War in the Middle East

Op-edDebating Tom Friedman on ‘Global Struggle’

Hussain Abdul-Hussain 2025-06-24 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran United States Donald Trump Middle East

I have great admiration for Thomas Friedman and have long followed his writings. He was instrumental in shaping my support for democracy when he argued that two democracies would not go to war. He supported toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, as I did, and we both believe that the nation-state is, in some ways, a defunct concept. Today, ...

Lebanon Holds the Line as US Strike Reshapes Israel-Iran Conflict

Philippe Abi-Akl 2025-06-24 08:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon USA Hezbollah Joseph Aoun Iran

Amid a rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, Lebanon has reaffirmed its neutrality, with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri offering personal assurances to US officials that Hezbollah will not intervene. The commitment was relayed directly to President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, underscoring a unified Lebanese stance ...

Israel-Iran, Day 12: Daybreak Confusion, Ceasefire Claims Collide with Renewed Strikes

This is Beirut 2025-06-24 06:15 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Iran United States

At dawn on Tuesday, uncertainty still seems to master of ceremony. What was announced just hours earlier as the beginning of a ceasefire appeared anything but, as missile sirens blared across Israeli cities and explosions lit up the skies over Tehran. As U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire had taken effect Tuesday morning, ...

$Iran Says \$

Iran Says "No Agreement" as of Now on Ceasefire With Israel

This is Beirut 2025-06-24 04:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Nawaf Salam Iran United States

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that there was no ceasefire agreement with Israel as of now, but if it stopped its attacks then Tehran would also stop firing. "As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations," Araghchi posted on social media, shortly after the US president announced ...

New Series of Explosions in Tehran

This is Beirut 2025-06-24 03:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Iran Tehran

A series of powerful explosions rocked Tehran early Tuesday morning, according to AFP journalists. Warplanes buzzed overhead as explosions shook the north and centre of Iran's capital around 3:00 am (2330 GMT). The blasts occurred just hours before a staggered ceasefire was due to take effect around 0400 GMT, with Iran unilaterally halting ...

$Trump Says Israel and Iran Agree To \$

Trump Says Israel and Iran Agree To "Total Ceasefire"

This is Beirut 2025-06-24 01:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Iran

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Iran and Israel had agreed to a staggered ceasefire that would bring about an "official end" to a conflict that had threatened to escalate into a full-blown war involving the United States. "It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total ...

Trump Urges Mideast Peace after 'Weak' Iran Retaliation

This is Beirut 2025-06-23 23:38 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam United States Donald Trump Qatar Iran

President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Iran's retaliatory strikes against an American base in Qatar as "weak" and sought to draw a line under the US bombing of Iran's nuclear infrastructure by calling for regional peace. Trump shrugged off Monday's launch of multiple missiles at the United States' Al Udeid base in ...

Lebanese Leaders Condemn Iranian Missile Attack on US Base in Qatar

This is Beirut 2025-06-23 22:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Gulf Joseph Aoun United States Iran Qatar Nawaf Salam Saad Hariri

Lebanese officials strongly condemned Iran’s missile attack on the United States’ al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, denouncing it as a dangerous escalation and a violation of Qatari sovereignty. President Joseph Aoun voiced firm opposition to the assault, calling it “a violation of the sovereignty of a brotherly country and a step that would ...

Iran Attacks US Base in Qatar in Retaliation for Strikes on Nuclear Sites

This is Beirut 2025-06-23 22:11 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Qatar Iran

Iran announced it had launched missiles at a major US base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation for American strikes on key nuclear facilities, with explosions ringing out in Doha and projectiles seen streaking overhead. Qatar, which lies 190 kilometers (120 miles) south of Iran and is home to the largest US military facility in the Middle East, ...

Global Reactions After Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Base in Qatar

This is Beirut 2025-06-23 21:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Qatar Iran United States Saudi Arabia UAE

Tensions in the Gulf region soared Monday after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in what it called a “powerful” response to recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Saudi Arabia lambasted Iran for its "unjustifiable" attack on a US base in Qatar, offering to deploy "all its ...

Airlines Disrupted by Iran-Israel Conflict

This is Beirut 2025-06-23 21:01 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Airlines Aviation Travel

Global airlines have suspended or reduced flights in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites on the weekend. The US carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight Saturday to Sunday after over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Israel ...

SpotlightCould the Artesh Take the Helm After Khamenei?

Elie Ziadé 2025-06-23 20:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Middle East US Secretary of State USA

“Two forces that are both complementary and in competition, a duality embedded in every aspect of Iranian political and social life, opposing Islamic ideology to republican equality.” (Bernard Hourcade) For only the second time since its founding in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in direct military confrontation. Traditionally ...