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U.S. Sanctions on Hezbollah and Amal's "Deep State": Implications for the Duo and the State

Claudia Groeling 23/05 01:50 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Lebanese Army Lebanon Israel

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on nine individuals in Lebanon accused of supporting Hezbollah and obstructing efforts to disarm the Iran-backed group, in one of Washington’s clearest moves yet to counter Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanon’s political and security institutions. The sanctions, announced by the ...

Saudi Arabia’s Shadow Over Lebanon's Path to Peace

Ralph Atrach 25/05 08:55 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Lebanon Saudi Arabia Nawaf Salam Lebanese Army Banque du Liban

As Lebanon prepares for new rounds of security and political talks with Israel in Washington in the coming two weeks, Saudi Arabia’s position on peace with Jerusalem looms over decision makers in Beirut. In a May 10 interview with Al-Arabiya, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon is open to peace with Israel within the framework ...

From Baghdad to Beirut: Sadr’s Break with the Peace Brigades Amid Regional Disarmament Pressure

Claudia Groeling 28/05 22:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Middle East New York Tehran

Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric, announced on Wednesday a complete break between his political movement and its armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, a faction within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which he said will be integrated into the Iraqi state security apparatus. Al-Sadr called on “the remaining factions in the Popular ...

Behind the Israeli Escalation in South Lebanon: What Explains the Push Beyond the Litani?

Ralph Atrach 29/05 17:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon South Lebanon Benjamin Netanyahu UN Security Council Hezbollah

Israeli officials signaled a major escalation in the conflict in southern Lebanon this week, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing on Friday that Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River while intensifying strikes across Lebanon. “We struck Beirut just now, and Tyre yesterday, and our forces crossed the Litani River,” ...

Washington Can Pressure Hezbollah, But Only Lebanon Can Disarm The Militia

Amal Chmouny 29/05 09:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Washington Lebanese Army Israel

As Lebanese and Israeli officials return to Washington for another round of U.S.-brokered talks, attention is focused on the diplomatic process, including the Pentagon’s security channel, the State Department’s political track and hopes that careful sequencing can address Hezbollah’s arms and prevent wider war. However, the more ...

Israel Seeks To Defeat Hezbollah Again, What Might Be Different this Time?

Seth J. Frantzman 27/05 10:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Benjamin Netanyahu US Secretary of State Lebanon

Facing an increasingly deadly threat from Hezbollah’s first-person view (FPV) drones, Israel is back on the offensive in Lebanon. Since the night of May 25, the Israel Defense Forces have launched large-scale airstrikes across southern Lebanon while pressing ground advances. As Israel once again turns to military force, amid U.S.-Iran talks, the ...

Qassem Escalates Against Lebanese State as Hezbollah Faces Growing Pressure Over Weapons and Negotiations

Kaline Antoun 25/05 20:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Israel Lebanese Forces

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem sharply escalated his rhetoric against the Lebanese government on Sunday, openly rejecting direct negotiations with Israel, defending the group’s weapons, and warning that “the people have the right to overthrow the government if authorities fail to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.”  The speech, ...

Two Airports, Two Realities: Beirut's Airport Under Hezbollah’s Shadow, Qlayaat Under State Control

Ralph Atrach 23/05 13:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Beirut International Airport Israel Lebanese Army

Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny on May 19 announced the opening of bids for the public tender to operate and invest in Lebanon’s northern Rene Mouawad Airport, in a move aimed at reviving a second civilian airport after years of stagnation. The contract was awarded to Sky Lounge Services following a tender process conducted ...

Vance Says Progress Made as U.S.-Iran Deal Awaits Trump Green Light

This is Beirut 29/05 16:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Iran Trump JD Vance Lebanon Hezbollah IRGC Hormuz

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing to a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, but the potential breakthrough still hangs on President Donald Trump's approval. Trump remained notably silent into Friday morning, despite U.S. sources telling AFP a deal just needed his sign-off, underscoring ...

