This is Beirut

Hezbollah Is a State within the State, Not Only “Heavy and Medium” Weapons

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 15/07 10:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Syria Iraq Israel United States

In policy, simplicity is valuable; naiveté is catastrophic. Lebanon has by now diluted UNSCR 1701 from dismantling Hezbollah’s militia, arms production, and illicit funding to merely surrendering “heavy and medium” weapons, or as U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack frames it: Hezbollah must hand over weapons that threaten Israel. Such oversimplification ...

Drone Attacks Target Iraq Airport and Oil Field

This is Beirut, 14/07 23:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan Erbil Erbil Airport

A drone packed with explosives was shot down near Erbil airport on Monday, with two more later hitting an oil field in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish security forces said. "At 02:20 (1120 GMT) an explosive-laden drone was downed near Erbil International Airport, without causing casualties or damage," said the counterterrorism ...

The Unfinished Wars

Charles Chartouni, 14/07 10:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Iran Israel Lebanon Syria Iraq United States

The regional political scene is quite treacherous, as it conveys misleading signals regarding the outcomes of the ongoing wars in the greater Middle East. American diplomacy remains evasive regarding these wars and their prospects. This uncertainty complicates international relations and makes it challenging for global powers to formulate coherent ...

Drone Downed Near Iraq Airport Hosting US Troops: Kurd Forces

This is Beirut, 14/07 10:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iraq Erbil

A drone packed with explosives was shot down Monday near Erbil airport, which hosts US troops from the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish security forces said. "At 02:20 (1120 GMT) an explosive-laden drone was downed near Erbil International Airport, without causing casualties or damage," said the ...

Finance Minister Reveals Details of Lebanon’s Upcoming Visit to Iraq

This is Beirut, 11/07 19:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Yassine Jaber Lebanon Economy Iraq

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber revealed important details on Friday regarding the planned Lebanese ministerial visit to Baghdad. During a meeting with Iraq’s Chargé d’Affaires Mohammad Reda al-Husseini, Jaber revealed that the visit, originally scheduled for last month, had been postponed. The visit will address sensitive bilateral issues, ...

Rockets Fired at Iraq Airport, Wound Two: Security Sources

This is Beirut, 01/07 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Iraq Airport Kirkuk

Two rockets struck the military section of Kirkuk airport in northern Iraq late on Monday, slightly wounding two security personnel, a senior security official told AFP. Another rocket hit a house in the city of Kirkuk, causing material damage. "Two Katyusha rockets fell in the military section of Kirkuk airport," slightly wounding two security ...

PKK Disarmament Process to Begin Early July

This is Beirut, 30/06 22:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

PKK Iraq Turkey

Militants from the PKK will begin laying down their weapons at a disarmament ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan in early July, the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported on Monday. The move comes just six weeks after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was ending more than four decades of guerrilla warfare in a conflict that claimed over ...

Drones Hit Radar Systems at Iraqi Military Bases

This is Beirut, 24/06 11:17 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iraq United States Drone

Unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Iraq early Tuesday, security sources said. The strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles at a US military facility in Qatar --the largest US military facility in the Middle East -- in retaliation for the American bombing of Tehran's nuclear facilities. The first attack ...

Yet Another ‘Divine Victory’

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 17/06 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran Israel Iraq United States

No matter the outcome of the war between Iran and Israel, Tehran will claim victory. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has already cited the Quranic verse “a victory from God and an imminent conquest.” Middle East observers have seen this movie many times, and it always ends the same: with its military might, Israel prevails—while a ...

The Ministry of Energy Authorizes the Unloading of Fuel from the Minerva Antonia

This is Beirut, 16/06 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Fuel Iraq Electricity

The Ministry of Energy and Water announced on Monday that it has authorized the unloading of the Minerva Antonia’s cargo, following confirmation that the fuel on board complies with current specifications. According to a statement released by the Ministry’s press office, the latest tests conducted on samples from the ship’s cargo confirmed ...

Genealogy of a War of Choice

Charles Chartouni, 16/06 09:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

United States Iran Israel Iraq Lebanon

The launched Israeli war is the latest stage of the strategy that aimed at the progressive dismantling of the “integrated operational platforms” instrumentalized by the Iranian regime. The performance and the audacity of the undertaking raise several questions about the future geopolitical and geostrategic evolutions after the earthquake ...

Baghdad Asks Iran to Avoid Strikes on US Targets in Iraq

This is Beirut, 14/06 17:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iraq Iran Israël

Baghdad has asked Tehran not to target US interests on Iraqi soil, a senior security official said Saturday, as Washington's ally Israel and Iran traded blows, heightening tensions across the region. The government in Baghdad is a close ally of Tehran but also a strategic partner of Iran's arch-foe, the United States, which has some 2,500 troops ...

iraq