This is Beirut

Breaking the Cycle: Lebanon, Israel, and the Case for a New Strategic Approach

Marwan El Amine, 12:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Joseph Aoun

Since Hezbollah plunged Lebanon into war, key questions have emerged about the country’s domestic future. Foremost among them: how will the Lebanese state address Hezbollah’s arsenal, and what will Israel pursue in its campaign against the group? In the months leading up to the new war, it became clear that the Lebanese state had not fully ...

Reports of Ghalibaf–Trump Channel Trigger Political Turmoil in Tehran

This is Beirut, 12:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran Trump USA USIranWar Israel Ghalibaf

Reports suggesting potential backchannel contacts between U.S. officials and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf have ignited a political storm in Tehran, exposing deep sensitivities within Iran’s leadership as the war continues. The controversy followed remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump and subsequent ...

New Wave of American Troops Heads to the Middle East

This is Beirut, 11:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Middle East Donald Trump Bahrain Israel Kuwait

Tensions in the Middle East are spiking as the United States ramps up its military presence while diplomatic efforts with Iran falter. Thousands of troops are on the move, and the region braces for potential escalation. Thousands of U.S. Marines are slated to arrive imminently, signaling heightened strategic pressure. According to U.S. officials, ...

Lebanon on Edge: Mass Displacement and Hezbollah Threats Stir Tensions

Samar El Kadi, 11:05 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah Damascus Israel

The threat of civil unrest looms over conflict-stricken Lebanon as a deepening displacement crisis fuels rising tensions between host communities and predominantly Shia refugees, many of whom come from Hezbollah's support base. “This is a volatile environment and it could lead to serious internal problems,” former MP and political activist ...

Israel Strikes Iran’s Caspian Supply Routes, Targeting Russian-Linked Arms Corridor

This is Beirut, 10:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran Israel Russia USA USIranWar

Israel has expanded the geographic scope of its war against Iran, carrying out a rare strike in the Caspian Sea region targeting what officials describe as a critical maritime corridor used to transport Russian-supplied weapons to Tehran. According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, the operation struck facilities at Iran’s Bandar ...

Israel Strikes South Lebanon, Beirut Suburbs as Hezbollah Keeps Up Attacks

This is Beirut, 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon Middle East

Israel launched strikes on south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, Lebanese state media said, as Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it kept up attacks on Israeli troops. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme ...

Temporary Immunity, Ongoing Strikes: Inside the Parallel Tracks of War and Diplomacy in Iran

This is Beirut, 10:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran USA Israel Trump USIranWar

Even as the war between Iran, the United States, and Israel intensifies on the ground, reports emerging Wednesday, suggest that Washington and Tel Aviv have granted temporary targeting immunity to two senior Iranian officials, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, for the duration of the current ...

Trump Administration Proposes 15-Point Plan to End Iran War

This is Beirut, 24/03 22:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Israel White House

The Trump administration proposed a 15-point plan delivered by Pakistan that highlighted conditions to Iran for the U.S. to end its war against the country. In a speech at the White House on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. is currently conducting negotiations with Iran, and that “they want a deal very ...

Israel Says "Will Control" Up to Litani River

This is Beirut, 24/03 17:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Palestine

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military "will control… a security zone up to the Litani" river, adding that displaced Lebanese residents will not return south of the river "until security is guaranteed for the residents of the north" of Israel. The territory between the border and the Lebanese river is roughly 30 kilometres (20 ...

Shrapnel Falls in Predominantly-Christian Areas North of Beirut

This is Beirut, 24/03 17:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel

Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that have so far been spared in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile. Footage broadcast by the local LBCI channel in the coastal town of Sahel Alma showed a building with ...

Iran Arrests Over 460 People Over Online Activity

This is Beirut, 24/03 13:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel USA

Iranian authorities announced on Tuesday the arrest of 466 people accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity, state media reported, as the war with the US and Israel ground on. "These individuals sought to sow confusion in public opinion, create fear and anxiety in society, promote insecurity and spread ...

Lebanon to Expel Iran’s Ambassador, Giving Him Until Sunday To Leave

This is Beirut, 24/03 13:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Israel Tehran

In an official statement on Tuesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants announced that it summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Lebanon, Toufic Samadi Khoshkou. He was received by Secretary-General Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, who conveyed the Lebanese state’s decision to withdraw its approval of the ...

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