English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 09/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.
Saint Matthew 10/21-26:”Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 08-09/2025
The Official Lebanese Response to the American Paper: Is A Weak, Flowery Statement Reflecting the State’s Impotence and Complicity with the Iranian Occupation/Elias Bejjani/July 07/ 2025
Bassil,s Berri,s  & Hezbollah's Conspiracy Against Lebanese Expatriates—Especially Christians/Article 122: A Calculated Plot to Silence and Marginalize the Christian Diaspora/Elias Bejjani/July 06/2025
Israeli military says it struck 'key' Hamas figure in Lebanon's Tripoli/Reuters/July 8, 2025
Two dead in Israeli strike on north Lebanon, according to health ministry
Salam meets Berri, says atmosphere good after Barrack's visit
3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant
Billions needed, but no plan: Lebanon’s social spending crisis deepens
Has Barrack's visit to Lebanon opened the 'window of diplomacy'?
Reports: Hezbollah goes on alert fearing possible Israeli strike
Report: Iran asks Hezbollah not to hand over its weapons
Geagea meets Barrack over dinner in Maarab
Lebanon at a crossroads: Tom Barrack on the US paper, Hezbollah, and the future of unity — here is the full interview

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 08-09/2025
Trump holds fresh talks with Netanyahu to end Gaza ‘tragedy’
Iran says it has not requested US talks since war
Iran’s government says at least 1,060 people were killed in the war with Israel
Analysis-US, Israel diverge on how to pursue Iran endgame after strikes, diplomats say
Israeli military official says Iran hit some military sites last month
Saudi crown prince meets Iranian foreign minister amid regional diplomacy push
US, Israel diverge on how to pursue Iran endgame after strikes, diplomats say
French intel chief: No certainty on whereabouts of Iran’s uranium stocks
‘This is my country’: Gazans reject Trump’s displacement plan despite death, destruction
Qatar says 'we will need time' for Gaza ceasefire
UK will take more measures against Israel if no Gaza ceasefire soon – Lammy
Russia increasing military presence in Armenia, Ukraine's military intelligence claims
Israeli strikes kill 51 in Gaza as explosive devices leave 5 Israeli soldiers dead
Qatar says ‘we will need time’ for Gaza ceasefire
Massacres at aid distributions overwhelm Gaza health system
Palestinian teen dies from head injury after Israeli forces opened fire
Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement
Israel far-right minister demands end to Gaza ceasefire talks
Macron urges new era of Anglo-French unity in address to UK parliament
Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day
Syria seeks European help as forest wildfires rage
France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport, halts trains
Arab League chief warns of rising religious intolerance in Cairo forum address
Three crew dead, at least two wounded in latest Red Sea attack on Greek ship

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 08-09/2025
Netanyahu at the Crossroads/Eric Cortellessa/Time/July 08/2025
The Judge-Emperor: The Global Coup of the Courts/Drieu Godefridi/Gatestone Institute/July 8, 2025
Israeli defense minister shares plan to move Palestinians to closed camp/Paul Godfrey/United Press International/July 08/2025
Leaflets in Syrian Churches threatening to kill Them/Nabil Habiby/Face Book/July 08/2025
Was America Founded on ‘Clobbering Bad Guys” Around the World?/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/July 08/2025
What will the world look like in November 2026?/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 08, 2025
Indian diplomacy and the Gaza crisis/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/July 08, 2025
NATO members’ collective defense vow holds — for now/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/July 08, 2025
Selected Tweets for 08 July/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 07-08/2025
The Official Lebanese Response to the American Paper: Is A Weak, Flowery Statement Reflecting the State’s Impotence and Complicity with the Iranian Occupation
Elias Bejjani/July 07/ 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144961/
What was dubbed the “Lebanese response” to the American paper, delivered by the US presidential envoy of Lebanese origin, Tom Barrack, was nothing more than a childish and pathetic attempt at verbal appeasement and circumlocution, dodging the truth and confronting reality. It’s a flowery and frivolous text, devoid of substance, national or sovereign stance, commitment, or vision. Its sole purpose is to buy time, flatter Hezbollah, and cowardly avoid confronting it and implementing UN resolutions.
Spiritually, the content of this response echoes what is written in Revelation (03:15-16): “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
First: A Cowardly Response Lacking Substance, Timeline, and Blindness to International and Regional critical and historical Changes
The document handed to Barrack doesn’t even meet the minimum standard of a responsible political response. It’s a flimsy, flowery statement, replete with trite pleasantries, and devoid of any clear commitments. More dangerously, it includes no timeline for disarming “Hezbollah” or dismantling its military and intelligence infrastructure, rendering it without any executive value in the eyes of the international community. Most critically, it deliberately ignores the recent international and regional developments.
Second: Joseph Aoun… A Sovereign and Free President, or a Puppet in Iran’s Hands?
Practically, President Joseph Aoun has disappointed and failed hopes with his ambiguous and complicit stances regarding “Hezbollah’s” weapons, occupation, and terrorism. This raises serious doubts about his independence and prompts critical questions about whether this man is merely a soft façade for an Iranian militia authority. The evidence is that his advisory team (the “advisory battalion”) includes figures subservient to Hezbollah, such as former minister Ali Hamieh, in addition to specific Christian and Maronite figures in particular who were once pillars of the catastrophic President Michel Aoun’s tenure, and who, along with him, contributed to handing Lebanon over to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Third: Barrack Said It Clearly: “Solving Hezbollah is Your Responsibility”
Tom Barrack didn’t beat around the bush or flatter anyone. He stated it frankly and in sophisticated yet firm diplomatic language: “Isn’t Hezbollah a political party in Lebanon? Do you think a foreign country will disarm a political party in a sovereign country? This is your problem, and you have to solve it yourselves.”
The message is clear: the time for duplicity, deceit, semantic games, and tiresome cleverness is over. What’s required is a sovereign and courageous Lebanese decision.
Fourth: Hezbollah is an Iranian Army with No Connection to Lebanon
It’s disgraceful at the popular, official, and media levels to continue calling “Hezbollah” a Lebanese party. It is nothing but a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon, and its leaders boast about this Trojan subservience. Its leaders and military personnel are merely tools and executive mouthpieces who don’t make their own decisions, and any dialogue with them is folly, ignorance, and a blatant surrender that serves only Tehran’s terrorist and expansionist agendas. Therefore, there is no solution except for the complete eradication of its military, security, media, educational, and banking systems. Anything else is a waste of time and a betrayal of sovereignty.
Fifth: “Last Chance”… And Israel Is Freed from Its Restraints
Barrack said it with a warning tone: “President Trump’s patience won’t last… and if you don’t assume your responsibilities, you’ll be left alone to face your destiny.”
In this context, we see that Israel, which was restrained by America for a long time, has clearly received the green light to end the Iranian-Lebanese threat. The recent airstrikes coincided with Barrack’s visit, and this is no coincidence; rather, it’s a message by fire: “The countdown has begun, so make up your minds.”
Some Tweets Commenting on the Farce and Childishness of Lebanon’s Rulers:
“The real equation isn’t that disarmament will lead to civil war, but that not disarming will lead to a devastating regional war… And Barrack said it: No American guarantees to rein in Israel!”
“Barrack delivered the response and left relieved, because the ball is now in the Lebanese court. But he didn’t offer an opinion because he knows that facts, not statements, will decide the truth.”
“The situation is like gathering contradictions in one paper. What’s simply required: a clear timeline for confining weapons… But no one dares to admit that the state is dead!”
“The American envoy didn’t need to read the response. He politely said: We won’t dictate how you handle the weapons file, but if you don’t, you’ll pay the price.”“Only one answer should have been given: Yes, we will disarm Hezbollah within 3 months.”
“The Lebanese response = stammering, feigned cleverness, evasion, and submission. The state and Hezbollah are in the same boat… headed to the bottom.”
“The Iranian regime in Lebanon must be overthrown immediately, otherwise a new Middle East will be built without us… or upon our ruins.”
“We will not coexist with weapons anymore. We want it to be an official decision, not vague wishes. The era of infantilization is over.”
Conclusion: Lebanon Faces a Moment of Truth… And the Hour of Reckoning Approaches
The deliberate blindness of Aoun, Salam, and the ruling class in Lebanon—comprising groups of armed factions and corrupt individuals—to the international and regional changes forcibly imposed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Trump, means that Lebanon, within this new Middle East project centered on peace, will not be allowed to remain under the rule of the Iranian occupation and its Lebanese “Trojan horses.” Hezbollah will undoubtedly be militarily eliminated, and its current Iscariot leaders, as well as the Lebanese puppet officials will likely be removed, perhaps imprisoned and prosecuted.
By these standards, the official Lebanese response was nothing short of a new, despicable scandal, confirming that the state is captive to Hezbollah. Joseph Aoun squandered a rare opportunity to prove his courage and independence, appearing as a leader with a castrated will, managed from behind the scenes. Nawaf Salam, indecisive and cowardly, remains mired in the outdated, rotten culture of Yasser Arafat and Gamal Abdel Nasser, and is controlled by grudges, hatred, and the illusions of resistance and liberation.
The American message arrived like a slap in the face to the entire political class: “Either you bear your responsibility, or prepare for strong winds that will leave nothing standing.” While the state stumbled in its stammering, the voice of free Lebanese was clearer than ever: “We refuse to let Lebanon remain hostage in the grip of the Iranian occupation. We demand that Washington, the world’s greatest power, place Lebanon under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, and declare it a failed, rogue state incapable of governing itself.”

Bassil,s Berri,s  & Hezbollah's Conspiracy Against Lebanese Expatriates—Especially Christians/Article 122: A Calculated Plot to Silence and Marginalize the Christian Diaspora
Elias Bejjani/July 06/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144900/
In Lebanon’s modern history, few examples illustrate the fusion of legal manipulation and political malice as clearly as Article 122 of the 2017 electoral law. This article denies non-resident Lebanese citizens their natural and constitutional right to vote in their original districts inside Lebanon—just like their fellow resident citizens. Instead, it isolates expatriates into a separate voting category and allocates them six parliamentary seats—one per continent—divided equally between Muslims and Christians, based on an unworkable and deeply flawed legal premise.
This was no coincidence. Article 122 is part of a long-term, premeditated scheme that began with the Taif Agreement—a turning point that significantly weakened Christian political influence, particularly the powers of the Maronite presidency. It abolished true Muslim-Christian parity in most state institutions, reducing it to a mere formality in top-level positions. Article 122 is a direct continuation of this exclusionary agenda, further marginalizing the Lebanese diaspora—most of whom are Christians—and stripping them of their rightful role in shaping national policy.
This malicious project is not new. It dates back to the era of Syrian-appointed President Emile Lahoud. At the time, the Foreign Ministry's expatriats Affairs, under Shiite political operative Haitham Jomaa—a loyalist of Nabih Berri—attempted to promote this plan among expatriates. Maronite MP Naamatallah Abi Nasr led a failed campaign to market it, facing overwhelming expatriots' rejection. Many diaspora activists, including the author of this piece, stood at the forefront of the resistance and exposed its hidden agenda. The plan was ultimately shelved—only to be revived in 2017.
Shockingly, it was revived through the very Christian parties that were supposed to defend expatriate rights. In a moment of short-sightedness—or perhaps calculated betrayal—both the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces (LF) supported Article 122. In exchange for a handful of additional seats, they legitimized a monstrous law designed to weaken the voice of the Christian diaspora. Whether through ignorance or political cowardice, they gave cover to a measure whose long-term damage far outweighs any short-term gains.
Today, it is no surprise that Nabih Berri and Hezbollah oppose empowering Christian expatriates. Berri’s sectarianism is well known, and Hezbollah—an Iranian-backed, jihadist terrorist proxy—has always aimed to silence any opposing or sovereign Lebanese voice. Yet the real disaster—the Iscariot betrayal—comes from Gebran Bassil himself. As head of the FPM and a Maronite, Bassil still defends Article 122, betraying the very Christians he claims to represent. Already sanctioned under the U.S. Magnitsky Act for corruption, Bassil walks in the footsteps of  his Father-in-law, Michel Aoun, who traded national sovereignty for power and submitted to Hezbollah’s humiliating domination. This toxic and treacherous Micheal Aoun has left Lebanon in ruins—economically, institutionally, and morally.
What fully exposes Bassil is the bold and patriotic statement recently issued by Maronite bishops in the diaspora. In clear and courageous language, they rejected Article 122 and demanded its cancellation, affirming that Lebanese expatriates must be allowed to vote in their original districts as full citizens—not be reduced to second-class voters or “continental MPs” with no land, no community, and no real political identity.
What Article 122 Says
Six parliamentary seats are reserved for expatriates—one per continent:
Africa
North America
South America
Europe
Australia
Asia
These are divided equally among the following sects:
Maronites
Greek Orthodox
Catholics
Sunnis
Shiites
Druze
A future Cabinet decree—based on proposals from the Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs—will define the specific districts and voting mechanisms. In the following election cycle, six seats will be deducted from the original 128 members of Parliament, drawn from the same sects to which the expatriate seats were assigned.
But in reality, Article 122 has no democratic value. It is a veiled tool of exclusion and disenfranchisement. It neither provides fair representation for local voters nor protects the political rights of Lebanese abroad. It is not reform—it is deception.
In conclusion, upholding Article 122 amounts to a blatant betrayal of the constitution, the National Pact, and the Lebanese diaspora—especially its Christian community. Every honorable political force and every free Lebanese—at home and abroad—must raise their voices and demand the abolition of this shameful, disgraceful article.
Let Article 122 be repealed.
Let the dignity of the diaspora be restored.
Let every Lebanese expatriate vote fully—as a citizen, not a mere financial provider.

Israeli military says it struck 'key' Hamas figure in Lebanon's Tripoli
Reuters/July 8, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144993/
BEIRUT -The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had struck "key" figure from Palestinian militant group Hamas near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, the first targeted killing in the area for several months. In a statement, Israel's military did not give the identity of the targeted person. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Lebanese state media said a car had been hit near Tripoli and the health ministry reported two people were killed and three others wounded, without identifying them. Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups maintain a presence in various areas of Lebanon, mostly in camps that have housed displaced Palestinians for decades. Since Hamas' cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in 2023, Israel has carried out targeted strikes on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah as well as members of Palestinian factions in Lebanon. Hamas' deputy chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early 2024, and other strikes hit Palestinian camps in northern Lebanon. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire last year ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon. Tuesday's strike near Tripoli was the first time a targeted assassination had taken place in the area since the truce. Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack continued a two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss disarming Hezbollah and other militant groups.

Two dead in Israeli strike on north Lebanon, according to health ministry ​
AFP/July 8, 2025
Lebanon's health ministry said, two people were killed Tuesday in a strike in the country's north. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant. "The Israeli enemy strike on a vehicle" near the northern city of Tripoli "led to a preliminary toll of two dead and three wounded," the health ministry said in a statement.

Salam meets Berri, says atmosphere good after Barrack's visit
Naharnet/July 8, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday in Ain el-Tineh with Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the general situations, the political and military developments and the outcome of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s visit to Lebanon, the National News Agency said.
Responding to a reporter’s question about Barrack’s visit, Salam tersely said: “Speaker Berri’s words yesterday were enough to answer this question and the atmosphere is good.”Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Monday that his meeting with Barrack was “good, constructive and very keen on Lebanon’s interest and sovereignty and the concerns of all Lebanese, as well as on Hezbollah’s demands.”

3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant
AFP/July 08, 2025
JERUSALEM: Lebanon said three people were killed Tuesday in a strike near Tripoli that the Israeli military said targeted a Hamas militant, the first on the north since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah. The strike came amid ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar and as five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year. Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce, mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally targeting Hamas.
“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in the area of Tripoli in Lebanon,” the Israeli army said in a statement, without providing further details.
In an updated toll, Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike on a vehicle “killed three people and wounded 13” in an area that is close to a Palestinian refugee camp. An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency services and onlookers. Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally. Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the ceasefire. In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted “the head of operations in Hamas’s Western Brigade in Lebanon.”Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have been rare. In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. Israel’s military said it targeted “a senior member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon.”In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government seeks to impose its authority across all its territory. The Israeli military said earlier that it had killed two militants of the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah in two separate attacks on southern Lebanon Monday. It identified one of them as Ali Haidar, a local Hezbollah commander whom it said was involved in restoring militant infrastructure sites in the area.Hezbollah’s clout has diminished after it emerged bruised from a conflict with Israel last year, fueled by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel, however, has kept up strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire. Israel said last week that it was “interested” in striking peace agreements with Lebanon and neighboring Syria. The ceasefire aimed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the Lebanese group launched a wave of cross-border attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Billions needed, but no plan: Lebanon’s social spending crisis deepens
LBCI/July 08, 2025
After everything Lebanon has been through, poverty has tripled over the past five years, unemployment stands at 45%, and the cost of reconstruction exceeds $11 billion. Yet, instead of expanding social programs, Lebanon has slashed the social and health protection budget — from $6.1 billion in 2017 to just $1.3 billion in 2024. What is worse, most of that money goes to public sector pensions and end-of-service benefits — covering just 2.5% of the population. Even the social programs funded by international donors, which are helping people stay on their feet, face constant threats of suspension.
This reality — now in urgent need of change — was outlined in a report by the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan. However, the question remains: where can the government obtain the necessary funding? This comes at a time when establishing a social safety net is a key condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for any agreement with Lebanon — based on the need for a clear mechanism to protect the most vulnerable.

