English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  August 27/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.August27.25.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006 

Click On The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw

Bible Quotations For today
He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; & will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Book of Revelation 21/01-12.14: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 26-27/2025
The Media Campaign Against Tom Barrack is Childish…And the Vast Difference Between Hezbollah the Devils, and Mullahs’ Criminality, and Morgan Ortagus: America, Beauty, and Hope/Elias Bejjani/August 26, 2025
Call for the Arrest of Naim Qassem and the Closure of Hezbollah’s Institutions/Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
Hezbollah’s Threats Against Journalist Mohammad Barakat and His Family Are Condemned – The Judiciary Must Act/Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
‘Act civilized’: US envoy berates Lebanese journalists during press conference
US to Back Extending UN Peacekeeping Mandate in Lebanon, Says Envoy
Barrack calls reporters' behavior in Baabda 'animalistic', sparking outrage in Lebanon
What did Aoun and Salam tell US delegation?
Ortagus says Qassem and Hezbollah 'do not represent the Lebanese people'
Barrack says KSA, Qatar to invest in economic zone for disarmed Hezbollah, supporters
Barrack says Israeli 'counterproposal' to come when Lebanon presents disarmament plan
Israeli official says Israel won't 'bow to pressures', to attack 'all of Lebanon if needed'
Report: Israel's Dermer leading talks on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria
Barrack says US to back extending UNIFIL mandate
Amnesty urges war crimes probe into Israeli destruction in Lebanon
Lebanon Agrees Bail for Ex-Central Bank Chief
US envoy: Saudi Arabia, Qatar to invest in Lebanon economic zone for disarmed Hezbollah
Lebanon to propose Hezbollah disarmament plan on August 31, US envoy says
The erosion of armament is an opportunity for Lebanon and the Arabs/Nadim Koteich/Arab News/August 26, 2025
Lebanon … In Barrack and Ortagus’ court/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26, 2025

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 26-27/2025
Security Deal With Israel Is Likely, Syrian President Says
Israel Strike on Syria Kills One
Iran, European powers meet in Geneva as threat of sanctions looms large
Iran, European powers to resume nuclear talks as sanctions deadline looms
Iran faces 'snapback' of sanctions over its nuclear program. Here's what that means
Australia blames Iran for antisemitic arson attacks, expels envoy
Trump to chair ‘large meeting’ on post-war Gaza: US envoy
Dozens Wounded as Israel Carries out Rare Ramallah Raid
Dozens Wounded as Israel Carries out Rare Ramallah Raid
Mediator Qatar Says 'Still Waiting' for Israeli Response to Gaza Truce Proposal
Protesters in Israel Demand Release of Hostages as Israeli Strikes Kill 16 in Gaza, Hospitals Say
UK to Help Dozens of Gazans Study at British Universities
Saudi Arabia Calls on International Community to End Famine in Gaza, Israeli Crimes
Trump still weighing ‘very serious’ economic sanctions on Russia

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 26-27/2025
Iran Reshuffles the Deck. Will it Matter?/Behnam Ben Taleblu/National Interest/August 26/2026
Why we should still be terrified of Putin’s rewriting of Russian history/Ivana Stradner/Telegraph/August 26/2025
The Real Reason Jews Are Hated/Nils A. Haug/ Gatestone Institute/August 26/2025
Keeping the transatlantic relationship alive/Jim O’Brien/Arab News/August 26, 2025
Selected X tweets for August 26/202

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 26-27/2025
The Media Campaign Against Tom Barrack is Childish…And the Vast Difference Between Hezbollah the Devils, and Mullahs’ Criminality, and Morgan Ortagus: America, Beauty, and Hope
Elias Bejjani/August 26, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146720/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VL3wzywTU8&t=163s
My commentary today revolves around three key points:
1 – The Significance of Morgan Ortagus’s Courage in Beirut
Through both words and actions, she proved that she does not fear Hezbollah. She urged the Lebanese not to fear it either, because it is nothing more than an Iranian arm whose time has ended. She reassured that America, the West, and the majority of Arab states have already decided to strip it of its weapons, dismantle its military presence, and end its occupation of Lebanon.
2 – Hezbollah’s Hysteria and Its Mouthpieces
From Naïm Qassem, to the party’s MPs, officials, and media lackeys – they are all living in denial, delirium, hallucinations, and daydreams before the collapse of their project and their humiliating defeat, along with the downfall of the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” the grand façade of terrorism.
3 – The Infantile Media Campaign Against Tom Barrack
This campaign is practically parrot-like, empty of any real meaning, and represents a complete divorce from the real positions and priorities that should be taken against Hezbollah’s occupation, its defiance of the constitution, its rejection of international resolutions, and its daily threats against the Lebanese.
To begin with, the difference between the faces of Naïm Qassem, Mohammad Raad, Wafiq Safa, and the rest of the gang of the “fake resistance,” and the face of Morgan Ortagus, is like the difference between devils and angels, between owls and doves, between ugliness and grace, between evil and good.
Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. envoy who confidently walked into a famous Beirut beauty salon to have her hair done, wanted to say boldly to the Lebanese:
“I am not afraid of Hezbollah, and I advise the Lebanese not to fear it either. It is an Iranian arm whose time has ended, and America, the West, and most Arab countries are working to strip it of its weapons.”
This practical gesture alone is enough to destroy the entire fear-mongering machine that Hezbollah attempts to plant in Lebanese minds through its daily sectarian and terrorist speeches.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s so-called “acting Secretary-General” Naïm Qassem, along with the rest of its leaders and their hired propagandists – journalists, analysts, and media parrots – live in a hysterical state of threats, screaming, excommunication, treason, and false promises of returning to the days of total domination. Yet behind all this noise lies one simple reality: defeat, collapse, and pathological denial of reality. They are hallucinating, detached from facts, after Hezbollah and Iran’s humiliating downfall, the collapse of Bashar Assad’s criminal regime in Syria, and Israel’s systematic elimination of most Hezbollah leaders – which continues daily – while Hezbollah is incapable of even firing a single bullet in response.
Every day, Hezbollah threatens the lives of free and sovereign Lebanese – from Sheikh Ahmad Shukr, to journalist Qassem Qassir linking the militia’s weapons to the “return of the Mahdi,” passing by Wafiq Safa, Hussein al-Moussawi, and many others. Yet most of Lebanon’s press and political class remain silent and cowardly. Only a few dared to respond.
The absurd irony is this: the very same people who stayed silent in the face of Hezbollah’s death threats, assassinations, and threats of civil war, exploded hysterically against a passing comment by Tom Barrack, when he used a simple English word telling journalists to calm down! That word was blown up into an entire circus, as if it were the crime of the century. This is pure hypocrisy and blindness, explained only by an addiction to submission and servility.
Where were those loud voices when Hezbollah thugs assaulted journalist Daoud Rammal as he prayed at his parents’ grave? Where were they when Hezbollah shed the blood of journalist Mohammad Barakat? Where were they when Hassan Nasrallah told Lebanese opponents of his Iranian militia occupation: “You are not human”? And where were they when Hezbollah’s newspaper editor threatened journalists with “feel your necks”? The list goes on… Silence was the answer. Yet today, they all pretend to be outraged at Barrack!
The reality is that what Barrack meant was simple: “Calm down, or we will leave you alone.” But the parrots preferred screaming.
On the Word “Animalistic” vs. “Anomalistic”
From a linguistic perspective, there is no English word “anomalistic,” as some pretended. There is anomaly (abnormality, irregularity) and anomalous (abnormal, unusual).
The word Barrack used was animalistic. Here are its meanings from leading dictionaries:
Oxford English Dictionary: “Relating to the characteristics or behavior of animals; resembling or suggestive of animals.”
Merriam-Webster: “Of, relating to, or resembling an animal or animals; marked by instinct rather than reason.”
Cambridge Dictionary: “Like an animal; relating to the behavior of animals rather than humans.”
In plain words: animalistic = primitive, brutal, driven by raw instinct and savagery.
So the entire outcry was nothing but empty propaganda – a parrot-like hysteria, just as meaningless as everything Hezbollah and its chorus of mouthpieces promote.
Conclusion
Morgan Ortagus represents America, beauty, and hope, while Hezbollah represents ugliness, monkeys, devils, and the mullahs’ criminality. The contrast could not be clearer. What Ortagus told the Lebanese is in itself a roadmap: Do not fear Hezbollah. Its time is over. The international, Arab, and American decision is to disarm it and restore Lebanon to its statehood.
As for the media campaign against Tom Barrack, it only reveals how deeply Lebanon’s press has been infected by decades of occupation – Palestinian, Syrian, and now Iranian – planting submissiveness, self-censorship, and the mentality of “devil’s advocates” into the veins of too many so-called journalists.
**Video Link to the Section of Press conference held by U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack, & Morgan Ortagus on 26 August/2025 at The Lebanese Presidential Palace and created the childish media Campaign again Barrak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi35R6qPyLI
DRM News/August 26/2025
**Video Link to the entire Press conference held by U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack, & Morgan Ortagus on 26 August/2025 at The Lebanese Presidential Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM_r5yAH26E
DRM News/August 26/2025
**Video Link to the Press Conference the UN Envoys & Senators held at the Lebanese Presidential Palace on August 26/after Meeting with President Joseph Aoun
(Tom Barrak, Morgan Ortagus, Sent Shaheen, Lindsey Graham & Joe Wilson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Up0X7mWnc
DRM News/August 26/2025

Call for the Arrest of Naim Qassem and the Closure of Hezbollah’s Institutions
Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146679/
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s  Secretary-General, continues to act as nothing more than a failed and repulsive mouthpiece for the Iranian regime. His speech today, filled with empty bravado, inflammatory rhetoric, and sectarian incitement, was nothing short of a direct provocation against the Lebanese state and its people.Such rhetoric is dangerous, divisive, and openly challenges Lebanon’s sovereignty and rule of law. Qassem is not merely a political figure — he is an instigator of conflict and a partner in terrorism. His arrest is a national necessity, and all offices and institutions of Hezbollah — a militia serving Iran’s agenda — must be shut down immediately to restore Lebanon’s security, peace, and sovereignty.

Hezbollah’s Threats Against Journalist Mohammad Barakat and His Family Are Condemned – The Judiciary Must Act
Elias Bejjani/August 25/2025
In my name, and in the name of every Lebanese expatriate who cherishes freedom of expression, believes in the rise of the state, the restoration of its authority and sovereignty, the implementation of all international resolutions, and full adherence to the constitution and laws related to freedoms, I strongly condemn the organized campaign of terrorism and threats targeting journalist Mohammad Barakat and members of his family by Hezbollah’s media outlets, its officials, its propaganda machine, and its hired mouthpieces.
What is being waged against Barakat is nothing but a vile attempt to silence free voices through defamation, intimidation, and incitement to both moral and physical assassination—an outrageous violation of the Lebanese constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mohammad Barakat is a free and sovereign-minded journalist, a man who testifies to the truth, openly opposes Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon, and calls for mere peaceful and constitutional ending of its military and intelligence grip, and for the full implementation of relevant international resolutions.
Targeting him in such a disgraceful manner exposes the depth of Hezbollah’s moral and political bankruptcy before the Lebanese public at large, and before the free and sovereign voices within its own community in particular, which it has taken hostage and tied to its illegitimate Iranian weapons.
It must be stressed that freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed by the Lebanese constitution, and every journalist and citizen has the right to practice it so long as they remain within the bounds of the law. Mohammad Barakat has not deviated from these bounds in the slightest. Therefore, any attempt to harm him or any member of his family constitutes a direct assault on press freedom and on the fundamental rights of all Lebanese people.
Hezbollah, its apparatus, its propaganda outlets, and its hired agents bear full responsibility for any threat against Barakat, and for any harm that may befall him or his family. It is imperative that the Lebanese judiciary and security agencies move immediately to open a transparent investigation, identify those responsible for this campaign, and prosecute anyone who incited, fabricated, or circulated false statements targeting his life.
An attack on the life of Mohammad Barakat—or any Lebanese journalist—is a direct assault on freedom and on human dignity. Yet voices of truth and liberty will not be silenced by forged statements or campaigns of intimidation. Free Lebanese journalism, both at home and across the diaspora, has always been—and will remain—the first line of defense for Lebanon’s sovereignty. Hezbollah, or anyone else, will not succeed in silencing it.
Standing in full solidarity with Mohammad Barakat, and with every journalist who faces threats, is a national, moral, and legal duty. Exposing these practices before the international community is likewise essential, in defense of freedom of expression, the dignity of the Lebanese press, and the right of all Lebanese to free speech and full sovereignty.

