This is Beirut, 25/10 17:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iran declared one of the country's largest private banks bankrupt, with its assets absorbed by the state, official media reported Saturday, in a rare move in the country grappling with international sanctions. Founded in 2012, Ayandeh Bank had a network of 270 branches across the country, including 150 in the capital, Tehran, alone. But it had ...
Seth J. Frantzman , 23/10 15:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
In the early hours of October 15, an IED tore through a Chevy Tahoe in Baghdad’s northern outskirts, killing Safaa al-Mashhadani, a candidate in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Three days later, gunmen opened fire on the office of another candidate, Muthanna al-Azzawi, 25 kilometers south of the Iraqi ...
Salam El Zaatari, 23/10 11:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Iran wedding Islamic Republic of Iran
In mid-October 2025, a leaked video from a private wedding set Iran ablaze, digitally, politically and morally. It wasn’t just any celebration. The footage showed the daughter of Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, one of Iran’s most powerful men and a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, parading in a strapless white gown at the ...
This is Beirut, 20/10 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah Hamas Israel Hashem Safieddine lebanon Iran
A year after the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on Beirut on September 27, 2024, Hezbollah is quietly attempting to rebuild its shattered leadership and reassert its influence. According to a detailed report by Le Figaro correspondent Georges Malbrunot, the Shia militia now operates in a state of ...
This is Beirut, 19/10 16:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iran Israel Espionnage Qom Prison
Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, the Islamic Republic's arch-enemy, the judiciary's press agency announced Sunday, marking the latest in a series of such cases since a war broke out between the two countries in June. "The death penalty, imposed on a Mossad spy, was carried out Saturday morning in Qom prison," south of the ...
This is Beirut, 19/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Shiite Islam may be the official religion in Iran, but entering Tehran's brand-new Maryam Moghaddas metro station, you could be forgiven for feeling as if you're stepping inside a Christian church. Maryam Moghaddas in Persian translates as "Holy Mary." And the station's vaulted and arched concourse, with a dome decorated with Persian motifs, ...
This is Beirut, 18/10 13:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Iran IAEA Iran Nuclear Program
Iran said on Saturday that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear program as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its "commitment to diplomacy." The 2015 deal, signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, saw the lifting of international ...
This is Beirut, 14/10 16:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Iranian authorities on Tuesday handed down lengthy prison sentences to two French nationals after convicting them on multiple charges, including spying for Israel, the judiciary said. The two unidentified French nationals were arrested in March 2023, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online website, which did not provide details on the ...
This is Beirut, 14/10 12:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Filmmaker Nasser Taghvai Obituary Anti-censorship Iran Culture
Prominent Iranian filmmaker Nasser Taghvai, widely known for his long struggle against censorship, Taghvai has died at the age of 84, his wife said Tuesday. "Nasser Taghvai, an artist who chose the difficulty of living freely, has earned his liberation," his wife, actor Marzieh Vafamehr, wrote on Instagram. Taghvai was born on July 13, 1941 in ...
Seth J. Frantzman , 13/10 20:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)
Lebanon Syria Gaza Hezbollah Iran Donald Trump United States
U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for a peace deal to end the Gaza war has proven to be initially successful. He was able to bring together delegations from Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Israel, and Hamas in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh in mid-October. In the wake of the deal, Trump flew to Israel and Egypt and chaired a peace summit ...
Charles Chartouni, 13/10 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Hamas Israel Gaza Iran Donald Trump
President Trump has proven to be a tough dealmaker and a skillful negotiator who knows how to leverage whatever resources are at hand to promote and sustain peace processes against all odds. His diplomatic approach is based on the common sense of a businessman turned politician at the helm of an “imperial republic.” His hard-nosed realism ...
This is Beirut, 09/10 22:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Sanctions United States Iran Iraq
The US Treasury on Thursday ramped up its Iran-related sanctions, targeting a firm with ties to Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq and the president of Iraq's Olympic Committee. In a statement, the Treasury Department accused these militias of helping "the Iranian regime in evading U.S. sanctions, smuggling weapons, and engaging in widespread ...