Has Barrack's visit to Lebanon opened the 'window of diplomacy'?
Naharnet/July 08, 2025
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s visit to Lebanon opened the “window of diplomacy,” after a tense atmosphere that preceded his arrival in Beirut to receive the official Lebanese response to a three-point U.S. paper that most importantly contained a path leading to Hezbollah’s disarmament, a media report said. Barrack, who lauded Lebanon’s response as highly satisfactory, will “carefully study the Lebanese response and send his remarks within days through the U.S. Embassy in Beirut,” official Lebanese sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. “He will return to Beirut within two weeks should things go as planned,” the sources added. Asharq al-Awsat noted that Lebanon’s official response was prepared by President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam, without containing “Hezbollah’s stance.” Berri, however, later presented to Barrack separate remarks on behalf of the Shiite Duo (Hezbollah and Berri’s Amal Movement), the daily said, with source close to the Speaker telling the newspaper that he “stressed the need to consolidate the ceasefire and ensure Israel’s commitment to it before anything else.”

Reports: Hezbollah goes on alert fearing possible Israeli strike
Naharnet/July 08, 2025
Hezbollah has entered a state of maximum alert on its various military fronts in anticipation of a possible Israeli strike in the coming hours or days, unnamed sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. “Hezbollah took a host of military and precautionary measures that involved evacuating some of its posts in the South and other areas, in addition to the departure of the families of a number of its prominent cadres from the South toward Beirut,” the sources said. Many of Hezbollah’s commanders have stopped using their cellphones, the sources added. An-Nahar newspaper had earlier reported that “Hezbollah has vacated most of the southern and Bekaa towns of their fighters, moving them to strategic places and combat fronts in anticipation of any Israeli military action on Tuesday or Wednesday at a timing that coincides with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.”
The reports come although U.S. envoy Tom Barrack had voiced unexpected optimism during his visit to Beirut on Monday, announcing that he was highly satisfied with the Lebanese response to the latest U.S. paper. Barrack also said that Israel wants peace, not war, with Lebanon.

Report: Iran asks Hezbollah not to hand over its weapons
Naharnet/July 08/2025
One of the Lebanese officials who met with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on Monday has admitted that “Hezbollah is clearly trying to gain time,” MTV reported on Tuesday. “It showed flexibility over the issue of its disarmament before backpedaling and beginning to talk about a bad management of the negotiations with the U.S. prior to reaching the (November) ceasefire agreement,” MTV added. “Iranian figures visited Lebanon last week and met with officials from Hezbollah with the aim of preventing it from taking any step leading to the handover of its heavy arms,” the TV network said.“Hezbollah is this way linking the fate of its arms, again, to the Iranian-American negotiations that might be resumed this weekend,” MTV added.

Geagea meets Barrack over dinner in Maarab
Naharnet/July 08/2025
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and his wife MP Sethrida Geagea hosted visiting U.S. envoy Tom Barrack in Maarab for talks that were followed by a dinner meeting overnight Monday. “The discussions tackled the ideas that were mentioned in the working paper that Barrack had presented to Lebanese officials,” a statement issued by Geagea’s office said. The LF leader stressed that “the Lebanese state collecting all illegal arms, be them Palestinian or Lebanese, is a Lebanese demand in the first place and it is a prerequisite for the rise of a real state in Lebanon.”“Without disbanding all illegitimate and illegal military and security organization, there can be real state in Lebanon,” Geagea emphasized. The talks were attended by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, two of Barrack’s aides, and LF officials Joseph Jbeily and Richard Kouyoumjian.

