This is Beirut - United States

Iran at the Edge: Uprising, Exhaustion, and the Fate of the Islamic Republic

Salam El Zaatari, 08/01 23:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Iran Protests Tehran Donald Trump United States Pezeshkian

Amid growing protests, Iran’s rulers face one of their most dangerous moments since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with the pillars that have long sustained the regime now visibly cracking. Protests that erupted in late December 2025 over imploded living conditions have evolved into a nationwide revolt against the ruling system itself, fueled by ...

Aleppo Clashes Between Syria Govt, Kurdish Forces Rage into Third Night

This is Beirut, 08/01 22:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Damascus European Union Israel Turkey United States

Clashes between Syrian government and Kurdish forces in Aleppo raged into the night Thursday on the third day of fighting, as Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi warned the violence undermined talks with Damascus. Global Response Washington's special envoy to Syria on Thursday issued an "urgent appeal" to the Syrian government and ...

Iran Warns of Retaliation as President Orders Restraint on Protesters

This is Beirut, 07/01 11:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Tehran United States

Iran's military chief warned on Wednesday that Iran will not stand by and allow itself to be threatened by outside powers, after the United States and Israel backed anti-government protests in which at least 35 protesters have reportedly been killed. "The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the ...

Fresh Clashes Kill Six in Iran Cost-of-Living Protests

This is Beirut, 02/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Europe Tehran United States USA

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out. The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country. On ...

Deadlock in the Second Phase of the State Monopoly on Arms

Bassam Abou Zeid, 2025-12-31 19:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Lebanese Army Disarmament United States

By the last day of 2025, the Lebanese government was expected to have completed the disarmament of Hezbollah nationwide, following a decision made at a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace on August 5. The official statement tasked the Lebanese Army with drawing up an operational plan to restore the monopoly of weapons exclusively to the ...

Iran Designates Royal Canadian Navy a Terrorist Organisation

This is Beirut, 2025-12-30 13:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran United States

The Iranian foreign ministry designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organisation on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Canada's 2024 blacklisting of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. In a statement, the ministry said that the move was in reaction to Ottawa declaring the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, a terror group ...

Syria to Start Replacing Currency from Jan 1: Central Bank Chief

This is Beirut, 2025-12-25 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Banks Damascus United States Syria Currency

Syria's central bank chief said Thursday that the country's currency would start to be replaced with a revamped version from January 1, as Damascus tries to relaunch its economy after emerging from the rule of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad last year. Improving the standing of the Syrian pound is among the greatest challenges for Syria's new ...

Israel Arrests Citizen Suspected of Spying for Iran

This is Beirut, 2025-12-25 12:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel United States Iran Spying

Israeli authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offenses under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents, days after Tehran executed an Iranian accused of spying for Israel. The arrest is the latest in a series of cases in which Israel has charged its own citizens with spying for its ...

Hezbollah Allegedly Strengthens Hold on Beirut Port Amid Disarmament Doubts

Michael al-Andary, 2025-12-22 13:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Beirut Port Hezbollah Nawaf Salam Beirut International Airport Lebanese Army Israel United States

Despite the Lebanese cabinet’s move to impose a firm deadline for the disarmament of militias, developments on the ground point to a “lack of seriousness” in enforcing the decision against Hezbollah, a security source told This is Beirut on condition of anonymity, questioning whether the government’s commitment is backed by concrete ...

Iran Says Missile Programme Defensive, Non-Negotiable

This is Beirut, 2025-12-22 13:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel United States Iran Diplomacy

Iran insisted on Monday that its missile program was defensive in nature and designed to dissuade attack, while adding the existence of its arsenal was not up for debate. Israel had presented Iran's ballistic missiles, along with its nuclear program, as the two main threats it sought to neutralize during the 12-day war the foes fought in ...

US Senator Accuses Hamas and Hezbollah of Rearming

This is Beirut, 2025-12-21 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lindsey Graham Hamas Hezbollah Lebanon Israel United States

US Senator Lindsey Graham accused Hamas and Hezbollah of rearming during a visit to Israel on Sunday and charged that the Palestinian Islamist group was also consolidating power in Gaza. After two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory, a fragile ceasefire has held since October, despite both sides trading accusations ...

Netanyahu Set to Present Iran Strike Options to Trump

This is Beirut, 2025-12-20 20:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel United States Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to present plans for a potential strike on Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump during his forthcoming visit to the United States, NBC News reports, citing several unnamed officials. According to the report, Israel is increasingly alarmed that Iran is rebuilding, and possibly expanding, its ballistic ...

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