Hezbollah

Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood: Rivalry, Similarities, and Tactical Convergences

The relationship between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood illustrates the paradoxes of political Islam in the Middle East. Temporary alliances, strategic interests, and deep sectarian divides intersect—from the war in Syria to Palestinian factions—producing a shifting balance between cooperation and antagonism. On June 19, 2025, amid the ...

Tehran Fights for Its Political Survival in Iraq

Officially, the elections are hailed as a step forward for a country still scarred by two decades of war and instability. In reality, the vote unfolds under the persistent shadow of Iran, determined to preserve a political system it has largely shaped since Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003. Outgoing Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani owes his ...

Qassem: “We Will Not Surrender our Arms”

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday affirmed the group’s support for the Lebanese Army, saying it “is part of our people, our families, and our nation” and that Hezbollah “supports anyone who wants to defend this country.” Speaking on the occasion of Hezbollah’s Martyrs’ Day, Qassem said the movement ...

US Treasury Delegation Warns Lebanon: Two-Month Deadline for Key Reforms

A US official, during a visit to Lebanon on Monday, called on the authorities to “end Iran’s malign influence through Hezbollah,” stressing that Washington is determined to halt Tehran’s funding of the group hostile to Israel. “We believe that the key for the Lebanese people to take back their country is to end ...

Syria: From Pariah State to a Guest in Washington

This Monday, Donald Trump is hosting Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House. It is a historic moment: never before has a Syrian president been officially received in Washington since the country gained independence in 1946. The event symbolizes the end of half a century of hostility between the two capitals. For a long time, Syria was one of the most ...

Cutting Off Hezbollah’s Iranian Lifeline

The time has come to deprive Hezbollah of its footing and halt its systematic effort to dismantle what remains of the Lebanese state. John Hurley, the Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated last week that there is now a favorable opening in Lebanon to disrupt Iranian funding to Hezbollah and exert ...

Israeli Airstrikes Intensify Across Lebanon

Israeli air raids escalated sharply on Monday, striking multiple regions across Lebanon from the eastern border near Baalbek to the southern border. Warplanes launched two raids on the outskirts of Nabi Sheet (Bekaa) and the Shaara area near Janta (Baalbeck-Hermel), while additional strikes targeted the Rihan hills (Jezzin), Qatrani, and ...

The Decision Over War and Peace: A Call to Order

It is a world turned completely upside down. That seems to be the guiding principle of the radical wing of Tehran’s clerical regime, which persistently seeks to project onto Lebanon its own highly idiosyncratic—and at times surreal—vision of political action. Following the directives of its regional mentor, the local pro-Iranian group shows ...

Suspect in 1994 Panama Plane Bombing Arrested in Venezuela

Panamanian authorities announced Sunday the arrest in Venezuela of the suspected mastermind behind a 1994 plane bombing that killed 21 people, mostly Jewish, in an attack attributed to Hezbollah. The aircraft, Alas Chiricanas Flight 901, exploded shortly after takeoff from an airport in Panama’s Colón province on the night of July ...

President Aoun Meets U.S. Treasury Delegation in Baabda

President Joseph Aoun met on Sunday evening with a delegation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury at the Baabda Palace. The delegation was led by Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council (NSC), and included John Hurley, Under Secretary for Terrorism and ...

US Treasury Aims to Cut Hezbollah’s Funding

The US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, John Hurley, said the United States wants to seize a “favorable moment” in Lebanon to cut Iranian funding to Hezbollah and push the group to disarm. “There is a moment now in Lebanon. If we can get Hezbollah to disarm, the Lebanese people could get their country back,” ...

Switzerland Has Crossed the Mountains

Sometimes symbolism says it all. On Monday, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will walk through the doors of the White House, a sight that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. The world, it seems, has a soft spot for spectacular reinventions. Yesterday’s pariah has become today’s partner. Al-Sharaa, once a wanted man with a price on his ...