Iran Says War Unlikely as Trump Warns He May 'Finish the Job'

This is Beirut 28/05 01:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu US Secretary of State Lebanon Gulf

Oil prices tumbled Wednesday on hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, even as President Donald Trump warned he may have to "finish the job" and Tehran said its forces were still "lying in wait with full magazines." The mixed signals underscored the fragile state of talks aimed at ending a Middle East war that has shaken global energy ...

Lebanese Politicians and Activists Advocate “Just and Lasting Peace” Through State Institutions

This is Beirut 20/05 15:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

Multiple Lebanese parliament members joined political activists and civil society representatives Wednesday at a conference titled “For the Lebanese State to Negotiate for a Just and Lasting Peace,” which brought together advocates of Lebanese sovereignty and exclusive state authority over war and diplomacy amid renewed debate over the ...

Can the Lebanese Army Move Against Hezbollah Before Washington Loses Patience?

Amal Chmouny 15/05 13:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanese Army Hezbollah Washington Donald Trump Hassan Nasrallah

In the windowless corridors of the Rayburn House Office Building and the high-stakes briefing rooms of Foggy Bottom, Washington’s long-standing consensus on Lebanon is fracturing. For years, U.S. policy toward the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) was treated as a "sacred cow," a low-cost investment to keep a fragile state from collapse. But as of ...

Iran Claims U.S. Seeking to ‘Start a New Round of War’ and Threatens ‘Forceful Response’ 

This is Beirut 20/05 17:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran USA Hormuz Israel Trump CENTCOM IRGC

Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of seeking to reignite the regional war, after President Donald Trump renewed threats of military action against Tehran while Washington continues tightening its naval blockade around Iranian shipping routes. The escalation came as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had forced 90 commercial ...

Pakistan Army Chief in Tehran as Iran Weighs U.S. Peace Offer

This is Beirut 23/05 01:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Tehran Donald Trump US Secretary of State Lebanon European Union

Pakistan's powerful army chief arrived in Tehran on Friday as diplomacy around the Middle East war gathered pace, with Iran weighing a new US peace proposal while warning that deep divisions still stand in the way of a deal. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei cautioned that the visit did not mean "we have reached a ...

U.S. Says Iran Deal Still Possible, as Trump Tempers Expectations

This is Beirut 25/05 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Iran Trump Negotiations Hormuz Lebanon Hezbollah Pakistan Gulf

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal to end the war with Iran could materialize on Monday, as President Donald Trump tempered expectations. The United States and Iran have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has imposed controls on Gulf shipping and the U.S. has blockaded ...

Why Hezbollah’s Use of FPV Drones Against Israel Will Backfire

Seth J. Frantzman 18/05 09:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Lebanon Benjamin Netanyahu Gulf

Hezbollah has begun using first-person view (FPV) drones against Israel, causing casualties among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops deployed along the Lebanese border. While the threat is growing, it will also backfire for Hezbollah. Israel is already mobilizing its defense technologies against drones across multiple fronts, which will result in ...

Breaking the Myth of Hezbollah's Captive Constituency

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 19/05 10:35 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Baalbeck Israel

Israel’s Alma Center is wrong about Lebanon’s Shia population. In a recent article, the institute claimed that Hezbollah’s Shia constituency is a “captive audience” chained by dependency, fear, and ideology. In reality, Hezbollah’s committed ideologues are a minority, while dependency and fear can be reversed. Those dependent on ...

Israel Strikes Tyre After Declaring 'Combat Zones' in South Lebanon

This is Beirut 28/05 09:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Hezbollah Middle East USA

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had begun new strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after issuing an evacuation warning to its residents. Israel the previous day had declared all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River - an area roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border and including Tyre - ...

Lebanon Ceasefire Opens a Diplomatic Window, Now Comes the Hard Part

Amal Chmouny 02/05 18:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Ceasefire Donald Trump Lebanese Army Benjamin Netanyahu

When the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel met at the White House on April 23, it was the kind of image that would have seemed unthinkable just months earlier. Their joint appearance alongside President Donald Trump — to announce a three-week extension of the cessation of hostilities — was a shift from decades of indirect, back-channel ...