‘Act civilized’: US envoy berates Lebanese journalists during press conference
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 26, 2025
BEIRUT: US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack sparked outrage Tuesday after telling Lebanese journalists to “act civilized” and avoid behaving in an “animalistic” manner during a press conference at the presidential palace, drawing swift condemnation from media unions and the presidency. During a press conference at Baabda Palace following his meeting with President Joseph Aoun, Barrack asked journalists to “be quiet for a moment” before lashing out, saying: “The moment this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone.” He added: “Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region.”Linking their behavior to a broader problem in the Middle East drew backlash from journalists and media unions, who described his comments as “humiliating” and “racist.”The press conference was held in Beirut to brief the media on Washington’s push to disarm Hezbollah as part of wider efforts to de-escalate tensions along Lebanon’s southern border. Despite calls for clarification, Barrack, who was joined by Deputy Envoy Morgan Ortagus, refused to apologize following the press conference. In response, Lebanon’s presidency issued a statement, saying that it “deeply regrets the remark made inadvertently from its podium by one of its guests,” without naming Barrack. It also affirmed “its utmost respect for human dignity in general,” while extending appreciation to all journalists and media correspondents for their efforts and national role in covering the country’s developments. The Syndicate of Lebanese Press Editors issued a statement, demanding an apology from the US envoy. Denouncing what it described as “beyond the pale of decency and diplomacy,” the syndicate threatened that it would urge media outlets to boycott his remaining visits to Lebanon if apologies were not made. It called the remarks “absolutely unacceptable and highly reprehensible,” adding that “what’s even more unfortunate is that it came from an envoy of a major power.”

US to Back Extending UN Peacekeeping Mandate in Lebanon, Says Envoy
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
US envoy Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that his country would approve the extension of United Nations peacekeepers' mandate in Lebanon for one more year. With the UN Security Council discussing the future of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate ends on Sunday, Barrack told journalists from Lebanon's presidential palace: "The United States' position is we will extend for one year." Barrack noted disapprovingly that the force cost "a billion dollars a year". The Security Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep UNIFIL -- first deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon -- in place for another year while it prepares to withdraw. The vote, which was supposed to take place on Monday, has faced US and Israeli opposition and was postponed as negotiations continued, several diplomatic sources told AFP. In the latest draft seen by AFP, the Council would signal "its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon".

Barrack calls reporters' behavior in Baabda 'animalistic', sparking outrage in Lebanon
Associated Press/August 26/2025
At the start of a news conference at the Baabda Palace on Tuesday, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack warned raucous journalists to be quiet, telling them to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.”He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.
“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack. He then asked: “Do you think this is economically beneficial for (U.S. envoy) Morgan (Ortagus) and I to be here putting up with this insanity?”None of the journalists present responded to his comments but the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate issued a statement slamming the “inappropriate treatment” that the Lebanese journalists were subjected to and called on Barrack and the U.S. State Department to offer a “public apology.” It added that if no apology were made, it could escalate by calling for boycotting Barrack’s visits and meeting. The Lebanese Presidency and Information Minister Paul Morcos also issued statements voicing solidarity with the journalists. The Presidency said it “regrets” the comments made by “one of our guests” and greeted journalists who cover news at the palace, thanking them for their “hard work.”

What did Aoun and Salam tell US delegation?
Naharnet/August 26/2025
President Joseph Aoun stressed Tuesday to a visiting U.S. delegation that Lebanon is “fully committed” to the Nov. 27 cessation of hostilities declaration and to the joint U.S.-Lebanese paper that was approved in Cabinet on August 5 and 7 without any selectivity.
The U.S. delegation comprised special envoys to Lebanon Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Lindsey Graham, and Representative Joe Wilson. Aoun also called on the delegation to “continue contacts with all sides, especially with the Arab and Western countries that are friends of Lebanon, to support and speed up the courses of reconstruction and economic revival.”Prime Minister Nawaf Salam for his part told the delegation that “the course of arms monopolization and the state’s extension of its authority and control of the war and peace decisions is a course that has kicked off and will not be reversed.” “The government consolidated this orientation in the August 5 session, during which a firm decision was taken to task the Lebanese Army with devising a comprehensive plan for monopolizing arms before year end and to present it to Cabinet, a move that will take place next week,” Salam added. “This course is a national Lebanese demand and necessity on which the Lebanese had agreed in the Taif Agreement before anything else, but its implementation was delayed for decades, which deprived Lebanon of several opportunities in the past,” the premier said. He also reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to “the objectives of the paper presented by Ambassador Barrack after it was amended by Lebanese officials and approved in Cabinet in its Aug. 7 session.”“This paper, which is based on the principle of the reciprocity of steps, stresses that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the halt of all hostilities must be guaranteed,” Salam went on to say.

Ortagus says Qassem and Hezbollah 'do not represent the Lebanese people'
Naharnet/August 26/2025
Visiting U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus has said that the U.S. wants “the same thing that President (Joseph) Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and even (Speaker) Nabih Berri want, which is a strong and independent and sovereign Lebanon.”“We don’t want Lebanon controlled by anybody but the state and its people, and I think the people who truly care about Lebanon, the people who truly care about Lebanese people are looking to strengthen the state and its institutions, and not to give power to outside forces that continue to disrupt Lebanon,” Ortagus said in an interview with the This Is Beirut news portal.
Hezbollah chief Sheikh “Naim Qassem and Hezbollah do not represent the Lebanese people, but foreign forces. They represent Iran, not the Lebanese,” she charged. “We, the United States, seek to strengthen the Lebanese state, its institutions, the Lebanese Armed Forces, the government and all public structures,” Ortagus stated.As for the government’s anticipated plan for the disarmament of Hezbollah and all armed groups in the country, the U.S. envoy said: “We, the United States, will do everything we can to support the Lebanese state and the Lebanese Armed Forces, both in developing this plan and, above all, in implementing it.”

Barrack says KSA, Qatar to invest in economic zone for disarmed Hezbollah, supporters
Associated Press/August 26/2025
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are ready to invest in an economic zone in south Lebanon near the border with Israel that would create jobs for members of Hezbollah and its supporters once they lay down their weapons, President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East said Tuesday. Tom Barrack made his comments in Beirut after trips to Israel and Syria where he discussed with officials there the ongoing situation in Lebanon following this month's decision by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem rejected the government's plan, vowing to keep the weapons. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government's "momentous decision" to disarm Hezbollah. The U.S.-backed Lebanese Army is preparing a plan for Hezbollah's disarmament that should be ready by the end of August. The government is expected to discuss the army's plan and approve it during a meeting scheduled for Sept. 2. "We have to have money coming into the system. The money will come from the Gulf," Barrack told reporters after meeting President Joseph Aoun. "Qatar and Saudi Arabia are partners and are willing to do that for the south (of Lebanon) if we're asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood.""We have 40,000 people that are being paid by Iran to fight. What are you gonna do with them? Take their weapons and say 'by the way, good luck planting olive trees'? It can't happen. We have to help them," Barrack said. He was referring to tens of thousands of Hezbollah members who have been funded since the early 1980s by Tehran. "We, all of us, the Gulf, the U.S., the Lebanese are all gonna act together to create an economic forum that is gonna produce a livelihood," Barrack said.When asked why the U.S. doesn't go to discuss the Hezbollah issue directly with Iran rather than traveling to Israel and Syria, Barrack said: "You think that's not happening? Goodbye." Barrack then ended his news conference and walked out of the room.
A low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza, when Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of its Palestinian ally. The conflict escalated into war in September 2024 and left more than 4,000 people dead, and caused destruction worth $11 billion in Lebanon, according to the World Bank. The war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and since then Hezbollah says it has ended its presence along the border area. Israel has continued almost daily airstrikes that have killed dozens of Hezbollah members. Amnesty International in a report released Tuesday said it had identified more than 10,000 buildings that were "heavily damaged or destroyed" in southern Lebanon between October 2024 and January this year. Israeli forces remained in much of the border area for weeks after the ceasefire agreement went into effect and are still holding five strategic points. Amnesty's report said that Israeli forces may have violated international law by destroying civilian property in areas they were controlling with "manually laid explosives and bulldozers" after the active fighting had ended and there was no longer an "imperative military necessity."

Barrack says Israeli 'counterproposal' to come when Lebanon presents disarmament plan
Agence France Presse/August 26/2025
U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday that Lebanese authorities must put into "action" their decision to disarm Hezbollah, adding that Israel would respond in kind to any government steps. "We're all greatly encouraged by the historic decision of the government a few weeks ago, but now it's not about words, now it's about action," she told journalists at Lebanon's presidential palace in Baabda. Her comments came after talks between a U.S. delegation and President Joseph Aoun. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered "a phased" pullout of the remaining Israeli troops in Lebanon if Beirut implements its decision to disarm Hezbollah. Ortagus said that Israel was "willing to go step by step, it might be small steps... but they're willing to go step by step with this government.""So every step that the Lebanese government takes, we will encourage the Israeli government to make the same step," she added. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who was also part of the delegation, noted that the Lebanese Army and government are expected to present a concrete plan to disarm Hezbollah at the end of the month. The Iran-backed militant group was severely weakened by a war with Israel last year. "When (the Israelis) see that, they will give their counterproposal of what they will do in withdrawals and security guarantees on their borders, their boundaries," Barrack said. "What Israel has now said, which is historic, is we don't want to occupy Lebanon," he added, saying that Israeli officials are waiting to "see what is the plan to actually disarm Hezbollah."Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has repeatedly refused to give up the group's weapons. Under heavy U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli military action, Lebanon's government this month tasked the army with drawing up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. The decision is part of a November ceasefire brokered by the United States that ended more than a year of hostilities between the group and Israel. The agreement requires Hezbollah to redeploy its fighters north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, to be replaced by Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers. It also requires Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanon, where it currently retains troops in five places it deems strategic.

Israeli official says Israel won't 'bow to pressures', to attack 'all of Lebanon if needed'
Naharnet/August 26/2025
An unnamed Israeli political official told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya television on Tuesday that “regardless of the internal debate in Lebanon” on Hezbollah’s disarmament, Israel will “continue its attacks to disarm Hezbollah.”“The Lebanese Army and government must act firmly against Hezbollah,” the Israeli official added. “We will not bow to pressures and we will launch a broad attack on entire Lebanon if needed … Hezbollah must not test us again and must remember what happened to its leadership,” the official threatened. The official added that “Iran, through Hezbollah, is trying to sabotage the efforts to achieve prosperity in Lebanon.”

Report: Israel's Dermer leading talks on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria
Naharnet/August 26/2025
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is “leading political negotiations on Gaza, Lebanon and Syria with U.S. support,” an Israeli source told the Israel Hayom newspaper on Tuesday. Dermer is “working on the proposal of a comprehensive deal that includes political aspects for ending the war” in Gaza, the source said. “The deal that Israel is showing willingness to discuss involves returning all hostages and ending the war,” the source added.

