Middle East

U.S. Signals Readiness for New Military Action Against Iran While Leaving Door Open for Diplomacy

This is Beirut 21:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States was “one hour away” from launching strikes on Iran on Monday before deciding to delay military action to allow more time for negotiations. Speaking during a White House press briefing alongside Vice President JD Vance, Trump revealed that several Gulf countries had contacted ...

U.S. Tightens Economic Grip on Iran With Sanctions Surge and Global Security Push

This is Beirut 18:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The United States on Monday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian financial intermediaries, exchange houses, and maritime assets, as part of an intensified effort to disrupt what Washington describes as Tehran’s “shadow financial system” used to fund regional operations and evade international restrictions. According to a statement by ...

Lebanese Parliamentary Committees Approve Amendments to Controversial General Amnesty Law

This is Beirut 17:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Lebanon’s joint parliamentary committees on Tuesday approved amendments to a long-debated draft general amnesty law. Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri called for a plenary legislative session on Thursday, May 21, to review the amended draft. Under the amendments, death sentences would be commuted to 28 years in prison, life sentences reduced ...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Calls for Global Crackdown on Terror Financing

This is Beirut 16:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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On Tuesday at the “No Money for Terror” conference in Paris, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for stronger international coordination against terrorist financing networks, particularly those linked to Iran. Speaking on behalf of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Bessent argued that economic sanctions are ...

Oil Prices Retreat as Trump Delays Iran Strike Amid Diplomatic Push

This is Beirut 15:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Global oil prices fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had postponed a planned military strike on Iran, opting instead to give diplomacy another chance in an effort to end the escalating conflict in the Middle East. In a statement posted on social media Monday evening, Trump said a U.S. attack initially scheduled for ...

Iran Stages Mass Weddings for Couples Ready for War 'Sacrifice'

This is Beirut 14:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iranian authorities held mass public weddings in Tehran for couples who signed up to a state-sponsored scheme declaring their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war against the U.S. and Israel. The ceremonies conducted late on Monday involved hundreds of couples in several major squares in the capital, including more than 100 in the vast ...

Iran Says New Proposal to Washington Includes Ending Lebanon War

This is Beirut 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran said Tuesday that its latest proposal to the United States includes demands to end hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon, alongside sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets and the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade imposed on Tehran. In comments carried by Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Deputy Foreign ...

Israel Targets Hezbollah Infrastructure as Cross-Border Fighting Persists

This is Beirut 18/05 22:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Israeli forces intensified operations across southern Lebanon on Monday, carrying out a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure, including attacks against anti-tank missile warehouses, weapons depots, and operational compounds near the border area. Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that more than 3,000 people have ...

Washington Hardens Stance on Tehran Amid Rising Regional Tensions

This is Beirut 18/05 21:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to harden his posture toward Tehran during a phone interview with the New York Post, signaling that Washington is no longer willing to soften its position in ongoing negotiations with Iran. Trump said he was “not open to any concessions” following what he described as a disappointing Iranian ...

Israeli Strikes Continue in the Bekaa Valley and Across Southern Lebanon

This is Beirut 18/05 14:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Israel launched a new series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Monday, while Hezbollah has maintained attacks against Israeli forces in the south and continued launching drones toward northern Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that they had struck 30 Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon ...

Iran Says Responded to Latest U.S. Peace Proposal

This is Beirut 18/05 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran said Monday it had responded to a new U.S. proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that exchanges were continuing despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict that broke out on February 28. The two sides have held a single ...

Iran Officially Announces New Body to Manage Strait of Hormuz: Top Security Council

This is Beirut 18/05 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's top security body announced on Monday the formation of a new body to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively closed and wants to charge ships to traverse. On its official X account, the Supreme National Security Council shared a post for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) saying it would provide "real‑time updates ...