct/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/01/10/delivery-of-justice-will-depend-by-what-type-of-nation-syrians-want-to-construct/">paths to justice</a> - which will Syria choose?