Barrack says US to back extending UNIFIL mandate
Agence France Presse/August 26/2025
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that his country would approve the extension of United Nations peacekeepers' mandate in Lebanon for one more year. With the U.N. Security Council discussing the future of the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate ends on Sunday, Barrack told journalists from Lebanon's presidential palace: "The United States' position is we will extend for one year." Barrack noted disapprovingly that the force cost "a billion dollars a year."The Security Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep UNIFIL -- first deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon -- in place for another year while it prepares to withdraw. The vote, which was supposed to take place on Monday, has faced U.S. and Israeli opposition and was postponed as negotiations continued, several diplomatic sources told AFP. In the latest draft seen by AFP, the Council would signal "its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon."

Amnesty urges war crimes probe into Israeli destruction in Lebanon
Agence France Press/August 26/2025
Amnesty International said Tuesday that the Israeli army's extensive destruction of civilian property in south Lebanon, including after a ceasefire with Hezbollah was struck, should be investigated as a war crime. The November 27 truce largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war during which Israel sent in ground troops and conducted a major bombing campaign. "The Israeli military's extensive and deliberate destruction of civilian property and agricultural land across southern Lebanon must be investigated as war crimes," Amnesty said in a statement. The rights group's Erika Guevara Rosas said in the statement that the destruction had "rendered entire areas uninhabitable and ruined countless lives."Israel has said its military action targeted Hezbollah sites and operatives, and it continues to strike Lebanon despite the ceasefire. Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back from near the border, with the Lebanese Army deploying to the south and dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there. Israel was to fully withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in several border areas it deems strategic. Amnesty said it sent Israeli authorities questions in late June about the destruction but had not received a response. The group said its analysis covered from October 1 of last year -- around the start of Israel's ground offensive -- until late January of this year, and showed "more than 10,000 structures were heavily damaged or destroyed during that time."It noted that "much of the destruction took place after November 27," when the truce took effect. "Israeli forces used manually laid explosives and bulldozers to devastate civilian structures, including homes, mosques, cemeteries, roads, parks and soccer pitches, across 24 municipalities," it said.
The rights group said it used verified videos, photographs and satellite imagery to investigate the destruction. "In some videos, soldiers filmed themselves celebrating the destruction by singing and cheering," it said. It added much of the destruction was done "in apparent absence of imperative military necessity and in violation" of international humanitarian law. Amnesty noted that "the previous use of a civilian building by a party to the conflict does not automatically render it a military objective."In March, the World Bank put the war's total economic cost on Lebanon at $14 billion, including $6.8 billion in damage to physical structures. Authorities in cash-strapped Lebanon have yet to launch reconstruction efforts, and are hoping for international support, particularly from Gulf countries.

Lebanon Agrees Bail for Ex-Central Bank Chief
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
Lebanon's judiciary agreed Tuesday to the release on bail of more than $20 million of former central bank governor Riad Salameh, detained for nearly a year on embezzlement charges, judicial officials said. Salameh, 75, who headed the central bank for three decades, faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad. He is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon's economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but has defended his legacy, insisting he is a "scapegoat". The judiciary "agreed to release Salameh on bail of $20 million in addition to five billion Lebanese pounds (around $56,000) and banned him from travel for a year starting from the date of this decision's implementation", the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
The decision relates to a case in which Salameh is accused of embezzling $44 million from the central bank, the official said, adding that the judiciary had issued release orders for him in two other cases last month. A second judicial official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bail amount "is the highest in the history of the Lebanese judiciary". Salameh's lawyer Mark Habka told AFP that "the bail is high and illegal, and I will speak to my client about the next steps". In April, a Lebanese judge issued an indictment for Salameh, charging him with embezzling $44 million from the central bank, as well as illicit enrichment and forgery. Bail was rejected at the time. The second judicial official said the decision to release him came "in consideration of his health condition". The official said he would in any case have been released automatically on September 4 when his pre-trial detention order expires. Salameh, who left office at the end of July 2023, has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying his wealth comes from private investment and his previous work at US investment firm Merrill Lynch.

US envoy: Saudi Arabia, Qatar to invest in Lebanon economic zone for disarmed Hezbollah
Bassem Mroue And Kareem Chehayeb/The Associated Press/August 26, 2025
BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Qatar are ready to invest in an economic zone in south Lebanon near the border with Israel that would create jobs for members of the militant Hezbollah group and its supporters once they lay down their weapons, President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East said Tuesday. Tom Barrack made his comments in Beirut after trips to Israel and Syria where he discussed with officials there the ongoing situation in Lebanon following this month’s decision by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. Hezbollah’s leader rejected the government’s plan, vowing to keep the weapons. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government’s “momentous decision” to disarm Hezbollah.
The U.S.-backed Lebanese army is preparing a plan for Hezbollah’s disarmament that should be ready by the end of August. The government is expected to discuss the army’s plan and approve it during a meeting scheduled for Sept. 2.
“We have to have money coming into the system. The money will come from the Gulf,” Barrack told reporters after meeting President Joseph Aoun. “Qatar and Saudi Arabia are partners and are willing to do that for the south (of Lebanon) if we’re asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood.” “We have 40,000 people that are being paid by Iran to fight. What are you gonna do with them? Take their weapon and say ‘by the way, good luck planting olive trees’? It can’t happen. We have to help them,” Barrack said. He was referring to tens of thousands of Hezbollah members who have been funded since the early 1980s by Tehran.
“We, all of us, the Gulf, the U.S., the Lebanese are all gonna act together to create an economic forum that is gonna produce a livelihood,” Barrack said.
When asked why the U.S. doesn’t go to discuss the Hezbollah issue directly with Iran rather than traveling to Israel and Syria, Barrack said: “You think that’s not happening? Goodbye.” Barrack then ended his news conference and walked out of the room.
Speaking on the U.N. peacekeeping force that has been deployed in south Lebanon since Israel first invaded the country in 1978, Barrack said the U.S. would rather fund the Lebanese army than the force that is known as UNIFIL. Speaking about this week’s vote at the United Nations in New York, Barrack said the U.S. backs extending UNIFIL’s term for one year only.
Conflict escalated to war in September 2024, before November ceasefire
A low-level conflict between Israel and Hezbollah started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza, when Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border in support of its Palestinian ally. The conflict escalated into war in September 2024 and left more than 4,000 people dead, and caused destruction worth $11 billion in Lebanon, according to the World Bank. The war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and since then Hezbollah says it has ended its presence along the border area. Israel has continued almost daily airstrikes that have killed dozens of Hezbollah members. Amnesty International in a report released Tuesday said it had identified more than 10,000 buildings that were “heavily damaged or destroyed” in southern Lebanon between October 2024 and January this year.
Israeli forces remained in much of the border area for weeks after the ceasefire agreement went into effect and are still holding five strategic points. Amnesty’s report alleged that Israeli forces may have violated international law by destroying civilian property in areas they were controlling with “manually laid explosives and bulldozers” after the active fighting had ended and there was no longer an “imperative military necessity.”
Barrack chides journalists before news conference, provoking ire
At the start of the joint news conference with U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus, Barrack warned journalists at the presidential palace to be quiet, telling them to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.” He threatened to end the conference early otherwise. “The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack. He then asked: “Do you think this is economically beneficial for Morgan and I to be here putting up with this insanity?” None of the journalists present responded to his comments but the Lebanese press syndicate issued a statement about the “inappropriate treatment” that the Lebanese journalists were subjected to and called on Barrack and the State Department to apologize. It added that if no apology were made, it could escalate by calling for boycotting Barrack’s visits and meeting. The Presidential Palace also issued a statement regretting the comments made by “one of our guests” and greeted journalists who cover news at the palace, thanking them for their “hard work.”

Lebanon to propose Hezbollah disarmament plan on August 31, US envoy says
Reuters/August 26, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanon will present a plan on Sunday aimed at persuading Hezbollah to disarm, with Israel expected to submit a corresponding framework for its military withdrawal, top US envoy Thomas Barrack said on Tuesday. Speaking after talks with President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Barrack said the Lebanese proposal would not involve military coercion but would focus on efforts to encourage Hezbollah to surrender its weapons — including addressing the economic impact on fighters funded by Iran. “The Lebanese army and government are not talking about going to war. They are talking about how to convince Hezbollah to give up those arms,” Barrack said. A move this month by the Lebanese cabinet to task the army with drawing up a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms has outraged heavily armed Hezbollah, which says such calls only serve Israel. Israel signalled on Monday it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if Lebanon’s armed forces took action to disarm the Iran-backed Shiite militant group. Barrack, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, described that development as “historic.”
“What Israel has now said is: we don’t want to occupy Lebanon. We’re happy to withdraw from Lebanon, and we will meet those withdrawal expectations with our plan as soon as we see what is the plan to actually disarm Hezbollah,” he said. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, after meeting the US delegation, said Lebanon had embarked on an irreversible path to place all weapons under state control, with the army due to present a comprehensive plan by next week. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, in a recorded speech aired on Monday, criticized the government’s decision to disarm the group and urged officials to reverse it, saying pulling back “would be a virtue.”While no formal proposals have been exchanged, Barrack said verbal commitments from both sides suggested a narrowing path toward implementation.
Economic consideration
Hezbollah was significantly weakened in last year’s war with Israel, which killed many of its top commanders and fighters. A US-brokered ceasefire ending the conflict obliges the Lebanese state to disarm all non-state armed groups. Israel, meanwhile, has held on to positions inside Lebanon and its military has continued to carry out periodic air strikes it says target Hezbollah militants and weapons. Qassem rejected a step-by-step framework under which an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah disarmament would proceed in parallel.
Qassem said Hezbollah would not discuss a national defense strategy until Israel fully implemented the ceasefire agreement signed on November 27. “Let them implement the (ceasefire) agreement ... then after that we will discuss the defense strategy,” Qassem said.
Barrack stressed that any disarmament initiative must address the economic impact on tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters and their families, many of whom rely on Iranian funding. “If we’re asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood — because when we say disarm Hezbollah, we’re talking about 40,000 people being paid by Iran — you can’t just take their weapons and say, ‘Good luck, go plant olive trees’. We have to help them.”He said Gulf states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were prepared to support Lebanon’s economy — particularly in the south, which is Hezbollah’s stronghold — as part of an initiative to provide alternatives to Hezbollah’s payroll system. Barrack said discussions were under way to build an “economic forum” backed by the Gulf, the US, and Lebanese authorities that would offer sustainable livelihoods “not determined by whether Iran wants it or not.”

