Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz, Blames U.S. Blockade

This is Beirut 18/04 10:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran USA Israel Lebanon USIranWar Negotiations

Iran on Saturday closed the Strait of Hormuz again after briefly reopening it, saying the move is a response to the ongoing US naval blockade. Tehran accused Washington of breaking its commitments and warned that traffic through the strait will remain restricted until the blockade is lifted. The potential for the resumption of transit had lifted ...

Ancient Greek Artifacts: Athenian Vase's Historic Journey

2023-12-09 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Acropolis Museum Athenian Vase

This week, the Acropolis Museum in Athens commenced the display of a remarkable Greek vase, hitherto housed in the British Museum for a quarter of a millennium. This venerable artifact, dating back 2,500 years, is part of a rare loan arrangement. On Tuesday December 5, organizers of the exhibit unveiled this historic piece. Nikolaos Stampolidis, ...

Lebanese PM Pushes Border Crackdown and Security Coordination During Damascus Visit

This is Beirut 17:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Syria Smuggling Economy Cooperation Hezbollah

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam concluded his visit to Damascus on Saturday by emphasizing tighter border controls, anti-smuggling efforts, and expanded Lebanese-Syrian security coordination, signaling a shift in Beirut’s approach toward Syria amid growing pressure over Hezbollah-linked activity along the border. Speaking at the end of ...

Why Iran’s Influence in Lebanon Persists Despite Hezbollah’s Losses

Marwan El Amine 04/05 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Lebanese Army Tehran

Israel’s military blows to Hezbollah and its seizure of a strip of territory in southern Lebanon have not changed Tehran’s strategic calculus. The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to regard its influence in Lebanon as a strategic priority, despite the scale of casualties among Lebanon’s Shia population, the waves of displacement, and the ...

Bound to Tehran: How Hezbollah Is Unraveling Lebanon's Ceasefire

Samar El-Kadi 01/05 12:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Ceasefire UN Security Council AUB Hezbollah

The ceasefire in Lebanon remains fragile amid the state’s inability to fully assert control on the ground. Hezbollah is continuing its military operations, while Israeli retaliation for the group’s attacks keeps Lebanon caught in a cycle of escalation with no clear end in sight. The Lebanon-Israel truce announced by the U.S. on April ...

Rubio: Strong Lebanese Army Key to Disarming Hezbollah

This is Beirut 28/04 03:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanese Army Lebanon Israel US Secretary of State

In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel and Lebanon both sides ultimately “seek peace,” with the long-term solution centered on empowering the Lebanese Armed Forces to “go after and disarm and dismantle Hezbollah.” He described the situation as “a very ...

Beyond Mediation: How Washington Is Recasting Lebanon–Israel Negotiations

Jeremy Brecher 22/04 21:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

United States Lebanon Israel Negotiations Trump

The U.S. is set to mediate a second round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials on Thursday as part of the first such series of direct negotiations between the two sides since 1993. These diplomatic engagements come nearly a year and a half after the previous Lebanon-Israel ceasefire framework. In November 2024 under the Biden ...

From War To Business Suits: What Peace with Israel Could Mean for Lebanon's Economy

Ralph Atrach 17/04 23:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Nawaf Salam Gulf Hezbollah

As Lebanese and Israeli officials met face to face in Washington for the first time in decades, the war with Hezbollah dominated headlines, but the prospect of future economic ties between Jerusalem and Beirut came into view. Following the meeting, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter brought up the potential windfalls of peace. “The ...

Decapitation of Iranian Military and Intelligence Leadership: Timeline and Structure

Ralph Atrach 06/04 23:40 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Middle East Tehran

Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran on February 28, a series of coordinated strikes by both countries has dramatically reshaped Iran’s military and political command structure. The U.S.-led Operation Epic Fury and Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion have systematically targeted senior Iranian officials, top advisors, ...

Hundreds Return South After Ceasefire Despite Lebanese-Israeli Warnings

This is Beirut 17/04 10:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Ceasefire

Early reactions to the ceasefire in Lebanon were chaotic, with celebrations in the capital and a large number returning to the south over the Litani river, despite Israeli and Lebanese warnings to the contrary. After fragile ceasefire took effect at midnight April 16-17, celebratory small arms and RPG fire was reported throughout the southern ...

