This is Beirut - Washington

Inside the High-Risk U.S.-CIA Operation to Rescue a Downed Airman in Iran

This is Beirut, 10:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Israel United States Washington White House

The United States carried out a high-risk, coordinated operation involving both the U.S. military and the Central Intelligence Agency to rescue a missing crew member of a fighter jet shot down over Iran. The mission, described as both dramatic and politically sensitive, successfully brought the serviceman home, marking the end of a tense episode ...

U.S. Arrests Relatives of Qassem Soleimani for Supporting Iran’s Regime

This is Beirut, 04/04 22:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Two relatives of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani have been arrested in the United States after their legal residency status was revoked, the U.S. State Department confirmed on Saturday. In a statement, the department identified one of the individuals as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, Soleimani’s niece, describing her as an ...

Iran Retains Significant Missile Capabilities Despite Strikes: Report

This is Beirut, 03/04 10:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Israel Tehran United States Washington

According to a CNN report, despite more than five weeks of daily US and Israeli strikes, roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers remain intact and thousands of one-way attack drones are still operational, highlighting Tehran’s continuing ability to threaten the region. Recent intelligence assessments indicate that about half of Iran’s ...

Why Lebanon–Israel Diplomacy Remains Frozen

Ralph Atrach , 02/04 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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As the U.S. signals readiness for a negotiated settlement to the regional war with Iran, a key question is resurfacing: could a broader diplomatic reset in the region revive the prospect of talks between Lebanon and Israel? Since Hezbollah plunged Lebanon into war with Israel on March 2, Beirut has reiterated its willingness to enter direct talks ...

U.S. Weighs Limited Ground Operation in Iran: Report

This is Beirut, 29/03 19:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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The United States Department of Defense is preparing potential military options involving limited ground operations in Iran, according to a report by The Washington Post. The plans, which fall short of a full-scale invasion, could involve thousands of troops and last from several weeks to a few months. U.S. officials stated that no decision has ...

Iran Parliament Speaker Says U.S. Plots Ground Attack Despite Diplomatic Efforts

This is Beirut, 29/03 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that the United States was plotting a ground attack despite publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war. Yesterday, CENTCOM announced that the amphibious assault vessel USS Tripoli had joined the military concentration in the region. "The enemy publicly ...

Ghalibaf: Iran's New Strongman Running War Effort

This is Beirut, 23/03 20:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Middle East Tehran United States Washington

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic republic after the killing of its leaders. A pillar of the Iranian establishment for some three decades and one of the Islamic republic's most prominent non-clerical figures, Ghalibaf, ...

Iraqi Pro-Iran Group Extends Pause in U.S. Embassy Attacks

This is Beirut, 23/03 06:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Middle East Washington Iraq

An Iran-backed armed group announced on Monday that it would continue its five-day pause on attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Since the start of the war in the Middle East, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for near-daily attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these ...

Drone Attack Against Iraqi Intelligence Services Kills One in Baghdad

This is Beirut, 21/03 13:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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An Iraqi officer was killed on Saturday in a drone attack targeting an Iraqi intelligence services building in a residential Baghdad neighbourhood, the agency said, as the Middle East war reverberates across the country. Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the Middle East conflict with strikes targeting Iran-backed groups, which in turn have ...

Roots of Radicalization: The Lebanese Immigrant Behind the Michigan Attack

Claudia Groeling, 19/03 12:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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A Lebanese immigrant to the U.S. last Thursday drove a truck laden with explosives into a synagogue in Michigan, as Israel fought a war with Hezbollah thousands of miles away, a group to which the assailant’s brother reportedly has ties. The FBI described Ayman Ghazali’s attack as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.” ...

Putin Urges 'De-escalation' in Call with Iranian President Pezeshkian

This is Beirut, 10/03 18:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin called for de-escalation in the Iran conflict during a phone call on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said. "The President of Russia reaffirmed his principled position in favour of a speedy de-escalation of the conflict and for it to be resolved through political means," the ...

Iran Security Chief Says U.S., Israel Seeking 'Disintegration of Iran'

This is Beirut, 07/03 22:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Middle East United States USA Washington

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani said on Saturday that the United States and Israel were seeking to break the Islamic republic apart. "Their issue was... the fundamental disintegration of Iran," said Larijani in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on state TV. On February 28, the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran that killed ...

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