The erosion of armament is an opportunity for Lebanon and the Arabs
Nadim Koteich/Arab News/August 26, 2025
Raising the Arab appetite for greater political and economic support for Lebanon is no easy task. Indeed, their list of disappointments is long: Lebanon’s chronically tenuous assertion of its sovereignty, the clientelist politics of many Lebanese elites, and its history of exploiting Arab aid to score domestic points…
None of that negates this essential fact: If the Arab states do not raise the level of their engagement with Lebanon now, as a new political equation takes shape, the ensuing vacuum would inevitably be filled by Iran, Israel or chaos itself.
We should be in agreement that there is nothing on the Lebanese scene to suggest that tomorrow, with a single decisive blow, Hezbollah’s arms and its waning influence could be wiped out, as happened to the Assad regime in Syria.
The road ahead is far more winding. Hezbollah is slowly withering away. It is not the only one on a slow trajectory of decline; the other transnational projects in the Levant are also dying slowly. The age of its absolute hegemony has certainly ended, though, and after having once seemed untouchable, the foundations of Hezbollah’s grip over Lebanon have shattered following the military defeats that the party and its backers have suffered.
Here, however, comes the catch-22: a slow death is often more dangerous than a sudden collapse. The gradual erosion of an armed faction that manages to avoid imploding usually engenders years of paralysis, political blackmail, economic stagnation and a society oscillating between fears of an uncertain future and nostalgia for an imaginary past sense of stability. Such turbulence is a recipe for lethal settlements.
The gradual erosion of an armed faction that manages to avoid imploding usually engenders years of paralysis
Moreover, recent history reminds us that waiting for Lebanon to address the challenge of Hezbollah’s arms on its own (in anticipation of a shift in the domestic balance of power or Iran’s retreat) has only accelerated Lebanon’s collapse, leaving the state stripped of tools and without any protection.
Some argue that Arab disengagement, costly as it was, has played a role in creating the shift we are seeing today. Left to bleed out from its confrontations and wars, Hezbollah has reached a stage of attrition; its hegemony is waning and the Lebanese public can now distinguish between its real allies and adversaries more clearly. There is merit to this argument. Nonetheless, at this juncture, the priority is not to justify past actions but to build on the present. Hezbollah’s sharp decline must be turned into a political and economic opportunity to reinforce the state’s authority, preventing the emergence of a lethal void.
Sitting idly by poses great risks. Waiting for the party’s “death,” watching on “from the riverbank” until then, would be to squander the strategic opportunity offered by Hezbollah’s erosion. Early intervention — political, economic and security-related — is critical. Without it, nothing can prevent Lebanon from falling into yet another abyss, which would drastically undermine the positive dynamics we are seeing elsewhere in the region. This issue does not only concern the Lebanese. Hezbollah’s slow decay cannot be understood in isolation from recent developments in Syria, particularly since the fall of the Damascus regime. Lebanon’s political future cannot be redesigned in a vacuum. Change in Lebanon can only come as one part of a broader postwar reconfiguration of the Levant: Syria without Assad, Iraq redefining its political identity and Iran bogged down in its own crises and apprehensions.
Lebanon must not be treated like an island. It is one piece of a regional mosaic that is currently being redrawn and a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond ad hoc measures is needed. Change in Lebanon can only come as one part of a broader postwar reconfiguration of the Levant
In fact, Lebanon’s political shift would not have been possible without Saudi Arabia’s efforts; its political push played a decisive role in bringing the country’s current prime minister and president to power. To safeguard and consolidate this achievement, Arab states must go further. Support for the Lebanese state should be strengthened, albeit gradually and on the condition that certain steps are taken. Support entails financing the reconstruction of essential public services, especially electricity, with a transparent oversight mechanism put in place; investing in the army and internal security forces to empower them as unifying, professional institutions; and coordinating Lebanon’s engagement with a “new Syria” to establish a new balance of power across the Levant. The struggle of the Lebanese must be driven by clear political and economic aspirations. Without a light they can see at the end of the tunnel, the Lebanese would be hostage to the false promise of “stability,” perpetuating the cycle of acquiescence to a militia to avoid shattering its fragile civil peace.
The slow death of Hezbollah may seem like good news to those who have been worn out by its hegemony. If this process is left unmanaged and if Lebanon is supported through an Arab framework, it faces the far graver risk of perpetual collapse. Nothing is more dangerous than assuming that the region can simply “wait it out.” Hezbollah will not be knocked out by a single blow; it will perish through a protracted process of erosion, while the disorder it leaves behind could endure for years. The alternative is accelerating the process and seizing this moment to render Hezbollah’s attrition the cornerstone of a new political architecture in Lebanon that is organically linked to restructuring the political landscape in Syria and Iraq, thereby cutting the regional project of hegemony at the root. This is a rare moment in the modern history of the Levant. We have an opportunity to build a more balanced regional order, but it could also slip away from us, as so many others have before.
• Nadim Koteich is the general manager of Sky News Arabia. X: @NadimKoteich

Lebanon … In Barrack and Ortagus’ court
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26, 2025
US envoy Tom Barrack and his colleague Morgan Ortagus on Tuesday visited Lebanon on the heels of some significant developments on both the Syrian and Lebanese fronts. Their trip also came in the wake of the UN’s announcement that the Gaza Strip is now experiencing a famine. For months now, as we well know, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, along with his ministers and generals, openly defied dozens of internationally documented reports by political and humanitarian organizations that have been monitoring the situation in Gaza and are aware of the genocide being committed before the eyes of the world. And, as we also know, instead of taking a firm position and refusing to tolerate these crimes, the international community has chosen a different path altogether. If this inaction tells us anything, it is that the old-new reality in international politics regarding the Middle East has consolidated. It is old because near-unconditional international support for Israel is not new, but it has intensified repeatedly, especially since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, which left the US leading the “new world order,” as still does today.
I have little doubt that the two envoys have been tasked with laying the ground for new realities in the Eastern Mediterranean
It is new because US hegemony over this “new world order” has redefined many principles, terminologies and political priorities with regard to the Middle East, introducing new standards and concepts that now underpin its regional strategies.
Take, for example, the removal of Zionism’s classification as a form of racism in the global discourse. This shift evolved further, so much so that any criticism of any Israeli government is now branded as outright “antisemitism,” which can be punished politically and, in some contexts, legally. Similarly, subjective terms like “terrorism” and “counterterrorism” have been redefined in ways that justify conflict, invasion, the toppling of governments and, in some cases, the redrawing of borders. The post-Cold War era saw several states reshaped, even in Europe. Strategic doctrines were reformulated around the new interests of the victorious powers and concepts like human rights, nationalism and minority protection were redefined.
This process began in Europe itself. The collapse of the Soviet Union split a single federal state into 15 independent republics. The logic of division also spread to Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Western European entities, by contrast, managed to withstand their chronic separatist inclinations, with West Germany (the Federal Republic) even successfully reintegrating its former communist eastern provinces. Across Asia and Africa, we witnessed similar shifts: the partition of Sudan, the secession of East Timor from Indonesia and the near-partition of Iraq after the 2003 invasion — this was averted only by a tangled web of competing interests, not least Turkiye’s uncompromising opposition to Kurdish independence.
Back to Barrack and Ortagus…
I have little doubt that the two envoys have been tasked with laying the ground for new realities in the Eastern Mediterranean suited to both Israel’s priorities and American strategic interests — though we should note that, of course, the two were never truly at odds in the first place. Larijani’s visit has effectively turned back the clock, keeping the doors wide open for potential security surprises
More accurately, this effort aims to impose a shared US-Israeli vision for the geopolitical environment around Israel. This objective was made possible by the stark imbalance of power and a convergence of other factors that all serve Israel’s hegemonic ambitions. Do we still remember the phrase “peace … a strategic option,” which we Arabs were, for so many years, the only regional actors naive enough to believe?
It is now clearer than ever that Israel never believed in it. It does not believe in it today and it will not believe in it at any point in the foreseeable future. Its ongoing massacres and systematic displacement in Gaza, combined with its expanding security and intelligence operations in Lebanon and Syria, make that abundantly evident. Meanwhile, Turkiye believes it has secured a major strategic victory on its southern doorstep, tightening its grip on Syria following Iran’s withdrawal, thanks to the arrangements it had with both Tel Aviv and Washington. This “tactical” Turkish victory, in my view, is real. However, sustaining it demands a long-term strategy, attention to detail, accurate calculations and avoiding needless enmity, as there are neither absolute mandates nor permanent alliances. And so, as the US envoys arrived in Lebanon, the Lebanese authorities awaited their arrival against the backdrop of Hezbollah’s brinkmanship as it seeks to avoid surrendering its arms to the state. That is the crux of Lebanon’s predicament: although some members of the Hezbollah top brass have long recognized the need to cut their losses and allow the state some margin for maneuver, the recent visit of senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani has effectively turned back the clock, keeping the doors wide open for potential security surprises. The problem is that the conditions today, both domestic and regionally, make it difficult for Lebanon to withstand any surprises.
**Eyad Abu Shakra is managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @eyad1949

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 26-27/2025
Security Deal With Israel Is Likely, Syrian President Says
FDD/August 26/2025
Latest Developments
Talks in ‘Advanced’ Stage: Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told representatives of Arab media outlets that Syria and Israel are in “advanced” talks on a security pact based on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, adding that the chances that a deal will be reached are high. Sharaa emphasized that he did not believe it was the right time for a peace deal between the two neighboring states, which have technically been at war since 1948, but added that he “will not hesitate to take” any agreement that benefits Syria.
Syria to Provide Security Guarantees for Economic Investment: Details of the deal have been discussed during at least two U.S.-mediated meetings between Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani in July and August. Based on reports of the deal taking shape, Syria would agree to a complete demilitarization of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, prevent the entry of any weapons or terrorists that could threaten Israel’s security, and establish a humanitarian corridor to the predominantly Druze Suwayda region. In return, Syria will be rehabilitated by the United States and allied Gulf states after having suffered economically during more than a decade of civil war.
Syria Aims to Stop Continued IDF Operations: Damascus is also pushing to restore the disengagement line established after the October 1973 war as part of the deal. After Sharaa’s Islamist forces overthrew the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, the IDF took control of the Syrian side of the UN-patrolled buffer zone. Since then, Israel has conducted raids against terrorist cells in southern Syria, as well as airstrikes to protect the Syrian Druze minority against attack by pro-government forces.
FDD Expert Response
“Details can make all the difference between a good agreement and a bad one, yet broadly speaking, a security deal between Israel and Syria would be an excellent thing. Both countries have much higher priorities than clashing with each other — Israel needs to deal with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, while Syria needs to restore its unity and rebuild after a more than a decade of civil war. That said, Israel would have reason to hesitate if Damascus gives no assurances about fair treatment of the Druze.” — David Adesnik, Vice President of Research
“For Sharaa, a security agreement with Israel is the most pragmatic step he can take now, as full normalization remains unrealistic and premature. But the key unresolved issues remain: Israel’s backing of the Druze minority, Israeli demands for a demilitarized south, and continuing Israeli strikes inside Syria. If these issues are resolved, this deal can open the door for cooperation between Damascus and Jerusalem to confront their common adversaries in the region, chief among them the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst

Israel Strike on Syria Kills One
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
An Israeli strike killed a man in southern Syria, state media reported Tuesday, with Damascus condemning the attack as a "flagrant violation" of international law. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since opposition groups toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus. "A young man was killed in an Israeli strike on a home in the village of Taranja", on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line on the Golan Heights, the official SANA news agency reported. Syria condemned "the recent Israeli attacks on its territory, which resulted in the martyrdom of a young man", the foreign ministry said. It also condemned the Israeli forces' incursion into a town in the Quneitra countryside, their "arrest campaigns against civilians", and their "announcement of the continuation of their illegal presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone". "These aggressive practices constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and constitute a direct threat to peace and security in the region".The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had carried out "several activities last week in southern Syria to locate weapons and apprehend suspects". The Saudi foreign ministry said the Israeli attacks were a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic and international law". The Qatari foreign ministry called on "the international community to take decisive action against the Israeli occupation and compel it to halt its repeated attacks on Syrian territory". Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line, including the summit of Mount Hermon, the region's highest peak. Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris to push for a return to the arrangements that had been in place since a 1974 disengagement agreement.

Iran, European powers meet in Geneva as threat of sanctions looms large
Emma Farge, John Irish and Parisa Hafezi/Reuters/August 26, 2025
GENEVA (Reuters) -Senior officials from Iran and Europe's top three powers are due to meet in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss the Westerners' demand that Iran revive nuclear inspections and diplomacy or face the reimposition of sanctions that were lifted under a 2015 deal. France, Britain and Germany, known as the E3, have long threatened to trigger the "snapback" of sanctions at the United Nations Security Council by October, when the now largely defunct nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers expires.
They have more recently said they plan to decide by the end of August unless Iran offers concessions that could convince them to hold off for a short time, often referred to as an extension. Talks are tense as Iran is furious at the bombing in June of its nuclear facilities by the U.S. and Israel, the E3's allies. "We are going to see whether the Iranians are credible about an extension or whether they are messing us around. We want to see whether they have made any progress on the conditions we set to extend," one E3 official said.
Those conditions are the resumption of U.N. inspections, including accounting for Iran's large stock of enriched uranium, and engaging in diplomacy, including with the United States. Iran has repeatedly ruled out direct talks with Washington. The talks between senior foreign ministry officials were due to begin behind closed doors at 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT), Iranian media reported. Officials in Geneva said they did not expect public statements to be made there. The European Union, which serves as coordinator of the 2015 deal, was also due to attend. Israel and the United States have said they needed to strike Iran's uranium enrichment sites because it was making such rapid advances towards being able to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60% fissile purity, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons-grade, and had enough material enriched to that level, if refined further, for six nuclear weapons before the strikes started on June 13. Actually producing a weapon would take more time, however, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has said that, while it cannot guarantee Tehran's nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, it has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons project in the Islamic Republic. While Iran's enrichment plants were badly damaged or destroyed in the June war, Tehran has not granted the IAEA access to them since then, arguing that it is not safe for inspectors. The status and whereabouts of Iran's large stockpile of enriched uranium are also unclear. "Due to the damage to our nuclear sites, we need to agree on a new plan with the agency — and we’ve conveyed that to IAEA officials," one Iranian official said.
Western officials have said they suspect Iran has returned to negotiating tactics aimed at buying time and dragging talks out. The E3 will seek to determine in their talks on Tuesday whether that is now the case. Tehran has warned of a "harsh response" if sanctions are reinstated.

