Lebanon

What the LAF Chief’s Visit to the U.S. Revealed

Lindsey Graham portrayed his meeting with Rodolphe Haykal, which collapsed within minutes, as a complete debacle. The U.S. senator asked the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) chief if Hezbollah was a terrorist organization. Haykal’s reply—“not in the Lebanese context”—prompted Graham to walk out in fury, insisting that any group responsible ...

Israeli Drone Strike Kills Three in Southern Lebanon

Israel struck a vehicle in the southern town of Yanouh, in the district of Tyre on Monday. Shortly after the strike, the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the operation targeted a Hezbollah member in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s state-run news agency (National News Agency) said the raid resulted in the death of ...

Who Rises Next? Sunni Perspectives on the Muslim Brotherhood and President Al-Sharaa

In Lebanon today, the Sunni streets are largely leaderless, and many are searching for new direction. This Is Beirut went on the ground in Sunni areas to ask residents about the Muslim Brotherhood’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization and whether the Brotherhood or President Ahmed al-Sharaa can fill the leadership void. Many ...

Syria Says It Arrested Terrorist Cell and Seized Hezbollah-Linked Drones and Missiles in Rif Dimashq

Syria’s Ministry of the Interior announced that it cracked down on terrorist cells in the Rif Dimashq Governorate and captured military hardware and weapons linked to Hezbollah, according to a report from Nidaa al-Watan.  In the operation, internal security forces arrested all members of the cell and seized Hezbollah drones, missiles, and ...

Senior Hezbollah Official Wafiq Safa Steps Down as Qassem Reshapes Leadership

Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit, resigned from his position on Friday as Secretary General Naim Qassem has pushed to reshape the organization’s leadership, sources close to Reuters confirmed. Safa has maintained a senior position within Hezbollah since 1987 and was appointed to his role as a powerful ...

Lebanon and Syria Ink Deal on Prisoner Handover

Lebanon signed an agreement with Syria on Friday to hand around 300 convicts over to Damascus, a move seen as key to helping turn a new page in ties between the countries. Overcrowded Lebanese prisons host more than 2,200 Syrians held on various charges. Many of them are still awaiting trial, while hundreds accused of "terrorism" or ...

The Council of the South: Hezbollah and Amal’s Tool for Clientelism

The Council of the South was intended to be one of the Lebanese state’s key mechanisms for addressing the damage from wars with Israel, but it effectively became a partisan tool serving the Amal Movement and Hezbollah. It was established in 1970 primarily to help residents of southern Lebanon repair their homes and rebuild what had been ...

French FM: Iran Must Stop Being a 'Destabilizing Power'

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said during a visit to Lebanon that Iran should stop being a "destabilizing power", citing its nuclear program and support for "terrorist" groups that threaten regional and European countries. During a press conference in Beirut, where the government has committed to disarming the ...