What Went Wrong for the Shia

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 15/04 10:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Gulf Hezbollah Israel Turkey

The Shia have a problem. While many Sunni-majority states, from the Gulf states to Turkey, have achieved varying degrees of governance success and economic growth, Shia-led political projects have little to show for themselves. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, they have been at the center of wars, terrorist networks, and state failure even as ...

Rubio Calls Israel-Lebanon Talks a 'Historic Opportunity' for Lasting Peace

This is Beirut 14/04 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Hezbollah United States US Secretary of State

At the opening of direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese Ambassadors at the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the negotiations as a pivotal moment that could ensure stability and peace for residents of Lebanon and Israel.  “We are very honored to be joined by partners with whom the United States seeks strong ...

Netanyahu Conditions Talks on 'Real Peace Agreement' With Lebanon

This is Beirut 11/04 23:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Benjamin Netanyahu Iran

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, ...

Senior U.S. Official to TIB: “Serious Consequences” if Lebanon Fails to Disarm Hezbollah

This is Beirut 10/04 20:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Tehran United States

A senior U.S. official told This is Beirut that Washington has urged Israel to move toward a diplomatic track with Lebanon, adding that Israel has agreed and discussions could be convened as early as next week. The official said the United States expects the Lebanese government to take concrete steps to address and ultimately disarm Hezbollah, ...

U.S.-Iran Truce Hangs in Balance as War Flares in Lebanon

This is Beirut 09/04 01:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Bahrain Gulf

The fragile two-week truce between Iran and the United States was hanging in the balance on Wednesday, with Tehran threatening to resume hostilities as Israel launched a major bombardment of Lebanon. Washington and Tehran both claimed victory after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and negotiations aimed at ending a war that has killed thousands ...

Hezbollah Emerged from Iran’s Revolution, Not “Resistance” to Israel

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 07/04 11:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Israel Lebanese Army Lebanon Amal

A false claim, now common in Western media and academia, portrays Hezbollah as having emerged in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion and subsequent occupation of Lebanon. In reality, Hezbollah arose in the wake of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as part of an effort to establish an Islamic state in a Lebanon fractured by warring militias. Since ...

Has Iran Been Militarily Exposed?

Natasha Metni Torbey 03/03 12:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Gulf Middle East Iran US Israel regional war

More than 2,000 bombs dropped in just thirty hours. That is the estimate cited by several Israeli and American security sources to illustrate the scale of the opening wave of strikes against Iran — a level of firepower rarely directed at a country of 88 million people and home to the Middle East’s largest ballistic missile arsenal. In less ...

The End of an Era: Power Reconfigured in the Islamic Republic

Natasha Metni Torbey 02/03 12:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel United States Iran Khamenei

A red flag symbolizing justice and revenge was raised Sunday morning above the golden dome of the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, a potent Shiite emblem of bloodshed and a call for retribution, just hours after Iranian authorities confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes attributed to Israel and the United States. With ...

Gold Price: Is a Trend Reversal Pointing in the Horizon?

Liliane Mokbel 2024-05-02 11:22 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

The fundamental principle of asset diversification remains unshakable despite the speculative fever surrounding a short-term surge in gold prices, with experts predicting a peak of $2,800 per ounce by the end of 2024. Lebanese investors have turned to gold since the onset of the multidimensional crisis in October 2019, even though the yellow ...

LAF Completes First Phase of Weapons Plan, Israel Deems Efforts “Insufficient”

This is Beirut 08/01 08:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanese Army Israel Lebanon LAF Hezbollah

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced on Thursday the official end of the first phase of the weapons control plan, which aimed to bring all weapons south of the Litani River under state control by the end of 2025.  According to the statement, the first phase focused on “expanding the Army’s operational presence, securing vital areas, ...