Iran, European powers to resume nuclear talks as sanctions deadline looms
FRANCE 24/August 26, 2025
Motorists drive their vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei displayed in the centre of Tehran's Valiasr Square on July 13, 2025.
Tehran is set to hold nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany on Tuesday in Geneva, the second round of meetings since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June derailed negotiations with Washington. The European partners have threatened to trigger UN sanctions unless Tehran resumes cooperation with the IAEA nuclear watchdog. Nuclear talks scheduled for Tuesday between Iran and Britain, France and Germany will be held in Geneva, Iranian state media reported. "On Tuesday, Iran and the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with the European Union, will hold a new round of talks at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Geneva," state television said on Monday. The meeting will be the second since Iran's 12-day war with Israel in mid-June, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. The previous round of talks was held in Istanbul on July 25. It comes after Iran suspended cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog following the war with Israel, with Tehran pointing to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities. The unprecedented bombing by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed Tehran's nuclear negotiations with Washington. The European trio have threatened to trigger a "snapback mechanism" under the 2015 nuclear deal which would reimpose UN sanctions that were lifted under the agreement, unless Iran agrees to curb its uranium enrichment and restore cooperation with IAEA inspectors. Iran disputes the legality of invoking the clause, accusing the Europeans of not honouring their commitments under the accord. Britain, France and Germany, along with China, Russia, and the United States, reached an agreement with Iran in 2015 under a deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. The deal provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon – something it has always denied wanting to do. But Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term in office, and the reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments, particularly on uranium enrichment. At the time of the US withdrawal, London, Paris and Berlin reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement and said they intended to continue trading with Iran. As a result, UN and European sanctions were not reinstated, even as Trump restored US sanctions. But the mechanism envisaged by European countries to compensate for the return of US sanctions has struggled to materialise, and many Western companies have been forced to leave Iran, which is facing high inflation and an economic crisis. The deadline for activating the snapback mechanism ends in October, but according to the Financial Times, the Europeans have offered to extend the deadline if Iran resumes nuclear talks with Washington and re-engages with the IAEA.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the Europeans have no right to do so.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Iran faces 'snapback' of sanctions over its nuclear program. Here's what that means
Stephanie Liechtenstein/The Associated Press/August 26, 2025
VIENNA (AP) — France, Britain and Germany have threatened to trigger the “ snapback mechanism ” that automatically reimposes all United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, saying Iran has willfully departed from their 2015 nuclear deal that lifted them. The European countries, known as the E3, offered Iran a delay of the snapback during talks in July in exchange for three conditions for Iran: resuming negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program, allowing U.N. nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites, and accounting for the over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium the U.N. watchdog says it has. Tehran, which now enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels, has rejected that proposal. The U.S. and Iran tried to reach a new nuclear deal earlier this year, but those talks have not resumed since the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites and the U.S. bombardment on June 22.
How snapback works
Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached between world powers and Iran in 2015, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to levels necessary for civilian nuclear power in exchange for lifted economic sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency was tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear program. The snapback mechanism’s purpose is to swiftly reimpose all pre-deal sanctions without being vetoed by U.N. Security Council members, including permanent members Russia and China. The process begins when one or more nuclear deal participants notify the U.N. secretary general and Security Council president about Iran’s “significant non-performance of commitments.”That triggers a 30-day window during which a new resolution to continue sanctions relief must be adopted. Since that's unlikely, as the U.S., Britain and France would veto such a resolution, all U.N. sanctions automatically “snap back.” At this stage, no further vote is needed and no Security Council member can block reimposition.
The snapback mechanism expires in October
The Europeans agreed with the U.S. earlier this year to set an end-of-August deadline for triggering the snapback mechanism if no agreement is reached with Iran. The U.S. itself cannot activate the snapback since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal in 2018.
Two factors drive the approaching deadline.
First, the power to automatically snap back sanctions expires on Oct. 18. After that, sanctions efforts could face vetoes from China and Russia, which have provided some support to Iran in the past. Second, Europeans want to trigger the snapback mechanism under South Korea’s Security Council presidency in September, before Russia takes over in October. While Russia cannot veto the reimposition of sanctions under the mechanism, diplomats say Moscow could use procedural delaying tactics until the nuclear deal expires.
The E3’s position
European nations assert that Iran has “willfully and publicly departed” from the nuclear deal’s commitments. In May, the IAEA said Iran had amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. If it is enriched to 90%, it would be enough to make nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick, though a weapon would require other expertise, such as a detonation device. The IAEA also estimated that as of May 17, Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium stood at 9,247.6 kilograms (20,387.4 pounds).
The amounts far exceed the limits set out in the nuclear deal, under which Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67% and maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms.
In addition, in 2022, Iran removed most monitoring equipment, including IAEA cameras. A year later, Iran barred some of the agency’s most experienced inspectors.
Iran’s position
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes only. Tehran also argues that it has the right to abandon the nuclear deal’s limits because Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed its own sanctions. Before 2019, when Iran gradually began to breach the deal’s limits, the IAEA confirmed Tehran adhered to all commitments. Iran contends there is no legal basis for the Europeans to reimpose U.N. sanctions via snapback, claiming the countries failed to uphold the accord after the U.S. exit.
Tehran has also threatened to withdraw from the global Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons if snapback is triggered. By ratifying the NPT in 1970, Iran committed to not developing nuclear weapons.
Other options
Once the snapback mechanism is triggered, there remains a slim chance for a diplomatic solution, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group. If the West and Iran reach a diplomatic agreement within the 30-day window, a resolution could be introduced to push back the mechanism's Oct. 18 expiration date, he said. “The timing is, in one sense, auspicious because it overlaps with the U.N. General Assembly’s annual high-level week, which will bring to New York high-level leaders who could huddle over ways to head off execution,” he said. But he added that the snapback issue is likely to resurface unless Washington and Tehran can hammer out a new nuclear deal.

Australia blames Iran for antisemitic arson attacks, expels envoy
Kirsty Needham/Reuters/August 25, 2025
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia accused Iran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehran's ambassador seven days to leave the country on Tuesday, its first such expulsion since World War Two.
Canberra is the latest Western government to accuse Iran of carrying out hostile covert activities on its soil. Last month, 14 countries including Britain, the U.S. and France condemned what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had gathered credible intelligence that Iran was behind at least two attacks. "These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil," Albanese told a press briefing. "They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community." Iran had sought to "disguise its involvement" in last year's attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Albanese said. No injuries were reported in the attacks. Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, Australian homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles have been targeted in antisemitic vandalism and arson, while Islamophobic incidents have also surged. Australia's decision was motivated by internal affairs and antisemitism had no place in Iranian culture, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry said. Iran would take an appropriate decision in response to Australia's action, state media quoted the spokesperson as saying. Australia's security agency said it was likely that Iran had directed further attacks, Albanese said, adding that Australia has suspended operations at its Tehran embassy and all its diplomats were safe in a third country. The government would designate Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, Albanese added, joining the United States and Canada which already blacklist the IRGC. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three Iranian officials had seven days to leave, in Australia's first expulsion of an envoy since World War Two. "Iran's actions are completely unacceptable," she told the briefing.
ORGANISED CRIME GANGS
The IRGC was directing people in Australia to undertake crimes, said Mike Burgess, director general of the security agency. "They're just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organised crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding," he added. Security services in Britain and Sweden also warned last year that Tehran was using criminal proxies to carry out its violent attacks in those countries, with London saying it had disrupted 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022. Iran has repeatedly denied such allegations, which it says are part of a campaign against it by hostile Western powers. Israel's embassy in Australia welcomed the action against its major rival Iran. "Iran's regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia," it said in a statement on X.
The two countries fought a 12-day air war in June, after Israel launched attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran's actions were an attack on Australia's sovereignty, said Daniel Aghian, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), an umbrella group of more than 200 organisations. "These were attacks that deliberately targeted Jewish Australians, destroyed a sacred house of worship, caused millions of dollars of damage, and terrified our community," he said on Tuesday. Two men have been charged over the December attack that set ablaze the synagogue, built in the 1960s by Holocaust survivors in the suburb of Ripponlea. Last week, police in the southeastern state of Victoria said they were examining electronic devices seized in a search of the home of one of the men, who is set to appear in court on Wednesday.
Police say three people broke into the synagogue and set the fire.
Fire gutted the kosher restaurant in Bondi, Lewis Continental Kitchen. Media said the man arrested in January over that attack had links to a well-known Australian motorcycle gang. He denied the charges in court and was freed on bail. The Australian Iranian Community Organisation welcomed the expulsion and the move to declare the IRGC as a terrorist group. "We are really happy to see them go," its president, Siamak Ghahreman, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview. About 90,000 Iranian-born people live in Australia. Ties between Israel and Australia have been strained since Canberra's centre-left government decided to recognise a Palestinian state on August 11. The move came after tens of thousands marched across Sydney's Harbour Bridge, calling for peace and aid deliveries to Gaza, where Israel began an offensive nearly two years ago after the Hamas militant group launched a deadly cross-border attack. Palestinian authorities say the conflict has killed more than 62,000 people in Gaza, while humanitarian groups say Israel's blockade has caused a food shortage that is leading to widespread starvation. On Sunday, thousands joined nationwide pro-Palestinian protests prompting the ECAJ to warn they were leading to an "unsafe environment". Some Jewish organisations in Australia have supported the rallies, however. Australian civil society group the Islamophobia Register said incidents of that nature rose 500% in workplaces, universities and the media since October 2023, with 1,500 reported.

Trump to chair ‘large meeting’ on post-war Gaza: US envoy
AFP/August 27, 2025
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will host a meeting on Wednesday on post-war plans for Gaza, his envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday. “We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day,” Witkoff said in a Fox News interview, without providing more details. He was asked if there was “a plan for a day after in Gaza,” referencing the end of Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory that began in October 2023.
Trump stunned the world earlier this year when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its two million inhabitants and build seaside real estate. Trump said the United States would remove rubble and unexploded bombs and turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the proposal, which was heavily criticized by many European and Arab states. Witkoff did not elaborate on the plan he touted Tuesday, but said he believed that people would “see how robust it is and how it’s, how well meaning, it is.”The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,819 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

Dozens Wounded as Israel Carries out Rare Ramallah Raid
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
Israeli forces carried out a rare daytime raid on Tuesday in the heart of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded, according to local medics, as people throwing stones scattered after gunfire and tear gas. Israel said it targeted money exchanges linked to Hamas. But the raid was likely to further undermine the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority as it seeks to capitalize on the recent decision by some major Western countries to recognize Palestinian statehood. The Palestinian Authority is led by rivals of Hamas. It cooperates with Israel on security matters and exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank. Many Palestinians view it as a corrupt and autocratic entity. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 58 people were wounded in the raid, eight of them by live fire and 14 by rubber-coated bullets. A few dozen people hurled rocks at a line of Israeli armored vehicles as they rolled into the city center. The military said it detained five people "suspected of terrorist activity."Associated Press footage showed people running as tear gas canisters landed on busy streets and sidewalks, an Israeli soldier firing rifle shots into the air and people carrying a wounded youth to an ambulance. Violence in the West Bank has surged during the war in Gaza, with the Israeli military carrying out large-scale operations targeting gunman that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. There has also been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Israeli forces routinely operate in Ramallah and other cities administered by the Palestinian Authority, but daytime raids into downtown are rare.

