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Iranian, European Ministers to Hold Nuclear Talks Tuesday

This is Beirut, 23/09 16:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Iranian and European ministers will hold nuclear talks in New York on Tuesday, a French diplomatic source said, after the UN Security Council voted to reimpose sanctions over Tehran's atomic program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has until the end of Saturday to reach a deal with his British, French, German and EU counterparts to avoid ...

US Restricts Movement of Iranian Delegation at UNGA

This is Beirut, 23/09 11:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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The United States announced new measures on Tuesday to restrict the movement of the Iranian regime’s delegation attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, reinforcing its maximum pressure strategy on Tehran. The State Department said the restrictions will prevent Iranian officials from accessing wholesale clubs, luxury ...

Ankara, Another Tehran?

Mario Chartouni, 16/09 19:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The Middle East is going through a major realignment. Iran, long at the center of regional tensions, is losing influence after years of proxy wars and direct confrontations with Israel. This decline does not mean the situation is easing. On the contrary, it creates a strategic opening that another player – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey – ...

Hamas: A Shattered Sham

Mario Chartouni, 15/09 15:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Israel’s strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar on Tuesday marked a sharp turning point. For the first time, Israel targeted the political heart of the Islamist movement outside its traditional battlegrounds. In Doha, where Hamas believed it had secured a safe and comfortable refuge, missiles served as a stark reminder that even gilded hotels and ...

UN Nuclear Watchdog Says New Deal with Iran Covers 'All Facilities'

This is Beirut, 10/09 16:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Iran's new cooperation framework with the UN nuclear watchdog includes "all facilities and installations" in the Islamic republic, the agency's head said Wednesday, though Iran said the agreement itself "does not create access." Iran agreed to a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday, after ...

Disarmament: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

Michel Touma, 08/09 08:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The political decision has been made. What matters now is to move to the essentials, cutting through the media noise stirred up by Hezbollah for domestic consumption. From this point forward, it is bold action on the ground that will test the executive branch’s real determination to implement the disarmament of all militias, Lebanese and ...

Iran's Khamenei bemoans low oil production

This is Beirut, 07/09 22:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday bemoaned his country's oil production levels and called for the diversification of its export markets as Tehran faces renewed pressure from the West. "Oil production in the country -- with the importance it has in the economy, which is obvious -- is low," Khamenei said in a ...

Yemeni Authorities Arrest Lebanese and Syrians Over Houthi-Linked Captagon Factory

This is Beirut, 06/09 14:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Yemen’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that it had arrested a group of Lebanese and Syrian nationals in Aden who were preparing to move into Houthi-controlled areas to oversee the establishment of a new factory for producing narcotic pills. In a statement, the ministry said security forces in the temporary capital, Aden, apprehended ...

EU top Diplomat Holds Nuclear Talks with Iran as Sanctions loom

This is Beirut, 05/09 09:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met Thursday in Doha with Tehran's top diplomat to seek a "negotiated solution" to Iran's nuclear program, as the clock ticks down towards a reimposition of sanctions, the EU said. The meeting came after European powers last week triggered a deadline for sanctions to come back into force on Iran for failing to ...

Hezbollah’s Weapons: A Leaky Umbrella

Marc Saikali, 04/09 08:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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On Friday, the Council of Ministers is, in principle and unless the session is postponed, scheduled to examine the army's plan to disarm Hezbollah. The key question is: Will there be a timeline or not? Without one, Hezbollah would gain time and save face while waiting to see how negotiations between Iran and the United States unfold. For everyone ...

Post-Berri Speech: Would Iran Use Hezbollah’s Weapons in Nuke Negotiations?

Philippe Abi-Akl, 02/09 11:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Without ceremony or pomp, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri buried the American proposal brought to Lebanon by envoy Tom Barrack, a plan already endorsed by the Lebanese government. In a televised address marking the 47th anniversary of Imam Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance with his two companions, Berri declared, “We are open to ...

Europeans Tell Iran Offer on Table to Avoid Sanctions

This is Beirut, 29/08 22:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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European powers said Friday they were ready to drop a new sanctions push on Iran if it addresses concerns on its nuclear program over the next month, but Tehran denounced the offer as insincere. Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, triggered the so-called "snapback" mechanism the previous day to reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran for ...

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