Middle East

Israeli Strikes Continue in the Bekaa Valley and Across Southern Lebanon

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

Israel Hezbollah Lebanon Iran Ceasefire War

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 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran USA Negotiations Hormuz USIranWar Ceasefire

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 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Iran PGSA Hormuz USA IRGC

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 ...

Op-edLebanon Faces Defining Moment in Talks with Israel

Marwan El Amine 10:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Israel Lebanese Army Hezbollah Joseph Aoun

President Joseph Aoun’s decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel marks a strategic turning point. For the first time in years, the Lebanese state is attempting to reclaim its diplomatic sovereignty after long being subordinated to regional calculations, foremost among them Iran’s influence. The direct negotiations represent the ...

Oil Prices Surge as Middle East Tensions Escalate

This is Beirut 03:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Middle East Donald Trump United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia

Global oil prices continued their upward trajectory on Monday amid mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as diplomatic efforts to halt the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran appeared to falter. Brent crude futures rose by $1.44, or 1.32%, reaching $110.70 per barrel by 23:37 GMT after hitting their highest level since May 5 ...

'Staggering' Iran Toll Drives Up Global Executions: Amnesty

This is Beirut 03:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran HumanRights USA UK

Iran put to death over 2,150 people last year, a "staggering" increase that pushed recorded worldwide executions to their highest level since 1981, Amnesty International said Monday. Amnesty said it had confirmed the executions of at least 2,707 people globally in 2025. Of these cases, 2,159 were in Iran, a figure more than double that of 2024, ...

Trump Warns Iran ‘There Won’t Be Anything Left’ as US-Israeli Strike Preparations Intensify

This is Beirut 03:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel USA Iran Trump Netanyahu Hormuz Negotiations USIranWar

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday evening, declaring that Tehran must move quickly toward a peace agreement or face devastating consequences. “For Iran, the clock is ticking, and they better get moving FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The ...

UAE Air Defenses Intercept 3 Drones Entering From Western Border

This is Beirut 17/05 15:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Gulf Israel Saudi Arabia Tehran

The United Arab Emirates announced Sunday evening that its air defenses intercepted three drones that entered the country from the western border direction, with two successfully neutralized while a third struck an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra region. The UAE Ministry of ...

Iran Media Says 'No Tangible Concessions' in U.S. Response to Iran Proposal

This is Beirut 17/05 15:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Lebanon Israel Tehran United States

Iranian media said Sunday that the United States had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran's proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war. The Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its ...

Israeli Strikes Hit Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and South Lebanon

This is Beirut 17/05 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon South Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Washington

Israeli strikes hit multiple areas across southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday, including the western Bekaa Valley and villages in Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts. Two Israeli strikes hit the town of Sohmor in the western Bekaa Valley, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, adding that additional raids struck multiple areas across ...

Hezbollah Rejects Peace Talks With Israel, Warns Lebanese State Against ‘Concessions’

This is Beirut 16/05 20:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Israel Iran USA Ceasefire Disarmament

Hezbollah on Saturday escalated its rhetoric against ongoing Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, rejecting any path toward a “comprehensive peace agreement” with Israel and warning Lebanese authorities against what it described as a “concessionary track” imposed under American pressure. In a lengthy statement released on the ...

Pakistani Minister Arrives in Tehran to 'Facilitate' U.S.-Iran Peace Talks: Media

This is Beirut 16/05 17:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran USA Pakistan Negotiations Hormuz USIranWar

Pakistan's Minister of Interior arrived in Tehran on Saturday "to facilitate" the peace talks between Iran and the United States that have stalled despite a fragile ceasefire, Iranian media reported. "Mohsin Naqvi arrived today in the Islamic Republic of Iran on an official two-day visit as part of Pakistan's ongoing ...