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Trump Signals Push for Broader Middle East Deal After Announcing 10-Day Israel–Hezbollah Ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in a series of Truth Social posts set to take effect at 5 p.m. EST, following what he described as “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump presented the deal as an initial step ...

Senior U.S. Official to TIB: 'Next Week's Talks in Washington... A Critical Moment For Lebanese Government to Assert Control'

A senior U.S. official confirmed to This is Beirut that “next week’s talks in Washington will be a critical moment for the Lebanese government to assert control, take responsibility, and move toward the disarmament of Hezbollah,” refering to upcoming direct, civilian negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. The official ...

Hezbollah’s War Role Challenged as Ministers Cite Legal, Constitutional Violations

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, along with Ministers Joseph Saddy, Joe Issa El Khoury, and Kamal Shehadeh submitted a legal memorandum to the Council of Ministers of Lebanon, signed on Wednesday ahead of the Cabinet meeting, calling for immediate action to restore state authority and hold accountable those responsible for involving the ...

Netanyahu Conditions Talks on 'Real Peace Agreement' With Lebanon

In a statement to the press on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign has reshaped the regional landscape, revealing that Beirut had approached Israel in recent weeks to pursue direct negotiations, something he described as unprecedented. He confirmed approving the talks but set clear conditions, ...

Turkey Hosts Latest Diplomatic Push on Middle East War

Turkey hosts a high-stakes forum Friday bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war. Pakistan's powerful army chief met senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the six-week ...

Foreign Fighters Alongside Hezbollah: What Do We Know?

An Israeli drone strike near Naqoura in southern Lebanon last week raised fresh questions about whether foreign combatants, apart from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), are fighting alongside Hezbollah. While Hezbollah announced that the fighters killed in the airstrike were from southern Lebanon, the Israeli military identified ...

Trump Announces U.S. Naval Blockade on Hormuz Strait, Says Iran 'Unyielding' on Nuclear Ambitions

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, saying that in 20 hours of direct negotiations yesterday, Iran proved it was “UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!” His lengthy post on Truth Social comes on the heels of the first direct U.S.-Iran negotiations since the war ...

Iran Attacks Civilian Infrastructure Across Gulf States

Critical infrastructure across the Gulf came under attack from Iran on Sunday, with damage reported at civilian facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. Gulf countries have faced repeated drone and missile salvos from Iran in response to US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic that began at the end of February. Iran has ...

IDF Says It Has Encircled Bint Jbeil, Expands Ground Offensive in Southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said over the past week its troops “completed the encirclement and began an offensive in the town of Bint Jbeil,” a locality long considered a stronghold of Hezbollah. The IDF announced on Monday that its forces have intensified ground operations in southern Lebanon, particularly around ...

Hezbollah-Linked Suspect Extradited to Panama in Long-Running Terror Investigation

The U.S. Embassy in Panama announced a major breakthrough in the decades-long investigation into the 1994 bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 901, stating that suspected Hezbollah-linked operative Ali Zaki Hage Jalil has been extradited to Panama to face trial. The announcement described the move as the result of coordinated efforts between the ...

Iran Hangs Man for Armed Rebellion Amid Wave of Executions

Iran on Tuesday executed a man convicted of armed rebellion, the judiciary said, the latest in a wave of hangings since war broke out with Israel and the United States. "The death sentence for Abdoljalil Shahbakhsh, son of Jalal, a trained member of the Ansar al-Furqan terrorist group, was carried out this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online ...

Israel Prepares for Rapid Return to War with Iran as Talks Collapse

The Israeli military has moved to an unprecedented level of combat readiness amid growing expectations that the war with Iran could resume within days, following the collapse of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Pakistan. According to Israeli media reports citing military sources, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has ordered a sweeping escalation in operational ...

Syria Announces Dismantling of New Hezbollah-Linked Cell

The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday the dismantling of a cell linked to Hezbollah that was allegedly preparing the assassination of government officials, while the pro-Iran Lebanese movement denounced what it called repeated “baseless accusations.” In a statement, the ministry said Syrian security forces had foiled “a ...

Lebanese President: Lebanon Waiting for U.S. to Set Date for Negotiations

Lebanon is waiting for the United States to set a start date for delegation-level direct negotiations with Israel, according to remarks by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday. Speaking before a gathering of economic bodies, the President discussed ongoing progress toward ending the war, reiterating the sovereignty and unity of the ...

