Lebanon

Israel’s Goals and Challenges in the New Hezbollah War

Hezbollah’s opening of a front from Lebanon in support of Iran was not a surprise for Israel, which is again discussing the forcible dismantling of the organization. It remains unclear whether Lebanon is ready to disarm Hezbollah, and whether Israel will be able to do so itself. The new war is escalating, one that Israel and Hezbollah have ...

Iran War Sends Oil Price Soaring

Global energy markets surged Monday as the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel entered its tenth day, pushing oil prices above $100 per barrel and triggering sharp declines in global equity markets amid fears of supply disruptions across the Middle East. The spike in prices came as Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba ...

Parliament Delays Elections by Two Years

Lebanon’s parliament voted to postpone the May 2026 parliamentary elections by two years, with 76 lawmakers in the 128-seat chamber voting in favor of the extension.  Lebanon last held parliamentary elections in 2022 and had already been considering an extension of the current parliament’s mandate before the latest round of ...

Lebanon Calls for Renewed Negotiations as Israeli Strikes Escalate

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday urged major international powers to push for renewed negotiations aimed at halting Israel’s escalating military campaign in Lebanon, as cross-border fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continues to intensify. Speaking during a meeting with the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, ...

The Lebanese Army Goes Rogue

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), under its commander Rodolphe Haykal, has defied the state it is sworn to serve, effectively siding with Hezbollah at a moment when Lebanon teeters on the edge of the abyss. After Hezbollah drew Lebanon back into war on March 2, the Lebanese cabinet rushed into an emergency meeting and banned the militia’s ...

When the State Decides but Cannot Enforce

After Hezbollah once again turned Lebanon into a battlefield at the behest of the Iranian regime, all eyes turned to see whether the Lebanese state could undertake tangible measures to counter this existential risk. Hours after Hezbollah lobbed rockets into Israel on March 2, the Lebanese government convened an emergency meeting at the ...

Israel Strikes Beirut's Southern Suburbs, Targeting Qard al-Hassan Branches

An additional Israeli raid pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday following several Israeli warnings followed by mock raids. In parallel, the Lebanese Army (LAF) blocked the roads leading to all Qard al-Hassan branches in the capital Beirut and Saida following latest warnings by the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee. ...

Heavy Clashes Erupt in Eastern Lebanon as Hezbollah Confronts Israeli Airborne Operation

Hezbollah said on Monday it fought Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon by helicopter across the Syrian border, the second such operation since the outbreak of the latest conflict with Israel. Heavy fighting broke out overnight in eastern Lebanon after Israeli forces carried out what appeared to be an airborne insertion near the ...

Iranians Including Diplomats Evacuated from Beirut on Russian Plane: Lebanese Official

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday. The evacuation came after Lebanon on Thursday banned any activity by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps -- a main backer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah -- and imposed a visa ...

Lebanon’s Government Moves to Rein in Hezbollah, But Is It Enough?

After Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the regional conflict with its March 2 attack on Israel, the Lebanese government signaled increased urgency to assert state authority and seize the militia’s arsenal. The cabinet’s headline-making decisions include banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities, directing the Lebanese Armed Forces ...

Inside Hezbollah’s Post-Nasrallah Power Struggle

Hezbollah’s renewed conflict with Israel has exposed internal tensions within the group that have been simmering since Tel Aviv’s assassination of its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and other senior figures. The loss of these leaders has left the group grappling with what analysts describe as a “decapitation” of its leadership ...

Israeli Army Strikes Central Beirut, Oil Depots in Tehran

The IDF targeted Iranian commanders in the Ramada hotel in Beirut’s central Rauoche neighborhood early on Sunday, killing four and injuring ten others.  The attack, described by the Israeli Army as a targeting “Quds Force's Lebanon Corps,” represents the first Israeli strike to hit the heart of Beirut since hostilities ...