Trump’s Thunderbolt: America Attacks, Iran Shakes, the World Waits
Marc Saikali 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Europe Gulf Hezbollah Israel
A night that will be etched into Middle East history has just come to an end. In the early hours of June 22, 2025, Donald Trump launched a strike. Six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers took off from a US base and dropped twelve GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site, while 30 Tomahawk missiles targeted facilities in ...
Sleeping Through the Storm: Lebanon’s Crisis of Inaction
Marc Saikali 19/06 15:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
While Iran and Israel hurl drones, missiles and threats back and forth, while diplomats scramble to respond, analysts raise alarms and psychological warfare escalates, a small Mediterranean country keeps doing what it does best: nothing. Lebanon, fractured and barely governed, seems oblivious to the fact that it’s sitting on a powder keg with ...
The Twilight of the Shia Crescent
Marc Saikali 19/06 08:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Bahrain Damascus Hezbollah Israel Palestine
For 45 years, Khomeini and his successor Ali Khamenei have sought to forge a Shia crescent stretching from Kabul to Beirut, passing through Baghdad, Damascus and Sana'a. This sweeping “revolutionary” project – religious, military and political – was built on the margins, fueled by communal suffering, billions in diverted public funds and ...
Donald Trump Was Right: Negotiate or Sink
Marc Saikali 15/06 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Israel Iran conflict nuclear
The war between Israel and Iran isn’t some distant conflict. It’s a war on our doorstep, happening right here at home. Last night, all Lebanese looked up as missiles cut across the sky: Iranian rockets aimed at northern Israel and the interceptors trying to stop them. Barrages of fire thundered through Lebanese airspace. Jordan has closed its ...
Strikes, Drones, and Retaliation: Iran's Mullahs Now Fight for Survival, Not Victory
Marc Saikali 14/06 10:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Israel Middle East Tehran Iran Mullahs
Once again, the Middle East has awoken to the metallic taste of war. But this time, it wasn’t merely a warning shot but rather a slap in the face. Israel launched its “Operation Rising Lion” against Iran, targeting nuclear sites, ballistic missile bases, military airports, and even high-ranking figures deep within the regime’s security ...
Special Space ‘Shuttles’ Bound for Disaster
Marc Saikali 12/06 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Three... two... one... Touchdown! Each week, the Rafic Hariri International Airport runway hums with the arrival of diplomatic missions. On Monday, France’s special envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian touched down. American envoys Tom Barrack and Massaad Boulos are expected soon. But so far, each mission has taken off again before Lebanon’s ...
The Mirage of Change: Lebanon's 'Change MPs' Exposed
Marc Saikali 05/06 08:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Parliament Lebanon MPs Change Reforms
They promised to change everything. They changed nothing—and worse still, they turned hope into bitterness and trust into betrayal. When Lebanon’s so-called “Change MPs” entered Parliament in 2022, they rode a wave of popular revolt against a corrupt, decaying system. For once, the Lebanese people believed. They were wrong. The illusion ...
IMF: Three Billion to Bury 85 Billion? No, Thank You.
Marc Saikali 29/05 11:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
International Monetary Fund Europe Gulf Hezbollah
The International Monetary Fund wants to lend $3 billion to Lebanon. On paper, it’s an "opportunity" to get a devastated country back on its feet. In reality, it’s a cruel joke. Lebanon is staring into an $85 billion abyss - a gaping hole dug by decades of mismanagement, clientelism, and public governance as cynical as it is incompetent. In ...
Hezbollah’s Overused Triptych: Paranoia, Reality, and Danger
Marc Saikali 29/05 08:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah United States Syria Morgan Ortagus
Six months after the ceasefire took effect, residents of southern Lebanon are still left wondering who will rebuild their homes. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s secretary-general clings to the old ideological lifeline—“People, Army, Resistance”—like a castaway clutching his last buoy. Once a rallying cry, the slogan now rings hollow—a mantra ...
Lebanon, the Doormat of Syria’s Sanctions Lift
Marc Saikali 22/05 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Donald Trump Damascus European Union Hezbollah
Bashar al-Assad has been out of the picture for almost six months now. No one seems to miss him. The chapter is firmly closed. Enter Ahmad el-Chareh – once an Islamist, now a man of compromise – captured smiling alongside Donald Trump in Riyadh. Syria is reinventing itself, trying to appear more approachable. At least, that’s the ...