U.S. Military Conducts New Strike in South Iran

The U.S. military shot down four Iranian drones and struck a control center in the southern city of Bandar Abbas, an American official said Wednesday, describing the actions as "purely defensive." "Today, U.S. Central Command Forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz," ...

UAE 'Denies Reports' of Secret Netanyahu Visit

The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it "denies reports" that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the country, after Netanyahu's office said he had met with the UAE president during the war with Iran. Netanyahu's office said Wednesday he had "paid a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates" ...

Israeli Army Issues New Evacuations, Destroys Hezbollah Tunnels

The Israeli Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders Tuesday on sixteen towns northwest of the Israeli forward defense zone, saying Hezbollah violations had necessitated “forceful” action. Later, following alerts to northern Israeli towns, the IDF destroyed two underground tunnels in Qantara, southern Lebanon, detonating over 450 ...

Iran's Guards hold military drills in capital as ceasefire teeters

Iran's Revolutionary Guards held military exercises in the capital, Tehran, to prepare for any confrontation, state media reported Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump warned a ceasefire in the Middle East war was on the brink of collapse. The drills involved the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran's ...

Israeli Foreign Minister Calls for “Severing Iran’s Influence” Over Lebanon Ahead of Talks

Israel’s Foreign Minister said on Monday that Iran must be cut off from Lebanon, arguing that Tehran exerts effective control over the country through Hezbollah, ahead of anticipated diplomatic discussions between Israel and Lebanon set to begin in the coming days. In a statement, the Israeli minister said the upcoming talks “are ...

Iran Hangs Man Accused of Passing Info to CIA, Mossad

Iran said Monday it had hanged a man convicted of spying for Israel and the United States, the latest in a wave of executions during the war with the two foes. "Erfan Shakourzadeh... was hanged for collaborating with the US intelligence service and the Mossad spy service," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said. It did not ...

Israel Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs for First Time Since Ceasefire

Israel carried out a strike Wednesday night on Beirut’s southern suburbs, marking the first attack on the Dahiyeh since the ceasefire that came into effect on April 17 and was later extended under U.S.-backed mediation efforts. The strike targeted a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, according to a joint statement issued by ...

Israel, Lebanon to Hold Direct Talks, Says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Thursday saying he had ordered his cabinet to open direct talks with the Lebanese government while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that proposals to include Lebanon in a regional ceasefire were gaining traction among international partners. The statements follow a general confusion ...

Crude Falls for Second Day as Trump Signals Possible Iran Deal

Oil prices fell for a second straight session on Wednesday as easing geopolitical tensions and renewed hopes for a U.S.-Iran agreement raised expectations that constrained Middle East supply could soon return to global markets.  Brent crude futures dropped $1.69, or 1.5%, to $108.18 a barrel as of 06:40 GMT, after falling 4% in the previous ...

U.S. Military: U.S. Destroyers Cross Strait of Hormuz, Enter Gulf

U.S. Navy-guided missile destroyers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Gulf as part of a new mission to restore maritime traffic in the vital waterway, the U.S. military said Monday. The warships "are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom," U.S. Central ...

Iran Launches Fresh Attacks on Gulf and Israel Minutes After Ceasefire Announcement

Iran continued launching missile and drone attacks on Gulf states and Israel in the immediate aftermath of a ceasefire announcement with the United States on Wednesday, which was announced to take effect immediately. The continued strikes have immediately cast doubt on the viability of the agreement, with active hostilities persisting across a ...

Saudi Bases Open to U.S. Despite Hormuz Operation Disagreement

U.S. forces have access to Saudi airspace and bases despite being told not to use them for the now suspended operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, two Saudi sources told AFP on Friday. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a pause in the two-day-old "Project Freedom" to guide ships through the Strait after a flare-up with ...

Trump Rejects Iranian Proposal, Says Naval Blockade Will Continue Until Nuclear Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would maintain a naval blockade on Iran until Tehran agrees to a deal addressing Washington’s concerns over its nuclear program, rejecting a proposal that would have prioritized reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with Axios, Trump dismissed the Iranian offer, which reportedly sought ...

Rare Precedents for Lebanon-Israel Peace Talks

1949, Fragile Armistice The first Arab-Israeli war began on May 15, 1948, the day after the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel. Five countries -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq -- had rejected a UN plan adopted in November 1947 to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and went to war against the new ...