Lebanon at a crossroads: Tom Barrack on the US paper, Hezbollah, and the future of unity — here is the full interview
LBCI/July 08/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144993/
Lebanon at a crossroads: Tom Barrack on the US paper, Hezbollah, and the future of unity — here is the full interview
In an exclusive and candid conversation, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack sits down with Ricardo Karam to discuss his mission in Lebanon, the weight of expectations, and the possibilities for breakthrough in a deeply divided country. Speaking from a place of personal connection and diplomatic urgency, Barrack opens up about his Lebanese roots, the influence of Donald Trump, and the hope of redefining Lebanon’s future.
Here is the transcript of the interview:
RICARDO KARAM: Tom Barrack, thank you for being with us. You are the man of the hour. Everyone is talking about you. It’s a heavy responsibility, the one you have. Are you worried about disappointing the people who are putting high hopes in you or disappointing yourself?
TOM BARRACK: All of the above. Number one, thank you for having me. It’s, it’s a return to destiny, having started our professional life at another time together. So I’m, I’m honored. I’m terrified by disappointing the top three constituencies that I have to serve, for sure, the people of Lebanon.
We’ve talked about it before, my DNA is from here. Whatever tiny modicum of success I’ve been able to achieve in life is a result of the beauty of American freedom and this Levantine destiny and dynasty that all of you have. But the reason I’m here is really the brilliance and the courage of one man, which is Donald Trump.
I would never venture into disappointing the people here, of thinking that there’s some solution to a problem that has existed for 60 or 70 years that nobody’s been able to find their way through this matrix, if it weren’t for him. So an amazing series of events happened in the world that allow us maybe to take these threads of complexity from this very difficult zip code, of which Lebanon has always been the bright shining star and saying, let’s weave it into a new tapestry. And he from the top, and Secretary, Rubio, has said, let’s give it a shot. And in the meantime, the rest of the Middle East is realigning around us.
So yes, I don’t want to disappoint anybody, and I also don’t want to distract anybody with expectations that are not meaningful. And the expectation for Lebanon is simple, it’s time to give it up for everybody, redefine a new posture. Everybody’s tired of war, everybody’s tired of discontent. If we have 19 different religions and, 19 different communities and 19 different confessionals. There’s one thing that’s above that, and that’s being Lebanese.
And if President Trump can help navigate through this system to provide a reliable, understandable network with all the difficulty of everybody around us, I will be very happy and proud just to have, in some small way contributed to that process. So I don’t want to disappoint anybody, but I also want to deal with reality.
RICARDO KARAM: Inshallah, I think let’s take off this discussion. Let’s talk first about the Lebanese response to your document, your paper. You received a seven-page document officially handed to you by President Joseph Aoun in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker of the House Nabih Berri, yet without any formal cabinet session, you called the moment spectacular, and you praised the efforts of the Lebanese side. However, we did not comment on the actual content. Why is that, and how close or how far this reply from the U.S. expected or was really asking for?
TOM BARRACK: So great questions. Let me just tell you what my attitude is, which is very un-Lebanese. I don’t negotiate an agreement in the press. I know that this is abnormal in Lebanon, that everybody wants to lead with some point of view through the press. To me, that’s the “death knell.” And out of respect to the counterparties that we’re dealing with, I would never do that.
So this criticism of who are you dealing with? I’m dealing with the President of the country, the Prime Minister of the country and the Speaker of the House. Do I think that I’m dealing in a final agreement that shouldn’t be authorized by the Minister of Councilors?
Of course not. But it’s impossible for me, as an individual, or with great sponsorship that we have. We have an amazing ambassador here, Lisa Johnson, and a great team that’s been dealing with this forever. But to compromise the hope of actually getting to an agreement that will then be presented in the proper way through the system, and me leading with any indication of what it is, I would never do that. So there’s no reason for me to comment on things that have nothing to do with the public at this point because we have nothing to present to the public until we have an idea, a thought, a response to what it is that the country wants to do. So I’m just being respectful to the system.
RICARDO KARAM: You’ve met with the top Lebanese politicians and leaders. Are they truly engage or were they were buying time?
TOM BARRACK: both. Look the Lebanese. The Lebanese political culture is deny, detour and deflect. This is the way that it’s been for 60 years, and this is the task we have in front of us. It has to change. My feeling with all three of them is they’re being candid, they’re being honest, they’re being forthright. And when I said, the delivery of the response was incredible. To get a response that, by the way, wasn’t leaked. So whatever these 15 points were suggestions that, of course, the community interprets of America is coming in and making demands. We’re making no demands. We’ve only said one thing, if you want us to help you, we’re here to usher, we’re here to help. We’re here to protect to the extent that we can. But we’re not going to intervene in regime change. We’re not going to intervene in politics. And if you don’t want us, no problem, we’ll go home. That’s it.
There’s no threats, there’s no dictates, there’s only take advantage of the moment. Look around you. The region is changing. Everything is changing. If you don’t want to change, if the people don’t want to change, just tell us, and we’ll not interfere.
RICARDO KARAM: Talking about time. You’re buying time, as you said; some say this whole process might take until next May, the electoral deadline or the electoral mandate. You believe we can remain as such till the upcoming elections in Lebanon.
TOM BARRACK: So let me give you my personal opinion. Absolutely not. Let me give you the official opinion. Nobody is going to stick around doing this until next May I have a boss who has amazing courage, amazing focus, who came out globally. I don’t think there’s ever been a president since Dwight Eisenhower, who came out with such ferocity for Lebanon. On his own, he has the courage, he has the dedication, he has the ability. What he doesn’t have is patience.
So if Lebanon wants to just keep kicking this can down the road, they can keep kicking the can down the road, but we’re not going to be here in May having this discussion.
RICARDO KARAM: A few weeks ago, we were hearing urgently, “carrots and sticks,” disarmament deadlines. Now we’re hearing no timeline. Hezbollah as a political party, and a call for patience. Something’s changed. What is it?
TOM BARRACK: Not really. So let me, let me, let me take those apart. Hezbollah is a foreign terrorist organization in the world’s view, except maybe for France. And here, I think Hezbollah is a political party here, I think they have 13 ministers or so. It’s a political party. It’s also a terrorist party.
RICARDO KARAM: Thirteen members of parliament.
TOM BARRACK: Yes. So the concept of saying, “How do you solve a Hezbollah problem?” Is a Lebanese problem. It’s not a world problem. We’ve already, from a political point of view, said, look, it’s a terrorist organization. They mess with us anywhere, just as the President has established on a military basis, they’re going to have a problem with us. They don’t want to have a problem with us.
How does that get solved within Lebanon is another issue. Patience, timelines. The press is making that up. I never said anything about what our request was in a timeline or what the response was in a timeline. I said it’s not up to us. It’s up to the Lebanese people. What I can tell you is the disarmament of Hezbollah has always been a simple fact that the President and the Secretary of State have always been very clear about: One nation, one people, one army.
That’s simple, not just Hezbollah, Palestinians, armed militias for you, if that’s the case, if that’s what this political body chooses, then we will usher, will help, will influence, and will be that intermediary with all of the potential combatants or adversaries who are on your borders, thinking, when is Israel? When is Iran? Syria is just coming up.
As Syria goes, Lebanon goes, as Lebanon goes, Syria goes. So nothing’s changed. We just are not amplifying what the response is or what our request was, until we get to a place where we say we have an understanding, at least with the senior leadership of the country, who’s now going to take it to their council of ministers, and we’ll see where we go, but that’s up to them if they want to negotiate that in public, fine.
RICARDO KARAM: So your mission is still the same. It hasn’t changed.
TOM BARRACK: Zero. It’s even but can I tell you something, after going to the south, it’s more emphatic. I was personally so upset and seeing these Lebanese boys and girls so committed, LAF, so committed. There’s no There’s no fluff, there’s no corruption, there’s no dismay. They’re committed, they’re dedicated, they’re focused, they’re sacrificing their lives for peanuts. And this fact that we can’t have a real dialogue between Hezbollah, between Israel, between any of the militant factions, between the Palestinians, is ridiculous.
It’s time to end it all, and if we can be of some influence in ending it, we will. If we’re becoming an interference, we’ll leave. Nothing has changed. We’ve become even more focused. But the time frame is shortening. The world is changing around us, and this opportunity that we have with all of the neighborhood is going to vanish.
So, some people take advantage of it. Syria is taking advantage of it. Lebanon, decide what you want to do, take advantage of it, or stay in this fall. It’s that simple. It breaks my heart. That’s the truth.
RICARDO KARAM: You were in the south this morning, and this trip meant a lot to you; as you’ve told me before, you proceeded with this interview; part of your plan involves Gulf funding, mainly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to rebuild that south. Has any of that funding been secured?
TOM BARRACK: In a formal way? No, but let me, let me share what happened. Before we wandered into saying, how do we redefine any of this? We knew we had valued Gulf allies that we needed to consult with, and we did. And by the way, they’re all in love with Lebanon. More importantly, they’re in love with Lebanese. They’ve been frustrated over the years with the regimes.
So they feel that all of their funding in the past, every time that there’s been a monetary component, that it’s failed as a result of all the things that we know, corruption, process, bureaucracy, everybody can blame each other, and they’re worn out. That being said coming with a new palate in which we say we’re going to have new borders and boundaries. We need you because we need to commit to redevelopment. We need to commit to rebuilding. We need both sides. We need the Lebanese to come back to their homes. We need the Israelis to come back to their homes in the south. And we need to give the south some hope. Forget about the Hezbollah. Let’s just talk about Shias.
What? What are we doing? What? What? What is going to replenish? I saw these destroyed homes, one after another, after another, after another, which are private property. Where are they? What are they doing? What’s the aspiration for? What are they getting from Beirut? Zero, the Gulf is saying, Yes, we’re committed, but committed on the same basis that we are come to a real agreement, real timelines, real deadlines, real disarmament, real disarmament. How that gets done is another question, and it doesn’t have to be aggressively.
RICARDO KARAM: Sheik Naim Qassem said Hezbollah will never give up its arms. The Lebanese government remained silent following those remarks, not any official word from the president, the prime minister, or the cabinet. What did that say to you?
TOM BARRACK: Typical Lebanese negotiation. We go to the bazaar. It’s the same thing. It’s a negotiation until everybody is ready to really make a deal. Of course, they’ll both take the extent of whatever the opposite positions are. We have to create a time frame. When I say we, the Lebanese, have to choose to create a time we will help on those boundaries and borders, but the time frame is really.. this is an opportunity. If anybody doesn’t see what’s happening around us, they’re mistaken. We’re here, as I’ve said before, we’re just here to usher the speed of that opportunity. But we’re not going to influence it. We can’t. How are we can influence a political decision here.
RICARDO KARAM: So the threat of war is real.
TOM BARRACK: Which threat of war? The threat we’re at? The threat of war is always real. But I don’t know the threat of war between whom? Who’s the combatant? You have so many combatants I can’t figure out which is the combatant?
RICARDO KARAM: Between Israel and Lebanon.
TOM BARRACK: Between Israel and Lebanon. You have a cessation of hostility agreement. You have the Taif Agreement. I’m just giving you an example. I start with the armistice agreement. in 1948 there’s no good. 1967 Kamal Nasser comes. You have another agreement. No good. You have another agreement. In 74, you then go to the Taif Agreement, which is exactly the same time, it’s exactly now, no one lived up to it. It just evaporated. So I keep on saying I’m not smart enough to figure this out. I’m just a messenger. I’m a simple messenger trying to intervene on an event, not diplomacy, the ambassador’s diplomat. I’m an event driven executor of the President saying: Go see if you can force everybody to actually agree to something that they will live up to. This time we have a cessation of hostility agreement. We still do, but there’s hostilities everywhere.
So lessons learned is not whether there’s going to be a war. It’s how do you prevent a war? And everybody needs hope, everybody needs expectations, everybody needs a path. Everybody needs some form of understanding. That’s all we’re trying to do.
RICARDO KARAM: Tom, you put people at ease. And sitting with the politicians, with Lebanese leaders, talking to them, discussing, I know I’m not going to go into the core of those discussions, but till now, people from different fractions, they believe in you and they trust you’re going to reach a solution to Lebanon, however, however, and your answers today, you always come back and mentioning the Lebanese political class and as if what they say publicly is definitely not what is being said behind the scenes, you work closely with Lebanese politicians. You trust the current political class to implement the plan or the vision you’re proposing?
TOM BARRACK: So trust happens hour by hour, soul by soul, day by day.
RICARDO KARAM: Trust is built.
TOM BARRACK: So yeah, so I can’t answer that question. I’m encouraged by what their reaction has been. I’m also smart enough to understand that they’re playing backgammon and I’m playing chess. So my playing chess comes from another source. America is straightforward. It’s direct. I have a boss who’s not confused. There’s no other angles. There’s no other agenda. They have to decide what really is their dedication and commitment. We’re giving them an opportunity to do that one by one, and I’m not dancing around the issue, by the way, I’m impressed with all of them. They’re smart, they’re bright.
I think that they’re ethical. I think they want to do the right thing for the Lebanese. Everybody’s scared to death. Nobody wants a civil war. Nobody wants to push too hard. You have a community system, a confessional system, which takes unanimity of which you have all of the dialogues taking place, and that’s a process. It’s not an event.
So we’re just giving deference to the process, even though we’re trying to create an event, right? The event we’re trying to create is, is great if everybody wants to sit down under the auspices of what looks like to be an American led operation, by the way. LAF, I was so impressed with the entire operation, with the dedicated focus of what’s there, that this process that we have in place of us bolstering what seems to be the accepted, neutral medium that everybody accepts, which is LAF, to me, is a major accomplishment for it. What they’ve done in the south has been heroic. They deserve so much credit for what’s happened.
We’re talking about that agreement, the cessation of hostility agreement not being fruitful well, because people thought there were violations on all sides. But in actuality, what’s happened south of the Litani? They should build statues for these people. It’s that’s tremendous. We now just have to create that bridge between all those components and say, Now, what? What’s day two, what’s the hope? Where do we go? What happens? What’s happening with the economy, what’s happening with the bank Resolution Act, what’s happening with the gap act, what happened with the Secrecy Act, what’s happened with the independence of Judiciary Act, how are you going to make money? Who’s going to bring money back into this place if there’s no security?
RICARDO KARAM: Tom, is your plan a peace initiative, a pressure campaign, or both?
TOM BARRACK: You’re a wicked.
RICARDO KARAM: Am I?
TOM BARRACK: Look a peace campaign? No way. I don’t know what peace means. How long and peace has a time frame, a stand down agreement for everybody. What happens if, right now, we went back and said, Hey, time out. Everybody take 90 days, but really 90 days. Everybody stand still. Let people go back to their homes. Everybody has another option of saying, Is there trust? Is there confidence? Can it work?
After 90 days, If it doesn’t work, you can go back to the old program. There’s nothing to stop it, but we have to have a major step forward. And this, this, this moment of saying, everybody’s looking for more hope, at a time where the world has reorganized. So if you look at Syria, which started way, way behind Lebanon in terms of prominence and credibility and belief, what we went through in the Assad regime was something horrible and amazing, and against all odds, in December, you have an entity that was viewed as a guerrilla warfare group that had done a good job in Idlib now takes over in Syria. By the way, they’ve been trustworthy. They’ve been thoughtful, they’ve been considered. They have a lot of their own issues, and the world has come to help them, the world, not just America. Why? Because they don’t have a history of disappointment. Just your first question is, really the answer, is, I don’t want to disappoint anybody, so I’m only delivering the things that my boss can deliver, or that America is willing to do.
All of the politicians involved have also got to do the same thing. There’s a risk involved. The risk is personal. The risk is to whoever their own constituency is. But that’s it. Otherwise, the opportunity is going to go by us. The world is going to keep spinning, and the Middle East is going to keep spinning, and we’re going to miss this opportunity where everybody is a little off base and looking for a peaceful solution. In my opinion.
RICARDO KARAM: You said in Syria, they don’t have a history of disappointment, but they have other kinds of history, other types of history, which are more frightening and more worrying, and still, they’re helped by the international community, because there is a decision, and when there is a decision, there is a will, and this is what’s happening. And the way we see things being implemented in Syria, with this velocity and with this rhythm is really remarkable. And because you’ve decided at the end of the day to create a new Syria. We’re still at the beginning. Anyhow, I have a lot of questions about Syria in a while. I have still a few more topics I’d have to discuss.
TOM BARRACK: I’ll just say one thing. We didn’t decide anything. Regime change for America has never worked. We’ve had five regime changes in the last 20 years. All of them have been non fruitful. We’re not in the regime change business. This President is not in the nation building, and we had nothing to do with that in Syria.
We had nothing to do with the Assad regime. Everybody should point to Putin, who is under pressure, and thank him for whisking Assad away at the moment. And who took advantage of that moment is Al-Sharaa.
RICARDO KARAM: He was well prepared and well trained.
TOM BARRACK: America had no no dog in this race, zero. so you have Turkey, you have Saudi Arabia, Qatar, you have Jordan, you have Iraq, you have Israel. Everybody looking for space, not America. So what did we do? We did the same thing we’re offering here. We said we’ll take sanctions off to give you a chance. We had sanctions on the old regime. You have a have a history that a lot of people don’t like.
The history is the same as America’s birth George Washington started in the War of Independence with two horrible war of Concord, war of Lexington, before the Declaration of Independence, it was then 12 years until he became president, and he fought lots of battles in the meantime. So to allow that process to go forward is really what the world is offering Lebanon as saying: Put the past aside.
Put it aside. Let’s not talk about the armistice agreement or the 67 agreement, or the Blue Line, or the red line, or the green line, or the violation of all the agreements. Decide what you want to do. We’ll help you get there. Put all this aside. If you don’t want to do that, there’s other things going in the world.
RICARDO KARAM: Tom, I think a couple of weeks ago, you mentioned the word Sykes-Picot, and definitely that has triggered a lot, I would say, a polemic, and a lot of comments back and forth. You know, reading analyst, journalists’ tweets, it was interesting. Are we witnessing the end of the Sykes-Picot order, and is America open to redefining borders, or are we merely withdrawing zones of influence?
TOM BARRACK: Yes, that’s that’s a great question. So Sykes-Picot was born out of a Western necessity and greed, right? And this is just a fact, the British have given away Palestine to three different people at three different times.
This is how it all starts. And none of these were nation states at the time. So Bilad al-Sham, what was Lebanon? Was Lebanon in existence at the time? No, was Syria actually Syria at the time? No, all of these lines got created around tribes. So we’re in the dilemma of, is it individual first, then family, then tribe, then religion, then country. What’s the cadence? What do people in this part of the world view themselves as first?
So I can’t answer the question, but I can. I can tell you people first look and say, It’s me, my family, my tribe.
So the lines that are drawn around all these we’re arguing over hectares, the Blue Line to the red line, it’s three kilometers. Sometimes it’s five kilometers. Are those lines going to change? Are people’s minds going to change around those lines and say we need a new way to look at each other at life? Can there ever be a melding without war? I don’t know, but all I know is we need to take baby steps at chipping away at these issues and problems, because what has happened hasn’t worked. We’ve taken Lebanon, one of the most beautiful countries, the North Star of the entire Middle East since the time of the Phoenicians, and we’ve become irrelevant. In the meantime, Dubai, which had nothing but a great leader and desert, has taken everything that Lebanon was and replaced it on the sea in Dubai, in a manner that’s unbelievable, starting from zero.
So I just keep saying, as a Lebanese-American, come on, everybody. Get with it. If you want Lebanon to be Lebanon. You need to be Lebanese. Whatever the constituency is, its fine. You all lived together for 1000s of years easily. Let’s do it again. And whatever we need on help on the edges to convince some of the neighbors that that’s the case. You’ve seen that the President is willing to do it.
RICARDO KARAM: What do you think we mostly need? We need a strong leader. This is what we lack, do we have an issue of leadership.
TOM BARRACK: My feeling is you have that you have the leadership. What has to happen is everybody has to be willing to take a risk. And in so much Civil War, every family has been touched with hostility, with death, with injuries. It’s hard, it’s just hard to trust a system, especially when the financial system is collapsed.
And nobody’s rushing to the financial system, so nobody’s rushing to say Hezbollah and the Palestinians should give up their arms. Nobody’s rushing to say, by the way, the elitist, the shareholders and the banks are going to take the hit, or the depositors are going to take the hit, or the central bank is going to take you have over $100 billion of debt. What happens to it? So nobody’s listening to the IMF, nobody’s listening to the World Bank. We have a ghost economy. Forget about just what happens with the constituencies. So again, it’s everybody needs to stop arguing for the sake of arguing, and not confuse efforts with results. The way I would look at it is, is the way my boss looks at it. He doesn’t want me to come back and say, You know what? I had the most amazing time. I had the most amazing hostess. I had the most incredible journalists that I spent time with. I saw the most amazing Lebanese who have the generosity of spirit like you’ve never seen. And by the way, I got nothing done. Results. We need results from these leaders. And then I’ll say that they’re great leaders. I like them. I believe them. I’m willing to work with them. My boss is ready to work with them. We need results.
RICARDO KARAM: Tom I’d like to talk a little bit about Syria and the regional fallout. You are the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, and half of your roadmap, and truth is about Lebanon’s relationship with Syria, border control, arms smuggling, Hezbollah military role, refugee repatriation. It all runs through Damascus. Where do you see the Lebanese-Syrian relations heading to?
TOM BARRACK: My hope is two parallel lanes that come together in the near term. And let me give it to you in steps. My personal feeling is that the Syrian regime and we probably spent as much time with them as anybody, and helping the architecture softly of where they’re going, what they’re doing has no predatory interest in Lebanon. The al-Sharaa regime’s interest right now is staying in place and, quite honestly, protecting their leadership. They have so many internal issues and splinter groups of militias with hopes and expectations. As you’re talking about his biggest problem is disappointing a community that viewed this as a flicker of hope upon which they’re going to have a rocket ship.
So at the moment, their view of Lebanon, of Israel, of Jordan, of Iraq, is this new tapestry. And as goes Syria, goes Lebanon, now we have all of the problems that you’re talking about: A couple million Syrians. We have a Captagon trade that still goes along the smuggler route. We have arms that are coming from, who knows where. We have all of those issues, and we have a border issue that’s never been resolved.
We now have a new regime who is not saying: “I can’t sign the Abraham Accords tomorrow.” Are they pointing to have some de-confliction, some discussion with Israel about a stand down. Yes. Al-Sharaa has stated, Israel is not my enemy. They’re not his enemy. At the same time, Lebanon is the path for them, the Lebanese-Syrian combination, going back to Bilad al-Sham, right? Talking about these borders and boundaries, nobody needs more land, especially somebody who went from Idlib to taking over all of Syria. That’s not his problem.
His problem is resources and implementation of what he’s got in front of him. Now, is it a Sunni base? I understand the issues here end up being again, encampments is that’s, that’s a Sunni based culture. What’s your Sunni leadership here? What happens with the Shias, if something happens with Hezbollah, between the Shias and the Christians? To me, this is all imaginary at the moment. It’s being talked about by people who don’t want to see this happen. Our view, which is an educated view of Syria, they’re stable. They’re not interested in any predatory manner with Lebanon, the way Lebanon goes, in major part, will help Syria, for sure, and that this combination on borders with Israel, Syria and Lebanon need to be hand in glove together. And I think everybody’s ready to do that, by the way, including Israel.
Israel is ready to do that. It’s trust. So if we can be some vehicle towards trust, with all the things you talked about, and we, and we have a device that’s been trying to do that, we need to beef up that device, we’ll have accomplished something, but that’s all we can do, is be the usher to these discussions.
RICARDO KARAM: In your discussions and meetings in Syria, have you heard about annexing, or the will to annex the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, or any other cities and villages or areas in northern Lebanon and the Bekaa to Syria. You know, it went to the press, and there was no official comment about it. So in the discussions you had, did it come through?
TOM BARRACK: It’s imagination. It’s a loser. It’s a cartoon. These guys think about what they have. They didn’t have an encampment of a government that could take place over such a large realm of what they’ve got. They’re really focusing. They’re not on the outside borders trying to figure out. They’re trying to figure out, what do they do inside? How do they man this very difficult. They have two days of water. They have three hours a day of electricity. They’ve run out of gas. They have internal security problems that are imputed to religious problems just because they’re gangs without an internal gendarmerie. I haven’t heard one word, nor have I heard anybody reliable who’s in this circle of trying to help Syria move to the next place even utter those words.
RICARDO KARAM: One of the most tragic events that happened in Syria lately was the bomb, the suicide bombing in the church. And actually, this event reminded the whole world that we’re not done yet with terrorism. Are we looking in the perspective? Are there any new wave of terror, of fear, of bloodshed?
TOM BARRACK: 100% Absolutely. So I ask myself every day. What is our mission? The ambassador has a different mission. Her mission is to provide mortar in the bricks for a long period of time, so that there’s always a conversation and there’s a stickiness to the ability to have difficult issues with difficult people.
Our mission is something different. Our mission in Syria was clear, anti-ISIS, counterterrorism. That’s still why we’re there. So we have a group, we have CENTCOM, we have a military base.
The president said very clearly, no more boots on the ground, but we’re not withdrawing those troops until we’re certain that those terroristic cells that cause you problems, that cause your problems, that eventually cause us problems, are extinguished to the best ability that we can that’s one hand. Underneath that, you have 30,000 displaced people in camps, forget about the prisoners.
Half of them are under the age of 14. Are those kids growing up saying, Wow, I really love all these other countries. I want to be part of it. I love the West. I want democracy. I want to be a banker. We need another piece of this, right? Everybody wants hope. Everybody wants a better life for their kids. We have to figure out how to give them that as we handle these terrorist groups. Look, you and I know one thing in the Middle East, there’s only one thing that everybody unanimously respects, power, power.
So how we establish that and how we get there has to be one hand power, one hand peace and prosperity. And out of chaos can come commerce first and then maybe tranquility for a while. But in Syria, their problem is internal. At the moment, they’re trying to align all of those minority interests, plus his own interests, there hasn’t been one predatory indication, a word that we’re aware of.
RICARDO KARAM: I still have a few questions, if you allow me, you are the U.S. ambassador to Turkey. Yet there hasn’t been much talk about Ankara. Turkey is clearly ambitious and working to expand its influence in the region, from the Gulf to Syria to Lebanon, and that raises a lot of concern, not just here, but beyond. How do you see Turkey’s ambitions?
TOM BARRACK: So, let me give you my personal view, and I’ll give you a political view. My personal view is, I am a turkey fan. Turkey as a base for another system, a non Arab system. Some parts of it we understand. Parts of it we don’t understand, our largest NATO ally.
So if you look at what its relationship to the west is, it does all the hard work. It’s the tail end of NATO. They have the largest military. They have the most amazing aerospace and defense system growing, and they’ve been a good, solid ally to America. Now there’s confusing parts of it. Confusing parts always happen at this intersection between Islam and the religions of the West, or between secular orientation. Part of Turkey faces east and north, but you have 13 Turkic states. So when people say that it’s ambitious, by the way, Syria would not be there if it were not for the present regime in Turkey, who are first class leaders, President Erdogan, Hakan Fidan…the entire the entire program, operating with almost 90 million people, where east meets west, continuing to move east while staying West, dealing with Arab neighbors who are very suspect of saying, Well, are they going back to the Ottoman Empire. It’s not happening. Turkey, the same is focused on its domestic profile at the moment. What it wants is respect, and they deserve it. What they want is reverence, and they deserve it. So we have turkey who’s taking all of the, all of the effort for NATO and Europe refuses to let them into the European Union.
This is what it’s about. It’s simple for everybody. It’s, it’s respect, it’s reverence, it’s dignity. I’m a turkey a fan. I don’t think there’s any problem. Turkey has always stepped in to help us when we need it. There’s some things we don’t understand. What their affiliation, association is with others. We have 13,000 Iranians that go back and forth over the border without a visa. Turkey also has very little energy, so it has to rely on its neighbors, but it’s relied on its neighbors forever again. It’s a very difficult neighborhood.
RICARDO KARAM: I’m reaching here the final part of this interview. I know that your time is so precious, and thank you for granting me some more minutes, 20 years ago, you told me about Abdallah Barrack, your father, who left Zahleh when he was nine years old and who found himself by mistake in New York. Now, his son is returning to Beirut as the U.S. Special Envoy. You see this as a full circle moment, and what would your father say if he saw the mission you’re heading today?
TOM BARRACK: I’m stopping just because when I think about it honestly, I have…it’s, it’s a destiny that I could have never imagined in one long distance, in one long generation. And now that I’m this age, I can say it’s, it’s one long generation to go from the belly of a cargo ship, with 13 Turkish Lira in his pocket, to travel with nothing, to my family having the ability in one long generation, to be honored by the President of the United States to be selected for such a delicate and prestigious journey, but really to wander back to these shores as a humble son from where I came and feel the spirit of the place that I always dreamed about growing up with the wonder and the bless, the blessedness of America, freedom, but always feeling like there’s something I’m missing. I find myself. So I just hope I just don’t disappoint you, that I don’t disappoint the Lebanese people, that I don’t disappoint my boss and my father, I think, would be speechless.
RICARDO KARAM: Tom, you once said your Lebanese sixth sense gave you an edge in business and life. You mentioned to me that adaptability, instinct, and ambition were in your DNA. However, today, many say that same adaptability has turned into political fragmentation. You still believe Lebanon’s cultural DNA can save it, or is it part of the problem now?
TOM BARRACK: I think 1,000% it can save it. Everywhere we go in the world, every wonderful person that I meet like you, the diaspora we have 22 million of them, adaptability, hospitality, this inner courage, the lack of fear for whatever is coming at in moment, you reinvent yourself 100 times. This, this, this doesn’t exist anywhere. It doesn’t exist in any other culture. I’ve been, I’ve been as a barista, working around the world, right? I’ve never seen it happen before. So I’m, I’m a believer, which is why I’m pleading here to leave regrets of the past behind, leave the lines that were drawn by somebody else in advance, redefine the Lebanese future now. Now is the time.
RICARDO KARAM: We have met 20 years ago in this house, and we have conducted an interview in this specific room. We’re hosted, of course, by a great friend of ours who has a heart as deep as an ocean. My question to you, what does continuity mean to you on the emotional level and on the diplomatic level?
TOM BARRACK: So look, as I told you, I’m a bad diplomat, because I don’t have the patience to extend through time. So I look at it the same way as I look at my kids’ advice that I give to them, my personal life, my business life, diplomatic life, is the same you.
You build relationships in tiny little steps when you need nothing, and in days and months and years, eventually you gain some credibility, and by one mistaken moment, you lose it all. So the long line relationships of credibility, of trust, of reliance, of the ability to absorb pain, is the key.
RICARDO KARAM: In a country this fractured, does personal connection still matter in diplomacy?
TOM BARRACK: Yes, I think you I think even I think even more so, and that the transparency of the delivery of a message, which is so complicated here because there’s so many angles, and it’s why, humbly and in my personal style, is there’s just a single lane with one message, so there’s no edges that complained about me not laundering or negotiating with the press? What are points of view that come from a team and an embassy in the State Department, which are complex? Is as a result of saying I’ll have no trust or reliance if I start playing the edges for my own personal momentary game, I’m going to disappoint my boss and I’m going to disappoint the counterpart, so absolutely it matters.
RICARDO KARAM: Tom, you’re returning in two weeks. What would you be coming back with? Real breakthrough, or just more uncertainty?
TOM BARRACK: I can assure you that it will be a breakthrough. If it’s a breakthrough that every constituency that you have applauds, that would be a miracle, I’m certain. And our commitment is to force this to that conclusion. And my belief against popular drama here is everybody’s ready to do that.
I think the components of the government, of course, it has to go to the Minister of Councils when it’s defined enough to get unanimity. It requires that. LAF is the perfect place. We have to bolster it. We have to enhance it. We have to give it resources. And that can be an answer to many of the problems that we have around us. Everybody wants protection. If they don’t have protection from us, they’re going to get from protection from somebody else.
And I think everybody on the edges, all the countries on the edges, are ready to listen to us. They want consistency, they want trust, they want permanency. I think it’s going to happen. I really do.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 08-09/2025
Trump holds fresh talks with Netanyahu to end Gaza ‘tragedy’
AFP/08 July/2025
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu met for the second time in 24 hours Tuesday as the US president intensified the pressure on the Israeli prime minister to reach a deal to end the “tragedy” of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu’s return to the White House for fresh talks came after Qatari mediators warned it would take time to seal an elusive ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas at talks in Doha. “It’s a tragedy, and he wants to get it solved, and I want to get it solved, and I think the other side wants to,” Trump told reporters as he announced that Netanyahu was coming back. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he hoped for an agreement within days. “We are hopeful that by end of this week we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire,” Witkoff said. The deal would include the return of 10 live hostages held by Palestinian militant groups since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, and nine dead hostages, Witkoff added. The Israeli leader, who had dinner with Trump on Monday evening, arrived back at the White House for talks that were being held without any media access. Asked earlier as he met US House speaker Mike Johnson if a ceasefire announcement was imminent, Netanyahu replied: “We’re certainly working on it.”