Banking Sector: The BDL Takes Back the Helm
Marc Saikali 08/05 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Central Bank of Lebanon Banks Joseph Aoun lebanon Karim Souhaid
"The Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) has a major responsibility in restoring confidence in the banking system." Those were the words of the President of the Republic during his visit this Wednesday to the headquarters of the Central Bank. The days when another President Aoun launched heavy-handed attacks on the ...
The Houthis: Masters of Unassisted Suicide
Marc Saikali 08/05 08:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Donald Trump Houthi Israel Yemen US Saudi Arabia
Amid the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, patterns emerge that we pretend to understand, only for them to slip through our fingers. The latest example: repeated missile launches by Yemen’s Houthis targeting Israel. In this absurd drama, the Houthis have spent the past several months directing their attacks at Israel. Why? To support Gaza, ...
It Goes on, Over and Over Again...
Marc Saikali 01/05 08:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun Lebanon Disarmament
There was a time when the “army, people, resistance” triptych formula served as little more than a fig leaf, masking Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon and its role as a proxy for Iran and its now shattered expansionist ambitions. This illusion has collapsed: the militia has lost the war. For years, Hezbollah claimed that its weapons were meant ...
Parliament Drowns the Economy and 'Overlooks' Weapons
Marc Saikali 24/04 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Arms Reforms
While Tehran gently negotiates with Washington over its nuclear program and ballistic missiles—pretending to adopt a posture of compromise on the international stage—its ambassador in Beirut bluntly insists that Hezbollah must keep its weapons, despite the ceasefire agreement, United Nations resolutions and the Lebanese sovereignty championed ...
Sharaa–Bin Laden: Reversed Paths!
Marc Saikali 17/04 13:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Damascus Israel HTS Ahmad al-Sharaa Syria Bachar el Assad
Let it be crystal clear: no Syrian, no Lebanese, no Palestinian… regrets the fall of the Khmer Rouge of the Levant. The Assad dynasty, guilty of crimes against humanity and large-scale massacres against its own people, as well as those of “brotherly” countries, has finally fallen after fourteen years of civil war. The problem is that today, ...
‘Haircut:’ The Sharp Edge of Financial Cuts
Marc Saikali 17/04 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Gulf International Monetary Fund
Just when we thought we’d seen it all in the Lebanese saga of economic collapse, the government rolled out a new episode—one so twisted it makes a Netflix series look like a documentary on quantum physics. A draft banking reform law, rushed through cabinet, casually proposes placing the burden of the collapse on depositors and local ...
All Is Well, Madame la Marquise...
Marc Saikali 10/04 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon security Beirut Hezbollah
Policewomen did arrive at traffic lights in Beirut… a symbolic presence. The government, however, has boldly boasted that the Lebanese “will witness” what it will accomplish in terms of security. In reality, things are going from bad to worse. The streets of Lebanese cities look like South American megalopolis. Violent assaults are ...
American-Iranian Negotiations in Oman: The Hour of Truth
Marc Saikali 09/04 21:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
The United States Iran Nuclear
The United States and Iran are preparing to begin crucial negotiations this Saturday, April 12, in Oman. The ambitious objective is to resolve the persistent tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missiles. These talks are taking place in a context of growing military threats, where the failure of discussions could lead to ...
Nothing Is Going Well for the Mullahs…
Marc Saikali 03/04 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
By playing Russian roulette for too long, one eventually gets shot. This is the situation Iran's leaders are now facing. Since 1979, Khomeini and his successors have tried to export their so-called Islamic Revolution throughout the region. Without any success, but with plenty of blood, wars and tears. First in Iraq, then in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon ...
Hey! Do You Plan on Doing Something?
Marc Saikali 27/03 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Donald Trump Hezbollah Israel Lebanon south palestinians
Who fired the missiles at Israel last Saturday? Was it Hezbollah? Its “independent” supporters? Palestinians? No one knows for certain. An investigation is underway, we are told. Yet, this incident has ignited tensions, and it is urgent to identify those responsible for potentially plunging Lebanon back into war. Meanwhile, the government ...
