Contributors


Salam El Zaatari
The WhatsApp War: How Hezbollah Manufactures Reality

In Lebanon today, the battlefield is no longer confined to the south; it has also moved to WhatsApp, where closed, encrypted groups spread information without scrutiny, and most importantly, without accountability. This is where Hezbollah has quietly built one of its most effective influence machines—not on television, where narratives can be ...


Seth J. Frantzman
From Baghdad to Beirut: Tehran’s Strategy to Set the Region Aflame

In December 2017, Hezbollah hosted Iraqi militia leader Qais al-Khazali on a tour of Lebanon’s border with Israel. At the time, Israel was careful not to provoke Hezbollah, and Khazali seemed confident that he could threaten the Jewish state from the frontier. Nearly a decade later, Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have become ...


Ian Talley
Breaking the Crowdfunding Myth: The Digital Architecture Funding Iran’s Proxy Wars

For years, Iran’s use of cryptocurrency was written off as pocket-change militant fundraising. A slew of enforcement actions now shows something far more consequential: Tehran and its terror allies have woven digital assets into the core financial architecture that bankrolls their war machines. By integrating crypto into their control of ...


Bassam Abou Zeid
Israel Is Preparing a Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon

The President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam informed the ambassadors of the Quintet that the government’s decision banning all military and security activities of Hezbollah will be fully implemented. According to diplomatic sources, including U.S. ambassador Michel Issa, there will be no cessation of Israeli ...


Amal Chmouny
A State Decides: Lebanon's Bet on Direct Talks with Israel

For the first time in decades, the U.S. has brokered direct talks between Lebanon and Israel, beginning with a 10-day cessation of hostilities and a commitment to negotiate in good faith. Washington says lasting calm will require the Lebanese state to reassert sovereignty over non-state arms. President Donald Trump said the initiative had created ...


Marwan El Amine
Will Lebanon Finally Break Its Cycle of Inaction?

As Lebanon and Israel prepare to deepen diplomatic contact amid a 10-day truce, attention is shifting to what comes next, including the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons and whether the ceasefire marks a temporary pause or a strategic shift. During the war, both President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam navigated a perilous political ...