Iran says it has not requested US talks since war
Agence France Presse/08 July/2025
Iran said Tuesday it has not made any request for talks with the United States, after President Donald Trump said Tehran was seeking negotiations following last month's war with Israel. "No request for a meeting has been made on our side to the American side," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to Tasnim news agency. Trump said Monday that Iran was seeking talks with the United States and that they had been scheduled, without specifying the time or the location. "We have scheduled Iran talks. They want to talk," Trump told reporters in the White House where he was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "They want to meet. They want to work something out. They're very different now than they were two weeks ago."Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also reiterated Tehran's position rejecting talks at this stage. "Although Iran has in recent days received messages indicating that the US may be ready to return to negotiations, how can we trust further engagement?" the Iranian top diplomat said in a piece he wrote for the Financial Times. On June 13, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iran that targeted military and nuclear sites as well as residential areas, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. The attacks began days before a planned meeting between Tehran and Washington aimed at reviving nuclear negotiations. The talks have since stalled. The United States, which had been in talks with Iran since April 12, joined Israel in carrying out its own strikes on June 22, targeting Iranian nuclear sites at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz. "After agreeing to new negotiations in good faith, we have seen our good will reciprocated with an attack by two nuclear-armed militaries," Araghchi, who was also Iran's top negotiator during the talks with the US, said in the Financial Times piece. "Iran remains interested in diplomacy, but we have good reason to have doubts about further dialogue."
'Too soft'
On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian came under fire domestically after voicing support for renewed talks with the United States, with critics accusing him of being "too soft" in the wake of last month's attacks on the country. The backlash followed the release of an interview with US media personality Tucker Carlson, in which Pezeshkian said Iran had "no problem" resuming talks so long as trust could be rebuilt between the two sides. "Have you forgotten that these same Americans, together with the Zionists, used the negotiations to buy time and prepare for the attack?" said an editorial in the hardline Kayhan newspaper, which has long opposed engagement with the West. The conservative Javan daily also took aim at Pezeshkian, saying his remarks appeared "a little too soft". In contrast, the reformist Ham Mihan newspaper praised Pezeshkian's "positive approach". "This interview should have been conducted a long time ago," it wrote, adding that "Iranian officials have unfortunately long been absent from the international and American media landscape." Iranian authorities say the Israeli strikes killed at last 1,060 people. Israel, in turn, was hit by waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, which authorities said left at least 28 people dead. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.

Iran’s government says at least 1,060 people were killed in the war with Israel
AP/July 08, 2025
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Iran’s government has issued a new death toll for its war with Israel, saying at least 1,060 people were killed and warning that the figure could rise. Saeed Ohadi, the head of Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, gave the figure in an interview aired by Iranian state television late Monday. Ohadi warned the death toll may reach 1,100 given how severely some people were wounded. During the war, Iran downplayed the effects of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of the country, which decimated its air defenses, destroyed military sites and damaged its nuclear facilities. Since a ceasefire took hold, Iran slowly has been acknowledging the breadth of the destruction, though it still has not said how much military materiel it lost. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, has said 1,190 people were killed, including 436 civilians and 435 security force members. The attacks wounded another 4,475 people, the group said.

Analysis-US, Israel diverge on how to pursue Iran endgame after strikes, diplomats say
Samia Nakhoul/Reuters/July 8, 2025
DUBAI -When they met on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basked in the glow of their triumph over Iran. But the show of unity masked a divergence over their endgames in Iran, Gaza and the wider Middle East. Both leaders have touted the success of last month’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, declaring they had set back a programme they say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. Yet, with intelligence assessments suggesting that Iran retains a hidden stockpile of enriched uranium and the technical capacity to rebuild, both Trump and Netanyahu know that their victory is more short-term than strategic, two diplomats say. Where they diverge is on how to further pressure Iran, the diplomats said. Trump says his priority is to lean on diplomacy, pursuing a limited objective of ensuring Iran never develops a nuclear weapon - a goal Tehran has always denied pursuing.
In contrast, Netanyahu wants to use more force, a source familiar with the Israeli leader’s thinking said, compelling Tehran -- to the point of government collapse if necessary -- into fundamental concessions on quitting a nuclear enrichment programme seen by Israel as an existential threat.
The divide over Iran echoes the situation in the Gaza Strip. Trump, eager to cast himself as a global peacemaker, is pushing for a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory, but the contours of any post-war deal remain undefined and the endgame uncertain. Netanyahu, while publicly endorsing ceasefire talks, says he is committed to the total dismantling of Hamas, a strategic ally of Iran. The Israeli prime minister wants the remaining Hamas leadership deported, possibly to Algeria -- a demand Hamas flatly rejects. The gap between a temporary pause and a lasting resolution remains wide, two Middle East officials say. On Iran, Netanyahu was displeased to see Washington revive nuclear talks with Tehran expected in Norway this week, the first diplomatic overture since the strikes, said the person familiar with his thinking. He opposes any move that could give the Iranian authorities an economic and political lifeline.
THE LIBYA MODEL
Netanyahu wants nothing less than the Libya model for Iran, the source said. That means Iran fully dismantling its nuclear and missile facilities under strict oversight, and renouncing uranium enrichment on its soil even for civilian needs. Israel is seeking not diplomacy but regime change, Western and regional officials have said. And Netanyahu knows he needs at least a green light from the White House -- if not direct backing -- to carry out further operations if Tehran refuses to relinquish its nuclear ambitions, they said. But Trump has different objectives, the diplomats said. After the June strikes, he sees an opportunity to press Iran to cut a deal and seize a grand diplomatic feat of restoring ties with Iran that has long eluded him, the diplomats said. On Monday, Trump said he would like to lift sanctions on Iran at some point. And in an eye-catching post on X suggesting Tehran sees economic ties as a potential element in any deal, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believed American investors can come to Iran with "no obstacles to their activities". Iranian rulers, however, face two unpalatable options: renewed strikes if they do not surrender their nuclear ambitions and humiliation at home if they do. That means they may try to make talks drag out, unwilling to fully quit their nuclear project and presenting a difficulty for a U.S. president impatient for a deal and its economic benefits for the U.S., Western and regional officials say. For Israel, the fallback option is clear, the person familiar with Netanyahu's thinking said: a policy of sustained containment through periodic strikes to prevent any nuclear resurgence. In the wake of its air war against Iran, Israel has reasserted itself as the region's unrivalled military power, more willing than ever to use force and more capable of doing so with precision and relative impunity. Washington, meanwhile, is hedging its bets. While Israeli and U.S. hawks still hope for regime change in Tehran, Trump appears unwilling to shoulder the huge military, political and economic costs that such a project would demand. Trump rapidly claimed victory after the U.S. attack. And while he has said he would consider bombing Iran again if it continued to enrich uranium to worrisome levels, he has portrayed the June 22 operation as a bold, surgical one-off.
NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND
His repeated declarations that Iran’s program has been “obliterated” are less triumph than warning: don’t ask for more -- a signal that he’s done enough and won’t be drawn further in, says Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute think-tank in Washington. For all their rhetoric, Netanyahu and his hawkish allies offer no viable blueprint or roadmap for regime change, says Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat and Farsi-speaking expert on Iran. Unlike Iraq, there are no boots on the ground and no credible opposition that could topple the ruling elite, guarded by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. may support Israel’s military actions, even supplying advanced weaponry, but it is betting mainly on economic pressure and diplomatic leverage to force Tehran’s hand. The result is a fragile standoff, with no clear endgame, the diplomats said. Netanyahu sees a fleeting strategic opportunity, one that demands acceleration, not hesitation, the source close to him said. In his calculus, the time to strike harder is now, before Iran regains its footing, the source said. Iran's air defences are battered, its nuclear infrastructure weakened, its proxies decapitated and its deterrence shaken. But Tehran’s window to regroup and rebuild will grow with time, says the person familiar with Netanyahu's thinking. So for Netanyahu, this is unfinished business -- strategic, existential, and far from over, the diplomats and the two Middle East officials said.

Israeli military official says Iran hit some military sites last month
Reuters/July 8, 2025
TEL AVIV (Reuters) -An Israeli military official said on Tuesday that Iranian air strikes last month had hit some Israeli military sites, the first such apparent public acknowledgement that such locations had been struck. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with military briefing rules, said that "very few" sites had been hit and that they remained functional. The official declined to provide further details, including identifying which military locations were affected or how severe the damage was to military infrastructure. Iran carried out waves of air strikes against Israel last month after Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and missile arsenal. The Iranian strikes frequently targeted densely populated cities Tel Aviv and Haifa, and the country's south around Beersheba, where there are a number of military facilities. Several residential buildings were hit in the attacks, although the Israeli military says that most incoming missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted during the 12-day war. In Israel, 28 people were killed. Iranian authorities have said that 935 people were killed in the Israeli attacks, which also targeted Tehran, the country's densely populated capital. Military commanders and civilians were killed in Iran, while in Israel, among the 28 killed, one was a soldier on leave.Israel and Iran agreed to a United States-backed ceasefire on June 24 after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.

Saudi crown prince meets Iranian foreign minister amid regional diplomacy push
Arab News/July 08, 2025
JEDDAH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Their meeting came as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries and navigate a turbulent regional landscape. During the meeting, Prince Mohammed and Araghchi reviewed the state of Saudi-Iranian relations and exchanged views on recent developments across the region. The crown prince underscored the Kingdom’s hope that the current ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel would help lay the groundwork for enhanced regional security and stability. Reaffirming Saudi Arabia’s longstanding support for diplomatic solutions, the crown prince stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving regional disputes and reducing tensions. For his part, Araghchi expressed gratitude for the Kingdom’s stance in condemning Israeli aggression, and praised Prince Mohammed’s personal commitment to promoting peace and stability in the Middle East. The meeting was attended by several senior Saudi officials, including Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, and National Security Advisor Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban. Earlier in the day, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received his Iranian counterpart in Makkah, where the two officials also discussed bilateral relations and explored ways to foster regional cooperation. Their talks focused on the evolving situation in the region and mutual efforts to safeguard security and stability.

US, Israel diverge on how to pursue Iran endgame after strikes, diplomats say
Reuters/08 July/2025
When they met on Monday, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu basked in the glow of their triumph over Iran. But the show of unity masked a divergence over their endgames in Iran, Gaza and the wider Middle East.
Both leaders have touted the success of last month’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, declaring they had set back a program they say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. Yet, with intelligence assessments suggesting that Iran retains a hidden stockpile of enriched uranium and the technical capacity to rebuild, both Trump and Netanyahu know that their victory is more short-term than strategic, two diplomats say. Where they diverge is on how to further pressure Iran, the diplomats said. Trump says his priority is to lean on diplomacy, pursuing a limited objective of ensuring Iran never develops a nuclear weapon - a goal Tehran has always denied pursuing. In contrast, Netanyahu wants to use more force, a source familiar with the Israeli leader’s thinking said, compelling Tehran -- to the point of government collapse if necessary -- into fundamental concessions on quitting a nuclear enrichment program seen by Israel as an existential threat. The divide over Iran echoes the situation in the Gaza Strip. Trump, eager to cast himself as a global peacemaker, is pushing for a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory, but the contours of any post-war deal remain undefined and the endgame uncertain.
Netanyahu, while publicly endorsing ceasefire talks, says he is committed to the total dismantling of Hamas, a strategic ally of Iran. The Israeli prime minister wants the remaining Hamas leadership deported, possibly to Algeria -- a demand Hamas flatly rejects. The gap between a temporary pause and a lasting resolution remains wide, two Middle East officials say. On Iran, Netanyahu was displeased to see Washington revive nuclear talks with Tehran expected in Norway this week, the first diplomatic overture since the strikes, said the person familiar with his thinking. He opposes any move that could give the Iranian authorities an economic and political lifeline.
The Libya model
Netanyahu wants nothing less than the Libya model for Iran, the source said. That means Iran fully dismantling its nuclear and missile facilities under strict oversight, and renouncing uranium enrichment on its soil even for civilian needs. Israel is seeking not diplomacy but regime change, Western and regional officials have said. And Netanyahu knows he needs at least a green light from the White House -- if not direct backing -- to carry out further operations if Tehran refuses to relinquish its nuclear ambitions, they said. But Trump has different objectives, the diplomats said. After the June strikes, he sees an opportunity to press Iran to cut a deal and seize a grand diplomatic feat of restoring ties with Iran that has long eluded him, the diplomats said.On Monday, Trump said he would like to lift sanctions on Iran at some point. And in an eye-catching post on X suggesting Tehran sees economic ties as a potential element in any deal, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei believed American investors can come to Iran with “no obstacles to their activities.”Iranian rulers, however, face two unpalatable options: renewed strikes if they do not surrender their nuclear ambitions and humiliation at home if they do. That means they may try to make talks drag out, unwilling to fully quit their nuclear project and presenting a difficulty for a US president impatient for a deal and its economic benefits for the US, Western and regional officials say. For Israel, the fallback option is clear, the person familiar with Netanyahu’s thinking said: a policy of sustained containment through periodic strikes to prevent any nuclear resurgence. In the wake of its air war against Iran, Israel has reasserted itself as the region’s unrivalled military power, more willing than ever to use force and more capable of doing so with precision and relative impunity.
Washington, meanwhile, is hedging its bets. While Israeli and US hawks still hope for regime change in Tehran, Trump appears unwilling to shoulder the huge military, political and economic costs that such a project would demand. Trump rapidly claimed victory after the US attack. And while he has said he would consider bombing Iran again if it continued to enrich uranium to worrisome levels, he has portrayed the June 22 operation as a bold, surgical one-off.
No boots on the ground
His repeated declarations that Iran’s program has been “obliterated” are less triumph than warning: don’t ask for more -- a signal that he’s done enough and won’t be drawn further in, says Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute think-tank in Washington. For all their rhetoric, Netanyahu and his hawkish allies offer no viable blueprint or roadmap for regime change, says Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and Farsi-speaking expert on Iran. Unlike Iraq, there are no boots on the ground and no credible opposition that could topple the ruling elite, guarded by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US may support Israel’s military actions, even supplying advanced weaponry, but it is betting mainly on economic pressure and diplomatic leverage to force Tehran’s hand. The result is a fragile standoff, with no clear endgame, the diplomats said. Netanyahu sees a fleeting strategic opportunity, one that demands acceleration, not hesitation, the source close to him said. In his calculus, the time to strike harder is now, before Iran regains its footing, the source said. Iran’s air defenses are battered, its nuclear infrastructure weakened, its proxies decapitated and its deterrence shaken. But Tehran’s window to regroup and rebuild will grow with time, says the person familiar with Netanyahu’s thinking. So for Netanyahu, this is unfinished business -- strategic, existential, and far from over, the diplomats and the two Middle East officials said.

French intel chief: No certainty on whereabouts of Iran’s uranium stocks
Reuters/08 July/2025
France’s intelligence chief said on Tuesday that all aspects of Iran’s nuclear program have been pushed back several months after American and Israeli air strikes, but there is uncertainty over where its highly-enriched uranium stocks are.
“The Iranian nuclear program is the material, it is highly-enriched uranium, it is a capacity to convert this uranium from the gaseous phase to the solid phase. It is the manufacturing of the core and it is the delivery,” Nicolas Lerner, who heads the DGSE intelligence service, told LCI television. “Our assessment today is that each of these stages has been very seriously affected, very seriously damaged and that the nuclear program, as we knew it, has been extremely delayed, probably many months.”Lerner, who was speaking for the first time on national television, said a small part of Iran’s highly-enriched uranium stockpile had been destroyed, but the rest remained in the hands of the authorities. “Today we have indications (on where it is), but we cannot say with certainty as long as the IAEA does not restart its work. It’s very important. We won’t have the capacity to trace it (the stocks),” Lerner said. Other intelligence assessments have also suggested that Iran retains a hidden stockpile of enriched uranium and the technical capacity to rebuild. Lerner echoed those comments saying there was a possibility Iran could press ahead with a clandestine program with smaller enrichment capacities. “That’s why France is so attached to finding a diplomatic solution to this nuclear crisis,” he said.