Hezbollah-PLO: Parallel Fates
Marc Saikali 20/03 11:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Tehran PLO Syria
In 1982, the Israeli army launched Operation "Peace for Galilee" with the goal of driving Arafat's militias from southern Lebanon. More than mere militias, these were organized armies, and Yasser Arafat reigned as the undisputed ruler and bloodstained overlord of Lebanon. The leader of the PLO had unilaterally declared Lebanon as the launchpad for ...
'Voluntary' Return of Syrian Displaced People! Really?
Marc Saikali 14/03 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
What on earth has gotten into Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed? According to her, the return of Syrian refugees to their country must be voluntary! This astonishing statement has caused quite a stir. But given the country’s endless crises, it quickly faded into the background. However, such remarks can have serious consequences. Around ...
It Feels Like the South... but Now, It's the North!
Marc Saikali 13/03 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Suddenly, all eyes and fears turned to Tripoli and Akkar. At least 7,000 Syrian refugees, mostly Alawites, have crossed the border to escape the violent clashes unfolding along Syria’s coastline. These confrontations, marked by extreme brutality and condemned by numerous human rights organizations, have sent shockwaves through the international ...
Syria, Such a Troublesome Neighbor
Marc Saikali 06/03 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Syria Lebanon Ahmad al-Sharaa Turkey Israel
Since its independence, Lebanon has served as a mirror reflecting the events unfolding in its much larger neighboring country. Damascus has long cast a covetous eye on Lebanon, disturbed by its freedoms and economic achievements. Despite all the challenges, Lebanon has managed to preserve a semblance of political democracy, even in its darkest ...
If You Loved the Canals of Venice, You’ll Adore the Canals of Beirut!
Marc Saikali 05/03 21:47 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Every year, winter brings rain. A statement so ordinary it could hardly be more clichéd. Yet in Lebanon, every downpour turns the roads into rivers. Cars become makeshift gondolas, and honking horns replace gondoliers’ songs. It’s safe to say that romance is hardly in the air. Water covers the gaping holes, which elsewhere are called ...
Trump-Zelensky: When "Diplomacy" Takes on a Whole New Meaning
Marc Saikali 28/02 22:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump Vladimir Putin White House
Seven minutes that will leave a lasting mark on diplomatic history. Live, before the world’s cameras, Donald Trump tore into his guest, Volodymyr Zelensky. "You don’t have the cards in your hands." "Without our support, your fate would have been sealed in two weeks." "You’re playing at World War III." Faced with an utterly unfazed American ...
Yalta 2.0: The New Masters of the World
Marc Saikali 27/02 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Volodymyr Zelensky Donald Trump USA Uktaine EU Russia
Since Donald Trump’s rise to power, everything has accelerated. Geopolitical time has sped up. The Middle East, Ukraine... all fronts are moving rapidly. As if by magic, Donald Trump managed to make the Slavic enemies utter the words “ceasefire” to halt the senseless slaughter after three years of unprecedented violence, reminiscent of the ...
Mullahs and Company, Hands Off the Airport!
Marc Saikali 18/02 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Beirut International Airport Damascus Hezbollah Joseph Aoun
In 1973, Henry Kissinger refused to land at Beirut International Airport because it was under the control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He also avoided traveling by road to the airport for the same reason. At the time, President Sleiman Frangieh welcomed him instead at the Rayak military airport — an implicit admission that ...
You, and Only You, Against the Whole World…
Marc Saikali 17/02 15:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanese Army Achrafieh Hezbollah
What will happen on February 18, the deadline for the truce extension? Probably not much. The Israelis won’t have fully withdrawn, Hezbollah will call for “resistance” and the international community will exert pressure to avoid an unexpected escalation. Yelling and threatening mobs will likely rush into the neighborhoods that, not so long ...
Gaza: The New Switzerland of the East? What About Us?
Marc Saikali 13/02 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Middle East Palestine Donald Trump Hamas Lebanon
When Donald Trump wakes up, even his smallest remark makes global headlines—that’s just how it is. As the most powerful man on Earth, he wields arguments that are not just compelling and consequential but sometimes… explosive. For now, any statement he makes triggers shockwaves. Case in point: “Ukraine could one day become Russian.” A ...