Ashraq al Awsat reports that a contingent of US Marines have been dispatched from Italy to Lebanon to shore up protection for the US Embassy in the Awkar section of Beirut there, in wake of the assassination of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.
The Marine Corps Embassy Security Group has protected US embassies around the world for decades.
This is a precautionary measure to protect the Embassy from a possible violent takeover attempt as happened in Baghdad and which has occurred in other Middle Eastern countries.
The Embassy has released a warning for all American citizens in Lebanon to have a "high level of vigilance."
The article then said something truly crazy:
A Lebanese security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that "once the expected force arrives in Awkar and takes over its mission, the embassy will turn into a military target due to the presence of the soldiers and officers who will protect it."
I have no idea who this "security source" is but embassies are never military targets and they are all protected by their country's military.
For an Arab newspaper to even publish such an opinion is essentially incitement for people to attack the embassy. (And Ashraq al Awsat is a moderate news outlet.)
Indeed, at least one Hamas-leaning news site wrote a headline, "Awkar turns into a military target."
(h/t Ibn Boutros)