‘This is my country’: Gazans reject Trump’s displacement plan despite death, destruction
Reuters/08 July/2025
Whenever Mansour Abu Al-Khaier stares across Gaza, all the 45-year-old Palestinian man sees is death, destruction and starvation after nearly two years of war between Hamas militants and Israel.
But even though Palestinian lives have been shattered during the course of Israeli airstrikes and heavy bombardment, Al-Khaier and others flatly reject US President Donald Trump’s Israeli-backed plan to displace Gaza’s 2.3 million population. “This is our land. Who would we leave it to, where would we go?” asked Al-Khair, a technician. Trump, hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, indicated progress on a disputed initiative to relocate Palestinians out of the coastal enclave.Speaking to reporters at the start of a dinner between US and Israeli officials, Netanyahu said the United States and Israel were working with other countries who would give Palestinians a “better future,” suggesting that Gazans would be able to move to neighbouring nations.
In an exchange with Trump, Netanyahu said: “You know if people want to stay, they can stay. But if they want to leave they should be able to leave. It shouldn’t be a prison. It should be an open place and give people free choice.”
Netanyahu himself said Israel was working with Washington to find other countries to agree to such a plan. “We’re working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realise what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we’re getting close to finding several countries.”Five days after becoming president in January, Trump said Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza while suggesting he was open to this being a long-term plan. Cairo and Amman quickly rebuffed Trump’s idea to turn impoverished Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” and so did Palestinians and human rights groups who said the plan would amount to ethnic cleansing.When asked this week about displacing Palestinians, Trump said the countries around Israel were helping out. “We’ve had great cooperation from ... surrounding countries. ... So something good will happen,” Trump said.
Saed, a 27-year-old Gaza Palestinian, woke up troubled to the news that Trump and Netanyahu, whose military has flattened much of Gaza, were again floating the displacement idea. Even after more than 20 months of war and repeated internal displacement, he remains deeply attached to Gaza, a tiny, densely-populated strip that is itself home to generations of refugees from the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel.“We have the right to leave of our own free will and visit other countries, but we reject the plan of displacement as Palestinians,” said Saed.
Palestinians have long sought to create an independent state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem through a US-mediated peace process.
Fear of repeated ‘Nakba’
Many Palestinians accuse Israel of having methodically undermined their statehood prospects through increased settlement building in the West Bank and by levelling much of Gaza during the current war. Israel rejects the accusation, saying it is fighting only to eliminate Palestinian militants it says pose an existential threat, and that it has historical and biblical roots in the West Bank.Displacement is one of the most emotional issues for Palestinians, who fear a repetition of the 1948 “Nakba” (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war of Israel’s birth. The Nakba has been one of the defining experiences for Palestinians for more than 75 years, helping to shape their national identity and casting its shadow on their conflicted relationship with Israel in the decades since.
To Israelis, the creation of their state was a joyous moment for a long-persecuted people. The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. About 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel’s subsequent assault on the Palestinian enclave in its war with Hamas has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. Some Palestinians who have faced relentless Israeli airstrikes and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and water are looking for a way out, according to findings by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.“Almost half want to leave the Gaza Strip if they could,” the think tank said in a report in May.A proposal seen by Reuters and bearing the name of a controversial US-backed aid group described a plan to build large-scale camps called “Humanitarian Transit Areas” inside - and possibly outside - Gaza to house the Palestinian population. It outlined a vision of “replacing Hamas control over the population in Gaza”. As far as Gaza Palestinian Abu Samir el-Fakaawi was concerned, “I will not leave Gaza. This is my country.” He added: “Our children who were martyred in the war are buried here. Our families. Our friends. Our cousins. We are all buried here. Whether Trump or Netanyahu or anyone else likes it or not, we are staying on this land.”

Qatar says 'we will need time' for Gaza ceasefire
Agence France Presse/July 8, 2025
Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are continuing but "need time", host Qatar cautioned on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a possible breakthrough. A fresh round of indirect talks, after 21 months of fighting in Gaza, began on Sunday, with Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari confirming discussions had gone into a third day. "I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Majed Al-Ansari told reporters at a regular briefing, when asked if a deal was close. Qatar, along with fellow mediators the United States and Egypt, has brokered back-and-forth talks aimed at a truce since the earliest days of the war, which erupted with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. With the exception of a week-long truce in November 2023 and a two-month halt that began in January 2025, the indirect talks, principally held in Doha and Cairo, have failed to end the hostilities. nTrump, during Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, earlier said the Doha talks were going "very well" and that Hamas "want to have that ceasefire". Ansari declined to go into detail about the negotiations, but said they were focused on a framework for talks. "What is happening right now is that both delegations are in Doha, we are speaking with them separately on a framework for the talks," he said. "So talks have not begun, as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," he added. Ansari noted "positive engagement" and said the fact that the negotiating teams hadn't left the Qatari capital was "always a good sign". Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions earlier told AFP the proposed deal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. At the outset of the talks, Netanyahu said Hamas's response to a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through mediators, contained "unacceptable" demands.

UK will take more measures against Israel if no Gaza ceasefire soon – Lammy
Rosie Shead and Nina Lloyd/PA Media: UK News/July 08/2025
The UK Government will take further measures against Israel if a ceasefire in Gaza is not achieved in the coming weeks, David Lammy has said. Speaking at the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, the Foreign Secretary admitted the impact of Government measures taken against Israel after a joint statement from the UK, France and Germany, was “not sufficient”. The statement, released in May by the Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian premier Mark Carney, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “egregious” actions in Gaza and called for a halt to its military offensive and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid. The Foreign Secretary was asked by committee member Labour MP Alex Ballinger: “If we do not get the ceasefire we’re all praying for in the coming weeks…” “No, we have to get the ceasefire,” Mr Lammy interjected. “But if that is not the case and we see the abomination that you’ve described and the intolerable continuation of the situation in Gaza, will the Government go further to take measures against Israel?” Mr Ballinger asked.
“Yes, yes we will,” the Foreign Secretary replied.
Mr Lammy defended the UK Government’s actions against Israel, citing the suspension of arms sales to the country and sanctions against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. He also highlighted the UK’s support for the Palestinian Authority and the signing of a memorandum of understanding with its prime minister Mohammad Mustafa. “I am very, very comfortable that you would be hard pressed to find another G7 partner that’s doing more than this country has done,” he added. Mr Lammy told the meeting Britain would oppose plans reportedly set out by by Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz to move Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of the city of Rafah. Labour MP Uma Kumaran said of the reported plan: “They’re calling it a so-called humanitarian transit area but there’s no schools there, there’s no medical provisions there, there are no other facilities, and there are plans for forced screening.
“Katz wants international partners to be involved in that. Will Britain oppose this and can you guarantee us in this committee that no British companies or NGOs will be involved in those plans?”Mr Lammy said: “We’ve been very clear that we don’t support the aid foundation that has been set up, it’s not doing a good job, too many people are close to starvation, too many people have lost their lives.”He added that his understanding was that there had been better conversations between the UN agency system and Israel over the last few days, saying: “So I’m surprised at the statements that I’ve seen from Mr Katz over the last 24 hours. “And as I’ve indicated, they run contra to the proximity to a ceasefire that I thought we were heading towards, so I wonder if there’s some politicking going on for those within the government that for some reason stand opposed to this.”
Pressed on whether Britain would be opposing any such plans, he said: “Yes.” At the meeting, Mr Lammy suggested Britain, France and Germany could snap back sanctions on Iran unless the country gets “serious” about stepping back from its nuclear ambitions. The Foreign Secretary said: “Iran faces even more pressure in the coming weeks because the E3 can snap back on our sanctions, and it’s not just our sanctions, it’s actually a UN mechanism that would impose dramatic sanctions on Iran across nearly every single front in its economy. “So they have a choice to make. It’s a choice for them to make. “I’m very clear about the choice they should make, but I’m also clear that the UK has a decision to make that could lead to far greater pain for the Iranian regime unless they get serious about the international desire to see them step back from their nuclear ambitions at this time.”

Russia increasing military presence in Armenia, Ukraine's military intelligence claims
Sasha Vakulina/Euronews/July 8, 2025
Russia increasing military presence in Armenia, Ukraine's military intelligence claims
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) says Russia is increasing and reinforcing its military presence in Armenia. HUR published what it claims to be a Russian army order to increase its military presence at a base in Armenia, two days after Kyiv's first warning of such a move was denied by Yerevan. On 5 July, Ukrainian military intelligence said that Moscow was increasing its forces at the Gyumri base to exert greater influence in the South Caucasus and "destabilise the global security situation." Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied the claim the same day. Days later, HUR published a document which it said was an "order from the commander of the troops of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces on the 'replenishment' of the Russian military base in Armenia." "The telegram lists a list of measures for the urgent 'replenishment' of the units of the Russian unit by selecting personnel from among the servicemen of the 8th, 18th, 49th and 58th combined arms armies of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces," HUR said. The released document instructs commanders to facilitate the selection process. It outlines specific criteria for professional fitness, psychological resilience and combat readiness. The order explicitly bans the recruitment of individuals involved in drug trafficking or the distribution of psychotropic substances. Ukraine's HUR claims that the deployment of Russian troops in Armenia is "part of a comprehensive Kremlin strategy aimed at destabilising global security." "Alongside stoking interethnic conflict, Moscow is building up its military presence in the Caucasus. It is likely that the deterioration of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia was prepared in advance."
Why is the Gyumri military base important?
Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia with the population of over 100,000. Situated around 100km northwest of the capital Yerevan, it sits strategically just 3.5km away from the border with Türkiye, Azerbaijan's closest ally. Armenia and Russia established the 102nd Military Base there in the 1990s with the idea that Russian soldiers would be able to protect the border with Türkiye, but also to quickly deploy to the Karabakh region in case of Azerbaijani military movement. It did not happen this way in 2023, when Baku reclaimed full control of the Karabakh region after a lightning military campaign.
In 2024, in an unprecedented development, Armenia put a freeze on its participation in the Kremlin-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Moscow's answer to NATO. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last year he saw "no advantage" in the presence of Russian troops in Armenia, but the Gyumri base remained intact as both countries agreed in 2010 to extend the lease of the base until 2044. The 102nd military base in Guymri is the largest Russian military facility in the South Caucasus. It hosts up to 5,000 personnel. The base includes MiG-29 fighter jets and S-300 air defence systems. But as Armenia is now pushing to normalise relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, the Russian base is being seen as no longer serving Yerevan's interests. Armenia is even seeking to reopen its joint border with Türkiye, which would improve relations and help alleviate the country's isolation. Türkiye, a close ally of Azerbaijan, closed the border crossing point in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Baku over the ongoing conflict in the Karabakh region. With unprecedented escalation between Azerbaijan and Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would support Armenia's peace efforts with Azerbaijan. The recent deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis arrested by police for decades-old murders in Russia and the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet in December that Baku blames on Moscow have severely strained relations.

Israeli strikes kill 51 in Gaza as explosive devices leave 5 Israeli soldiers dead
AP/July 08, 2025
TEL AVIV: Five Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel’s military said Tuesday, while health officials in the Palestinian territory said 51 people were killed in Israeli strikes. The bloodshed came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House for talks with US President Donald Trump about a ceasefire plan to pause the Gaza fighting. While there was no announcement of a breakthrough, there were signs of progress toward a deal. The soldiers’ deaths could add to pressure on Netanyahu to strike a deal, as polls in Israel have shown widespread support for ending the 21-month war. A senior Israeli official said 80-90 percent of the details had been ironed out and a final agreement could be days away. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations with the media. Soldiers attacked with explosive devices
The soldiers were killed roughly two weeks after Israel reported one of its deadliest days in months in Gaza, when seven soldiers were killed after a Palestinian attached a bomb to their armored vehicle. An Israeli security official said explosive devices were detonated against the five soldiers during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza, an area where Israel has repeatedly fought regrouping militants.
Militants also opened fire on the forces who were evacuating the wounded soldiers, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the attack with the media. The military said 14 soldiers were wounded in the attack, two of them seriously. It brings the toll of soldiers killed to 888 since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war. Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, said on social media that the attack was an “additional blow” against what he described as a “weak” army. In a statement, Netanyahu sent condolences, saying the soldiers fell “in a campaign to defeat Hamas and to free all of our hostages.”
Children among the dead in Israeli strikes
Health officials at Nasser Hospital, where victims of the Israeli strikes were taken, said one strike targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing four people. A separate strike in Khan Younis killed four people, including a mother, father and their two children, officials said. “He sleeps in the tent with his two children, Awda and Misk,” said Nisma Al-Baiouk, the sister of one man killed. “My nephew Awda has no face, his face is gone.” Nasser Hospital records showed a total of 41 people killed on Tuesday.In central Gaza, Israeli strikes killed another 10 people and wounded 72, according to Awda Hospital in Nuseirat. Israel’s military had no immediate comment on the strikes, but it blames Hamas for any harm to civilians because the militants operate in populated areas. The fighting has pushed the health care system in Gaza close to collapse. On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent said the Al-Zaytoun Medical Clinic in Gaza City ceased operations after shelling in the surrounding area. It said the closure would force thousands of civilians to walk long distances to get medical care or obtain vaccinations for children. Seeking a 60-day pause in fighting. Trump has made clear that, following last month’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran, he would like to see the Gaza war end soon. White House officials are urging both sides to quickly seal an agreement that would bring about a 60-day pause in the fighting, send aid flooding into Gaza and free at least some of the remaining 50 hostages held in the territory. Netanyahu has said 20 are alive.
A sticking point has been whether the ceasefire will end the war altogether. Hamas has said it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu says the war will end once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile — something it refuses to do. The initial Hamas attack in 2023 killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage. Most have been released in earlier ceasefires. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

Qatar says ‘we will need time’ for Gaza ceasefire
AFP/July 08, 2025
DOHA: Qatar said Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a possible breakthrough. “I don’t think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said as indirect negotiations continued into a third day in Doha.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, meanwhile, on his third visit to the White House since Trump returned to power. Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire, expressed confidence a deal could be reached, saying: “I don’t think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well.”Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week. On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza — one of the deadliest days this year for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory.
Gaza’s civil defense meanwhile reported 29 killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday.
Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building. At the White House, sitting across from Netanyahu, Trump said Hamas was willing to end the Gaza conflict, now in its 22nd month. “They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” Trump said when asked if ongoing clashes would derail talks.
An Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to Washington said the proposal under discussion was “80-90 percent of what Israel wanted.”
“I believe that with military and political pressure, all the hostages can be returned,” the official told Israeli media. According to Ariel Kahana of Israel Hayom daily, “President Trump and his advisers are currently exerting considerable effort to reach an agreement that would lead to the release of the hostages and could even end the war in Gaza.”
However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that “there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds.”Netanyahu described the loss of five soldiers in Gaza as a “difficult morning” and mourned “our heroic soldiers who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages.”Israeli military correspondents reported the deaths occurred due to improvised explosive devices near Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27, 2023. Gaza’s civil defense agency reported 29 people killed in Israeli strikes across the territory, including three children. Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said nine of those were killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza. “I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children – beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion,” said Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, who lives in the camp. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.
The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than two million people. While Israel has the full backing of the Trump administration, the US leader has increasingly pushed for an end to what he called the “hell” in Gaza and said on Sunday he believed there was a “good chance” of an agreement this coming week.
“The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The US proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier said.
Hamas was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.

Massacres at aid distributions overwhelm Gaza health system
AFP/July 08, 2025
GAZA CITY: The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday that a “sharp surge” in deaths and injuries in incidents around aid distribution sites in Gaza is pushing the territory’s already stretched health system past its capacity.
The ICRC said in a statement that its field hospital in south Gaza recorded 200 deaths since the new aid distribution sites were launched in late May. The facility also treated more than 2,200 “weapon-wounded patients, most of them across more than 21 separate mass casualty events,” it added. “Over the past month, a sharp surge in mass casualty incidents linked to aid distribution sites has overwhelmed Gaza’s shattered health care system,” the ICRC said. “The scale and frequency of these incidents are without precedent,” it said, adding that its field hospital had treated more patients since late May than “in all mass casualty events during the entire previous year.”To cope with the flow of wounded, ICRC said that all its staff were now contributing to the emergency response effort. “Physiotherapists support nurses, cleaning and dressing wounds and taking vitals. Cleaners now serve as orderlies, carrying stretchers wherever they are needed. Midwives have stepped into palliative care,” it added.
An officially private effort, the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine. GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. More than 500 people have been killed while waiting to access rations from its distribution sites, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday.
The GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points. Gaza’s health system has been at a point of near collapse for months, with nearly all hospitals and health facilities either out of service or only partly functional.
Israel’s drastic restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war 21 months ago has caused shortages of everything, including medicine, medical supplies, and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators.

Palestinian teen dies from head injury after Israeli forces opened fire
Arab News/July 08, 2025
LONDON: A Palestinian teen died of his wounds six months after being shot when Israeli forces opened fire in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday. Ahmed Al-Awiwi, a 19-year-old from the city, was shot in the head by Israeli forces during confrontations in Bab Al-Zawiya, which erupted after settlers stormed the area. Al-Awiwi was admitted to Al-Ahli Hospital a week ago to undergo brain surgery. Subsequently, his health worsened, leading to his death on Tuesday evening, the ministry added. This week, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the West Bank. Wissam Ghassan Hasan Ishtiya, 37, was shot on Sunday by Israeli forces in Salem, a village east of Nablus, after they stormed the area and surrounded two houses, firing live ammunition. Qusay Nasser Mahmoud Nassar, 23, also from Salem, was killed by Israeli fire.Since late 2023, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, and 7,000 injured. Israeli forces conduct daily raids on villages and towns in the Palestinian territories, where they have maintained a military occupation since June 1967.

