This is Beirut - Sanctions

Tehran Shopkeepers Shut Stores Over Economic Hardship, Currency Volatility

This is Beirut, 29/12 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran Economy Currency Sanctions protests

Some shopkeepers in Tehran closed their stores on Monday in protest against economic hardships and sharp swings in Iran's embattled currency, Iranian media reported, following similar demonstrations a day earlier. State news agency IRNA said some shopkeepers and traders at Tehran's bazaar "have closed or partially closed their stores," adding ...

Syria Welcomes Lifting of US Sanctions

This is Beirut, 19/12 21:56 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump US Congress Syria sanctions Caesar Act

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday welcomed the permanent lifting by the United States of the so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investments to the war-ravaged nation. The US Congress on Wednesday permanently ended the sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December last year. The ...

Syria Applauds Canada’s Decision to Remove Sanctions

This is Beirut, 05/12 22:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Damascus Canada Sanctions Syria

Syria on Friday welcomed the Canadian government’s decision to lift sanctions on Damascus, calling it a positive step that acknowledges the humanitarian and economic toll such measures have had on the Syrian population and key sectors of the country’s economy. In a statement, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the ...

Iran Says New Framework Needed to Access Bombed Nuclear Sites

This is Beirut, 21/11 18:38 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran United Nations Iran sanctions nuclear IAEA

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a new approach should be taken for the monitoring of the country's nuclear sites attacked in a recent war with Israel. Tehran is under pressure from Western powers to allow inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog into the facilities. "We need a method or a framework for how to inspect ...

Lebanon Faces Donor Backlash After Decision Extending Disability Benefits to Hezbollah Fighters

Tylia El Helou, 18/11 20:30 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah United States U.S. Treasury Sanctions

Lebanon is facing mounting diplomatic backlash after the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) extended state and donor-funded disability benefits to the thousands of Hezbollah fighters wounded in Israel’s September 2024 operation targeting Hezbollah’s communication devices. What the ministry described as a humanitarian exemption is now being ...

United States Lifts Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa

This is Beirut, 07/11 21:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Nations United States Sanctions syria

The United States on Friday lifted sanctions imposed on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a day after the United Nations Security Council made a similar decision, ahead of his scheduled meeting next week with U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a notice published on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, Washington removed the ...

Trump says 'Open' to Considering Lifting Iran Sanctions

This is Beirut, 07/11 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Middle East Tehran Sanctions

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has asked for heavy US sanctions against Tehran to be lifted -- and that he is open to having a discussion about it. "Frankly, Iran has been asking if the sanctions could be lifted. Iran has got very heavy US sanctions, and it makes it really hard," Trump said during a dinner with Central Asian ...

New U.S. Sanctions Target Hezbollah Financial Intermediaries

This is Beirut, 07/11 09:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah United States Washington sanctions Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday new sanctions against several individuals accused of transferring tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hezbollah in 2025 through Lebanese money exchange houses. According to the Treasury, these networks exploit Lebanon’s largely cash-based and informal financial system to fund the ...

UN Lifts Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahead of Historic White House Visit

This is Beirut, 06/11 22:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Sanctions United Nations United States

The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a US resolution on Thursday to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of his White House visit next week. "(The Council) decides that Ahmed al-Sharaa...and (Interior Minister) Anas Hasan Khattab are delisted from the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List," said the ...

Financial Times Revives Debate Over Hezbollah’s Funding in Lebanon

Liliane Mokbel, 03/11 20:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Banks Central Bank of Lebanon Sanctions Financial Times

On Sunday, the Lebanese market reacted strongly to a Financial Times (FT) investigation suggesting that Hezbollah has been using digital wallets and money transfer companies to raise funds and support its purported “charitable” networks. The companies under scrutiny — providers of digital wallets and money transfer services — quickly ...

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Official to Visit Lebanon Soon

This is Beirut, 31/10 21:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon John Herlihy USA sanctions Treasury

The U.S. Treasury Department announced that John Herlihy, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, will begin a tour of the Middle East and Europe starting this Friday, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on Iran. According to the statement, Herlihy, the Treasury’s top sanctions official, ...

French Cinema Emerges as Russia’s Cultural Lifeline Amid Western Boycotts

This is Beirut, 10/10 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

French cinema Audiences Russia Sanctions Culture

On a cold autumn evening in Moscow, Alexandra was headed to a cinema, hoping to escape reality for a few hours by taking in a new French comedy. With Hollywood boycotting the Russian market over Moscow's offensive on Ukraine, French films are one of the few cultural windows Russians have left to the West. And even as relations between Paris and ...

Sanctions