Nawaf Salam

Iran Says Will Respond “With Wisdom” to Israel, Khamenei Comments Attacks

In his first reaction to the Israeli airstrikes that hit military targets in Iran on Saturday, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian stated that his country “will respond to any act of foolishness with wisdom and intelligence,” according to Iran International. He also mourned the loss of four Iranian soldiers in the Israeli strikes, ...

Anxious Iranians Fear Regional Escalation

Residents of Tehran awoke and went about their business as planned on Saturday after their sleep was troubled by Israeli strikes that triggered blasts that echoed across the city. The night skies had been criss-crossed by light trails from air defence weapons, but by mid-morning the capital had resumed its usual rhythm and buses wove through the ...

UNIFIL Withdraws from Its Post in Dhayra Following Israeli Fire

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced that its soldiers withdrew on October 22 from an observation post in the southern Lebanese border town of Dhayra, after coming under fire from the Israeli Army. In a statement, UNIFIL said the peacekeepers at its permanent observation post in Dhayra were monitoring Israeli ...

Israel Strikes Syrian Military Positions Amid Rising Tensions With Iran

Syrian state news agency SANA said Israel conducted an air attack on Saturday from the occupied Golan Heights and Lebanon, targeting military positions in Syria. Citing an unnamed military source, the agency said the attack at around 2:00 am (2300 GMT) had targeted positions in central and southern Syria. The attack prompted Syria to activate ...

Blinken Pushes for Saudi-Israel Deal Despite Regional Wars

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to promote potential normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, ahead of a meeting in London on Friday with Arab foreign ministers regarding the wars in the Middle East. Before departing Tel Aviv for Riyadh, Blinken urged Israel to seize the “incredible opportunity” to ...

Haaretz: Israeli Offensive in Lebanon Reportedly Nearing Completion

Israel’s military operations in southern Lebanon are reportedly approaching their final stages, with significant progress made against Hezbollah’s forces, according to Israel’s major left-leaning newspaper Haaretz. Since the campaign began in late September, Israeli troops have successfully neutralized over 1,200 Hezbollah ...

Hochstein: Washington Wants to End the Conflict in South Lebanon for Good

United States envoy Amos Hochstein pleaded on Monday for a firm and transparent implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701 to put an end to the raging conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though a ceasefire agreement remains complicated amid the surge in violence. Meeting with Berri After a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain ...

Lebanon Trapped in the Crossfire Between Iran and Its Rivals

Repeated Israeli strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah have trapped Lebanon between Washington and its allies, who seek to impose a new order, and Tehran, which is resisting, experts say. "This is a standoff between Iran on one side, and the U.S. and Israel on the other," says Michael Young from the Carnegie Middle East Center. "The Israelis and ...

Electing a President Today: A Painkiller for a Cancer

This situation is widely recognized. Fortunately, for the first time in Lebanon's history, the current state of vacancy may actually be advantageous. Had a president been elected within the constitutional deadlines in 2022, the new leader would have had to navigate the fallout from the October 7 crisis, the repercussions of the Al-Aqsa flood, and ...

Arab Aid vs. Iran’s Empty Promises

All we get from Iran is “words, words, and words.” Only the Arab nations are Lebanon's genuine supporters and saviors in this crisis! In just a few days, Lebanon will mark the end of the first bloody month of the brutal war waged by the Israeli Army. Southern Lebanon has become a scorched landscape, and the Beqaa has suffered equally ...

Netanyahu Urges UNIFIL Forces to Move Out of Harm's Way

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on the UN chief to move peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon out of "harm's way." Netanyahu's appeal to UN chief Antonio Guterres comes a day after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, refused to withdraw from the border area despite five of its members being ...