This is Beirut

Iran’s Top Security Chief Ali Larijani Lands in Beirut Amid Fierce Debate Over Weapons Monopoly

This is Beirut, 13/08 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah UN Security Council Ali Larijani Beirut

Amid heightened political tensions in Lebanon, marked by increased mobilization of Hezbollah supporters and strong reactions to the government’s decision to reserve arms exclusively for the Lebanese Armed Forces, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Ali Larijani, arrived in Beirut on Wednesday. Larijani began his ...

Finance Minister Yassin Jaber Faces Hezbollah's Wrath Over Disarmament Stance

This is Beirut, 11/08 13:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Amal Jaber Weapons Sovereignty

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who is affiliated with Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, came under scathing attack by Hezbollah supporters on social media over his recent remarks in support of the state’s “exclusive control of weapons.” His position, which reflects Amal’s approach to disarming Hezbollah, is viewed as a departure ...

Araghchi: Iran Supports Hezbollah from Afar, But Disarmament Is Their Decision

This is Beirut, 06/08 15:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Israel

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview, on Wednesday, that any decision on disarmament "will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself". Aragchi was commenting the announcement by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, onTuesday, that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to ...

Naim Qassem Rejects Disarmament, Warns Israel

This is Beirut, 18/07 21:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Israel Naim Qassem

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, speaking at a memorial for commander Ali Karaki, emphasized the group’s ongoing resistance against Israel and accused the latter of repeatedly violating ceasefire agreements in southern Lebanon. Qassem claimed that Hezbollah fully implemented the ceasefire along the Litani River and that the ...

Arms and Ballots: Hezbollah’s Political Stakes

Philippe Abi Akl, 08/07 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Hezbollah Amal Israel Elections Diaspora

The most recent parliamentary session exposed deep divisions among Lebanon’s political forces over the electoral law – particularly on the issue of expatriate voting. The rift was so intense it raised concerns that the entire electoral process could be derailed, especially by parties whose interests have been harmed by recent local, regional ...

Hezbollah’s Last Bargain

Johnny Kortbawi, 05/07 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Amal Israel Lebanese Army Middle East

Hezbollah continues to maneuver under the weight of periodic foreign pressure, and the discourse of its remaining leadership around disarmament is beginning to shift. At the outset of the conflict, the party maintained an unyielding stance, categorically rejecting any discussion of surrendering its weapons and insisting that the aggression it ...

What Is the Shia Issue with the Diaspora?

Johnny Kortbawi, 01/07 12:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Expat Vote Diaspora Shiite

The issue of expatriate voting - if it makes it onto Parliament’s agenda - has taken on a sectarian dimension, placing the Shia community in an increasingly contradictory position, both in relation to the broader Lebanese diaspora and to the very idea of Lebanese emigration itself. This tension is especially perplexing given that Shias ...

Lebanon’s Shia Bloc and the Emigrant Vote Dilemma

Johnny Kortbawi, 27/06 16:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Diaspora Vote Elections Lebanon Shia

Lebanese emigrants have found themselves entangled in a crisis not of their making—namely, the existential crisis of the Shia community amid unfolding developments across the Middle East. Calls to amend the provision governing emigrant voting—whether by assigning them to Electoral District 16 or allowing them to vote for MPs in their home ...

Lebanon at a Crossroads: Chaos or a Place in the New Regional Order

Bassam Abou Zeid, 17/06 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Hezbollah Israel Middle East Iran

Lebanon is closely monitoring the unfolding Iranian-Israeli war - a conflict it has kept at arm’s length, but whose fallout is certain to reach its borders. The real test is whether the government will be able to leverage the outcome to its advantage. Hezbollah resents being forced to remain on the sidelines of a war it sees as a sacred duty, ...

Post-May 25, 2000: A String of Blunders

Michel Touma, 25/05 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

UN Security Council Amal Gulf Hamas Hezbollah

A quarter-century is a brief chapter in the life of a nation. But for a population held hostage for decades by war and relentless existential crises – driven by the unchecked ambitions of regional powers and factions – it can feel like an era. On May 25, 2000, Hezbollah staged a major celebration to mark the withdrawal of the last Israeli ...

Amid the Rubble, Nabatiyeh Votes

Yara Germany, 24/05 11:50 - Reading : less than a minute

Amal Hezbollah Nabatieh Rubble Israel Lebanon

In a city scarred by war, where campaign posters hang beside portraits of those who lost their lives in the latest fighting, Nabatiyeh heads to the polls. Under the enduring shadow of the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, a faint voice of opposition is struggling to emerge.

When Emigrants Pay the Price of Exile

Johnny Kortbawi, 23/05 20:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Amal Free Patriotic Movement Europe Hezbollah Kuwait

None of the emigrants chose to leave voluntarily. They left either in pursuit of education abroad or to find work that could provide them with economic stability and safety amid the wars in Lebanon. When the electoral law was amended to include expatriates in the actual voting process, enthusiasm soared, and in the last election, a quarter of a ...

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