Mediator Qatar Says 'Still Waiting' for Israeli Response to Gaza Truce Proposal
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
Gaza mediator Qatar said Tuesday that it was "still waiting" for Israel's response to a proposal for a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory after Hamas agreed to the framework more than a week ago. Qatar and Egypt, along with the United States, have been mediating indirect ceasefire negotiations throughout the Gaza war, but despite sealing two temporary truces, the successive rounds of talks have repeatedly failed to bring a lasting end to the conflict. The latest proposal put forward by mediators involves an initial 60-day truce and staggered exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but Israel has appeared reluctant to budge from its demand that all the hostages being held at Gaza be freed at once. "We are still waiting for an answer" from Israel, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a regular news conference on Tuesday, adding: "The statements that we are hearing right now do not fill us with confidence."Last week, Hamas said it had accepted the new ceasefire proposal following a round of talks in Cairo. The proposal followed the contours of a deal first proposed by US envoy Steve Witkoff, with Qatar saying it hewed closely to a version previously approved by Israel. However, as mediators were awaiting Israel's response to the new proposal last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had given instructions for new negotiations seeking "the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel". In the same remarks, Netanyahu doubled down on plans for the Israeli army to launch a new offensive to capture Gaza City. Ansari on Tuesday said mediators did not "take seriously" any announcements outside the negotiation process itself. "The responsibility now lies on the Israeli side to respond to an offer that is on the table. Anything else is political posturing by the Israeli side," he said. Referring to the Gaza City offensive, he added that Qatar did not see a "positive trajectory coming out of this escalation on the ground".

Protesters in Israel Demand Release of Hostages as Israeli Strikes Kill 16 in Gaza, Hospitals Say
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
Protesters in Israel on Tuesday torched tires, blocked highways and clamored for a ceasefire that would free hostages still in Gaza, even as Israeli leaders moved forward with plans for an offensive which they argue is needed to defeat Hamas. The disruption came as Palestinians in Gaza braced for the expanded offensive against a backdrop of displacement, destruction and parts of the territory plunging into famine. It also followed deadly strikes a day earlier on Gaza’s main hospital which killed 20 people including medics and journalists. Among them was Mariam Dagga, a journalist who worked for The Associated Press. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene a security cabinet meeting later Tuesday. However, the government said the meeting will not include discussion of ceasefire talks, according to an official with knowledge of the situation. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, said there was a delegation from Egypt in Israel on Monday and they discussed the negotiations. Netanyahu has said that Israel will launch an expanded offensive in Gaza City while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire, though Israel has yet to send a negotiating team to discuss a proposal on the table. Netanyahu has said the offensive is the best way to weaken Hamas and return hostages, but hostage families and their supporters have pushed back.
"Go back to the negotiation table. There’s a good deal on the table. It’s something we can work with," said Ruby Chen, the father of 21-year-old Itay Chen, a dual Israeli-American citizen whose body is being held in Gaza. "We could get a deal done to bring all the hostages back." Hamas captured 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, in the attack that triggered the current war. Most have been released during previous ceasefires. Israel has managed to rescue only eight hostages alive. Fifty remain in Gaza, and Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive. Responding to a call from Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum for a "National Day of Struggle," protesters waved banners that read "Hostage Deal Now." The relatives of hostages said they hope sustained public pressure can push Netanyahu and his security cabinet to commit to meaningful ceasefire talks. However far-right members of his coalition have threatened to resign if Israel agrees to a truce, dismissing the protesters’ demands.
Israeli strikes continue after deadly hospital attack
Calls for a ceasefire came a day after Israel struck southern Gaza’s main hospital, killing at least five journalists and 15 others, including Dagga, who had covered doctors treating children for starvation at the same facility days before. The strike, among the deadliest of the war against both journalists and hospitals, sparked shock and outrage among press freedom advocates and Palestinians, who mourned the dead at funerals on Monday. It was swiftly condemned across the globe. Netanyahu called it a "tragic mishap" and said the military would investigate. Most of those killed died after rushing to the scene of the first blast, only to be hit by a second strike — an attack captured on television by several networks. The southern Gaza strike came as Israel prepares to expand its offensive into densely populated areas of northern Gaza. Israel's military wants people in hospitals, displacement camps and Gaza City neighborhoods to evacuate southward to so-called safe zones so it can destroy Hamas and prevent attacks like the Oct. 7, 2023, assault that killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war. A day after the strike, Israeli strikes killed at least 16 Palestinians on Tuesday, hospitals said. Officials from Nasser Hospital, Shifa Hospital and Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan clinic reported that among the 16 were families, women and children. Gaza's Health Ministry also said on Tuesday that three more adults died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation, bringing the malnutrition-related death toll to 186 since late June, when the ministry started to count fatalities among this age category. The toll includes 117 children since the start of the war. Israel’s military offensive has killed 62,819, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Israeli forces raid downtown Ramallah
Lines of Israeli military vehicles entered downtown Ramallah on Tuesday afternoon in a rare daytime raid on one of the largest Palestinian cities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military acknowledged an ongoing operation in the city but would not provide any information about the purpose of the raid. Ramallah is the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the start of the war. The city has faced similar raids before, including in May when Israeli forces targeted money transfer businesses there and in other Palestinian cities, alleging they had ties to armed groups. The Palestinian Red Crescent said there were 58 injuries during the raid, including injuries from live fire, rubber bullets, tear gas inhalation, and "live bullet shrapnel." Israeli armored vehicles entered a busy downtown intersection in the city, stopping traffic. A few dozen people attempted to throw rocks at the military vehicles. The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with the Israeli military carrying out large-scale operations targeting gunmen that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. That has coincided with a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. There have been more than 1,000 attacks by Israeli settlers throughout 2025, with 11 Palestinians killed and roughly 700 injured, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

UK to Help Dozens of Gazans Study at British Universities
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
Britain's interior ministry has agreed to adapt immigration arrangements to help several dozen students from Gaza take up fully funded UK university places next month, the government confirmed Tuesday. It is understood the students will be permitted to undergo biometric checks in a third country before travelling on to the UK to take up their places. However, the Israeli government would still need to agree to each student leaving Gaza, as diplomatic relations worsen with London. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced last month that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not take a series of steps, including agreeing to a truce in its war with the Hamas group. Of the approximately 40 students set to be eligible for support heading to the UK, nine are due to pursue scholarships under the Chevening scheme, according to the BBC. A predominantly UK government-funded initiative, it enables "outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world" to pursue a one-year master's degree in the UK, according to the foreign ministry. Interior minister Yvette Cooper has also approved plans to help around 30 others who have won fully funded scholarships through other private schemes to reach the UK, the BBC reported. An interior ministry source told British media the arrangements are "complex and challenging" but Cooper "wants no stone unturned" so the prospective Gaza students can take up their places in the coming weeks.

Saudi Arabia Calls on International Community to End Famine in Gaza, Israeli Crimes
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 26/2025
The Saudi Cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom's call for the international community, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, to urgently intervene to end the famine in the Gaza Strip and to halt the war of genocide and the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people. This came during the cabinet session that was held on Tuesday in Jeddah, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Cabinet emphasized that continued Israeli violations without accountability undermine the international order and international law, threatening security and peace and broadening the conflict and unrest at both the regional and global levels. During the session, King Salman also briefed the Cabinet on the message he received from Arab Republic of Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi regarding bilateral relations and ways to support and strengthen ties in various fields. The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcomes of President El-Sisi's meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, as well as the content of the phone call between the Crown Prince and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, during which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s constructive efforts to achieve global peace and promote dialogue as a means of resolving international crises were highlighted. In a statement to the SPA following the session, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary said that the Cabinet affirmed its support for the outcomes of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers Extraordinary Session, held in Jeddah to address the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and to coordinate actions to halt the genocide and Israeli decisions and plans aimed at entrenching the occupation and gaining full control over the Gaza Strip.
The Cabinet strongly condemned the continued Israeli violations, including incursions into Syrian territory and interference in its internal affairs. It affirmed the Kingdom's full support for the measures taken by the Syrian government to achieve security, stability, and civil peace. The Cabinet categorically rejected any separatist calls to divide Syria, emphasizing its support for the sovereignty of the state and its institutions.
It also reiterated the Kingdom’s call for all Sudanese parties to implement the provisions of the Jeddah Declaration, signed in May 2023. It urged them to commit to protecting civilians, securing humanitarian aid corridors, and prioritizing the interests of the Sudanese people to spare them the scourge of war and internal conflict. The session reviewed comprehensive statistics on the number of Umrah performers this year and reaffirmed its warm welcome to Umrah performers and pilgrims, emphasizing its commitment to providing comfort and support from their arrival until their safe return home. Al-Dossary stated that the Cabinet commended the success of the King Abdulaziz International Competition for Memorization, Recitation, and Interpretation of the Holy Quran, which, for the first time in its history, included 179 contestants from 128 countries, demonstrating the Kingdom’s leadership in serving Islam and its dedication to the Quran and those devoted to memorizing it. The Cabinet commended the broad community engagement with the annual national blood donation campaign launched by the Crown Prince to consolidate the values of humanitarian work and achieve self-sufficiency in blood and its components, ensuring a safe and sustainable supply to meet the needs of beneficiaries across all regions of the Kingdom. The meeting praised the Human Resources Development Fund for employing 267,000 Saudi citizens in the private sector during the first half of 2025. This achievement reinforces the fund’s strategic role in empowering national talent, enhancing their competitiveness, and supporting the growth of the Kingdom’s labor market.
The Cabinet further considered the Crown Prince's attendance at the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup an extension to his support for the sector within a national strategy that includes a new set of regulations. The strategy aims to create a globally competitive sector that will generate 39,000 jobs and contribute SAR50 billion to the GDP by 2030.

