This is Beirut

PM Salam: Lebanon Trapped in a War It Did Not Choose, Reasserts State Authority

This is Beirut, 02/04 15:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon’s government moved to reassert its authority in a cabinet meeting on Thursday, as Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that the country is being dragged into a war it neither chose nor controls amid growing concerns over the role Hezbollah is playing to escalate the conflict. Speaking after a cabinet session at the Grand Serail, Salam ...

Trump Says U.S. ‘Close to Finishing the Job’ in Iran War, Says More Strikes Ahead

This is Beirut, 02/04 09:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Israel said it came under Iranian missile fire on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the Islamic republic into the "Stone Ages" with heavy strikes in the next two to three weeks. In a speech from the White House, Trump sought to reassure war-weary Americans that the military campaign that began on February 28 was coming ...

Israel Strikes Litani Bridges to Pressure Lebanese Government

Ian Stettner, 01/04 15:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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As Israel presses its ground invasion of south Lebanon, it has destroyed several bridges spanning the Litani River, saying Hezbollah was using the crossings for military purposes. Analysts told This Is Beirut that the strikes also form part of a broader pressure campaign on the Lebanese state. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bridges ...

On the Streets of Tehran: Teenagers Armed With Machine Guns

This is Beirut, 01/04 14:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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In the security crackdown ordered by Iranian authorities since the start of the war, an unsettling new sight on the streets of Tehran has put residents on edge: teenagers armed with machine guns. During the first weeks of the war against the United States and Israel, checkpoints sprang up around the capital, often comprising police or military ...

Erdogan Warns of Regional Spillover Risk as War Enters Second Month

This is Beirut, 01/04 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Wednesday that the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel risks expanding into a broader regional conflict, as tensions continue to escalate across multiple fronts. “We are facing the danger of the war spreading and widening,” Erdoğan said during a parliamentary ...

U.S.-Israeli Strikes Hit Steel Complexes in Central, Southwest Iran

This is Beirut, 01/04 13:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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U.S.-Israeli strikes have hit steel complexes in central and southwest Iran, causing damage to production units, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. "Initial assessments indicate massive attacks, with significant damage and destruction to production units" at the complex of the Mobarakeh Steel Company, one of Iran's biggest, in the central ...

Stocks Rally, Oil Dives as Trump Says War to End 'Very Soon'

This is Beirut, 01/04 11:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Equities rallied and oil tumbled Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the Middle East war would be over in up to three weeks and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to bring it to an end. The remarks came as the economic impact of the conflict worsens, with average US gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon for the ...

Rubio Signals War Endgame as U.S. Pressure Mounts on Weakened Iran

This is Beirut, 01/04 10:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The United States is increasingly signaling that the war with Iran is entering its final phase, even as military operations and diplomatic maneuvering continue in parallel. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington now sees “the finish line” in a conflict that has entered its fifth week, describing an Iranian state that is, ...

Iran FM Says Not Responded to U.S. Plan, 'No Negotiations'

This is Beirut, 01/04 10:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no negotiations with the United States and that Tehran had not responded to a reported 15-point proposal from Washington to end the war. "We receive messages from the American side, some direct and some through our friends in the region, and whenever necessary we respond to these messages," ...

U.S. Defense Secretary Warns of Intensified Strikes Against Iran

This is Beirut, 31/03 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a press conference Tuesday at the Pentagon alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing an update on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran. Hegseth described the campaign as a “laser-focused, maximum authority mission” employing overwhelming ...

Army Withdrawal Sparks Anxiety in Southern Border Villages

This is Beirut, 31/03 14:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Residents of the predominantly Christian southern villages of Rmeish, Debel, and Ain Ebel are experiencing growing anxiety following the sudden withdrawal of security forces and the closure of local police stations on Tuesday, according to local officials and community leaders. Concerns intensified after units of the Lebanese Army redeployed from ...

Gulf Allies Privately Urge Trump to Press War on Iran: Report

This is Beirut, 31/03 12:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Gulf Arab allies are privately urging President Donald Trump to intensify the war against Iran and avoid a premature settlement, even as the White House considers scaling back its military campaign without securing full control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report by the Times of Israel. According to U.S., Gulf, and Israeli officials, ...

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