Over 10,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, excluding Gazans in military confinement
Arab News/July 08, 2025
LONDON: More than 10,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, the highest prisoner count since the Second Intifada in 2000, Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy groups reported on Tuesday. As of early July, some 10,800 prisoners are said to be held in Israeli detention centers and prisons, including 50 women — two of whom are from the Gaza Strip — and over 450 children. The figures do not include individuals detained in Israeli military camps such as Sde Teiman, where many people from Gaza are believed to be held and subjected to torture. A total of 3,629 Palestinians are currently detained under administrative detention, a practice that allows Israeli authorities to hold individuals in prison without trial for six months, which is subject to indefinite renewals.
A further 2,454 detainees are designated as “unlawful combatants,” including Palestinians and Arabs from Lebanon and Syria. Since the 1967 occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, over 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails, according to a UN report in 2023.

Israel far-right minister demands end to Gaza ceasefire talks
AFP/July 08, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call back a delegation conducting indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar for a ceasefire in Gaza. “I call on the Prime Minister to immediately recall the delegation that went to negotiate with the Hamas murderers in Doha,” Ben Gvir said in a post on X on the third day of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement. Instead, the minister who lives in a West Bank settlement called for “total siege, military crushing, encouraging emigration (of Palestinians outside of Gaza), and (Israeli) settlement” in the Gaza Strip. He called these measures “the keys to total victory, not a reckless deal that would release thousands of terrorists and withdraw the (Israeli army) from areas captured with the blood of our soldiers.”A Palestinian official close to the talks said on Tuesday that the talks were ongoing, with a focus on “the mechanisms for implementation, particularly the clauses related to withdrawal and humanitarian aid.”Netanyahu traveled to Washington for his third visit since Trump’s return to power, where the US president on Monday voiced confidence that a deal could be reached. The Israeli leader ruled out a full Palestinian state, insisting Israel would “always” keep security control over the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been waging war on Hamas in Gaza for over 21 months, its troops gradually occupying more and more of the Palestinian territory. According to the UN, 82 percent of Gaza is now under Israeli military control or displacement orders.
The war was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack resulted in 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army.
At least 57,523 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The figures are deemed reliable by the UN.

Macron urges new era of Anglo-French unity in address to UK parliament
AFP/July 08, 2025
WINDSOR: President Emmanuel Macron argued Tuesday that France and Britain must work together to defend the post-World War II “international order,” as he addressed parliament on the first day of his UK state visit. The first such visit by an EU head of state since Brexit, Macron said in a wide-ranging speech that the two countries must renew their century-old alliance to face down an array of threats. “As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, deeply committed to multilateralism, the United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” he told British lawmakers, speaking in English.
“Clearly, we have to work together... to protect the international order as we fought (for) it after the Second World War,” Macron added. Touching on various thorny issues, from global conflicts to irregular cross-Channel migration, he insisted European countries will “never abandon Ukraine” in its war with Russia while demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. Hours earlier, the French president and his wife Brigitte had received a warm, pomp-filled welcome from King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Windsor as the three-day visit got underway. They had been greeted off the presidential plane at an air base northwest of London by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales. After a 41-gun salute sounded from Windsor’s Home Park and a royal carriage procession through the town, which was decked out in French Tricolores and British Union flags, the group entered its castle for lunch.
First visit since 2008
The first state visit by an EU head of state since the UK’s acrimonious 2020 departure from the European Union, it is also the first by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008. Touching on Brexit in his speech in parliament, which follows in the footsteps of predecessors Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand, Macron said it was “deeply regrettable” but the result of its 2016 referendum was respected.
Macron will hold several meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer starting Wednesday. After taking power in 2024, the British leader has been making good on his pledge to reset relations with European capitals following years of Brexit-fueled tensions.
Their discussions are expected to focus on aid to war-torn Ukraine and bolstering defense spending, as well as joint efforts to stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats — a potent political issue in Britain. Starmer is under intense pressure to curb the cross-Channel arrivals, as Euroskeptic Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party uses the issue to fuel its rise. London has for years pressed Paris to do more to halt the boats leaving from northern French beaches, welcoming footage last Friday showing French police stopping one such boat from departing. In his parliamentary address Macron called it “a burden for our two countries,” stressing the need for better “cooperation” to “fix” it.
Later Tuesday, Britain’s Francophile king, who is believed to enjoy a warm rapport with Macron, will host a lavish banquet in his honor in the vast medieval St. George’s Hall.
Charles is set to laud the vital partnership between France and the UK amid a “multitude of complex threats.”“As friends and as allies, we face them together,” he will say, according to Buckingham Palace.Trade and business ties
The visit also aims to boost trade and business ties, with Paris and London announcing Tuesday that French energy giant EDF will have a 12.5-stake in new British nuclear power plant Sizewell C. There is also a cultural dimension, with another announcement that France will loan the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum for 10 months from September 2026. The loan of the embroidery depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England will be made in exchange for ancient “treasures” mainly from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo site, one of England’s most important archaeological sites.
Wednesday will see Macron have lunch with Starmer ahead of the two leaders on Thursday co-hosting the 37th Franco-British Summit, where they are set to discuss opportunities to strengthen defense ties.
Britain and France are spearheading talks among a 30-nation coalition on how to support a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, including potentially deploying peacekeeping forces.
The two leaders will dial in to a meeting of the coalition on Thursday “to discuss stepping up support for Ukraine and further increasing pressure on Russia,” Starmer’s office confirmed on Monday. They will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to the French presidency.

Jordanian helicopters continue to help Syria in containing wildfires for 6th day
Arab News/July 08, 2025
LONDON: Jordanian air forces continue to assist authorities in Syria’s coastal region to combat wildfires, which have damaged more than 10,000 hectares of land over six days.
Jordan was one of the first countries to dispatch help to the Syrian Arab Republic, alongside Lebanon and Turkiye, all neighboring countries. The UN also deployed teams to assist Syria, while on Tuesday, Damascus sought support from the EU to combat the fires. The wildfires in Latakia’s Jabal Turkman region were sparked by a combination of unexploded ordnance from the country’s civil war as well as high temperatures and drought. Jordan sent two Black Hawk helicopters with firefighting crews and equipment. The Jordanian mission is working to prevent the further expansion of fires and mitigate the impact on local communities and ecosystems, Petra reported. The wildfires have been difficult to contain due to rugged terrain, dense vegetation, landmines, unexploded ordnance and high winds, which have further complicated response efforts, authorities said. The decision to help Syria demonstrates Jordan’s commitment to providing humanitarian support and responding to regional crises, Petra added.

Syria seeks European help as forest wildfires rage
AFP/July 08, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria’s minister of emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through a vast stretch of forested land. The fires have been burning for six days, with Syrian emergency crews struggling to bring them under control amid strong winds and severe drought. Neighbouring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Turkiye have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist in the response. “We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires,” minister Raed Al-Saleh said on X, adding Cyprus was expected to send aid on Tuesday.“Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties,” he added. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted “some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities.”An estimated 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and farmland — more than three percent of Syria’s forest cover — have burned, OCHA told AFP. At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.
Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by “rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds, and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance,” Saleh said.Seven months after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, Syria continues to face the repercussions of its 14-year civil war, which include explosive remnants scattered across the country. With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall. In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”

France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport, halts trains
AFP/July 08, 2025
MARSEILLE: A wildfire in southern France on Tuesday forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic as the blaze spread rapidly to the edges of the city. Several forest fires have raged in recent days in southern France, fanning out at speed due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave. Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of extreme heat that fuels forest fires. The fire started in a vehicle in the area of Pennes-Mirabeau to the north of Marseille, on the road to the airport, roaring across 700 hectares (1,700 acres) by the evening, firefighters said. It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday (1000 GMT), a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said. The spokesman later said that the airport would partially reopen at around 9:30 p.m. and that 54 flights had been canceled and another 14 redirected. The website of the SNCF national rail operator showed more than a dozen train trips had been canceled in and out of the city. It said rail travel to and from Marseille would remain “highly affected” on Wednesday. Marseille mayor Benoit Payan on X warned residents the fire was now “at the doors of Marseille,” urging inhabitants in the north of the city to refrain from taking to the roads to leave way for rescue services. The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau said two housing estates had been evacuated and firefighters had positioned themselves outside a retirement home to fight off approaching flames. The Marseille Provence airport is the country’s fourth after Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly outside Paris, and Nice. The fire near Marseille is just the latest to hit France in recent days. To the west along the Mediterranean coast, near the city of Narbonne, more than 1,000 firefighters from around the country were seeking to contain another blaze. It had crept across 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of trees since starting on the property of a winery on Monday afternoon, emergency services said. In the village of Prat-de-Cest on Tuesday morning, trees were blackened or still on fire. As she watched fire trucks drive to and fro, retiree Martine Bou recounted fleeing her home with her cats, tortoises and dog on Monday afternoon before returning. But her husband, Frederic, stayed all night to hose down the great pines on the other side of the road so the fire would not engulf their home. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I have never lived next to such an enormous fire,” he told AFP, reporting flames dozens of meters (more than a hundred feet) high. The fire near Narbonne caused authorities to close the A9 motorway to Spain, but on Tuesday morning they said they were progressively reopening it to traffic.

Arab League chief warns of rising religious intolerance in Cairo forum address
Arab News/July 08, 2025
LONDON: Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, called for wider efforts to combat Islamophobia during a speech at the International Conference on Combating Hatred against Islam in Cairo on Tuesday. Aboul Gheit said that Islamophobia is a dangerous and growing issue that undermines the values of coexistence and mutual respect, the Kuwait News Agency reported. He said that its root causes lie in incitement, a lack of understanding of Islamic values, and the false association of Islam with terrorism. The Arab League chief also said that biased media coverage, which amplifies errors and promotes negative stereotypes, fuels extremist discourse and divides communities. Aboul Gheit highlighted the role of traditional and digital media in fostering tolerance and diversity, and called for a comprehensive response involving governments, international organizations, and civil society, the KUNA added. He highlighted the Arab League’s earlier resolutions condemning religious intolerance. The conference in Cairo brought together representatives from the Arab League; Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; Al-Azhar; Christian institutions; and numerous Arab states to discuss strategies for promoting dialogue, understanding, and peaceful coexistence.

Three crew dead, at least two wounded in latest Red Sea attack on Greek ship
Reuters/July 08, 2025
LONDON/ATHENS: Three seafarers on the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C were killed in a drone and speedboat attack off Yemen, an official with the EU naval mission Aspides said on Tuesday, the second incident in a day after months of calm. The Red Sea, which passes Yemen’s coast, has long been a critical waterway for the world’s oil and commodities but traffic has dropped since the Iran-aligned Houthi militia began targeting ships in November 2023 in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war. The deaths on the Eternity C, the first involving shipping in the Red Sea since June 2024, bring the total number of seafarers killed in attacks on vessels plying the Red Sea to seven. The vessel’s operator, Cosmoship Management, was not immediately available to comment on the reported fatalities.
An official with Aspides, the European Union’s mission assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping, also said that at least two other crew members were injured. Liberia’s shipping delegation had told a United Nations meeting earlier that two crew members had been killed. Eternity C, with 22 crew members — 21 Filipinos and one Russian — on board, was attacked with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from manned speed boats, maritime security sources told Reuters. The ship was now adrift and listing, the sources said. Hours before the latest attack, the Houthis had claimed responsibility for a strike on another Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, the MV Magic Seas, off southwest Yemen on Sunday, saying the vessel sank. The vessel’s manager said the information about the sinking could not be verified.
All crew on the Magic Seas were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and arrived safely in Djibouti on Monday, Djibouti authorities said.
The Houthis have not commented on the Eternity C.
“Just as Liberia was processing the shock and grief of the attack against Magic Seas, we received a report that Eternity C again has been attacked, attacked horribly and causing the death of two seafarers,” Liberia’s delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization. Since November 2023, the Houthis have disrupted commerce by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel. While the Houthis reached a ceasefire with the United States in May, the militia has reiterated that they will keep attacking ships it says are connected with Israel. “After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said on Tuesday.
“Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause.”
“Elevated risks”
Both the Eternity C and Magic Seas were part of commercial fleets whose sister vessels have made calls to Israeli ports over the past year.
“The pause in Houthi activity did not necessarily indicate a change in underlying intent. As long as the conflict in Gaza persists, vessels with affiliations, both perceived and actual, will continue to face elevated risks,” said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with the Britain-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech. Filipino seafarers — who form one of the world’s largest pools of merchant mariners — have been urged to exercise their right to refuse to sail in “high-risk, war-like” areas, including the Red Sea after the latest strikes, the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers said on Tuesday. Shipping traffic through the region has declined by around 50 percent from normal levels since the first Houthi attacks in 2023, according to Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer with shipping association BIMCO.
“This reduction in traffic has persisted due to the ongoing unpredictability of the security situation. As such, BIMCO does not anticipate the recent attacks will significantly alter current shipping patterns,” Larsen said. Monday’s attack on Eternity C, 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, was the second on merchant vessels in the region since November 2024, according to an official at Aspides.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 08-09/2025
Netanyahu at the Crossroads
Eric Cortellessa/Time/July 08/2025
When Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House on Monday for his latest meeting with his American counterpart, he found himself in a place that once seemed improbable: back in Donald Trump’s good graces.
Trump invited Netanyahu to Washington after a volatile four-year stretch between the two. Trump left Washington in January 2021 infuriated with Netanyahu, bitter that the Israeli leader had backed out of a planned joint operation to assassinate an Iranian general and had congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory. When Trump returned, in January 2025, he came with a top agenda item that clashed with the Israeli premier’s: an end to the war in Gaza and an Iranian nuclear agreement. Despite those differences, they now appear close. After 21 months of audacious Israeli attacks on Iranian assets, decapitating its regional terrorist proxies and launching a war against Tehran that, with U.S. help, degraded their nuclear program, Netanyahu can help Trump deliver something he desperately covets: foreign policy wins.“We're at a different moment in the Netanyahu-Trump relationship,” says Aaron David Miller, a veteran Middle East peace negotiator. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to resolve the Israel-Hamas war. Six months into his second term, the war continues. Now, he wants Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, according to a White House official, that he could chalk up as a defining accomplishment.
For Netanyahu, who resisted pressure from the Biden Administration to wind down the war, it’s a hard proposition. After presiding over the worst security failure in Israel’s history when Hamas fighters stormed the country and slaughtered 1,200 people, he vowed to tear the terrorist group out of Gaza root and branch. Choosing the maximalist objective of dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, Netanyahu refused to scale back the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, despite the mounting civilian death toll, international condemnation, and frustration of the Jewish state’s most important ally. Many in Israel and abroad have suspected that Netanyahu was reluctant to end hostilities for fear of triggering snap elections that would result in his ousting.
But after engineering a new regional reality, the once vulnerable Prime Minister may now be positioned to pivot to an end game in Gaza. After Israel's successful strikes on Iran, killing the nation’s military leaders and top nuclear scientists, Trump deployed B-2 bombers against three Iranian nuclear sites, providing an influential endorsement of Netanyahu's approach with an Israeli public that mistrusts its Prime Minister. “This has been his lifelong ambition to do this,” says David Makovsky, a former State Department official in the Obama Administration. “But you almost feel that the Iran strike erased the mark of Caine on his forehead after Oct. 7.”There’s another reason why the time may be right. The Knesset, Israel’s legislature, is soon to go on a three-month recess, making a two-month ceasefire more palatable to Netanyahu, who won’t have to fear that any concession will lead to the hard right orchestrating his downfall. Given Netanyahu’s fragile coalition, holding 64 seats in a 120-member parliament, he’s beholden to far-right cabinet members, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who can topple his government. The timing of Trump’s request removes that threat at least in the short-term. Over the longer-term, the threat to Netanyahu may hinge on Trump’s demands for post-war Gaza, what Miller calls “Netanyahu’s nightmare.” Netanyahu has said he would not allow a reformed Palestinian Authority to take control of the coastal enclave, but Persian Gulf countries who may fund the strip’s reconstruction have insisted that Palestinian sovereignty would be a prerequisite for their support. Trump’s insistence on an end game of any sort could provide cover for Netanyahu, argues Shira Efron, the Israel Policy Forum’s research director. “It helps to deflect political pressure domestically,” she says.
It's far from clear that Netanyahu will seize the opportunity. He will also face Trump’s demand to avoid escalating the conflict in Iran, not wanting to galvanize a protracted conflict with the U.S. involvement, while also working in tandem to prevent the Iranian regime from building a nuclear bomb.
Still, Netanyahu has surmounted obstacles few thought possible on Oct. 8, 2023. He has stayed in office despite the catastrophe that happened on his watch, he has crippled Israel’s most formidable adversary, and he has opened the door to a new Middle East. Most recently, Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shaara, has said he wants to forge a non-belligerence agreement with Israel. “You're dealing with the most ruthless, skillful Israeli politician,” says Miller. “He wants to stay in power more than anyone without comparison. You put all those three things together, plus a society that's traumatized and moving to the right or center anyway, and it provides an environment in which he can survive.”Taken together, it’s a complicated legacy. “Netanyahu will be remembered as both the person responsible for Oct. 7, but also the person responsible for all these other achievements that came afterwards,” says Efron. But now, everyone from Donald Trump to the Gulf monarchs to the average Israeli is waiting to see what he will do next.

