Middle East

AnalysisIran: The Regime Falters as Fear Shifts

Natasha Metni Torbey 17:35 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Iran economic crisis protests Mullahs Donald Trump Islamic Republic

In Iran, today’s protests are no longer a part of a long series of crises that the Islamic Republic has, over decades, contained through repression, intimidation, or external distraction. This is different: a deep, gradual, but now unmistakably visible erosion of the regime’s symbolic, ideological, and psychological foundations. This ...

Yemen's Separatists Say Fighting 'Existential' War Against Saudi-Backed Forces

This is Beirut 16:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Yemen Houthis United Arab Emirates

Yemen's UAE-backed separatists said they were fighting a critical war against Islamists and Al-Qaeda extremists supported by Saudi Arabia, their military spokesman said on Friday. "This war is decisive and existential," Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Al-Naqib said in a statement, after the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes and ...

Seven Dead as Saudi Coalition Strikes UAE-Backed Forces in Yemen

This is Beirut 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Saudi Aabia UAE Yemen

Seven separatist fighters died in air strikes Friday as the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen hit back against a sweeping advance by the UAE-backed Southern Transition Council that threatens to spiral into a major confrontation. The deaths are the first from coalition fire since the secessionist STC seized swathes of Hadramawt and Mahra provinces last ...

Trump Says US Will 'Come To Their Rescue' If Iran Kills Protesters

This is Beirut 11:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Trump Iran Protests IranProtests USPolitics

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, after cost-of-living demonstrations in the country turned deadly. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come ...

Hezbollah Receives ‘Last-Chance Advice’ from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey to Disarm

This is Beirut 11:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Turkey Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Lebanese Army

Lebanese ministerial officials say Hezbollah on Wednesday received “last-chance advice” from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to hand over its weapons to Lebanon’s government, according to the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. According to the sources, the countries warned the militant group that failing to disarm would isolate ...

Iran Markets Advanced Weapons Systems for Crypto - FT

This is Beirut 09:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran Washington

Iran’s official defense export agency is offering to sell ballistic missiles, drones, and other advanced weapons systems to foreign governments in exchange for cryptocurrency and barter, Financial Times reported on Thursday. The Ministry of Defense Export Center (Mindex) is the export arm of Iran’s defense ministry. The site offers ...

Fresh Clashes Kill Six in Iran Cost-of-Living Protests

This is Beirut 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Europe Tehran United States USA

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out. The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country. On ...

PoliticsDeadlock in the Second Phase of the State Monopoly on Arms

Bassam Abou Zeid 2025-12-31 19:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanese Army Disarmament United States

By the last day of 2025, the Lebanese government was expected to have completed the disarmament of Hezbollah nationwide, following a decision made at a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace on August 5. The official statement tasked the Lebanese Army with drawing up an operational plan to restore the monopoly of weapons exclusively to the ...

Ahead of 2026, Washington's Tougher Terms for Lebanon

Amal Chmouny 2025-12-31 17:10 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Washington Donald Trump Lebanese Army Amal

Heading into 2026, U.S. engagement in Lebanon has become explicitly conditioned on measurable progress toward Hezbollah’s disarmament, marking a clear break from the strategic ambiguity that long defined Washington’s approach. The aftermath of the 2024 Israel–Hezbollah conflict, alongside Lebanon’s deepening economic and political crises, ...

Israel Says Ban on Aid Groups Operating in Gaza to Hit 37 Organisations

This is Beirut 2025-12-31 15:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel European Union Hamas United Nations Gaza NGO

Israel has said that 37 aid organizations will be banned from operating in Gaza starting on Thursday unless they comply with its new guidelines requiring detailed information on Palestinian staff. "They refuse to provide lists of their Palestinian employees because they know, just as we know, that some of them are involved in terrorism or linked ...

Turkey Steps Up Anti-IS Raids, Arresting 125 Suspects

This is Beirut 2025-12-31 14:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Turkey ISIS raid arrest

Turkey on Wednesday detained another 125 Islamic State group suspects in a string of nationwide raids, a minister said, following warnings that IS militants planned attacks over the holidays. Nearly 600 people have now been detained in anti-IS raids over the past week. "We captured 125 Daesh suspects in simultaneous operations carried out in 25 ...

Iran Prosecutor Pledges 'Decisive' Response if Protests Destabilize Country

This is Beirut 2025-12-31 13:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Tehran Iran demonstration

Iran's prosecutor general said on Wednesday that economic protests that had gripped the country were legitimate, but any attempt to create insecurity would be met with a "decisive response". "Peaceful livelihood protests are part of social and understandable realities," Mohammad Movahedi-Azad told state media after three days of protests by ...