UAE Rules Out Use of Its Territory as Region Braces for Possible Attacks on Iran

This is Beirut 26/01 20:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Iran Gulf

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement asserting the United Arab Emirates’ position on a U.S.-Iran conflict on Monday, stressing that it will not allow its territory to be used for any attacks on Iran. The release states: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates’ ...

More IS Detainees Heading to Iraq from Syria: Iraqi Officials

This is Beirut 24/01 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Iraq USMilitary ISIS

Hundreds of Islamic State group detainees were being transferred from Syria to Iraq on Saturday, the second batch since the US announced plans to relocate the jihadists there, two Iraqi security officials told AFP. "The prisoner transfer operation is ongoing, with US forces transporting detainees by land and air," an Iraqi security official said, ...

Former Iranian Minister Meets Pahlavi During Protests

This is Beirut 19/01 23:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Protests

Israel Channel 14 reports that former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif secretly met multiple times with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during Iran’s recent protests and later briefed Iran’s former President Hassan Rouhani on the encounters.   During his 2013–2021 tenure as foreign minister under Hassan Rouhani, Zarif oversaw ...

What Iran’s Fate Could Mean for Hezbollah and Lebanon

Marwan El Amine 16/01 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Hezbollah Iran Protests Lebanon Muslim Brotherhood Tehran

As Iran’s nationwide protest movement intensifies, a key question is dominating regional and international discourse: what lies ahead for the Islamist regime if unrest continues, and how might its potential collapse impact Middle Eastern states shaped by four decades of Iranian policy? Since Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, Iran has ...

After Khamanei: What the Fall of Iran’s Regime Would Mean for the Region

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 12/01 16:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Lebanon Hezbollah Israel USA Iran

The fall of Iran's Islamist regime would mark one of the most seismic shifts in Middle Eastern geopolitics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power. As massive protests grip the country, sparked by economic collapse and hyperinflation, the prospect of regime change grows more tangible.  Unlike the 1979 revolution, which ushered ...

Egypt-Lebanon Gas Deal: Israeli Gas at the Heart of the Agreement

Claudia Groeling 09/01 12:50 - Reading : 83 minute(s)

Lebanon Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump Hezbollah Israel Syria Egypt

Two eastern Mediterranean natural gas deals announced twelve days apart highlight shifting energy dynamics amid dramatic geopolitical transformations in the region, with Lebanon aiming to benefit.  On December 17, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a $35 billion gas deal with Egypt, describing the agreement as ...

From Gaza to Iran: Trump and Netanyahu Review Regional Flashpoints

This is Beirut 2025-12-30 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Trump Netanyahu MiddleEast Gaza Iran Lebanon Syria Turkey

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held wide-ranging talks in Florida on Monday, addressing key regional crises including Gaza, Iran, Syria, and broader Middle East stability, as both leaders signaled continued strategic alignment despite ongoing regional tensions. The meeting, held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago ...

Iran Warns of Strong Response as U.S. Pressure Mounts

This is Beirut 28/01 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Iran Donald Trump

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran would respond strongly to any U.S. attack on the country on Wednesday in a post on X as the U.S. “armada” arrives in the Gulf. “Our brave armed forces are prepared—with their fingers on the trigger—to immediately and powerfully respond to any ...

After the Vote: Exposing the Gap Law’s Broken Promises

Claudia Groeling 2025-12-29 19:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam International Monetary Fund Lebanon Banque du Liban Gap Law Banks

Lebanon’s cabinet on December 19 approved one of the most controversial pieces of legislation since the country’s financial collapse in 2019, adopting the so-called “Gap Law” in a narrow vote that has reignited public anger and raised serious concerns among economists, legal experts, and international observers. Backed by 13 ministers ...

Gap Law: The Programmed Destruction of the Banking Sector

This is Beirut 2025-12-21 15:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Economy Banks BDL Gap Law

Presented as a restructuring measure, the Gap Law organizes a methodical liquidation of the Lebanese banking sector. Behind complex technical mechanisms—loss hierarchy, balance-sheet cleanup, recapitalization—lies a clear political choice: to sacrifice banks to settle a public crisis that the state refuses to assume. This text does not reform ...