The Judge-Emperor: The Global Coup of the Courts
Drieu Godefridi/Gatestone Institute/July 8, 2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21730/judge-emperor-courts
In the West, it is not the executive that threatens the separation of powers. It is faceless judges lacking democratic legitimacy who legislate on the pretext of judging.... [T]his judicial imperialism... [has] become a judicial tyranny....
These innovations... have gradually established the Israeli Supreme Court as the ultimate arbiter of all questions, not only legal but also political. Any Israeli citizen -- and any NGO, even one funded from abroad -- has the right to ask the Supreme Court to overturn any democratic decision.... There is no decision of the Israeli government and parliament that cannot be overturned by unelected judges.
[Marine Le Pen and her supporters] argued, accurately, that the judges were essentially preventing the French people from voting for Le Pen.
There is effectively no longer a single "right-wing" measure that can be adopted in any field by Parliament or the government without being struck down by the Constitutional Council or the courts. When the left loses at the ballot box, it is certain to win in the courts. In France, the judge reigns and the people no longer seem to have sovereignty over anything.
The torrents of universal rules and requirements deriving from articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (e.g. privacy, dignity), and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are probably the worst modern example of tyrannical judicial imperialism. The anarchy of immigration in Europe is entirely of its making.
The US Supreme Court decided last week that the district court judges had jurisdiction over specific cases and plaintiffs in their districts -- not across the nation.
In the West, it is not the executive that threatens the separation of powers. It is faceless judges lacking democratic legitimacy who legislate on the pretext of judging. The torrents of universal rules and requirements deriving from articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (e.g. privacy, dignity), and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights
"The judges of the nation are only the mouth that pronounces the words of the law, inanimate beings who can neither moderate its force nor its rigor."
— Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Book XI, Chapter VI
From Israel to the United States, via Europe, the judicial coup d'état has become permanent. In the West, it is not the executive that threatens the separation of powers. It is faceless judges lacking democratic legitimacy who legislate on the pretext of judging. Here are four salient examples of this judicial imperialism -- which have become a judicial tyranny -- and a proposed American solution.
Israel
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Israeli Supreme Court introduced three innovations that revolutionized Israel's legal and political landscape. First, it abolished the "standing" requirement, allowing anyone to challenge any government decision before the Supreme Court simply because they disagreed with it, even if they were not personally affected by it. This is unique in the Western world. Second, the Court removed the restriction on justiciability, placing all government and administrative actions (including foreign affairs, military actions and the budget) under its control — an extraordinary measure. Third, the Court took on the power to assess the "reasonableness" of government decisions, thus giving itself a political veto over the elected government's choices.
These innovations did not simply increase the power of Israel's Supreme Court into a "super-court." They have gradually established it as the ultimate arbiter of all questions, not only legal but also political. Any Israeli citizen -- and any NGO, even one funded from abroad -- has the right to ask the Supreme Court to overturn any democratic decision. The Supreme Court will grant this annulment if it deems the decision "unreasonable" or that the law is in conflict with a "Basic Law." There is no decision of the Israeli government and parliament that cannot be overturned by unelected judges.
France
Leading in all the presidential polls, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, has been sentenced to a five-year ban from holding public office with provisional execution -- a rare occurrence -- for assigning assistants paid by the European Parliament to French national tasks. Le Pen and her supporters described the decision as political, and an attack on democracy. They argued, accurately, that the judges were essentially preventing the French people from voting for Le Pen. The accusation of "government by judges" was immediately relayed, and rightly so, by figures such as Éric Zemmour and Guillaume Bigot, who denounced a judiciary seeking to influence the political course by penalizing a major opposition figure.
In January 2017, when François Fillon, former Prime Minister and presidential candidate of the Republicans party, was the favorite in the polls, the weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné revealed that his wife, Penelope Fillon, had benefited from fictitious employment as a parliamentary assistant between 1998 and 2013, as well as a literary adviser to the magazine Revue des Deux Mondes. It is estimated that she received more than €1 million without any proof of actual work done. The very next day, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office opened a preliminary investigation, followed by an indictment of François Fillon for "misappropriation of public funds", "complicity and concealment of misuse of corporate assets", and "failure to comply with reporting obligations". Do Fillon's practices seem abusive? They do. But they have been common practice for decades in France and elsewhere in Europe, and only Fillon has been judged while a candidate, then stigmatized and for years dragged through the mud.
In 2024, the Constitutional Council censured several provisions of the Immigration Act, adopted under political pressure to tighten the conditions for entry and residence in France. This censure provoked the anger of politicians, notably then Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. He spoke of a "government of judges", criticizing the Constitutional Council's intervention, which was perceived as thwarting the will of Parliament and the government, in the name of general principles.
There is effectively no longer a single "right-wing" measure that can be adopted in any field by Parliament or the government without being struck down by the Constitutional Council or the courts. When the left loses at the ballot box, it is certain to win in the courts. In France, the judge reigns and the people no longer seem to have sovereignty over anything.
Europe
In Europe, the open-borders jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights obliges states to bring to Europe any illegal immigrant intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea, even ten meters from the African coast, whether a sovereign government wishes to welcome them or not.
Here are two recent examples of extreme judicial imperialism in the field of migration:
A Malian immigrant in France, claiming to be an unaccompanied minor (UAM), had his status as a minor challenged by the French authorities after a bone scan. He was placed in a detention center and threatened with deportation. The ECHR in 2024 ruled against France for violating Article 8 (right to privacy) of the European Convention on Human Rights, finding that the age assessment was not sufficiently rigorous and that the detention was disproportionate.
A Congolese immigrant in the United Kingdom, convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter, challenged his expulsion by invoking his "right to family life." The UK immigration tribunal ruled that his expulsion would violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, holding that family ties took precedence over a criminal conviction.
The torrents of universal rules and requirements deriving from articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (e.g. privacy, dignity), and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are probably the worst modern example of tyrannical judicial imperialism. The anarchy of immigration in Europe is entirely of its making. Since the rulings of the imperial European Court of Human Rights are deemed to be the "official interpretation" of the text of the European Convention on Human Rights, they are imposed on all European states (except Russia, Belarus and Vatican City) as supreme law, which no parliamentary majority can overturn. So much for "democracy."
American hope
For 40 years, the United States has been similarly engaged in a process of judicial usurpation of democratic sovereignty. Not only has the Supreme Court validated extremist policies, particularly racist policies (affirmative action) -- recently disavowed by the Court -- but for years it has been federal district court judges who, via national injunctions, have been preventing the president and Congress from pursuing the policies for which they were elected. These injunctions were not issued because the policies violated the Constitution; rather, they reflected the judges' own political views and an effort to supersede America's "separation of powers" – the legislative, the executive and the judicial.
On June 27, 2025, however, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Trump v CASA, Inc. by a vote of 6 to 3, limiting the power of federal district courts to issue nationwide injunctions. From now on, these injunctions, which block nationwide federal executive policies, will apply only to specific plaintiffs, and not to the entire policy nationwide. More than 600 federal district court judges in the US had been blocking executive orders from the president. The US Supreme Court decided last week that the district court judges had jurisdiction over specific cases and plaintiffs in their districts -- not across the nation.
The Supreme Court decision aims to reduce judicial overreach and restore the balance of power between the executive and judicial branches. The majority, led by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, held that national injunctions exceeded the prerogatives of the courts. This ruling will make it easier to implement the policies for which Trump was elected, particularly on immigration.
Let us also not forget the costly two-year spectacle, before the 2016 presidential election, of the deliberate framing of then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, accusing him of colluding with Russia. Trump's accusers, it turned out, knew all along that their claims were false. Before the 2020 presidential election, 51 former intelligence officials deliberately lied in claiming that Hunter Biden's laptop was fraudulent, when they and the FBI knew it was real. That fraud may well have redirected that election.
The role of the judges is to enforce the law in the face of the disputes brought before them. Any attempt to legislate in place of democratic bodies is dictatorial, and a negation of national sovereignty, as well as the separation of powers.
*Drieu Godefridi is a jurist (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain), philosopher (University Saint-Louis, University of Louvain) and PhD in legal theory (Paris IV-Sorbonne). He is an entrepreneur, CEO of a European private education group and director of PAN Medias Group. He is the author of The Green Reich (2020).
© 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.

Israeli defense minister shares plan to move Palestinians to closed camp
Paul Godfrey/United Press International/July 08/2025
July 8 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to draw up plans to move all Palestinians in Gaza into a closed "humanitarian city" in the south of the strip, from where he hoped they would emigrate, voluntarily. The camp, constructed over the ruins of Rafah and run by unnamed international organizations, would initially house around 600,000 security-screened people but eventually become home for all 2 million residents of Gaza, Katz told a news briefing on Monday. Katz said the camp's first residents would be from the nearby Mawasi area where large numbers of Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza have been living in makeshift tent cities or in the open.
He said that once people entered the camp they would not be allowed to exit back into Gaza and that his longstanding aspiration to encourage Palestinians to "voluntarily emigrate" to other countries should be realized.
The Times of Israel said it was likely that the only organization that would be willing to get involved with the scheme was the embattled U.S.-Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, currently under intense scrutiny over hundreds of deaths alleged to have occurred in and around its food distribution hubs in Gaza. International human rights lawyers and academics said Katz' plan was illegal under international law and a "blueprint for crimes against humanity."
"Katz laid out an operational plan for a crime against humanity. It is nothing less than that. It is all about population transfer to the southern tip of the Gaza Strip in preparation for deportation outside the strip," Michael Sfard told The Guardian.
"While the government still calls the deportation 'voluntary', people in Gaza are under so many coercive measures that no departure from the strip can be seen in legal terms as consensual.
"When you drive someone out of their homeland, that would be a war crime, in the context of a war. If it's done on a massive scale like he plans, it becomes a crime against humanity," Sfard explained.
Amos Goldberg, historian of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Katz' plan amounted to displacing people from all across Gaza into "a concentration camp or a transit camp for Palestinians before they expel them."
"It is neither humanitarian nor a city. A city is a place where you have possibilities of work, of earning money, of making connections and freedom of movement. There are hospitals, schools, universities and offices. This is not what they have in mind. It will not be a livable place, just as the 'safe areas' are unlivable now."Goldberg also questioned what would happen in the event that Palestinians declined to move to the camp or mounted a determined resistance.
There were also concerns that Katz' plan creates a vacuum that would make possible Israeli settlement of the strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently stated that he is not in favor of allowing in settlers, but his government is propped up by far-right ministers in his cabinet who are pushing for exactly that.In February, Katz unveiled plans to allow Gaza residents the right to resettle in any country that will accept them, following on from U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for the United States to take control of Gaza, relocate Palestinians to neighboring countries and redevelop the strip into the "Riviera of the Middle East."Katz' proposal came soon after Netanyahu arrived in Washington for talks with Trump. Over dinner in the White House, the pair said they were hopeful of success in the current round of negotiations with Hamas for a cease-fire in return for the release of hostages still being held in Gaza. Trump has proposed a 60-day halt in hostilities in exchange for the return of 10 live Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others who are deceased.
Hamas has countered with amendments that seek U.S. guarantees of no resumption of military action at the end of the 60-day cease-fire and responsibility for humanitarian assistance operations to be returned to the United Nations and international aid NGOs.

Leaflets in Syrian Churches threatening to kill Them
Nabil Habiby/Face Book/July 08/2025
It was quiet ironic that on Sunday Syrian Christians on the coast woke up to these leaflets in their churches threatening to kill them (a rough translation at the end of this post), and the very next day USA removed the current ruling party of Syria (essentially an outcrop of Al-Qaeda) from the terrorism list.
The main reason is that the current regime in Syria is in talks with Israel to sign a peace treaty of sorts.
(1) This is an apt reminder that "terrorists" is a Western political term that many times simply means "anti-Israel." When Al-Qaeda themselves become friendly with Israel, they are not terrorists anymore.
It is a meaningless term used to silence opposition to US hegemony or to give credibility to Western imperial wars.
(2) The Christian Zionist camp is fond of reminding us that Israel is the protector of Christians in the Middle East and our hopes of survival lie in alliance with it.
However, here is the current state of Israel in talks with a regime that holds an ideology which leads to the killing of Christians (and other religious minorities).
(3) This is also an apt reminder that kingdoms fight and make up over the blood of the innocent. We have no idea who wrote and distributed the terrorising leaflets. We do know that while the Syrian and Israeli political leaders have a nice talk in the air conditioned halls of the UAE, the people of Gaza and, to a lesser degree, the Alawites of Syria, continue to be slaughtered with no mercy.
Note 1: I do retain hope that the current Syrian regime will find a way to reign in the radical voices within its ranks and treat Christians and other non-Sunni religious groups with dignity as full citizens.
Also, we have no idea who wrote and distributed the leaflets. They might well be the work of a rogue group within the regime or a third-party secret service project. We do know that Christians in Syria are experiencing increased hatred and persecution.
Note 2: here is a rough translation of the leaflets:
"People of Damascus, Jihad is not over yet. Let us walk in the path of the great jihadist Sheikh Joulany (current president of Syria) may God be with him. Let us bless our work by killing the infidel Christians. Their time of punishment has come.... (you get the idea. They go on like this in different versions)"

Was America Founded on ‘Clobbering Bad Guys” Around the World?
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/July 08/2025
In a recent interview, political commentator Dinesh Dsouza made the following, rather remarkable, assertion:
Seems to me we have a big disagreement here about what America First means…. When we talk about making America great again, it’s important to think about what made America great in the first place. And one obvious answer to that is that America became great by kind of looking inward and attending to its own problems, going back to the founders. But that is not only not entirely true, it’s not true at all. Right after the American founding, Thomas Jefferson found out that there were these Barbary pirates in the Middle East; now they weren’t attacking America, they weren’t starting a war over here. But Jefferson basically dispatched an armed force to clobber them, to beat the heck out of them. Why? Because they were disrupting our interest, they were disrupting our trade, they were hurting our position in the world. So even though we had this infant democracy, clobbering bad guys is something we started doing from the very beginning.
Now, whether one believes the United States ought to pursue an isolationist or interventionist foreign policy is a separate and debatable matter. My concern here is strictly historical — and the assertion above concerning the Barbary States (which, for the record, were located in northwest Africa, not the Middle East) is the precise opposite of what actually transpired.
Attacking Amercans, Not Just American Interests
First, some context: the Barbary corsairs were state-sponsored pirates operating under the authority of Muslim rulers in Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco who reaped vast wealth from their maritime predations. Their targets were overwhelmingly Christian, and their practices — raiding European ships and coastal settlements, enslaving captives, and ransoming or selling them — were all justified by Islamic legal and religious doctrine. These raids reached as far afield as Iceland in search of human cargo. Although they operated for centuries, during their heyday in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they had enslaved at least 1.25 million Europeans. As for the claim that the Barbary pirates “weren’t attacking America,” it is patently false. Following the Revolutionary War, the newly independent United States lost the protection of the British Royal Navy. American merchant vessels, suddenly exposed, quickly became prime targets for the Barbary corsairs. In 1785, only two years after the Treaty of Paris, the pirates seized two American ships — the Maria and the Dauphin — and enslaved their crews. The captives’ ordeal was severe. As Captain Richard O’Brien, one of the enslaved, wrote in a letter to Thomas Jefferson: “Our sufferings are beyond our expression or your conception.”(Those seeking more graphic details concerning the treatment of captives — including the mutilation and sexual abuse of both American and European slaves — may consult Sword and Scimitar, Chapter 8.)
Initially, the U.S. government sought to avoid conflict by following the European precedent: paying tribute. These payments, functionally akin to the jizya mandated under Islamic law for non-Muslim subjects, consumed a staggering 16% of the fledgling federal budget at their peak.
Peace through Strength
But diplomacy failed to yield long-term results. In 1786, Jefferson and John Adams — then ambassadors to France and Britain — met with a Barbary representative in London. Their report to Congress is deeply revealing:
We took the liberty to make some inquiries concerning the grounds of their [Barbary’s] pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury, and observed that we considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation. The ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Muslim who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise. Even after this exchange, the United States remained reluctant to resort to war in keeping with John Adams’s logic: “We ought not to fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever.”
Thus, Jefferson’s eventual decision to dispatch the U.S. Navy in 1801, launching what came to be known as the First Barbary War, was not an aggressive maneuver to “clobber” anyone, as Dsouza claimed. It came after 16 years of piracy, kidnapping, failed diplomacy, escalating ransom demands, and finally, an official declaration of war (jihad) from the Pasha of Tripoli against the United States.
In sum, the First Barbary War was not a product of Jeffersonian assertiveness for the sake of projecting power. It was a reluctant, defensive campaign born of necessity, aimed at protecting American citizens and ending an intolerable extortion racket.
Moreover, it was by no means an easy victory. The war dragged on for five years, marked by setbacks — including the humiliating capture of the USS Philadelphia and its crew in 1803 —and ultimately required sustained diplomatic and military engagement.
Far from being a tale of an infant democracy flexing its muscles abroad, the Barbary Wars underscore the U.S. government’s early efforts to avoid conflict through negotiation, and its eventual use of force only as a last resort in defense of its people.
That is the historical record — unembellished and inconvenient as it may be.

