Middle East

London Based Persian TV to Air 'Truth' About Iran Protests Despite Threats

This is Beirut 27/01 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Kingdom IranProtests HumanRights Journalism Iran

Journalists at the Persian-language TV station Iran International in London have been working flat out, vowing to "show the truth" about the protests in Iran, despite threats against them and their families. The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily secured building in west London, was labeled a "terrorist" organization by Tehran in 2022, ...

U.S. Delegations Meet in Jordan on Lebanon-Israel Relations as Karam Floats Tel Aviv Talks

This is Beirut 26/01 21:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Lebanon Jordan Simon Karam

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee convened in Jordan on Monday to discuss the steps needed for a sustainable peace between the two countries as former ambassador Simon Karam expresses further willingness for direct talks between Lebanon and Israel. On Sunday, Simon Karam, Lebanon’s ...

UAE Rules Out Use of Its Territory as Region Braces for Possible Attacks on Iran

This is Beirut 26/01 20:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates Iran Gulf

The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement asserting the United Arab Emirates’ position on a U.S.-Iran conflict on Monday, stressing that it will not allow its territory to be used for any attacks on Iran. The release states: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates’ ...

Qassem Warns Hezbollah May Intervene If Iran Is Attacked

This is Beirut 26/01 19:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Naim Qassem Iran

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, delivered a speech amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran on Monday, stating that any attack on Iran would also target his group, and warned that any new war on the Islamic Republic would ignite the region. On the question of Hezbollah’s engagement in a conflict scenario, Qassem left ...

Khamenei Issued No Mercy, 'Shoot to Kill' Orders

This is Beirut 26/01 15:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

New York Tehran UN Security Council

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Iran's Supreme National Security Council to suppress the protests on January 9 by using "any means necessary," The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing two officials familiar with the matter. According to the officials, security forces were then deployed to the streets with ...

Rubio Praises Iraq’s Detention of ISIS Members, Warns Against Iranian Influence

This is Beirut 26/01 11:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

US Secretary of State Middle East USA Washington Marco Rubio Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani Iraq Iran ISIS

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday praised the Iraqi government’s “initiative and leadership” in accelerating the transfer and detention of ISIS terrorists to secure facilities inside Iraq. According to a U.S. Department of State press release, Rubio held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani in light of recent ...

U.S. Launches Regional Air Readiness Drill in the Middle East

This is Beirut 26/01 10:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

USA Middle East Donald Trump USMilitary USNavy Iran

The United States will conduct a multi-day air readiness exercise across the Middle East, aimed at demonstrating the ability to deploy, distribute, and sustain combat air capabilities throughout the region, according to a statement issued Sunday by U.S. Central Command, as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the region ...

IDF: Israel Ready on All Fronts if U.S. Strike on Iran Triggers Retaliation

This is Beirut 26/01 10:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel Donald Trump USA Gulf Hezbollah

IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo said Sunday that the military is preparing for the possibility that a U.S. strike on Iran could trigger Iranian retaliation against Israel. “We don’t know where this is heading,” Milo said in remarks broadcast by Channel 12 News. “We see the force buildup the Americans are ...

AnalysisAfter Maduro: The Challenge of Dismantling Hezbollah in Venezuela

Claudia Groeling 26/01 09:35 - Reading : 9 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanon Donald Trump Tehran US Secretary of State

After U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed that Washington would uproot Hezbollah and Iranian influence in the South American country. “We are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for ...

Iran May Have Slaughtered 30,000 Protesters in Intense Crackdown - TIME

This is Beirut 25/01 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tehran United Nations protests Iran Death toll

As many as 30,000 people may have been killed across Iran during a two-day crackdown on January 8 and 9, TIME reported on Sunday, citing two senior Health Ministry officials and a separate compilation of hospital data shared with the publication. The figures have not been independently verified and far exceed numbers publicly cited by ...

Why Hezbollah’s Base Is Battling the President Digitally

Salam El Zaatari 25/01 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun

If Lebanon were a normal country, the presidency would be the one place where politics slows down, where disputes are processed through institutions, where crises are turned into decisions, and where the state, at minimum, performs statehood. But Lebanon is not a normal country. And that is why the recent surge of pro-Hezbollah campaigning ...

Analysis2026 NDS: America First Ushers in a New Era of Selective Engagement in the Middle East

Amal Chmouny 24/01 19:40 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

United States Middle East Iran

The newly released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a dramatic pivot in American foreign policy, embracing what officials call “pragmatic realism” while fundamentally redefining U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Under an “America First” framework, the strategy moves away from large-scale military interventions in favor of ...