Iran Weighs Peace Proposal, Accuses U.S. of 'Excessive Demands'

This is Beirut 23/05 12:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran Pakistan Trump USA Israel Hezbollah Lebanon Negotiations

Tehran accused the United States of "excessive demands," Iranian media said on Saturday, as U.S. media reports raised the prospect that Washington was mulling new strikes and leaders of the Islamic republic considered the latest peace proposal. Pakistan's powerful army chief arrived in Tehran on Friday to bolster mediation, and U.S. President ...

Khamenei Orders Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stockpile to Remain Inside Country: Report

This is Beirut 21/05 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran USA Nuclear Israel USIranWar UAE Gulf

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a directive that the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remain inside Iran, according to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters on Wednesday. The directive directly challenges one of the key American and Israeli demands in the talks: the removal of Iran’s ...

No Turning Back in Lebanon-Israel Talks

Samar El-Kadi 22/05 15:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Amal Hezbollah negotiations

Amid a fraught ceasefire, preparations are underway for the next phase of the U.S.-mediated Lebanon-Israel diplomatic process, which analysts describe as a major turning point. Security talks between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations are scheduled to begin at the Pentagon on May 29, while a parallel political track is set to reconvene in ...

Iran Warns Deal With U.S. Not Yet Close, Despite Some Progress

This is Beirut 25/05 13:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu US Secretary of State Bahrain

Iran warned Monday that, while some progress had been made, it was not yet close to striking a deal with the United States to end the Middle East war, after a weekend of mixed messages from Washington and Tehran. World oil prices tumbled on renewed optimism about an agreement, after top US diplomat Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached ...

Trump Warns Iran ‘There Won’t Be Anything Left’ as US-Israeli Strike Preparations Intensify

This is Beirut 18/05 03:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel USA Iran Trump Netanyahu Hormuz Negotiations USIranWar

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday evening, declaring that Tehran must move quickly toward a peace agreement or face devastating consequences. “For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get moving FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The ...

Finally, a Year of Choice for Lebanon

David Hale 26/05 09:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Lebanese Army Damascus Hezbollah Israel

For the first time in decades, Lebanon has a year of choice. With the dramatic reversal of fortunes of Iran, the Assad regime, and their Lebanese proxy, Lebanon is finding long-lost freedoms. A key attribute of freedom is choice. With the restoration of sovereignty, the Lebanese face, a sovereign choice between war or peace. Since the 1980s, ...

How Hezbollah's Coordination Unit Continues to Influence Lebanese Security

Ralph Atrach 06/05 20:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Amal Lebanese Army Internal Security Forces

The Lebanese Armed Forces’ (LAF) recent raids in a southern suburb of Beirut to apprehend gunmen were coordinated with Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, a security source told This Is Beirut, highlighting the unit’s continuing influence over security measures in Lebanon. In a tense standoff Sunday, Hezbollah supporters blocked ...

Hezbollah’s Constitutional Contradiction

Kaline Antoun 27/05 12:01 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Taif Constitution Israel

In a statement issued on the centennial of the Lebanese Constitution, Hezbollah presented itself Monday as a defender of constitutional legitimacy, national unity, and Lebanese sovereignty, while simultaneously reaffirming that armed “resistance” remains a protected and legitimate right beyond any governmental decision. The statement ...

Saudi Arabia’s Voodoo Diplomacy Is Sabotaging Middle East Peace

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 26/05 09:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Lebanon Donald Trump Gulf Hamas

While Iran has strangled Kuwait and Qatar’s ability to export energy and fund repairs for costly damage inflicted by Iranian attacks, Saudi Arabia has done nothing to challenge Tehran. Instead, Riyadh—the self-anointed leader of the Gulf—prioritized denouncing the opening of a Somaliland embassy in Jerusalem. Saudi foreign ...