This is Beirut

Unified Message from Beirut MPs: Exclusive State Control and "weapons-Free" City

This is Beirut, 13:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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In a show of cross-sectarian unity, Beirut MPs on Wednesday called for the capital to be placed fully under state control and declared a “weapons-free city” under the exclusive authority of the Lebanese Armed Forces and security agencies. “Beirut must be free of weapons, and we want to see the Lebanese army deployed in all the streets ...

White House: U.S. Ready to Sustain Indefinite Naval Blockade on Iran

This is Beirut, 12:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The White House said Thursday that the United States is prepared to maintain its naval blockade on Iran indefinitely, signaling a sharp escalation in economic pressure despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a broader agreement. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller confirmed that all options remain on the table in dealing with ...

Trump Says Israel and Lebanon 'Leaders' Will Hold Direct Talks Today

This is Beirut, 11:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israeli and Lebanese ‘leaders’ will hold direct talks later today. “Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon… It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen later today,” Trump said, without ...

Iran Arrests 4 Alleged Israeli Spies

This is Beirut, 06:00 - Reading : less than a minute

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Iran arrested four suspected Israeli spies, state media reported on Thursday. It came as U.S. officials discuss possible peace talks with Iran after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28 engulfed the Middle East in war. "The four agents linked to the Mossad were apprehended in Gilan governorate" in northern Iran, IRNA reported, ...

Iran Says Exchanges with U.S. Via Pakistan Continue After Failed Talks

This is Beirut, 15/04 16:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran said Wednesday that exchanges with the United States via Pakistan had continued following failed negotiations over the weekend. "Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing. "Today, we are very ...

Iran Military Warns will Block Red Sea if U.S. Naval Blockade Continues

This is Beirut, 15/04 14:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Iran's military warned on Wednesday it would block trade through the Red Sea, along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman, if the U.S. naval blockade continues. In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the head of Iran's military central command center said if the U.S. continues with its blockade and "creates insecurity for ...

Trump Says Iran Talks Could Resume Within 'Days'

This is Beirut, 15/04 13:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Donald Trump said on Wednesday that U.S.-Iran peace talks could resume this week, adding in a Fox Business interview that the war in Iran is “very close to being over.” He added that there would be “no deal” if Iran continues to pursue a nuclear weapons. He explained that the U.S. has the ability to strike ...

Israel Strikes South of Beirut as Hezbollah Launches Rockets at Israel

This is Beirut, 15/04 13:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Two Israeli strikes on Wednesday hit vehicles south of Beirut, state media reported, while Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, soon after Lebanon and Israel agreed to continue holding direct talks. The Israeli military also renewed its call for residents of a swathe of southern Lebanon to leave as it continues to bomb the area. Despite its ...

What Went Wrong for the Shia

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

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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 ...

Rare Precedents for Lebanon-Israel Peace Talks

This is Beirut, 15/04 09:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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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 ...

U.S. State Department: Lebanon and Israel Agree to Continue Direct Negotiations

This is Beirut, 14/04 21:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The U.S. Department of State released a statement on Tuesday following a trilateral meeting on April 14, 2026, stressing that all sides agreed to continue direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue. The meeting marked the first major high-level engagement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon since 1993, with the ...

Aoun Sees Israel Talks as Path to Ending Lebanon’s Suffering

This is Beirut, 14/04 19:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Moments before direct Israel-Lebanon talks began in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday he hoped negotiations would mark “the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese in general, and of the people of the south in particular,” following weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah. “Stability will not be ...

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