Nawaf Salam

Beirut Port Shows Strong Performance in First Half of 2025

Despite Israel’s military escalation in Gaza and southern Lebanon, as well as Lebanon’s ongoing political, financial and social turmoil, the Port of Beirut continued to deliver strong results in the first half of 2025. According to Elie Zakhour, vice-president of the Arab Union of Maritime Navigation Chambers and former head of the ...

UN Debates Future Withdrawal of Lebanon Peacekeeping Force

The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it. Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, ...

Iran Warns War with Israel Could Resume at Any Time

A senior Iranian official warned Monday that war with Israel could erupt at any moment, describing the current lull after June's 12-day conflict as only a temporary halt. "We must be prepared at every moment for confrontation; right now, we are not even in a ceasefire (agreement); we are in a cessation of hostilities," said First Vice President ...

Lebanon’s Sovereignty Tested at the Syrian Border

Since mid-August, a viral social media video has shown a man claiming to represent “Syrian tribes” issuing a stark warning to Lebanon: “We will invade Lebanon within 48 hours if Syrian detainees are not released,” referring to Syrians held at Roumieh prison. The threat follows the death of a Syrian inmate on August 14, which sparked ...

Beirut Blast Victims' Families Reject Treason Allegations Against William Noun

The families of the Beirut Port explosion victims denounced on Monday “certain paid voices affiliated with parties that have already threatened and obstructed the investigation.” They accused these groups of targeting William Noun, brother of firefighter Joe Noun, who was killed in the August 4 blast, with allegations of “collaboration with ...

'Weapons' Rules North American Box Office for Second Week

Buzzy horror film Weapons won the North American box office for a second week running with $25 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday. The Warner Bros. movie starring Julia Garner (Ozark) and Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War) tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school ...

Barrack and Ortagus End Tour On a Hopeful Note for Lebanon

US envoy and ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, accompanied by Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, and U.S. Ambassador to Beirut Lisa Johnson on Monday held a series of meetings with Lebanese officials focused on Washington’s plan for disarming Hezbollah, following the government’s endorsement of the ...

Terrorists' Brinkmanship

The riddled negotiations taking place in Lebanon and Gaza and the equivocations of the Syrian transition are quite compelling since they convey the ambiguities undermining political stability in these different environments. Nonetheless, they illustrate the difficulties of political transitioning in countries partially or totally controlled by ...

Iran’s GPS Jamming Hits Daily Life, Leaving Drivers Lost in Tehran

The streets of Tehran have become a confusing maze for driver Farshad Fooladi amid widespread GPS disruption, still ongoing nearly two months after the end of Iran and Israel's unprecedented 12-day war. "For weeks I have been unable to work," said Fooladi, who uses Iran's homegrown ride-hailing app Snapp to find customers. "Most of the time was ...

Mass Rally in Tel Aviv Calls for End to Gaza War, Hostage Deal

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on Sunday evening in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the fighting in October 2023. The rally was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to ...

At Least 18 Killed in Gaza as Israel Prepares Major Offensive

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Sunday, including seven people shot dead while waiting to collect food aid. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a hospital courtyard in Gaza City, in the territory's ...

Barrack-Ortagus in Brief: Support for Government and Army, Conditions on UNIFIL Renewal

Early on Monday morning, US envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by Morgan Ortagus, will meet with President Joseph Aoun to discuss two interlinked essential issues: the second phase of consolidating state control over all weapons, and the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate in South Lebanon at the end of this month. According to official Lebanese sources, ...