Trump still weighing ‘very serious’ economic sanctions on Russia
Reuters/August 27, 2025
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is prepared to impose economic sanctions against Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, fails to agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. “It’s very, very serious what I have in mind, if I have to do it, but I want to see it end,” Trump told a reporter who asked if Putin would face consequences. “We have economic sanctions. I’m talking about economic because we’re not going to get into a world war.”The president has withheld long-threatened sanctions against Putin in his latest push to end the more than three-year-long war that has so far defied his efforts at mediation. Trump is seeking one-on-one talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. Though Zelensky has agreed in principle to such talks, Putin has not. The Kremlin has suggested no such meeting is currently on the cards. “It will not be a world war, but it will be an economic war,” Trump said at a White House Cabinet meeting. “An economic war is going to be bad, and it’s going to be bad for Russia, and I don’t want that.”He added: “Zelensky is not exactly innocent, either.”
Despite slow diplomatic progress, US and European officials have been discussing potential security guarantees that Washington might provide Kyiv after a hypothetical deal is reached, potentially including support by air or intelligence sharing. Trump has long suggested using economic tools as leverage against warring nations. He is preparing to slap 25 percent more in tariffs on India’s US-bound exports on Wednesday over New Delhi’s Russian oil buying. India is one of the biggest consumers of Russian oil.
Trump suggested on Tuesday that he was open to “using a very strong tariff system that’s very costly to Russia or Ukraine” to make peace.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 26-27/2025
Iran Reshuffles the Deck. Will it Matter?
Behnam Ben Taleblu/National Interest/August 26/2026
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/iran-reshuffles-the-deck-will-it-matter
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has restructured the Islamic Republic’s national security apparatus to cover up Iran’s gaping weaknesses.
What’s old is new again in Iran. Over the course of just one week in August, the Islamic Republic established a new body dubbed the Defense Council, echoing a similarly named entity from the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). Overseen and established by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) per Article 176 of the Constitution, the Defense Council is already being framed as a “war cabinet” in Iranian media. That same week, Iran also played musical chairs and re-appointed veteran politician Ali Larijani as both SNSC secretary and representative of the country’s Supreme Leader to the body. Larijani previously served as SNSC secretary from 2005 to 2007 in this role. Undoubtedly, the strategic backdrop for these decisions is the 12-Day War with Israel. Taken together, the reorganization signals that Tehran is doubling down and preparing for another round of conflict.
That war, which began with targeted assassinations against the commanding heights of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), exposed regime vulnerabilities in its military command-and-control structure and real-time national security decisionmaking. Israel’s surprise attack also handicapped certain retaliatory options for the regime, rendering pre-set battle plans moot. Absent change, these challenges are likely to be magnified in any future conflict scenario with Iran. This is especially true if clashes were to escalate beyond the limits that constrained the 12-Day War to include the targeting of political leaders. For instance, what would the regime do if Israeli strikes rendered the commander-in-chief, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unreachable or incapacitated?
The Islamic Republic is therefore keen to appear as though it has learned lessons and course-corrected. Already, Iranian elites are on record hoping the move to create a Defense Council has deterrent value. A smaller decision-making body could also help offset the risks of not being able to convene the full SNSC during crises, as well as mitigate the chances of intelligence penetration. The latter is a threat that security officials have warned about for years, and ultimately manifested itself during the 12-Day War when dissident teams on the ground acted at the direction of Israel’s Mossad.
According to an IRGC-linked newspaper, enhanced coordination between existing institutions following the 12-Day War was one reason for the creation of the Defense Council. Specifically, the paper hinted at a need to move the task of “strengthening the country’s defense capabilities” beyond the exclusive purview of the armed forces.
Other IRGC-linked publications have attempted to temper this assessment, suggesting that the move to establish a Defense Council should be viewed as creating space for more military voices to be heard. Either way, at a time when the regime is looking to streamline national security decisionmaking, more, not less, institutions and an unclear division of labor could replicate the longstanding problem of parallel governance structures. That’s where Larijani enters the picture. While it is true that Khamenei has the final say in all foreign and security policy matters, he has also spent years promoting hardline lieutenants based on “piety.” However, with Iran heading toward new crises under the rule of an 86-year-old cleric, the personnel implementing Khamenei’s edicts and the lens through which officials understand and filter them will increasingly matter.
Larijani’s short-lived predecessor on the SNSC, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, is a case in point. In April 2024—following Israeli strikes on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus—Khamenei called for punishment against Israel. When deliberating over the regime’s official response, none at the SNSC reportedly disagreed, including Ahmadian, with the decision to strike Israel directly from Iranian territory. This was a game-changing decision that moved the Islamic Republic’s four-decade gray-zone conflict with Israel into the realm of conventional war. Despite other regime elites urging Iran at the time to retain its policy of strategic patience and warning “not to enter the playing field of the Zionists,” Tehran commenced a historic drone, cruise missile, and ballistic missile barrage against Israel that begot a cycle of violence leading directly to the 12-Day War this June.
Once termed a “problem solver” by Khamenei but later disqualified from running for the presidency in 2021 and 2024 indirectly by Khamenei, Larijani is best described as a regime insider and loyalist rather than a political partisan. And while he may be a more competent statesman than Ahmadian, many in Iran have questioned the limits of what Larijani could do at this juncture and raised concerns of only a “superficial” change.
According to an Iranian government spokesperson, Larijani was chosen not only because he is “trustworthy,” but also because his presence increases Iran’s “bargaining power at the international level.” While the SNSC Secretary has traditionally served as the regime’s preferred nuclear interlocutor, since 2013, responsibility for nuclear talks has been transferred to the foreign ministry. Iran’s current foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has stated that, thus far, no such decision to return the nuclear dossier to the SNSC has been taken.
Nonetheless, the Islamic Republic is likely eager to have foreign audiences read the musical chairs as a move toward moderation and signal to restart nuclear diplomacy when even America’s trans-Atlantic allies are looking favorably upon pressuring the regime. Should Larijani be able to blunt this pressure or simply cause coordination problems between America and its allies, he will have served his function. But if press reports are to be believed, Larijani’s role will not remain confined to foreign policy. The Islamic Republic faces just as many challenges at home as it does abroad. An Iranian outlet linked to the SNSC reported that among the tasks expected of Larijani in this space are “changing the discourse of national security” and “institutionalizing strategic dialogue with the younger generation.”This is a tall order for such a deeply unpopular regime. Khamenei would never grant an SNSC secretary sufficient autonomy to address these concerns independently. For nearly a decade, an increasingly underserved and repressed populace has moved from seeking political reform to coveting wholesale change through youth-led street protests. As the Middle East’s longest-serving contemporary autocrat, Khamenei has held steadfast to the regime’s revolutionary ideology and enmity with Israel and America as much as he has stood against the forces of domestic change. However, when faced with sustained pressure, Khamenei lays the political groundwork for selective micro-adjustments and surface-level changes to maintain his own position and the Islamic Republic’s. Although nationwide protests did not erupt during the 12-Day War as Israeli officials hoped, domestic political discord and mounting economic and environmental challenges could still entrap the regime in a lose-lose pincer if foreign pressure resumes.
This is precisely the situation Khamenei hopes to avoid, and that which the surface-level political shake-up in Tehran most likely seeks to avert. After all, structural change may not be in the Islamic Republic’s strong suit, but survival is.
**Behnam Ben Taleblu is Senior Director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think-tank in Washington, DC, where he also serves as a Senior Fellow. Follow him on X: @therealBehnamBT.

Why we should still be terrified of Putin’s rewriting of Russian history
Ivana Stradner/Telegraph/August 26/2025
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/60dad9f0f46fb94d
The Trump administration must not fall prey to Putin’s KGB tactics of psychological manipulation.
While the Alaska summit last week between president Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was brief, the Russian president was sure to make several lengthy references to World War II. While many in the West may roll their eyes and yawn, Putin’s seemingly innocuous remarks were an attempt to manipulate the American leader. Following the summit, Putin visited an Alaskan military base to lay flowers on the graves of Soviet pilots who died during the war. Memory of American-Soviet cooperation in the “heroic past… brings us together”, he said, and “also lays the foundation for us moving forward, into the future.”
WWII was certainly the zenith of US-Soviet relations. The United States supplied the Soviet Union with vast amounts of food, materiel, and ammunition in its fight against Nazi Germany. Some of this equipment was shipped through Alaska to Russia, and required American and Soviet pilots to work together. Ultimately, this partnership was crucial to ensure the Soviet army was sufficiently equipped and trained to defeat the Nazis.But the Kremlin’s narrative about World War II is a biased and sinister reading of history that should worry us all. Putin never mentions, for instance, the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact of 1939: this allowed the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to divide and conquer Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. It was only once Germany violated the Pact and launched an invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 that Stalin decided to ally with the West.
The Soviet victory over Nazi Germany is one of Putin’s most powerful tools for touting Russian exceptionalism. Putin constantly reminds the world that, although the United States assisted from afar, the Soviets’ sacrifices on the Eastern Front are what made the decisive difference. Millions of Soviet citizens died fighting. Defending Stalin’s actions during the war, Putin once declared that “nobody can now throw stones at those who organised and stood at the head of this victory.”
Thankfully Trump and many Americans don’t see it that way. Tensions between Trump and Putin have surfaced over these differing accounts of an 80-year-old war. Trump recently claimed that “nobody was close to [the United States] in strength, bravery, or military brilliance” in WWII, and that the United States deserved the lion’s share of credit for winning the war. This elicited a heated reaction from Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev: he called Trump’s statement “pretentious nonsense.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has insisted the Soviets would have won the war without U.S. assistance. “We would have won anyway. We would have ‘eaten dirt,’ but we would have won.”
The fact is Russia didn’t win without the United States, and Trump’s refutation of the Kremlin’s weaponised version of history, is a step in the right direction. The Trump administration must not fall prey to Putin’s KGB tactics of psychological manipulation, especially on this key anniversary of the war’s end.  As we celebrate the 80th year since the Nazi’s defeat, Washington should remind the world about America’s integral role in that conflict. We should also hope history functions as a warning: that any state that pursues war must be punished.

