NOTHING TO SEE, FOLKS, NOTHING TO SEE - AT 7:06 A.M. ET:  There has been a bit of bother in Damascus.  From Reuters:

Syria on Thursday denied terrorism was behind a bomb blast that ripped through a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims near a major Shi'ite religious shrine in Damascus, leaving at least six dead.

"There was no terrorism factor behind the bus incident," Syrian Interior Minister Said Sammour said. "The bus entered a petrol station to have one of its burst tires inflated and the tire exploded. Three people were killed."

Those Syrian tires.  So powerful.

The blast took place as Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was visiting Damascus for meetings with Syrian officials.

"Body parts are still scattered around the bus," a witness told Reuters. Several more people were wounded in the explosion in the Sayyeda Zainab area in Damascus.

COMMENT:   We'll be following this.  There are a number of forces in the Mideast who would like to separate Syria from Iran.  And the Iranian nuclear issue is coming to a head.

By the way, why would Iran's top nuclear negotiator be visiting Damascus?  Is Iran helping Syria with its nuclear program, part of which was blown away by the Israelis last year? 

Very intriguing story, and I don't think we've heard the end of it.

December 3,  2009