Salam El Zaatari 15:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanon Syria Hezbollah Sunnis Divisions Shia
There was an unmistakable irony on Monday as Lebanon’s “Sunni street” marked the first anniversary of the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime. The same community that has condemned its Shia counterparts for venerating Iran’s rulers now engages in the same political canonization, this time for Syria’s new leaders. The motorbike convoys ...
Amal Chmouny 10:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Lebanese Army Lebanon US congress NDAA Hezbollah Disarmament
The U.S. Congress has sent a clear, stern message to Beirut that Washington’s support for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is no longer a blank check. The latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), up for a vote in the House of Representatives, imposes new conditions and restrictions on U.S. aid to the Lebanese army, ...
Hussain Abdul-Hussain 10/12 16:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon Israel Palestine Syria Tom Barrack
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack keeps warning that Lebanon will be “reabsorbed” into Syria unless Hezbollah is disarmed, a historically unfounded threat from someone who derides the Sykes-Picot boundaries as colonial nonsense yet treats Syria’s borders as sacrosanct. His selective anti-colonialism spares Syria, disregards Kurdish and Druze ...
This is Beirut 10/12 15:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Port Beirut Lebanon Rhosus Bulgaria
A Sofia court on Wednesday refused to extradite a shipowner wanted by Lebanon over the devastating 2020 Beirut port blast, one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions that destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killed more than 220 people, and injured more than 6,500. Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a ...
Natasha Metni Torbey 10/12 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Lebanon Al Qard Al Hassan Hezbollah financing
After introducing ATMs, easy-access loans, and clandestine counters scattered throughout the alleys of Beirut’s southern suburbs, al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), Hezbollah’s financial arm, has taken its operations a step further: direct gold trading. Gold bars, coins, and jewelry are reportedly now being offered to the Shiite community, turning gold ...
This is Beirut 10/12 13:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi has announced that he will not be able to accept an invitation from his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to visit Tehran at this time. He clarified that this decision does not signal a refusal to engage in dialogue with Iran, but rather reflects the absence of a conducive environment for such a ...
This is Beirut 10/12 12:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel USA American Task Force on Lebanon
Israel makes a clear distinction between its negotiations with the Lebanese government and its ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday. The meeting was also attended by Edward Gabriel, chairman of the American Task Force for Lebanon ...
This is Beirut 10/12 11:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Joseph Aoun Lebanese Army Tehran United Nations
Following a two-day official visit to the Sultanate of Oman, President Joseph Aoun and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq issued a joint statement underscoring the strength of relations between their countries and their shared commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation. The leaders highlighted the historical ties and fraternal bonds between the peoples ...
This is Beirut 10/12 11:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon
On the night of December 8, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in the Iqlim al-Tuffah area, north of the Litani River, in a region located north of Nabatiyeh and southwest of Jezzine. The strikes targeted multiple sites, including a training compound belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Unit and several rocket-launch locations. A report ...
This is Beirut 09/12 21:35 - Reading : less than a minute
Damascus Joseph Aoun Lebanon Ahmad Al-Sharaa Syria Oman
Syrian state news agency SANA reported Tuesday that President Ahmed al-Sharaa received a diplomatic cable from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun as Aoun’s aircraft transited Syrian airspace on its way to the Sultanate of Oman. The gesture came as Damascus marked the first anniversary of its liberation from the former Assad regime. In his ...
Bassam Abou Zeid 09/12 18:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Hezbollah Israel United States UNIFIL France European Union
Through Jean Yves Le Drian and the French military team in Lebanon, France has informed Lebanon’s political and military leadership that it is ready to take charge of an international force to be stationed south of the Litani River once UNIFIL pulls out at the end of 2026. The message added that Paris is working to rally backing for this ...
Ian Talley 09/12 17:50 - Reading : 10 minute(s)
Lebanon International Monetary Fund Hezbollah Amal Banque du Liban
The International Monetary Fund risks unintentionally reviving a war-weakened Hezbollah by insisting Lebanon push heavier losses onto the banking sector than critics say is necessary — a move they argue would entrench the cash economy that Iran’s terror-designated proxy thrives on. At issue is how the IMF wants Lebanon’s ...