The Real Reason Jews Are Hated
Nils A. Haug/ Gatestone Institute/August 26/2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21830/the-reason-jews-are-hated
"Jewish people brought morality to the world thousands of years ago, and some people are still mad about it." — Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, ynetnews.com, January 27, 2024.
Even trying to conduct the most moral war in history, and sending humanitarian aid to the Gazans trying to kill them, all of Israel's enemies consider themselves free of such constraints. (Someone asked if the British had ever sent aid to Germany in WWII.)
"Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It?" — John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, Newsweek, March 25, 2024.
"The Jews represent everything the enemies of American civilization seek to destroy: the moral code of the Hebrew Bible, which the anti-Jews seek to replace with woke secularism or radical Islam." — Eric Cohen, editor-at-large of The New Atlantis, Mosaic, May 2024.
"Palestinians are not about creating a state; they're about destroying a state" — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, August 10, 2025.
Israel and the Jews are fighting to save Western Civilization -- for us. If we would let them.
"The hate of the Jews is the most ancient and continuous hate in human history, and you can dress it up any way you want.... It is basically exactly what it has always been -- the Jewish people brought morality to the world thousands of years ago and some people are still mad about it." — Safra Catz, CEO of the US technology giant Oracle.
"The hate of the Jews," Safra Catz, CEO of the US technology giant Oracle, pointed out in 2024, "is the most ancient and continuous hate in human history, and you can dress it up any way you want.... It is basically exactly what it has always been -- the Jewish people brought morality to the world thousands of years ago and some people are still mad about it."
Not only did the Jews introduce moral and ethical precepts; they also brought to the world at large that there were prohibitions on behavior in which many of us might wish to indulge. The deep hatred of Jews stems from fanatical followers of other faiths, and perhaps those of no faith at all, but especially those zealots whose religious worldview compels them to conquer and destroy those of competing faiths, or for undesirable tendencies that they see in themselves but prefer to attribute to others.
In short, at least three millennia ago, at Mount Sinai in Egypt, the Hebrew prophet Moses received specific moral-ethical precepts by which the Jewish nation were directed to live. These codes comprised virtues much later identified in the West as the Ten Commandments and became the foundational values and the essential moral guide of Western civilization, its societies, and laws.
All in all, Rabbis counted 613 laws handed down to Moses, the principal command of which is, "G-d is one" -- meaning He is the only G-d. You are not allowed to name or envisage G-d or you would be presuming to put yourself on the same level, and know what cannot be known by mere men. This directive is expanded to "you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength." From this declaration, it follows that the Jewish nation is not to tolerate any other god.
The West's value system emanates directly from Jerusalem, the ancient capital of the Jewish nation. Perhaps one of the appeals of some other religions is that they not only permit but actually sanctify actions that many of us might wish for but are prohibited in the West: sex with young girls, rape of people of other religions, slavery, physical violence against -- or even death for -- people who think differently.
The West is therefore deeply indebted to the Jews and Jerusalem as the source of values, morals, human rights, the Judeo-Christian ethos with its ethical virtues, individual liberty, and the democratic tradition itself -- all of which distinguish what is exceptional in the West.
In this sense, the Jewish people as original recipients and eternal custodians of morality, after the earlier laws of Hammurabi, are endowed with an enduring responsibility to the nations of the world. In Hebrew, this unique obligation is referred to as am segulah, which means Jews "have a special role" and "obligations that other nations do not have."
Consequent to the events at Mount Sinai, the culture of Western nations strongly reflected the religious beliefs of their citizens whose moral and humanist values were originally based on the Torah's Ten Commandments, and are known as the Judeo-Christian tradition.
In the United Kingdom, this conviction led to the publication in 1215 of the Magna Carta – a declaration documenting the liberties to be held by "free men" and also "provided the foundation for individual rights in Anglo-American jurisprudence."
In America, the authority of the Ten Commandments in defining truth, justice coupled to mercy, and morality, became the bedrock of its founding constitutional documents and highlighted Judeo-Christian character. The emphasis on natural law -- "Natural Law theory asserts that God's moral inclinations are intrinsically woven into the design of nature and creation, therefore, we can ascertain God's intentions for humanity by closely examining the universe, its ordering, and its inhabitants" -- reflected in the Ten Commandments, is a core factor in US Constitutional matters.
America's 1776 Declaration of Independence firmly placed its founding upon underlying structures -- the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them" -- and the value and dignity of the individual:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Hence, the theistic principles of natural law formatively inspired America's core constitutional documents as John Adams, the second US President, raised this point when in 1797 he declared, "knowledge, virtue, and religion" are "the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies."
It is to be expected that Israel, and its military, value the pertinence of Mosaic ethical codes. How the Gaza War has been conducted has earned the IDF the accolade -- from a retired British Army officer, Colonel Richard Kemp -- of "the world's most moral army."
John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, wrote, "Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It?" Even trying to conduct the most moral war in history, and sending humanitarian aid to the Gazans trying to kill them, all of Israel's enemies consider themselves free of such constraints. (Someone asked if the British had ever sent aid to Germany in WWII.)
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked, "the only ones who are being deliberately starved in Gaza are our hostages."
Through the years, the IDF has acted commendably despite unspeakable battle conditions. "Nearly every second house in Gaza is booby trapped," according to IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin. The IDF are rightly called the "most moral army in history." A "perfect" army? No, but one endeavoring, as much as possible, to adhere to super-moral values in the battlefield. The IDF sent literally hundreds of thousands of leaflets, text messages in Arabic, and "knocks on the roof" to warn Gazans to evacuate targeted area and buildings. Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists shoot at their own people trying to flee to safety or seeking humanitarian aid.
Rabbi Leo Dee remarked:
"Just like our ancestors, the mighty Maccabees, armed with a Torah in one hand and an Iron Dome missile interception battery in the other, the Israeli people are defending the only true morality."
For millennia, a great privilege, but also a great burden, was bestowed on the Jews. They have had a divine obligation: to carry the laws from Sinai from generation to generation "A small Jewish nation," commentator Larry Greenfield explains, "[has] become a light unto the nations." Eric Cohen, editor-at-large of The New Atlantis, wrote:
"To be a Jew is to be a defender of a transcendent idea and a unique people, with the odds stacked against it but with history, faith, courage, pride, heroism, and sheer perseverance on its side: a purpose like no other."
As Cohen wrote last year:
"The Jews represent everything the enemies of American civilization seek to destroy: the moral code of the Hebrew Bible, which the anti-Jews seek to replace with woke secularism or radical Islam.... As go the Jews, so goes the West. The radical activists and their academic apologists understand this deep civilizational truth—and so must we."
Protecting our civilization might be the core reason why Jewish people and the State of Israel deserve every possible support from the nations of the West. As perpetual custodians of morality, their fate is a harbinger of our ultimate fate. This early-warning signal might be why Islamists, and other religious fanatics, are determined to eradicate the Jews -- and Christians -- from the face of the earth. "Palestinians are not about creating a state; they're about destroying a state," Netanyahu asserted.
Israel and the Jews are fighting to save Western Civilization -- for us. If we would let them.
**Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Dr. Haug holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology and is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Minding the Campus, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Jewish Journal, James Wilson Institute (Anchoring Truths), Jewish News Syndicate, Tribune Juive, Document Danmark, Zwiedzaj Polske, Schlaglicht Israel, and many others.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Keeping the transatlantic relationship alive
Jim O’Brien/Arab News/August 26, 2025
The confusion sewn by the Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the follow-up summit between Trump and European leaders, including Ukraine, has more than justified the decision taken by NATO’s non-US members to increase defense spending and intensify security cooperation. This commitment made it possible for European and Ukrainian leaders to propose that they buy tens of billions of dollars of US military equipment as part of a sustainable plan for peace in Europe and Ukraine. This is the right approach, perhaps the only one, not only for promoting European and Ukrainian defense, but also for rebuilding transatlantic cooperation in a variety of sectors, from artificial intelligence to tariffs. Defense may be the simplest sector for the US and Europe to align, for multiple reasons.
For starters, all the joint (transatlantic) work done since NATO’s Wales Summit in 2014 has already established a solid foundation. Second, there is broad agreement on the need for Europe to do more. Europe and non-US NATO members now plan to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2032 and European officials have said that Europe will spend 3 percent, on average, by 2028. Following the launch of a €150 billion ($174 billion) EU fund that has already solicited bids, EU defense investment is scheduled to be 10 times what it was.
This approach allows US companies to participate in and benefit from European defense procurement.
Nor is this just a headline created to appease the Trump administration in the short term. NATO leaders had already committed (at the NATO Summit in July 2024) to fund regional defense plans and the estimated cost for those was approximately 3.5 percent of GDP. The Trump administration has highlighted the European commitments and agreed to treat spending on crucial military infrastructure as counting toward the 5 percent target. Although some countries will have difficulty meeting the higher targets, at least in the near term, the continent’s military capabilities will be much stronger than would have been the case.
Third, the money will be spent on meeting the most crucial military needs. Under the 2024 plan, NATO will determine how to prioritize military capabilities, implying that the US still has a say in the matter. This approach should address the long-held US concern that European defense initiatives result in redundancies or divert funds from more pressing needs.
Fourth, this approach also allows US companies to participate in and benefit from European defense procurement, giving the US a stake in Europe’s rearming effort. Donald Trump touted European spending on US arms following his July meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and one senior European official estimates that 40 percent of early EU defense spending will go to US firms. Much of this is already directed toward capabilities that only the US can provide, such as advanced air defense.
To be sure, difficult decisions lie ahead. Above all, European leaders will have to determine how far they should go in creating alternatives to US equipment. These decisions will not be made all at once and continued tensions with the Trump administration will increase the likelihood of Europe moving away from US-made weapons systems where it can.
Another challenge for European leaders will be to allocate the new money pouring into the sector. Every European leader will lobby for domestic companies. But here, too, Europeans’ initial moves have been promising. The EU is focused on creating effective capabilities and key member states have called attention to what Ukraine most needs and can produce on its own. This emphasis on Ukraine sets a clear, urgent objective and allows spending to proceed without ensuring that every state gets some funding. Still, it will be important to understand how much investment can be directed to Ukraine without duplication or bidding up scarce resources.
European leaders will have to determine how far they should go in creating alternatives to US equipment. Looking ahead, a small, informal group of European leaders should identify urgent investment projects and participants. Any such group will be a hot ticket for European leaders, so its work should be discreet. It will need to include the countries with the largest industrial capacities, while also being sufficiently representative. Focusing on the largest defense and industrial capabilities and front-line states may be the best way to start.
Europe’s decision to keep the US involved in its defense industrial strategy did not come easily. In the first months of the second Trump administration, some in Europe questioned whether cooperation with the US was even possible. But by recognizing that America and Europe each have something to contribute to shared transatlantic security interests, European leaders are setting an example of how transatlantic cooperation can recover even during a destructive period. These structural considerations matter, because successful cooperation on defense can provide a model for other areas. Economic growth over the next generation is likely to come from industries such as AI, life sciences and new energy technologies. China has a leading position in many of these sectors and it will seek to shape global habits and standards for its own benefit. Europe, the US, Canada and the Indo-Pacific will respond more effectively together than they would separately. As a group, their size is comparable to China and they can draw on shared habits of cooperation in aligning supply chains, investment and standards. A focus on aligning Europe and the US may seem premature, given the extent to which disagreements on trade and investment are impeding cooperation. These tensions will continue unless Trump stops treating Europe as only a competitor. We cannot know when or if tensions will ease, but I believe they can and must — even if only after this administration ends. In any case, we should be ready for any opportunities that arise. The early steps on defense cooperation show that recognition of shared interests, open communication about the best path forward and a willingness to let one another’s companies compete on fair terms can be a basis for a renewed relationship, at least in discrete areas.
To prepare for that possibility, European leaders should identify strategically important sectors and make clear what conditions would allow them to keep the US as a long-term, reliable partner, and then to hold the US to its own commitments. Step by step, the partnership that underpinned peace and prosperity for previous generations can do the same for the next one.
**Jim O’Brien was US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs during the Biden administration.
Copyright: Project Syndicate

Selected X tweets for August 26/202
John Bolton
Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy today is no more coherent than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office. Collapsing in confusion and haste, Trump’s negotiations may be in their last throes, along with his Nobel Peace Prize campaign.
https://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/3780298/trump-utterly-incoherent-ukraine-strategy-john-bolton/

This is Beirut
@ThisIsBeirut_
https://x.com/i/status/1960058148036677987
In an exclusive interview with #ThisisBeirut, US Envoy #MorganOrtagus stressed that #Hezbollah represents Iran, not the Lebanese people. “The #US supports a strong #Lebanese state, its army and its institutions,” she emphasized.
@MorganOrtagus
By Rayan Chami

Guila Fakhoury
As we welcome Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Lindsey Graham and Congressman Joe Wilson to Lebanon, our hearts are full. This visit signals a new path for Lebanon—a path free of Hezbollah’s weapons and Iran’s influence. The Amer Foundation have had the opportunity to work with both Congressman Wilson and Senator Shaheen, and we can say with confidence that they stand strongly against Hezbollah and are committed to a peaceful Middle East. It begins with disarming Hezbollah and reducing Iran’s influence in the region.

Guila Fakhoury
Winning the case against Iran stating that Iran through Hezbollah in Lebanon kidnapped and illegally detained the late US hostage and my father Amer Fakhoury provides the first evidence connecting Hezbollah to Iran!

Pita Power
@lebnationalist
https://x.com/i/status/1960300722873942286
Breaking News
For the first time, a high ranking US official, US Senator Lindsey Graham and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has floated the idea of a mutual defense agreement between the United States and Lebanon at a dinner in Beirut, Lebanon.
This would be a historic agreement that will bring peace to Lebanon from all threats against it.
Make Lebanon Great Again

Carole Zouein
The worst thing is to have the target to return to power , Fouad makhzoumi has let go of 33 votes for the sake of Nawaf salam who had only 14 votes , it means he has let go of power for the sake of Lebanon . And having change and new faces is always crucial and healthy , yes for fouad makhzoumi prime minister next time ! He was one of the pioneers on hizballa disarmament , reforms and building a state, threatening his life here , when others were living abroad enjoying tranquility for years and years !!!

Secretary Marco Rubio
Four years ago today, we lost 13 American heroes at Abbey Gate.
After the previous administration failed to deliver justice for the Gold Star families who lost their loved ones in Kabul, the Trump Administration took swift action to capture and extradite the ISIS-K terrorist responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing.
@POTUS will ALWAYS stand with Gold Star families and our fallen heroes.

Pierre A. Maroun
What Senator Lindsey Graham said about a “Mutual Defense Treaty” between Lebanon and the United States wasn’t just an idea that crossed his mind on his way to Lebanon! That’s the crux of the matter!

Dr. Kamal Yazigi
وتجنباً للتبريرات السخيفة ليس في اللغة الانكليزية كلمة anomalistic هناك anomaly شذوذ وهناك anomalous  أمر شاذ غير مألوف أما anomalistic فلا يوجد الدبلوماسي الثرثار قال وقصد animalistic