Lebanon

Regional Messaging Between Israel and Iran
Regional Messaging Between Israel and Iran

The hands of the clock have frozen in the Middle East as the region waits out the deadline set by US President Donald Trump and his administration to conclude negotiations with Iran—before a potential military escalation that would decisively tip the balance in Israel’s favor. But everything unfolding in the region during this lull amounts to ...

Antoun Sehnaoui Condemns A Defamatory Campaign Driven By Political Motives
Antoun Sehnaoui Condemns A Defamatory Campaign Driven By Political Motives

The Lebanese public has grown increasingly exasperated by the recurring tendency to unjustly implicate Mr. Antoun Sehnaoui in every unfortunate incident or reprehensible crime, to the point that such claims now verge on the absurd. It is as though the old saying, “Blame it on the Italians,” has, in the minds of certain malicious ...

Bint Jbeil Residents Intercept a UNIFIL Patrol
Bint Jbeil Residents Intercept a UNIFIL Patrol

A UNIFIL patrol was intercepted on Tuesday by residents of Bint Jbeil after entering the town without an escort from the Lebanese Army. A #UNIFIL patrol was intercepted by residents of #BintJbeil. pic.twitter.com/8joFllMnAM— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) April 29, 2025   This marks the second such incident in southern Lebanon in less ...

Akkar Under Pressure: Over 24,000 Syrian Refugees in One Month
Akkar Under Pressure: Over 24,000 Syrian Refugees in One Month

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8 did not defuse the Syrian displacement crisis in Lebanon. Since March 10, 24,975 Syrians (or 5,188 families) have fled Syria’s coastal areas to seek refuge in northern Lebanon. These displaced people are spread across about thirty border towns and villages, particularly in Akkar, along the ...

All Eyes Turned on the Municipal Elections in Dahyeh
All Eyes Turned on the Municipal Elections in Dahyeh

As Lebanon prepares for its first municipal elections since the October 2023 war with Israel, attention is turning to the southern suburbs of Beirut, or Dahyeh—a bastion of Hezbollah. The Shiite-majority area has long been under the political influence of Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement. But this year’s vote carries significance far ...

Washington Draws the Line: Iran Must Comply
SpotlightWashington Draws the Line: Iran Must Comply

Washington and Tehran are moving on starkly opposing trajectories in the Middle East. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has prioritized dismantling any armed presence operating outside the framework of state legitimacy and eradicating terrorism from the region. This approach is part of a broader strategy to prepare the ground for a ...

Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem Sets Three Priorities for Lebanon’s Stability
Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem Sets Three Priorities for Lebanon’s Stability

In a televised speech broadcast by Al-Manar on Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem outlined three major priorities he said were essential for Lebanon’s stability, recovery and development as the country prepares for upcoming municipal elections. Qassem emphasized that the first priority is ending Israeli aggression. He called for ...

LAF Foils Sea Smuggling Attempt and Arrests 8 Suspects
LAF Foils Sea Smuggling Attempt and Arrests 8 Suspects

A Lebanese Army (LAF) navy patrol successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle 27 Syrians illegally across the sea, off the coast of Arida (northern Lebanon), the Army’s Directorate of Orientation announced on Monday. The statement also detailed a series of coordinated raids carried out by army units, supported by the Intelligence ...

Army Retirees Threaten to Escalate Pressure for Better Pension
Army Retirees Threaten to Escalate Pressure for Better Pension

Amid growing frustration over deteriorating living conditions, the Military Retirees Movement announced a shift to a new phase of confrontation, warning of wide-ranging protests if the government fails to meet their demands. “After exhausting all means of dialogue and peaceful expression, and facing deafening silence and humiliating disregard ...

Aoun Stresses Need for Israeli Withdrawal to Boost Border Security
Aoun Stresses Need for Israeli Withdrawal to Boost Border Security

President Joseph Aoun underscored the urgent need for Israeli forces to withdraw from five strategic points in southern Lebanon to facilitate the full deployment of the Lebanese Army (LAF) along the border. “This withdrawal is essential to enable the state to assume full responsibility for border security,” Aoun stated. Following the ...

Salam: Municipal Elections, First Step Towards Decentralization
Salam: Municipal Elections, First Step Towards Decentralization

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reaffirmed on Monday that municipal elections will be held as scheduled, calling the vote a “democratic constitutional entitlement” and a promise the government is determined to fulfill. Speaking from the Ministry of Interior during the launch of the central operations room dedicated to overseeing the elections, ...

Geopolitical Variations and Political Challenges
Geopolitical Variations and Political Challenges

The past week was replete with events that cannot be overlooked if we are to address critical conflicts around the world: the death of Pope Francis and its reverberations ; the evolutions of the Ukraine war ; the ultimate scope of the US-Iranian negotiations; the shifting facades of Turkey’s Islamic authoritarianism; and the normalization ...