What will the world look like in November 2026?
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 08, 2025
Listening to the speeches of US President Donald Trump leaves one with the impression that the man is convinced he can change realities he does not like.
Theoretically, this conviction could be well-founded. He is the absolute ruler of the most powerful country in the world. I use the word “absolute” deliberately; over the past few months, since assuming office on Jan. 20, Trump has managed to seize control of institutions through executive orders, marginalized the opposition and personalized the national interest. He has diminished international relations in ways that remind us of the famous phrase “L’Etat, c’est moi” (“I am the state”), widely attributed to France’s Louis XIV, who ruled from 1643 to 1715.
Since he came to shape the course of events, everyone (rivals before allies) has acquiesced to playing the role of mere spectator.
Among them are the major competing powers: China and Russia, NATO and other countries that have long convinced themselves they are “friends” of Washington.
So far, everyone has engaged with Trump’s beliefs, actions and statements depending on their priorities, but the outcome is always the same. To this day, people rightly have the sense that confronting a US president who enjoys a clear and fresh popular mandate is futile. Thanks to that mandate, he has monopolized all the levers of governance:
An absolutely loyal inner circle has been appointed to run all the agencies and departments of the executive branch.
His party has a majority in Congress that is bolstered by a populist wave.
An ideologically conservative judiciary that shares the administration’s views and interests.
A tamed media, either by owners or outside pressure. Even digital and “smart” media alternatives and those who are “too clever for their own good” have been brought to heel.
A billionaire elite that find themselves completely unshackled. Indeed, they have been empowered to do whatever serves their interests and to crush any challenge to those interests. Accordingly, unless something wholly unforeseen occurs, this “adaptation” to Trump will continue, at least until the midterm elections. His trial-and-error approach to both domestic and international issues will persist. And this brings us back to the question of Trump’s ability to change the realities that bug him.
Are the states’ considerations not shifting? Are there not lessons to be learned from a gamble here, a misadventure there and a disappointment somewhere in between? Are there not unforeseen circumstances that have not been accounted for, such as natural disasters? Moreover, the global reach of the Trumpian experiment might well be a double-edged sword. While Washington’s policies may be bolstered by the experiences of certain governments (whether in Europe or Latin America), the emergence of “Make America Great Again” clones and the posturing of those who pretend to belong to the MAGA camp could aggravate contradictions in countries whose societies are less resilient or flexible than the US — societies that might not accept what the US public has been accepting. Whether Trump succeeds or fails between now and the midterm elections scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026, the implications will be global.
Raising the stakes (especially in global hot zones like Ukraine, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Taiwan), the American president is a “dealmaker” who relies more on instinct and public relations than on long-term strategic planning.
That is why absolute loyalty, personal friendships and financial partnerships have largely determined his appointments of aides, advisers and Cabinet members. That is a break with the approach of most of his Republican and Democratic predecessors.
This has meant that many critical responsibilities have been handed over to figures who are widely seen as controversial or underqualified. In fact, some of them are now beginning to lose the trust of even the hardcore ideological MAGA base, including media figures and activists like Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes. The emergence of MAGA clones could aggravate contradictions in countries whose societies are less flexible than the US.
As for the Middle East, particularly the question of Palestine, Trump’s handling of both Iran and Israel has begun to impose itself on political discourse, at least in the media and online.Strikingly, the white Christian right in America has publicly criticized Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies. Chief among their complaints is the accusation that both Netanyahu and the American Jewish right are pushing Washington into war with Iran to serve the Likud and Israel’s agenda.
While they may differ on the details, several European countries, especially the UK, may be entering a phase of reassessment in their party politics. In Britain, where the current Labour government stands unapologetically with Israel, the political left has begun to shake things up. It was last week announced that a new left-wing party is in the pipeline, led by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana, both of whom are vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause. This was followed by early signs of a reconfiguration on the political right, with a new far-right party, Restore Britain, emerging. It is even more right-wing than the hard-line, anti-immigrant Reform UK.For this reason, I believe that between now and November 2026, Washington could, given the lack of real solutions to international crises, lay the groundwork for significant transformations outside the US. I believe that the fodder for these shifts will largely be: religious extremism, racial hatred and socioeconomic hardship.
**Eyad Abu Shakra is managing editor of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @eyad1949

Indian diplomacy and the Gaza crisis
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/July 08, 2025
The last 21 months of military conflicts in large parts of the Middle East have presented complex challenges to the interests of several regional and extraregional states. Not surprisingly, given its historic links with the region and its substantial political and economic ties with regional states, India’s responses to various aspects of the conflicts have been closely scrutinized by commentators. It has been noted that, on four occasions, India abstained on UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that were backed by most members of the Global South.
Sonia Gandhi, the president of the opposition Congress Party, last month wrote an article criticizing the country’s “muted stance” on the conflicts in Gaza and Iran, describing this as a “surrender of moral values.” She attacked the free hand enjoyed by Israel in “an atmosphere of impunity” and insisted on the reaffirmation of India’s support for the two-state solution to fulfill Palestinian aspirations. Another writer said that India’s diplomatic balancing act now appeared to be “unravelling (and) revealing inconsistencies” under strong geopolitical challenges. Even India’s former National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan felt that Indian foreign policy was facing an “existential crisis” amid serious diplomatic challenges, such as those posed by the new US administration and the wars in the Middle East, where India seemed “out of sync with reality.”These are harsh words for a country whose ties with the Middle East go back at least five millennia — ties that have remained uninterrupted and been nourished over the centuries with fresh inputs so that they meet the changing needs and interests of both sides. So, why these criticisms? India’s diplomatic approach to the Middle East has been bilateral and transactional. It has built very substantial relations with all the regional states, but only on a bilateral basis; it has largely avoided taking a collective view of the region and has avoided engagements through regional cooperation platforms. And it has assiduously avoided any active involvement with issues relating to Middle Eastern security and stability. India’s diplomacy will need to exhibit a fresh focus on engagement with its immediate and extended neighborhoods. This approach, ideal in peacetime, has been found inadequate amid the horrendous killings that have defined Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and the wanton spread of its attacks to the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, and to Iran itself, in which it was joined by the US. No wonder Gandhi said that “we cannot remain silent in the face of such destruction.”But recent developments have also raised new challenges for India’s core interests. India’s hands-off approach as far as security issues are concerned has provided opportunities for other nations to play a leading role in addressing matters of regional security by facilitating engagements between hostile neighbors and encouraging rival Palestinian factions to interact with each other.
There is more. Last month, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations organized a joint conclave with the Gulf Cooperation Council states and China as part of their effort to expand and diversify economic links with other major partners in the face of challenges posed by the US administration. The tripartite joint declaration contained strong ASEAN criticisms of Israel and backing for the peace efforts of the GCC states. Former Indian diplomat Gurjit Singh noted that the declaration affirmed that the ASEAN has matured and is “no longer content to remain a bystander in global affairs.”
Gandhi wrote in her article that there was still time for India to “course-correct” and act “clearly, responsibly and decisively.”
The first step in the proposed course correction would be for India to affirm the core principle that will guide Indian diplomacy: a commitment to strategic autonomy and the realization of a multipolar world order in which India will be a robust voice of the Global South, recalling its role in the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War. To end the sense of strategic drift that some commentators have noted, India’s diplomacy will also need to exhibit a fresh focus on engagement with its immediate and extended neighborhoods — South, West, Central, Southeast and Northeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. This will call for the replacement of the outdated bilateral approach to important relationships with the shaping of collective regional approaches, with regular interactions on matters of geopolitics and geoeconomics at specially designed regional platforms.
India’s substantial and abiding links with the Middle East, founded on energy, trade, investments, joint ventures, connectivity projects and technology partnerships — all brought together by the presence of India’s 9 million-strong resident community — will ensure that this region will command its principal attention. But India’s new approach will also include an important place for dialogue on issues of security and stability with a view to shaping a regional comprehensive security arrangement. This pioneering effort will be propelled by three principles. One, it will be inclusive in that participation in the dialogue process will include all parties with an abiding interest in regional security. Two, the effort will be diplomatic, given the conviction of participants that, for far too long, external military interventions have wreaked havoc upon the region. And, three, the process will be incremental and evolutionary. Given the long-standing differences among regional states, this is the only approach that will work. India’s fading global influence and credibility has in fact opened exciting opportunities for new visions and new initiatives in which “moral responsibility and diplomatic leverage act as a bridge for de-escalation and peace.”
• Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian diplomat.

NATO members’ collective defense vow holds — for now
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/July 08, 2025
The pendulum of relations between NATO and Washington has swung from side to side a few times since Donald Trump won the US presidential election for the first time in 2016. It reached an all-time low in his first term, leading his successor Joe Biden, in one of his first acts after taking office, to reassure NATO members of America’s commitment to the organization and its Article 5, which is the cornerstone of the alliance and states that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members. Now, in the aftermath of Trump’s return to the White House, he and the NATO leadership seem to have found a modus vivendi, albeit very much on Trump’s terms, whereby all members substantially increase their defense spending. As has become customary before a summit or international visit by the US president, there is a sense of trepidation. This is most keenly felt by the NATO members that, and not without good reason, are uncertain about the US under Trump’s presidency and its commitment to this alliance, the security of Europe and the most acute and urgent issue of supporting Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte embodied this anxiety in sending very flattering text messages to Trump on the eve of last month’s summit in The Hague, stating that “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.” He added that Trump had achieved what “no American president in decades could get done.” This correspondence, which was supposed to be private, seemingly pleased Trump enough for him to post it on his social media platform.
These attempts to keep the Trump administration on board are coming at a heavy financial cost, but they have nevertheless been necessary and long overdue. Whether they have been a response to Trump’s relentless pressure on member states to increase their defense budgets or to the realization that the post-Cold War bonanza of “butter instead of cannons” is over, it is clear that maintaining Western-style democracies and their values must be backed by investing, and massively so, in the rebuilding of the West’s military muscle. The trajectory of substantial increases in defense budgets began as a result of Russia’s aggression against its Ukrainian neighbor, which illustrated that Europe faces a threat very close to home. The current commitment by the allies to hike their defense budgets to 5 percent of gross domestic product, to be reached within a decade, is a huge leap that only a year ago would have been unthinkable.
The alliance is at its best when it is united, coherent in its objectives and prepared to use military force
Admittedly, out of this 5 percent, “only” 3.5 percent of GDP will be allocated directly to defense, “based on the agreed definition of NATO defense expenditure by 2035 to resource core defense requirements, and to meet the NATO Capability Targets.” But beyond this very bureaucratic language lies a sea change which means that Europe and Canada can no longer rely on the US alone for their security and must play a much more proactive part, backed by adequate resources. The war in Ukraine no doubt helped to focus the minds of NATO members on the fact that they face real threats and that the deterministic approach that assumes that liberal democracies are not only immune from threat, but also too attractive a proposition not to be emulated by other countries, are long gone. Moreover, the lingering ideological and socioeconomic crisis in the US also means that it has no intention of indefinitely shouldering the main burden of securing the West. It can be argued, and not without justification, that setting a target to be achieved in a decade, while the security threats are very much present right now, could hardly be the answer, especially considering that the additional 1.5 percent is not on core defense spending on troops and weapons but allocated to “defense-related expenditure.”
Nevertheless, this is a significant change in the attitude to security and how to achieve it in Europe and Canada. And at least for the remaining years of the current American administration, the other members of the alliance know that Washington will be watching like a hawk to ensure that they stand by their commitments. But it is also an important signal, first and foremost to Russia, as well as to China and any nonstate actors that pose a threat to security and international stability, that Europe is building up its military force, mainly as a deterrent, but it will not be afraid to use it if necessary.
One of the most important takeaways from The Hague summit was that, by the end of it all, countries affirmed their commitment to collective defense as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. In other words, at least for now, America’s commitment to the glue that keeps NATO together and relevant, of mutual responsibility for the 32 members to protect each other and the freedom and democracy of their 1 billion citizens, holds. However, the biggest and most immediate challenge for NATO is to prevent Russia gaining the upper hand in Ukraine and, currently, the mixed messages from Washington are not helping this cause. Ukraine is under immense military pressure from Russia, whether on the front line or in the intensity of drone attacks on centers of population, which also affect morale and add to the war fatigue. While Trump said toward the end of last week that he came away disappointed from a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin because it does not appear that the Russian leader is looking to stop the war against Ukraine, his administration also held back some weapons shipments to Ukraine at a crucial time, apparently due to a review of military spending. Not an encouraging response.
NATO’s importance as a collective security mechanism for defending its members’ liberal-democratic way of life has not diminished over the years, although it has seen changes in terms of the challenges it faces and the methods of addressing them, whether this is traditional warfare, hybrid warfare, fighting nonstate actors or increasing cybersecurity defenses. The alliance is at its best when it is united, coherent in its objectives and prepared to use military force either to protect itself or those that are prey to aggressors such as Russia in Ukraine. NATO is facing major tests and it cannot afford transatlantic divisions or being under-resourced, a situation that at least for now seems to have been considerably improved.
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House.
X: @YMekelberg

Selected Tweets for 08 July/2025
Dr Walid Phares
The Abraham Accords were never meant to be just a series of lucrative contracts. They were envisioned as a strategic alliance of the free peoples of the Middle East against terrorism. There is no place for jihadists within the framework of the Abraham Accords."

charles chartouni
Lebanese Opposition: Aoun and Salam are adamant about their subservience to Shiite Fascism=Conflict of Legitimacies and Adherence to the Abraham Accords

Amadea Beyrouthi
Someone needs to explain to Mr Barrack that we are not “at war with each others”
Lebanese are hostages of terrorists. If US wants to help it should help us partition Lebanon or fight terrorists and federate. Any unity talk is either naive or hypocritical

Reza Pahlavi
In his interview with @TuckerCarlson , the Islamic Republic's president
@drpezeshkian portrayed the regime as peaceful, as if the world has been asleep the last 46 years. No, the world is wide awake to the regime's terrorism, nuclear threat, and barbaric treatment of the Iranian people. No one is fooled by the regime's lies any longer. The end of the Islamic Republic is within reach.

Masoud Pezeshkian
The Supreme Leader to me, American investors are welcome in Iran. It’s not Iran blocking peace. It’s Netanyahu, again dragging the region toward war. The U.S. The president can stop him.

henri/@realhzakaria
Since Lebanon joined the Arab League, the country has slowly turned into an Islamic state with a forced identity, one that has nothing to do with the real, historic Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu
My wife Sara and I and all of Israel are praying for the Great State of Texas. Israel knows disaster—we’ve lived through war, fire, and flood. Dear friends, we stand with you! 🇮🇱🇺🇸

Prime Minister of Israel
https://x.com/i/status/1942440889952907676
Video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed at the White House by US President Donald Trump.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
My inboxes are jammed with messages from Lebanese diaspora who’ve booked their tickets to visit Lebanon for the summer. Should we cancel? Will there be war? This is my response:
- Even though Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its Radwan Force and redeploy south of Litani, Israel intel and Air Force still have the pro Iran militia pinned down and doesn’t need a full scale war to keep it in check. War probability is at its lowest at
My inboxes are jammed with messages from Lebanese diaspora who’ve booked their tickets to visit Lebanon for the summer. Should we cancel? Will there be war? This is my response:
- Even though Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its Radwan Force and redeploy south of Litani, Israel intel and Air Force still have the pro Iran militia pinned down and doesn’t need a full scale war to keep it in check. War probability is at its lowest at this point. Israeli policing through pinpointed strikes will continue.
- Lebanon’s options are not “disarm Hezbollah or face full scale war with Israel.” Lebanon’s options are “disarm Hezbollah as a prerequisite to reconstruction and joining the region and the world.”
Lebanon can choose not to disarm Hezbollah, in which case Israel will not launch full scale war, but the current status quo will persist. Lebanon will continue sitting on the sidelines, pinned down and isolated.
- US Envoy Tom Barrack seems to have endorsed Lebanese state talking points without running them up the chain of foreign policy command in Washington. His position (Hezbollah is a legit Lebanese political party) doesn’t reflect the consensus in Washington and Jerusalem. President Trump often says that he’d like to see Iran become normal, but this starts with its renouncing terrorism and recognition of the Jewish state, or that’s how most of us understand “normal.”

Guila Fakhoury
‎Following recent developments and the response from the Lebanese government to Ambassador Barrack and the U.S. suggestion to remove Hezbollah's weapons, it is apparent that little has changed with this new Lebanese administration. This was their first test, and unfortunately, they failed, acting in accordance with Hezbollah’s interests by resisting efforts to disarm. It is clear that the Lebanese government remains under Hezbollah’s influence. This situation is unacceptable. We will continue our work to urge the U.S. government to ensure that no aid is provided to Lebanon as long as decisions continue to be dominated by Hezbollah.

Video link and text (in Arabic and English) of an interview conducted by LBC journalist Ricardo Karam with US envoy Tom Barrack
رابط فيديو ونص (عربي وانكليزي) مقابلة من محطة “ال بي سي” أجراها الإعلامي ريكاردو كرم مع المبعوث الأميركي توم براك
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/07/144993/
الياس بجاني/مقابلة موفقة جداً. ريكاردو كرم كان كعادتة راقياً ومجلاً، كما أن والضيف السفير توم براك اثبت بجدارة قدراته وثقافته ووسع معرفته بكل ما هو لبنان ولبناني مع نواياه المخلصة وحنينه لوطن الأرز الذي يحمل جيناته. براك هو نموذج رائع لنجاح وتألق الإغتراب اللبناني
برّاك للـLBCI: لا أحد سيبقى يفاوض مع لبنان حتى العام المقبل وإذا لم ترغبوا في التغيير فقط أخبرونا
نقلاً عن موقع ال بي سي/08 تموز/2024
Lebanon at a crossroads: Tom Barrack on the US paper, Hezbollah, and the future of unity — here is the full interview
LBCI/July 08/2025
In an exclusive and candid conversation, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack sits down with Ricardo Karam to discuss his mission in Lebanon, the weight of expectations, and the possibilities for breakthrough in a deeply divided country. Speaking from a place of personal connection and diplomatic urgency, Barrack opens up about his Lebanese roots, the influence of Donald Trump, and the hope of redefining Lebanon’s future.
Here is the transcript of the interview: