English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  February 09/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds
John 12:23-30/ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 08-09/2026
Farewell, Regina Kantara.. The Knight of Sovereignty and Free Speech/Elias Bejjani/February 08/2026
Who Was Saint Maroun, After Whom the Maronite Church Is Named?/Elias Bejjani/February 09/2026 
To USA Senator Lindsey Graham: Yes, Hezbollah Is A terrorist, Criminal & Jihadist Iranian Armed Proxy/Elias Bejjani/February 08/2026
Hezbollah the Iranin Armed Proxy is nothing but terror and terrorism/Elias Bejjani/February 06/2026
The important thing is to get rid of the mullahs' regime and all their criminal arms./Elias Bejjani/February 06/ 2026
The Signing Anniversary of the Infamous "Memorandum of Understanding" Between Hezbollah and Michel Aoun is a Cursed One of Collaboration, Treason, and a Iscariotism/Elias Bejjani/February 06/ 2026
9 Dead in Tabbaneh Building Collapses... Mayor Resigns
Stricken Tripoli: When Negligence Kills More Than the Collapse
Afflicted Tripoli: When Negligence Kills More Than the Collapse
Kuwait Designates 8 Lebanese Hospitals on Terrorism Lists (KUNA)
Prime minister’s visit to southern Lebanon promotes trust in state

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 08-09/2026
Iranian Military Affirms: Ready for a Long War, But We Do Not Want It
US Message to Iran: "We Expect Tangible Concessions in the Next Meeting"
What is Really Behind Netanyahu's "Dramatic" Visit to Washington?
Iran defies US threats to insist on right to enrich uranium
Iranian authorities arrest three reformist figures, news agency reports
Palestinians attempt to cross between Gaza and Egypt at the Rafah border crossing
Israel announces measures to deepen control over West Bank
Top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal rejects disarmament or ‘foreign rule’
Saudi foreign minister meets US Syria envoy in Riyadh
WHO reports 3 deadly attacks on health centers in Sudan’s South Kordofan in past week
Three dead after flooding hits northwest Syria
Ukraine urges acceleration of peace talks, says only Trump can broker deal

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 08-09/2026
Why Some of Trump's Muslim 'Allies' Fear a Loss of Iran More Than They Fear Iran/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/February 08/2026
Prince William visits Saudi Arabia at an extraordinary moment/Stephen Charles Hitchen/Arab News/February 08, 2026
Italy is building peace with Milano-Cortina Olympics/Antonio Tajani/Arab News/February 08, 2026
Saudi banks at the center of a more diversified economy/Talat Zaki Hafiz/Arab News/February 08, 2026
When Tyrants Beg for Talks: The Danger of Empowering Iran's Soul Crushing Murder Factory Once Again/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 08/2026

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 08-09/2026
Farewell, Regina Kantara.. The Knight of Sovereignty and Free Speech
Elias Bejjani/February 08/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/151966/
In a sudden moment of time, the knight has dismounted from the saddle of her struggle. Advocate Regina Kantara has departed, leaving behind a legacy of dignity that absence can never erase. Regina was not merely a lawyer carrying case files; she carried the cause of a nation in her heart, defending its soil in every arena of the struggle for freedom, sovereignty, and independence.
Regina has left this fleeting world to walk the paths of light toward the heavenly dwellings, where there is no pain or sorrow, but an eternal peace befitting a soul weary from the longing for absolute justice.
We bid her farewell with hearts faithful to the words: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Who Was Saint Maroun, After Whom the Maronite Church Is Named?
Elias Bejjani/February 09/2026 
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/95781/
The Feast of Saint Maroun
For more than 1,600 years, Maronites in Lebanon and throughout the world have celebrated the annual commemoration of Saint Maroun on the ninth of February. Each year, over ten million Maronites honor the founder of their Christian Catholic Church—Maroun the priest, the hermit, the spiritual father, the leader, and the saint. On this sacred day, Maronites remember their long and often painful history since the fourth century, reflecting on both times of suffering and moments of triumph. They look back at the past, assess the present, and contemplate the future. Above all, they pray for peace, democracy, and freedom in Lebanon—their homeland—and across the world.
The Origins of Saint Maroun
Who was Saint Maroun? How did he establish his spiritual movement? Where did he live, and who are the people who carry his name? According to the late Lebanese philosopher and historian Fouad Afram Al-Bustani, Saint Maroun was born and raised in the city of Kouroch. This city lies northeast of Antioch (present-day Turkey) and northwest of Hierapolis (Manbij), the capital of Euphrates Syria. Kouroch still exists today, located about 15 kilometers northwest of the city of Azaz and roughly 70 kilometers north of Aleppo in Syria.
The Hermit of Mount Semaan
Historians Father Boutrous Daou and Fouad Afram Bustani recount that Maroun chose to live on Mount Semaan—formerly known as Mount Nabo, named after the pagan god Nabo. Geographically, the mountain lies between Antioch and Aleppo. At the time, it was completely abandoned and desolate.
The ruins of an ancient pagan temple on the mountain attracted Maroun. After purifying the site, he used the structure only for celebrating Mass and offering the Holy Eucharist, while spending the rest of his life outdoors. He devoted himself entirely to prayer, fasting, and extreme asceticism, depriving his body of all comfort and exposing himself to sun, rain, hail, and snow. His holiness, faith, and miraculous healing powers soon became widely known. Thousands of believers sought him for guidance, healing, and spiritual counsel. Saint Maroun was also a learned and compelling preacher, unwavering in his belief in Christ and Christianity.
A Mystic and Spiritual Reformer
Saint Maroun was a mystic who pioneered a unique ascetic and spiritual path that attracted followers from across the Antiochian Empire. As a zealous missionary, he sought not only to heal physical ailments but also to restore the souls of pagans and Christians alike. His reputation reached great heights. Around 405 AD, Saint John Chrysostom sent him a letter expressing deep admiration and asking for his prayers. Saint Maroun’s spirituality was profoundly monastic and holistic. He saw no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds, using the material world as a means to deepen his union with God. Through prayer and solitude, he transcended physical suffering and entered into an intimate, mystical relationship with the Creator. His spiritual magnetism drew hundreds of monks and priests who became his disciples and devoted followers.
The Spread of the Maronite Mission
After Saint Maroun’s death, his disciples spread the Gospel throughout the Antiochian Empire—modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. They built hundreds of churches, monasteries, and schools, becoming known for their faith, devotion, and perseverance. Saint Maroun died peacefully around the year 410 AD at the age of seventy, surrounded by his disciples. He wished to be buried beside his spiritual mentor, the monk Zabena, in the town of Kena near Kouroch. However, this wish was not fulfilled. Residents of a nearby town took his body, buried it there, and built a grand church over his grave, which became a major Christian shrine for centuries. Its ruins still stand today.
Persecution and the Rise of the Maronite Nation
Following his death, Saint Maroun’s disciples built a major monastery near the Orontes River (Nahr Al-Assi) along the Syrian-Lebanese border. For centuries, this monastery stood as a beacon of faith, education, holiness, and martyrdom. In the early tenth century, during one of the most brutal periods of Christian persecution, the monastery was destroyed, and more than 300 Maronite priests were massacred. The surviving monks fled to the mountains of Lebanon. There, together with the Marada and the native Lebanese population, they laid the foundations of the Maronite nation, transforming Lebanon’s mountains into a stronghold of faith, endurance, and resistance.
Saint Maroun and Lebanon
The Maronite presence in Lebanon began early, particularly through Saint Maroun’s disciple Abraham of Cyrrhus, known as the Apostle of Lebanon. Recognizing the persistence of paganism in the region, Abraham worked to convert the population to Christianity by spreading Saint Maroun’s teachings.
Saint Maroun is thus regarded as the father of the spiritual and monastic movement that became the Maronite Church. This movement profoundly influenced northern Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and eventually many countries worldwide where Maronites settled. Today, the largest Maronite community outside Lebanon is in Brazil, home to more than six million Lebanese descendants following major waves of emigration in the early twentieth century.
The Maronite Identity
The renowned historian Fouad Afram Boustani (1904–1994) described the Maronite faith as one of intelligence, life-affirmation, unwavering Catholic belief, love for others, continuous struggle for righteousness, openness to all civilizations, and readiness for martyrdom. The Maronites played a central role in establishing the modern state of Lebanon, making it a refuge for persecuted minorities in the Middle East. They embraced and practiced pluralism and multiculturalism, helping create Lebanon’s unique national identity. Since the fourth century, the Maronites and Lebanon have been inseparable—each defining the other. Throughout history, the Maronite people transformed defeat into victory, sorrow into joy, and despair into hope. Through faith, sacrifice, and perseverance, they fulfilled the four pillars of nationhood: land, people, civilization, and political independence. They have always fought for their rights and never surrendered to despair.
Prayer to Saint Maron
O Saint Maron, man of prayer, sacrifice, and freedom, intercede for us before God. Pray for Lebanon,
wounded and occupied, that it may be healed from its pain and freed from injustice, corruption, and fear.
O spiritual father of the Maronites, lead your people back to your faith, to the values of holiness, truth, courage, and fidelity, to love of Christ and devotion to Lebanon. Pray for peace in our troubled world,
for all who suffer and are oppressed, that light may overcome darkness, truth overcome falsehood,
and hope overcome despair. Through your intercession, O Saint Maron, protect Lebanon and its people,
and strengthen our faith. Amen.

To USA Senator Lindsey Graham: Yes, Hezbollah Is A terrorist, Criminal & Jihadist Iranian Armed Proxy
By constitutional standards and in accordance with all relevant international resolutions, the majority of the Lebanese people affirm that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and a group of outlaws.
Elias Bejjani/February 08/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/151924/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqk5riyDsXw&t=47s
All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew Bible 05/37)
Hezbollah: The Root and Lineage of Terrorism
Elias Bejjani/ X Platform/February 06/ 2026
“Hezbollah, the fundamentalist Khomeinist organization, is the mother, father, grandfather, and entire lineage of terrorism.”“Hezbollah is a terrorist—one million times a terrorist—criminal, drug manufacturer and trafficker, money launderer, fundamentalist gang of thugs, and an enemy of Lebanon, the Lebanese people, and all universal principles of peace.
The priority is liberation from the mullahs’ regime and all its criminal arms
Elias Bejjani/X Platform/February 06/2026
“Whatever the method, whatever its nature or components, what matters is that it leads to the downfall of the demonic mullahs’ regime and the dismantling of its octopus-like terrorist and fundamentalist arms—first and foremost Hezbollah in Lebanon.There will be no peace in the Middle East before the fall of the mullahs’ regime.”
A Political Slap, Not a Diplomatic Incident
The swift withdrawal of U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from his meeting with Lebanese Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal was not a routine protocol matter. It was a political slap that exposed the deep dysfunction within Lebanon’s ruling authority—military and political alike—in dealing with the most dangerous terrorist, theocratic, and criminal armed organization in Lebanon’s modern history: Hezbollah.
Graham’s question was direct and unambiguous: Is Hezbollah a terrorist organization?
The answer was confused, hesitant, and burdened with all the failures of the Lebanese state: “No, not in the Lebanese context.”
A Revealing Answer
With this response, General Haykal did not merely make a misjudgment. He provided further proof that Lebanon’s ruling class remains unable—or unwilling—to call things by their proper names, and unwilling to bear the cost of truth, even when that truth is constitutional, legal, and internationally documented.
Senator Graham said what needed to be said and wrote on X platform what needed to be written. He reminded the Lebanese authorities of what they deliberately try to forget: Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization since 1997 by both Republican and Democratic U.S. administrations. Its hands are stained with American blood, from the Marine barracks bombing to a long list of cross-border terrorist operations. When Graham stated that no military partner can be trusted if it denies this reality, he was expressing the position of a state—not a personal or emotional reaction.
The Answer That Should Have Been Given
In Lebanon, reactions varied. Many retired military officers, politicians, and citizens rightly argued that the answer should have been professional and constitutional: “I am a military officer who executes state decisions. It is not within my authority to decide whether Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. This question should be directed to the government.” Such an answer would have protected the Lebanese Army’s institutional role and spared it from political double standards.
Hezbollah: An Illegal Armed Group by Constitution
The answer that Hayal gave actually reflects the confusion of Lebanon’s political authority—still hostage to Hezbollah’s dominance and incapable of acknowledging that it is an Iranian, sectarian, criminal terrorist organization involved in drug production and trafficking, political assassinations, and every form of illicit trade.
More dangerously, Hezbollah was never legally legitimate in Lebanon. It was imposed by force under the cover of the Syrian Baathist occupation, which lasted until 2005. Hezbollah was the only armed group exempted from disarmament under the Taif Accord, which explicitly mandated the disarmament of all militias and the extension of state authority over all Lebanese territory.
The so-called formula of “the army, the people, and the resistance” is a constitutional aberration. It appeared only in ministerial statements, which have no legislative value. Legislation belongs exclusively to Parliament, and Parliament has never legalized Hezbollah as a resistance force. Under the Lebanese Constitution, Hezbollah is therefore an illegal armed group.
The Lebanese State Has Already Decided
This reality is no longer subject to interpretation. The current Council of Ministers, headed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and attended by President Joseph Aoun, adopted a clear majority decision in its sessions of August 5 and August 7 of last year, classifying Hezbollah—like all other armed groups—as illegal. This decision was taken in implementation of: The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel (approved unanimously by the Hezbollah-led government of Najib Mikati), UN Security Council Resolutions 1559, 1701, and 1680, The Armistice Agreement, And the Taif Accord.
Accordingly, the Lebanese state itself has dismantled what remained of the false political and rhetorical cover of the so-called “resistance.” Even the wooden and imposed “army, people, and resistance” formula has collapsed. Official state language now refers to Hezbollah simply as an armed group.
What Is Required Today
What Lebanon needs today is not gray rhetoric or ambiguous answers, but clear, independent, constitutional, and sovereign decisions—free from fear, appeasement, submission, and political acrobatics. Constitutionally and in accordance with all UN resolutions related to Lebanon, the Lebanese government must:
Officially declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization,
Expel its ministers from government and its MPs from Parliament,
Dismantle all its military, educational, and financial institutions,
Confiscate its weapons,
Arrest its leaders and refer them to the judiciary,
Fully implement the Constitution and all U*N resolutions.
Final Conclusion
Hezbollah is the father, mother, and entire lineage of terrorism, organized crime, and mafia-style criminality. States are not built through appeasement, and sovereignty is not restored through denial.
Simply, Those officials and politicians who lack the courage to give a clear answer are unfit for the positions they occupy.
NB/The enclosed image was generated using artificial intelligence and is not a genuine photograph.

Hezbollah the Iranin Armed Proxy is nothing but terror and terrorism
Elias Bejjani/February 06/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/151872/
Hezbollah is a terrorist, a million terrorists, a criminal, a drug dealer, a money launderer, a fundamentalist, a gang of villains, and an enemy of Lebanon, the Lebanese people, and all the foundations of global peace.

The Signing Anniversary of the Infamous "Memorandum of Understanding" Between Hezbollah and Michel Aoun is a Cursed One of Collaboration, Treason, and a Iscariotism
Elias Bejjani/February 06/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/151833/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXCTz9QXVVU&t=396s
"Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed. Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress."Prophet Isaiah (33:01-02):
The Lebanese people were told on the day the Memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) on February 6, 2006, that the primary goal was to bring Hezbollah back into the fold of the Lebanese state and to "Lebanonize" it. Today, 20 years later, the exact opposite has happened. Hezbollah has nullified the state and all its components, turned it into a compliant tool in its hands, and placed it in confrontation with the majority of the Lebanese people, Arab countries, and most of the world countries—all to serve the Iranian sectarian, terrorist, and expansionist military imperial project.
This "100%  Iranian "Mullah" jihadist armed proxy has practically and realistically transformed Lebanon into a war base, a military camp, and an Iranian weapons depot. In a quick review of the "MoU’s" clauses, we see that the most dangerous is the tenth clause, which addresses Hezbollah’s weapons. This clause describes Hezbollah's arms as a "sacred means."
What is striking about this heretical description is that it is the first time in Lebanon's history that a group other than Hezbollah (the FPM) considers weapons to be a sacred means. Consequently, dealing with Hezbollah’s weapons according to this concept is akin to dealing with deities. Here lies the dilemma and the difficulty—even the impossibility—of discussing this "sacred" matter with Hezbollah's leadership and its patron, Iran.
When the means are sacred, the end becomes divine. What is astonishing about this "sanctity" is the acceptance of this blasphemous heresy by the other signatory, the FPM, which is supposed to be a sovereignist, pro-independence, secular organization resistant to occupation forces. Furthermore, it was and remains deeply deplorable to sign a document with a religious, sectarian, Iranian armed proxy whose project is Iranian, stating that its weapons are sacred, while they are, first and last, sectarian, Iranian, militia-controlled weapons—neither legitimate nor subject to the Lebanese state or its command.
Indeed, this "divine" concept of weapons and the "holy" objectives for their use facilitated the Hezbollah's "mini-state" and its Iranian reference to seize the state and gain full control over it. This strange, bizarre, anti-sovereign, anti-independence, and unconstitutional reality has manifested strongly on many abnormal occasions, including Hezbollah's external wars and terrorist operations, its militia incursions inside Lebanon, and the series of assassinations it committed.
"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!" (Mark 09:42-48; Luke 17:01-02)
Twenty years after the signing of this infamous "MoU," Lebanon and its people have reaped nothing but national disasters in all forms—sovereign, national, constitutional, security, and economic—in addition to the disruption, and even destruction, of Lebanon’s international, Arab, regional, and global relations. In practice, the document was and remains a tool for destroying, marginalizing, and confiscating the state in favor of the "mini-state," and for dominating all state decisions, (decision making process) large and small, especially the decision of peace and war.
Some Local Harvest of the "MoU" Direct and Indirect:
*Preventing the establishment of the state and obstructing the restoration of sovereignty and independence.
*Hegemony of the "mini-state" over the state.
*Disabling the constitution, marginalizing the legislative and executive branches, and Hezbollah's dominance over all state institutions.
*Imposing Hezbollah’s will on presidential and parliamentary elections, and the appointment of the cabinet.
*An economic collapse unprecedented in Lebanon’s modern history.
*Unprecedentedly high levels of unemployment and poverty.
*Mass migration affecting all segments and sects.
*Absence of the middle class and the spread of corrupt deals, brokerage, smuggling, and defiance of law and security.
*Dangerous security chaos and the total absence of accountability.
*Opening the borders and Hezbollah’s involvement in regional wars for the benefit of the Iranian project.
*Imposing a hybrid electoral law that serves the Iranian project.
*Imposing the heresy of the so-called "Army, People, and Resistance" trilogy.
*Invasions of Beirut and the Lebanon Mountain region, toppling governments, and a series of assassinations.
*The "prostitution" of the constitution in the shameful "Doha Agreement".
*Stagnation of agricultural crops and the destruction of the Lebanese industrial sector due to Hezbollah's participation in the Syrian war and the closure of export routes.
*Disruption of the service sector (electricity, water, waste management, transport, health, etc.) as the state is paralyzed and its decisions are hijacked.
*Severe international, Arab, regional and global restrictions and sanctions on the banking sector following accusations against Hezbollah of money laundering and drug trafficking.
*Hezbollah causing the 2006 war with Israel.
*Hezbollah waging the recent war on Israel in support of Gaza which is still going on.
Some Arab Harvest of the "MoU" Direct and Indirect:
*Damaging Lebanon's relations with most Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, due to Hezbollah's attacks on their regimes and targeting their lands with terrorist operations for the benefit of Iran’s rulers, threatening the fate of about half a million Lebanese working there.
*Destroying Arab and all kinds of tourism to Lebanon and several Arab countries banning their citizens from traveling to Lebanon.
Some International Harvest of the MoU (Direct and Indirect):
*Obstructing the implementation of international resolutions related to Lebanon, 1559, 1680, 1701, the Armistice Agreement, the Taif Agreement and the recent "cessation of hostilities" agreement between Lebanon and Israel..
*Branding Lebanon with terrorism as Hezbollah is listed on terror lists in most countries, including many Arab nations.
*Harassing Lebanese citizens regarding travel to many countries due to Hezbollah's designation as a terrorist organization.
In short, the document contributed significantly to Lebanon remaining a state without its own decision-making power, unable to control its borders, with its institutions nearly paralyzed, hindering the rise of institutions and handing the state over to the "mini-state"... and the list goes on.

9 Dead in Tabbaneh Building Collapses... Mayor Resigns
Al-Modon/February 08 /2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The collapse of two old buildings on Syria Street in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Tripoli, has resulted in 9 fatalities and eight injuries, according to the latest field data. Rescue teams continue to search the rubble for survivors.
Tripoli Mayor Abdel Hamid Karima addressed the tragedy, confirming that he has placed the resignation of the Municipal Council at the disposal of Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar, describing it as a "final outcry." He stated that the city is stricken by accumulated negligence and warned that the number of buildings threatened with collapse is far greater than officially declared, putting thousands of families at risk. He emphasized that the scale of the disaster exceeds the municipality's capabilities.
In a scene becoming increasingly frequent in the northern capital, the two buildings—inhabited by Lebanese and Syrian families, many of whom are street vendors—collapsed. Circulating videos show massive destruction, while the explosion of domestic gas canisters sparked fires and sent plumes of smoke over the area.
Field Developmentse of us are clinging to our seats; we came to serve the country, and if our resignation serves the country, then it was ready yesterday, not today."
Al-Hajjar noted that funds are secured to begin a plan to address this recurring disaster. A "database" of problematic buildings already exists, and the Ministry will conduct additional surveys. "Our hearts are with the people of Tripoli; their pain is ours," he added.
Official Statem
Al-Modon’s correspondent reported that rescuers retrieved nine victims, including children, and eight wounded survivors from under the debris. As Civil Defense teams worked, Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar and Justice Minister Adel Nassar arrived in the city. Al-Hajjar affirmed: "The state will not neglect Tripoli again. Nonents
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam: In a statement, PM Salam offered his deepest condolences and announced that he ordered the head of the Higher Relief Commission (who was accompanying him on his southern tour) to head directly from Nabatieh to Tripoli. He also mobilized the Disaster Management Unit. "The government is fully prepared to provide housing allowances for those evacuated and funds for immediate fortification of buildings at risk... This disaster is the result of years of accumulated negligence. Out of respect for the victims, I urge all political actors to refrain from exploiting this tragedy for cheap, immediate political gains. My government will not evade responsibility and will hold those who were negligent accountable."
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri: Speaker Berri declared solidarity with Tripoli, praising the city for "opening its hearts and homes" to the people of the South and the Bekaa during past aggressions. "We call on all authorities to treat the file of restoring buildings at risk in Tripoli as a top-tier national issue. It is no longer acceptable to delay under any circumstances." Berri also directed the Risala Scouts (Civil Defense) to put all their voluntary and relief capabilities at the disposal of Tripoli's residents.
Minister of Health Rakan Nasser al-Din: The Health Minister directed that all injured survivors be treated entirely at the Ministry's expense (100% coverage). The Public Health Emergency Operations Center is coordinating with rescue teams as the search for those trapped continues.

Stricken Tripoli: When Negligence Kills More Than the Collapse
Nidaa al-Watan/February 09/2026  (Translated from Arabic)
There is no end to the sorrows in the collapse of Tripoli’s buildings; rather, there is a fear of a third collapse looming after yesterday’s tragedy in Bab al-Tabbaneh, preceded by the al-Qubba tragedy nearly two weeks ago.
Yesterday, statements of condemnation flew, accusing those responsible for this catastrophe that has struck "The Fragrant City" (Al-Fayhaa). However, eyes remained fixed throughout the day and late into the night on the "theater of death" in Tabbaneh, where rescue efforts raced against time to find survivors among those crushed by the debris. Amidst the fresh wound of this collapse—which has gaped wider than the previous one—the cries of the victims rose against the negligence, which proved more devastating than the collapse itself. Is there any listening ear to stand against this persistent negligence that threatens further disasters?
St. Maron’s Day
Today marks the Feast of St. Maron. The pillars of the state, led by the President of the Republic, will gather for the holiday Mass at St. George’s Church in central Beirut, presided over by Patriarch al-Rahi. Nidaa al-Watan has learned that al-Rahi’s sermon will focus on the spiritual meanings of the feast and the importance of the Maronite and Christian presence in Lebanon and the East. He will also address the Lebanese situation, supporting steps taken by the President and the Prime Minister to restore state sovereignty and protect the nation. He will emphasize building the state, restricting arms to the military, and supporting institutions, while calling for national unity and a permanent peace, as Lebanon can no longer endure a new war.
6 Dead, 7 Injured, and Missing
The Tabbaneh area on Syria Street witnessed the partial collapse of a residential building, causing smoke and panic. Adjacent buildings were evacuated after cracks appeared. The collapsed structure consisted of 12 apartments. Earlier, Tripoli Mayor Abdel Hamid Karima stated that at least six people died and seven were injured when two adjacent buildings collapsed, noting others remain trapped. The Director of Civil Defense stated that 22 people resided in the two buildings.
Aoun, Salam, and Rescue Measures
Officially, President Joseph Aoun followed up on the developments with Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar, ordering all emergency services to mobilize for rescue operations and to provide shelter for displaced residents.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam offered condolences to the victims' families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Salam reaffirmed that the government is fully prepared to provide housing allowances for those evacuated and the necessary funds to fortify buildings at risk, as agreed upon in the Grand Serail two weeks ago. He called on politicians to refrain from exploiting this tragedy for "cheap and fleeting political gains," asserting that his government would not evade responsibility and would hold any negligent parties accountable.
The Southern Tour and the Return of the State
The Tripoli catastrophe occurred as PM Salam and a ministerial delegation concluded a two-day tour of the South in Nabatieh, following visits to Marjayoun and Kfarchouba. From the Marjayoun Serail, Salam stated: "We want to revitalize the Marjayoun district through projects... The state was absent from the South for a long time (from '43 to '75), but today we want this region to return to the state. We are happy that the Army remains responsible in the South, but the extension of sovereignty is achieved not only through the Army, but through law, institutions, and social protection."
Repeated American Advice to Lebanon
A diplomatic source in Beirut revealed to Nidaa al-Watan that Lebanon faces a highly sensitive phase as its margin for maneuver shrinks. The source warned that linking the exclusivity of arms to the results of US-Iranian negotiations puts the country in a "fatal waiting room," giving Israel time to rearrange its military options and raising the risk of a broad escalation beyond current rules of engagement.
Clear messages have warned Lebanese officials against suspending sovereign decisions on uncertain external negotiations (such as those in Muscat). Failure in these talks could turn Lebanon into an open battlefield. The source also revealed repeated American advice for Lebanon to move toward direct negotiations with Israel under Washington’s auspices in a nearby third country to stabilize the calm. Lebanon continues to reject this proposal, insisting on a final ceasefire first.
Kuwait: 8 Lebanese Hospitals Blacklisted
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry announced that, under "counter-terrorism" regulations, eight hospitals in Lebanon have been placed on its blacklist. Th Lebanese Ministry of Health expressed "great surprise," stating it had received no prior notification. The Baalbek-Hermel Hospital Assembly condemned the decision, which includes "serious allegations" against Dar al-Amal University, Dar al-Hikma, and Al-Batoul hospitals regarding support for terrorism.

Afflicted Tripoli: When Negligence Kills More Than the Collapse
Nidaa Al-Watan/February 09/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The sorrows from the collapse of buildings in Tripoli show no signs of ending. Instead, there is a looming fear of a third collapse following yesterday's tragedy in Bab al-Tabbaneh, which occurred just two weeks after a similar disaster in al-Qubba. Yesterday, denunciations and accusations were directed at those responsible for this catastrophe that has struck the "City of Fragrance" (Al-Fayhaa). However, for hours throughout the day and late into the night, all eyes were fixed on the "theatre of death" in Tabbaneh, where rescue teams raced against time to search for survivors trapped under the rubble.
Amidst the fresh wound of this collapse, which has grown wider than previous ones, the cries of the victims rose against the negligence that proved more devastating than the collapse itself. Are there any listening ears to stand against this persistent neglect that portends further disasters to come?
St. Maron’s Day
Coinciding with these events, today marks the Feast of Saint Maron. The state's top officials, led by the President of the Republic, will gather for the holiday Mass at St. George’s Cathedral in central Beirut, presided over by Patriarch Al-Rahi. Nidaa Al-Watan has learned that the Patriarch's sermon will focus on the spiritual meanings of the feast, the legacy of Saint Maron, and the significance of the Maronite and Christian presence in Lebanon and the Middle East. He will also address the Lebanese situation, supporting steps taken by the President and the Prime Minister to restore state sovereignty and protect the nation. He will emphasize building the state, restricting arms to state institutions, and supporting the army. Furthermore, he will call for national unity, the adoption of the state project by all components of society, and the rejection of war in favor of a lasting peace, as Lebanon can no longer endure any new conflict.
6 Dead, 7 Injured, and Missing Persons
The Tabbaneh area on Syria Street witnessed the partial collapse of a residential building, causing smoke and panic among citizens. Adjacent buildings were evacuated after cracks appeared following the collapse, ensuring the safety of residents. The collapsed building consisted of 12 apartments. Earlier, Tripoli Mayor Abdel Hamid Karima stated that at least six people died and seven others were injured when two adjacent buildings collapsed yesterday, noting that others remain trapped under the rubble. The Director of Lebanese Civil Defense had previously stated that 22 people resided in the two collapsed buildings.
Aoun, Salam, and Rescue Measures
On the official level, President Joseph Aoun followed up on the developments with Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar. President Aoun requested all emergency services to mobilize for rescue operations and provide shelter for the residents of the collapsed building and neighboring buildings evacuated as a precaution.
For his part, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam issued a statement offering his "deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the painful catastrophe in Tripoli," wishing the injured a "speedy recovery."
Salam reaffirmed that "the government is fully prepared to provide housing allowances for all residents of buildings required to be evacuated, as well as the necessary funds to immediately begin fortifying buildings in need, as agreed upon in the meeting held at the Grand Serail for this purpose two weeks ago." He added, "The identity, number, and degree of danger posed by these buildings are primarily determined by local authorities." The Prime Minister called on "all those in politics, whether in Tripoli or outside, to refrain from exploiting this horrific disaster for cheap and temporary political gains. This is shameful. My government and I have not and will not evade responsibility, and we will continue to fulfill our duties in full, including holding accountable anyone who may have been negligent in this matter."
The Southern Tour and the Return of the State
The Tripoli disaster struck while President Salam and a ministerial and administrative delegation were completing the second day of a southern tour, which concluded in Nabatieh after visiting Marjayoun and Kfarchouba. From the Marjayoun Serail, Salam stated: "We want to revitalize the Marjayoun district through projects; we hope all of Lebanon becomes like this town. The state was absent from the south for a long time, from 1943 to 1975, but today we want this region to return to the state. We are all pleased that the army remains up to its responsibilities in the south, but the extension of sovereignty is achieved not only through the army but through law, institutions, and the social and service protection provided to the people."
Repeated American Advice to Lebanon
In a related context, a diplomatic source in Beirut revealed to Nidaa Al-Watan that "Lebanon is facing a highly sensitive phase as its margin of maneuver diminishes." The source warned that "linking any step related to the exclusivity of arms to the results of US-Iranian negotiations puts the country in a fatal state of waiting and gives Israel time to rearrange its military options, increasing the risk of a broad escalation that transcends current rules of engagement."
The source explained that "clear messages have reached Lebanese officials warning against suspending sovereign decisions on external negotiation tracks with uncertain results, as their failure would lead the region into an open confrontation, with Lebanon being one of its most prominent arenas."
The source noted that "any setback in the Muscat negotiations would constitute a dangerous shift in the regional scene, potentially reactivating fronts linked to the broader conflict, foremost among them Southern Lebanon."
Parallel to this, the source revealed "repeated American advice to Lebanon regarding the necessity of moving to direct negotiations with Israel under Washington’s auspices, potentially moved to a nearby third country, to stabilize the calm and address pending points. However, Lebanon still rejects this proposal, insisting on linking any discussion to reaching a final ceasefire first."Kuwait: 8 Lebanese Hospitals Placed on "Terrorism" List
In another development, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that, within the framework of "counter-terrorism" regulations, eight hospitals in Lebanon have been added to its list.
For its part, the Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that it received "with great surprise the statement issued by the sisterly State of Kuwait," confirming it had not received any "review or notification from any Kuwaiti entity regarding this matter."
The Baalbek-Hermel Hospitals Assembly denounced the Kuwaiti government's decision, which contains "serious allegations against Dar Al-Amal University Hospital, Dar Al-Hikma, and Al-Batoul, accusing them of supporting terrorism."

Kuwait Designates 8 Lebanese Hospitals on Terrorism Lists (KUNA)
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 08/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The "Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions Issued Under Chapter VII" regarding counter-terrorism and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Kuwait decided on Sunday to include eight Lebanese hospitals on the national list of companies and financial institutions designated on terrorism lists.The Lebanese Ministry of Health expressed its shock, stating it "did not receive any review or notification from any Kuwaiti authority regarding this matter." According to a Kuwaiti newspaper, the committee—which operates under the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs—classified the eight Lebanese hospitals as terrorist entities. The committee, acting either on its own initiative or based on a request from a specialized foreign or local authority, lists any individual or entity suspected on reasonable grounds of committing, attempting, participating in, or facilitating a terrorist act.
Designated Hospitals:
The hospitals included in the listing are:
Sheikh Ragheb Harb University Hospital (Nabatieh)
Salah Ghandour Hospital (Bint Jbeil)
Al-Amal Hospital (Baalbek)
Saint George Hospital (Hadath)
Dar al-Hikma Hospital (Baalbek)
Al-Batoul Hospital (Hermel, Bekaa region)
Al-Shifa Hospital (Khaldeh)
Al-Rasoul al-A'zam Hospital (Airport Road, Beirut)
Legal Implications:
The committee requested the implementation of the listing decision as per Articles 21, 22, and 23 of the committee’s executive regulations:
Article 21: Requires all persons to freeze, without delay or prior notice, funds and economic resources owned or controlled—directly or indirectly, wholly or partially—by the designated entities.
Article 23: Prohibits any person within Kuwait or any Kuwaiti citizen abroad from providing or making available funds, economic resources, or financial services to any listed person or entity.
Response from the Lebanese Ministry of Health
In the first official reaction, the Lebanese Ministry of Health issued a statement expressing "surprise," noting it had received no prior communication from Kuwait. The Ministry emphasized that this classification is a "precedent that does not align with the brotherly and diplomatic approach usually adopted by the State of Kuwait."The Ministry highlighted that Kuwait has multiple joint health projects in Lebanon and has been a prominent supporter of the Lebanese health system during successive crises.
The statement further clarified:
"The hospitals mentioned in the statement are registered with the Syndicate of Private Hospitals in Lebanon. They play a vital role in providing treatment and health services to all Lebanese without exception. They are an essential part of the Lebanese health system, which is struggling for survival while fulfilling its health and humanitarian missions." The Ministry concluded by stating it would initiate the necessary diplomatic contacts to clarify the background of this decision and present the correct facts to protect the Lebanese health system from "ambiguity."

Prime minister’s visit to southern Lebanon promotes trust in state
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/February 08, 2026
BEIRUT: Nearly 15 months on from Israeli airstrikes which reduced Nabatieh’s historic market to rubble during the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, local civic leaders have stepped in to provide relief.
The war, which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024, left the southern Lebanese city’s centuries-old souk — a key commercial hub — devastated, displacing shop owners and crippling local trade. In the absence of swift rebuilding by Hezbollah, which many affected residents had relied on, a group of non-partisan civic figures from Nabatieh launched an initiative about six months ago to establish a temporary alternative market.
The new market was officially opened on Sunday by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during a two-day tour of southern Lebanon.
The visit began in Tyre and Naqoura, continued through Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun, and included stops in devastated border villages before reaching Hasbaya and Marjayoun, and finally concluding in Nabatieh.
Nabatieh’s market has long been one of the region’s most important commercial landmarks. It served as a vital transit point for traders moving goods between Syria, Lebanon, and Jerusalem in the early 20th century.
It evolved over time into a bustling local marketplace central to the city’s economy and daily life. The initiative highlights growing frustration among some residents over unfulfilled promises for reconstruction aid from Hezbollah following the conflict’s destruction. Salam’s opening of the temporary facility underscores government efforts to support community-led recovery amid broader rebuilding challenges in the war-affected region. The temporary market aims to restore essential commercial activity while permanent reconstruction is underway. Mahdi Sadeq, executive director of project overseer Nabatieh Emergency Rescue Service Association, told Arab News: “The project is a joint initiative by business people, self-employed professionals, and financiers, some of whom belong to non-Muslim sects.”
Sadeq, who is the son of Sheikh Abdul Hussein Sadeq, Nabatieh’s imam, added: “The project’s significance lies in the fact that it is not tied to any form of patronage that would burden traders with political loyalties.
“This initiative brings 85 owners of destroyed shops, many in dire economic conditions, back to work without imposing any obligations on them — unlike partisan grants. “It is an initiative that saves the historic market, restores the pulse of life to the people, and sets us on the path to recovery.”
Sadeq added that the importance of the initiative was the fact that Nabatieh “has a moderate and independent religious” character “that has asserted its presence among all forces.”He said: “No one has been able to eliminate it: not the Palestinian factions that were present in southern Lebanon in the 1960s and 1970s, nor the Lebanese partisan forces that came afterwards. It has remained centrist and has enjoyed broad popular support.
“If people in the south are left without pressure being exerted on them, they are eager to be embraced by the state. The state is the foundation, and everything else is the exception. “At the same time, there is a degree of caution, because the state has yet to assert its presence after the war and has, in a way, passed judgment on people in advance. Had it moved quickly to take the initiative, it would have reaped greater dividends.”
Architect Samir Ali Ahmad, who is in charge of the implementation of the project, said that “the alternative market was built on Waqf-owned land donated by the imam of Nabatieh for a limited period of no more than four or five years, until the main market is rebuilt.”Ali Ahmad added: “The new market consists of prefabricated rooms. It also includes courtyards and a Khan-style market complex featuring cafes, restaurants, rest areas, playgrounds, and a parking lot. “Once the project is completed, these rooms can be donated to the Lebanese army or to the poorest families.
“This market will enable residents to remain on their land and secure their livelihoods without being forced into displacement.”
Engineer Lina Ezzeddine, who contributed to the project through fundraising efforts, said: “Priority was given to destitute individuals who were unable to fend for themselves.” She noted that “some merchants had succeeded in rebuilding their shops, others had moved to different locations, while some had died of heart attacks due to the shock of what had occurred.”
Ezzeddine stressed that “donors did not consider the political affiliations of the merchants.”She added: “The only condition was that no political party be allowed to interfere. And, indeed, no party did.
“The people have endured many tragedies, and the prime minister’s participation in the opening of the alternative market sends a clear message that the state stands with them. “The people of the south love their land and are deeply attached to it. How could they not stand with the state?”
Salam’s visit, which has been marked by numerous public gatherings and meetings with local figures, reflects the people’s renewed support of the state following a devastating war that was the result of Hezbollah’s unilateral move to take decisions on war and peace out of the hands of official authorities.
The scenes witnessed during Salam’s tour of the south have carried exceptional significance. The scattering of roses and rice, the ululations that have welcomed him, and the banners bearing welcoming phrases to “the state of law and citizenship” indicate the desire of the people of the south to return to the protection of state institutions. An official source said that they had recognized that “the state is the only safe haven, while all slogans raised outside its framework have brought nothing but destruction, poverty, and displacement.” Salam reiterated that “the state’s presence in the area is a message in the face of this massive destruction, to which we will never surrender.”He added: “The state is here to stay, not to visit and leave. The state is responsible for every southern village and for all people, without discrimination. “The cohesion of southern villages, regardless of their affiliations, protects the entire region.
“The government will continue to exert relief, reconstruction, and economic recovery efforts. The path to recovery and reconstruction is proceeding within an integrated framework.”Salam said the state’s presence was “a clear message in the face of immense destruction.”
On Saturday, the first day of his tour, Salam announced that $360 million had been secured to help rebuild areas in southern Lebanon, adding that the government would boost reconstruction projects once funding was ensured.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 08-09/2026
Iranian Military Affirms: Ready for a Long War, But We Do Not Want It
Al Arabiya Net/Riyadh/February 08, 2026
(Translated from Arabic)
As a new round of US-Iranian negotiations looms, and despite a generally positive atmosphere, Iran has affirmed its readiness for all scenarios. Major General Abdourahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, stated at a forum in Tehran on Sunday: "We are prepared for a long-term war with the United States."However, he added: "Nevertheless, despite our readiness, we do not wish to ignite a regional war. Such a war would delay the region's progress and development for years." He emphasized that "the responsibility for the consequences of any regional war will fall on Washington and Tel Aviv."
Diplomacy vs. Military Mobilization
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking at a press conference following the forum, expressed doubts regarding the United States' seriousness in "conducting real negotiations." Regarding the US military buildup in the region, Araghchi stated, "Their military mobilization does not frighten us."
This statement follows US Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Araghchi added: "We are a nation of diplomacy, and we are also a nation of war, but that does not mean we seek war."
"Peace Through Strength"
The tension escalated after Witkoff, accompanied by Jared Kushner (President Donald Trump’s son-in-law), declared during their Saturday visit to the carrier that American sailors are "maintaining Trump’s message of Peace Through Strength."This rhetoric comes after President Trump repeatedly hinted at military intervention in Iran, citing Tehran's crackdown on protests last January, and as a means of pressuring the regime into a new nuclear agreement.
Context of the Talks
Following a round of indirect talks in Oman last Friday—attended by Araghchi, Witkoff, and Kushner—Trump described the discussions as "very good," confirming that "both parties will meet again early next week." These talks mark the first diplomatic engagement since the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, which occurred during an Israeli attack on Iran that devolved into a 12-day confrontation.Since you've been tracking US policy obstacles regarding Hezbollah's grip, would you like me to look for any specific statements from Araghchi regarding the "exclusivity of weapons" or the "linking of fronts" that were mentioned in your earlier research?

US Message to Iran: "We Expect Tangible Concessions in the Next Meeting"
Al Arabiya Net/Riyadh/February 08, 2026
(Translated from Arabic)
All eyes are on the upcoming round of talks between the United States and Iran amid escalating political pressure and an exchange of indirect messages. Washington is signaling stricter expectations for Tehran, while Israel moves to expand any potential deal to include restrictions beyond the nuclear file.
Israel’s Channel 15 reported that the US administration conveyed a message to Iran stating it expects Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to arrive at the next meeting with "serious and meaningful substance." US officials noted that Washington is waiting for Tehran to offer concessions on various issues. Simultaneously, Channel 13 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to ask President Donald Trump to include a clause "restricting missile range" in any potential agreement. This indicates an attempt to broaden the negotiations to include Iran's ballistic missile program.
While the US insists any new deal must be "stronger and longer-lasting," Iran continues to reject the inclusion of its missile program, labeling it a "defensive matter." This Israeli stance aligns with Netanyahu's long-standing warnings that regional threats and ballistic developments must be addressed alongside the nuclear component. Western reports suggest this next round will be a "decisive test" for diplomatic progress.

What is Really Behind Netanyahu's "Dramatic" Visit to Washington?
Analysis by Nazir Magally/sharq Al-Awsat/el Aviv/February 08, 2026
(Translated from Arabic)
The dramatic announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding a meeting with President Trump this Wednesday ostensibly to discuss "negotiations with Iran" may not represent a genuine policy shift. Instead, it appears to be a move driven by domestic Israeli electoral calculations.
The Internal Context
Netanyahu originally requested a visit for February 18th to discuss Iran, Trump’s Palestinian peace plan, and a potential pardon regarding his corruption cases. However, he abruptly moved the date to this Tuesday. Analysts suggest this is a maneuver to:
Avoid the "Peace Council": By moving the date, Netanyahu avoids the February 19th meeting of the Peace Council in Washington, where he feared being pressured to stop obstructing progress in the Gaza Strip.
Pre-empt Trump on Iran: Netanyahu reportedly reacted to Trump’s recent comments about "positive progress in the Oman negotiations" and the sense that "Iran is genuinely interested in a deal." Netanyahu aims to convince Trump that Iran is "deceptive" and that no concessions should be made.
Six Israeli Demands
Netanyahu, accompanied by the Commander of the Israeli Air Force, plans to present six specific demands to the Trump administration:
Missile Program: Include ballistic missiles in talks and limit their range to 300 km.
Regional Influence: Stop Iranian support for its "proxies" (Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis).
Nuclear Dismantlement: Total elimination of the nuclear project.
Uranium Export: Removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian soil.
Zero Enrichment: A total ban on any enrichment activity.
Snap Inspections: Return of IAEA inspectors with the power to conduct "surprise visits."
Lobbying the White House
Netanyahu is reportedly skeptical of negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, preferring to speak directly to Trump. He hopes to form a "hardline lobby" within the White House involving Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to counter those favoring a quick deal.
Yuval Steinitz, a close associate of Netanyahu, admits the reality: Israel essentially does not want any nuclear deal. They believe a deal—no matter the terms—strengthens the regime by lifting sanctions. The preferred Israeli alternative is either a military strike to topple the regime or a "freeze of the status quo" to keep Iran economically weakened.
Ultimately, with Netanyahu's poll numbers dipping as the election begins, he seeks a "heroic" image of a fighter standing alone against Iran to bolster his standing at home.

Iran defies US threats to insist on right to enrich uranium
Al Arabiya English/08 February/2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Iran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with the United States, insisting Tehran will not be intimidated by the threat of war with Washington.
Araghchi told a forum in Tehran that Iran had little trust in the US and even doubted that the American side was taking renewed negotiations seriously. “Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behavior,” Araghchi said. “Their military deployment in the region does not scare us,” he said, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea. The US and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday in Oman for the first time since Israel’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June of last year. Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear program.”Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East’s only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb, which Tehran denies. “They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.
‘Peace through strength’
Araghchi’s comments came after US lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the aircraft carrier on Saturday, signaling the persistent threat of US military action against Iran.The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said the two top officials visited the nuclear-powered vessel. Trump says US talks with Iran ‘very good,’ more negotiations expected In a social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group was “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength.”The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks “very good” and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media that they “constitute a step forward.”Following Friday’s first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing business with Iran despite US sanctions. The US also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports. At the Tehran forum Sunday, Araghchi called into question Washington’s commitment to negotiations. “The continuation of certain sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations,” he said.“We are monitoring the situation closely, assessing all the signals and will decide on the continuation of the negotiations.”
Protests toll
Talks between the two arch enemies came amid a major US military buildup in the region in the wake of Iran’s crackdown on protests that began in late December, driven by economic grievances. The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests. International organizations have put the toll far higher. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has kept a running toll since the onset of the protests, says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mainly of protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation. It has also counted more than 51,000 arrests.With AFP

Iranian authorities arrest three reformist figures, news agency reports
Al Arabiya English/08 February/2026
Iranian authorities on Sunday arrested three reformist figures including the head of Iran’s Reform Front coalition, Azar Mansouri, the state-linked Fars news agency reported. Iran’s reformists are a political faction that supports gradual political, social, and economic reforms within the Islamic Republic while generally seeking change without overthrowing the system. “Azar Mansouri, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, and Mohsen Aminzadeh were arrested by security and judicial institutions,” the agency said. “The accusations against these individuals include targeting national unity, taking a stance against the constitution, coordination with enemy propaganda, promoting surrender, diverting political groups, and creating secret subversive mechanisms,” it added. The judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency also reported that several people were arrested on Sunday but did not identify them. “After completing the investigation into the actions and activities of some important political elements supporting the Zionist regime and America, four members of this group were charged with crimes, and the active elements working in favor of the Zionist regime and America were arrested,” Mizan said. Mansouri, 60, was an advisor to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami. Following the protests that started in Iran in December, she posted on Instagram that “when all avenues to be heard are closed, protest takes to the streets,” adding that a “crackdown is the worst way to deal with protesters.” Referring to deaths of thousands of people during the protests, she later said “we don’t have access to the media, but we say to the grieving families: You are not alone.” She added that “no power, no justification, and no time can cleanse this great disaster.”Mansouri was previously arrested after the protests that followed the 2009 Iranian presidential election, and was sentenced to three years in prison for disrupting public order and propaganda against the state, among other charges. In 2022, she was charged with “spreading lies with the intention of harming others, (and) disturbing public opinion by publishing content on internet,” and was subsequently sentenced to one year and two months in prison. Since June 2023, she has been the leader of Iran’s Reform Front, an umbrella group of reformists who traditionally call for more social freedoms and the establishment of a civil society.Ebrahim Asgharzadeh is a former member of parliament and Mohsen Aminzadeh is a former deputy at the foreign ministry. With AFP

Palestinians attempt to cross between Gaza and Egypt at the Rafah border crossing
The Associated Press/08 February/2026
Palestinians on both sides of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which opened last week for the first time since 2024, were making their way to the border on Sunday in hopes of crossing, one of the main requirements for the US-backed ceasefire. The opening comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, though the major subject of discussion will be Iran, his office said. The Rafah Crossing opened to a few Palestinians in each direction last week, after Israel retrieved the body of the last hostage held in Gaza and several American officials visited Israel to press for the opening. Over the first four days of the crossing’s opening, just 36 Palestinians requiring medical care were allowed to leave for Egypt, plus 62 companions, according to United Nations data. Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people in Gaza are seeking to leave for medical care that they say is not available in the war-shattered territory. The few who have succeeded in crossing described delays and allegations of mistreatment by Israeli forces and other groups involved in the crossing, including an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab.
A group of Palestinian patients and wounded gathered Sunday morning in the courtyard of a Red Crescent hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, before making their way to the Rafah crossing with Egypt for treatment abroad, family members told The Associated Press. Amjad Abu Jedian, who was injured in the war, was scheduled to leave Gaza for medical treatment on the first day of the crossing’s reopening, but only five patients were allowed to travel that day, his mother, Raja Abu Jedian, said. Abu Jedian was shot by an Israeli sniper while he was building traditional bathrooms in the central Bureij refugee camp in July 2024, she said. On Saturday, his family received a call from the World Health Organization notifying them that he is included in the group that will travel on Sunday, she said. “We want them to take care of the patients (during their evacuation),” she said. “We want the Israeli military not to burden them.”The Israeli defense branch that oversees the operation of the crossing did not immediately confirm the opening. A group of Palestinians also arrived Sunday morning at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing border to return to the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s state-run al-Qahera News satellite television reported. Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first few days of the crossing’s operation described hours of delays and invasive searches by Israeli authorities and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab. A European Union mission and Palestinian officials run the border crossing, and Israel has its screening facility some distance away. The crossing was reopened on Feb. 2 as part of a fragile ceasefire deal that stopped the war between Israel and Hamas. Amid confusion around the reopening, the Rafah crossing was closed Friday and Saturday. The Rafah crossing, an essential lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, was the only crossing not controlled by Israel prior to the war. Israel seized the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024, though traffic through the crossing was heavily restricted even before that.Restrictions negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials meant that only 50 people would be allowed to return to Gaza each day and 50 medical patients — along with two companions for each — would be allowed to leave, but far fewer people than expected have crossed in both directions.

Israel announces measures to deepen control over West Bank
AFP/08 February/2026
Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of measures on Sunday set to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank, paving the way for further settlement expansion in the Palestinian territory. The territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is seen by many on the religious right as Israeli land. “The security cabinet today approved a series of decisions... fundamentally changing the legal and civil reality in Judea and Samaria,” a statement said, using the biblical names for the West Bank. The measures, announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, include the removal of decades-old regulations barring Jewish citizens from purchasing land in the West Bank, according to a joint statement by the two ministers. Smotrich said the move aimed at “deepening our roots in all regions of the Land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state.”Kats said “Judea and Samaria is the heart of the country, and strengthening it is a paramount security, national, and Zionist interest.” The reforms also envisage transferring authority over building permits for settlements in parts of Palestinian cities, including Hebron, from the Palestinian Authority’s municipal bodies to Israel. Until now, construction changes in the city’s Jewish community required approval from both the local municipality and Israeli authorities, the Times of Israel reported, citing the statement. Under the new arrangements, such changes would require Israeli authorization only. “We are committed to removing barriers, creating legal and civil certainty, and allowing settlers to live, build and develop on equal footing with every citizen of Israel,” Katz said in the statement. The measures would also allow Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites even when they are located in areas under Palestinian Authority control, the statement said. The Palestinian presidency in Ramallah condemned the decision, saying it was aimed at “deepening attempts to annex the occupied West Bank.”The presidency said the “decisions reflect an open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion, land confiscation, and the demolition of Palestinian properties, even in areas under Palestinian sovereignty.”The Palestinian Authority exercises control over some discontiguous areas of the West Bank. The Yesha Council, an organization representing the majority of West Bank settlers, praised the moves, saying the “the Israeli government today declared, de facto, that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people.”The announcement comes days ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States, where he is due to meet President Donald Trump. Trump has opposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts across the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory. In 2025, settlement expansion reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking the data, according to a recent UN report. Israel approved 19 settlements in December alone.

Top Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal rejects disarmament or ‘foreign rule’
Al Arabiya English/08 February/2026
A senior Hamas leader said Sunday that the Palestinian movement would not surrender its weapons nor accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against US and Israeli demands. “Criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Khaled Meshaal said at a conference in Doha. “As long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation ... something nations take pride in,” said Meshaal, who previously headed the group.Hamas has waged an armed struggle against what it sees as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. It launched a deadly cross-border raid into Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, which triggered the latest war. A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza is in its second phase, which foresees that demilitarization of the territory -- including the disarmament of Hamas -- along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces. Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority. Israeli officials say that Hamas still has around 20,000 fighters and about 60,000 Kalashnikovs in Gaza. A Palestinian technocratic committee has been set up with a goal of taking over the day-to-day governance in the battered Gaza Strip, but it remains unclear whether, or how, it will address the issue of demilitarization. The committee operates under the so-called “Board of Peace,” an initiative launched by US President Donald Trump. Originally conceived to oversee the Gaza truce and post-war reconstruction, the board’s mandate has since expanded, prompting concerns among critics that it could evolve into a rival to the United Nations.Trump unveiled the board at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos last month, where leaders and officials from nearly two dozen countries joined him in signing its founding charter. Alongside the Board of Peace, Trump also created a Gaza Executive Board — an advisory panel to the Palestinian technocratic committee — comprising international figures including US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as former British prime minister Tony Blair. On Sunday, Meshaal urged the Board of Peace to adopt what he called a “balanced approach” that would allow for Gaza’s reconstruction and the flow of aid to its roughly 2.2 million residents, while warning that Hamas would “not accept foreign rule” over Palestinian territory. “We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form,” Meshaal said. “Palestinians are to govern Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule,” he added.

Saudi foreign minister meets US Syria envoy in Riyadh
Al Arabiya English/09 February/2026
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack in Riyadh on Sunday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. According to SPA, the two officials discussed the latest developments in Syria. The meeting came a day after Saudi Arabia announced a major investment package in Syria spanning energy, aviation, real estate and telecommunications. The Kingdom launched an investment fund in Syria that will commit 7.5 billion Saudi riyals ($2 billion) to develop two airports in the Syrian city of Aleppo over multiple phases, Saudi investment minister Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday. The Elaf Fund aims to finance large-scale projects in Syria with participation from Saudi private-sector investors, al-Falih added. In civil aviation, Saudi budget carrier flynas and the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority signed an agreement to establish a new airline, “flynas Syria.” Saudi Arabia’s largest telecoms operator STC will also invest more than three billion riyals ($799.96 million) to “strengthen telecommunications infrastructure and connect Syria regionally and internationally through a fiber-optic network extending over more than 4,500 kilometers,” according to the state news agency. The latest investments mark the largest such announcement since the United States lifted sanctions on Syria in December, with Saudi Arabia emerging as one of the country’s main backers following the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. The sanctions had been a significant obstacle to Syria’s economic revival after a 14-year civil war that inflicted deep damage on much of the country and displaced millions of people.“We commend the Saudi-Syrian investment agreements announced this week. Strategic partnerships in aviation, infrastructure, and telecommunications will contribute meaningfully to Syria’s reconstruction efforts,” Barrack said on X. Last year, Riyadh announced $6.4 billion of investments, split into 47 deals with more than 100 Saudi companies working in real estate, infrastructure and telecoms. The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding and a joint development agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and the Saudi Water Transmission Company, setting out a roadmap for cooperation in the water sector.“We have drawn up plans to establish a seawater desalination plant, with the aim of delivering fresh water from the Syrian coast to the south of the country,” said Syria’s Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir. With Reuters

WHO reports 3 deadly attacks on health centers in Sudan’s South Kordofan in past week
AFP/08 February/2026
Sudan’s South Kordofan region has seen attacks on three health facilities in the past week alone, leaving more than 30 dead, the World Health Organization said Sunday. “Sudan’s health system is under attack again,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X. The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been at war since April 2023, with the conflict killing tens of thousands of people, displacing millions more and triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. In the central Sudanese region of Kordofan, where fighting is now concentrated, Tedros said the health system had faced numerous attacks. “This week alone, three health facilities were attacked in South Kordofan, in a region already suffering acute malnutrition,” he said. On February 3, he said an attack on a primary health center killed eight people – five children and three women – and injured 11. Then a day later, “a hospital was attacked killing one person,” he said. And “on February 5, another attack on a hospital killed 22 people – including 4 health workers – and injured 8,” the WHO chief said. “The whole world should get behind Sudan’s peace initiative to end violence, protect the people and rebuild the health system,” he insisted. “The best medicine is peace.”

Three dead after flooding hits northwest Syria
AFP/08 February/2026
Two children and a Syrian Red Crescent volunteer have died as a result of flooding in the country’s northwest, state media said on Sunday. The heavy rains in Syria’s Idlib region and the coastal province of Latakia have also wreaked havoc in displacement camps, according to authorities, who have launched rescue operations and set up shelters in the areas. State news agency SANA reported “the death of a Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer and the injury of four others as they carried out their humanitarian duties” in Latakia province. The Syrian Red Crescent said in a statement that the “a mission vehicle veered into a valley,” killing a female volunteer and injuring four others, as they went to rescue people stranded by flash floods. “A fifth volunteer was injured while attempting to rescue a child trapped by the floodwaters,” it added. SANA said two children died on Saturday “due to heavy flooding that swept through the Ain Issa area” in the north of Latakia province. Authorities said Sunday they were working to clear roads in displacement camps in flooded parts of Idlib province. The emergencies and disaster management ministry said 14 displacement camps in part of Idlib province were affected, with tents swamped, belongings swept away and around 300 families directly impacted.Around seven million people remain internally displaced in Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency, some 1.4 million of them living in camps and sites in the country’s northwest and northeast. The December 2024 ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad after more than 13 years of civil war revived hopes for many to return home, but the destruction of housing and a lack of basic infrastructure in heavily damaged areas has been a major barrier.

Ukraine urges acceleration of peace talks, says only Trump can broker deal
Reuters/08 February/2026
Kyiv’s foreign minister has said the Ukrainian and Russian leaders need to meet in person to hash out the hardest remaining issues in peace talks, and that only US President Donald Trump has the power to bring about an agreement. Ukraine wants to accelerate the efforts to end the four-year-old war and capitalize on momentum in the US-brokered talks before other factors come into play, such as campaigning for the US Congressional mid-term elections in November, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in an interview. Ukraine says final deal with Russia needs Trump. “Only Trump can stop the war,” Sybiha told Reuters in his office in Kyiv, close to the Dnipro river. From a 20-point peace plan that has formed the basis of recent trilateral negotiations, only “a few” items remain outstanding, Sybiha said. “The most sensitive and most difficult, to be dealt with at the leaders’ level.”On key issues, such as land, the two sides appear far apart. Russia has maintained its demand that Ukraine cede the remaining 20 percent of the eastern region of Donetsk that it has failed to occupy during years of grinding, attritional warfare - something that Kyiv has steadfastly refused. Ukraine also wants control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe - which is in Russian-occupied territory. During a second round of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week there was no sign of a breakthrough, though an exchange of 314 prisoners of war was concluded on Thursday - the first such swap since October. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Saturday that the US had proposed a new round of talks in Miami in a week, which Kyiv had agreed to. “My assessment is we have momentum, that’s true,” Sybiha, in post since 2024, said in an interview conducted on Friday. “We need consolidation or mobilization of these peace efforts, and we’re ready to speed up.” Nearly four years after its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia occupies almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory - including the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine occupied before the war - and has devastated the electricity and heating network with targeted bombing. On the battlefield, analysts say Russia has gained only about 1.3 percent of Ukrainian territory since early 2023. Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Washington hoped the war could be ended before the summer and Ukraine had suggested a sequencing plan, but he provided no details. Sources had told Reuters on Friday that Ukrainian and US officials had discussed a timetable including a draft deal with Russia by March and a referendum on it in Ukraine alongside elections in May.
US security guarantees were vital, Ukraine says
Ukraine is focused on obtaining Western security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression once a ceasefire enters force. The US, Sybiha said, had confirmed to Ukraine that it was prepared to ratify security guarantees in Congress; it would then provide a security “backstop” to support the peace deal, though no US troops on the ground in Ukraine. “I personally do not believe, at this stage, in any security infrastructure or architecture without the Americans ... We must have them with us - and they are in the process. That’s a huge, huge achievement,” he said. A statement issued after a meeting in Paris last month of the “coalition of the willing” said the allies would participate in a proposed US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism. Officials have said this would likely involve drones, sensors and satellites, not US troops. The foreign minister said some other countries beyond Britain and France, both already publicly committed, had confirmed their readiness to send troops to Ukraine as a deterrence force, but he declined to identify them. Apart from “boots on the ground,” Sybiha said there should be a mechanism akin to the NATO alliance’s Article Five that classifies an attack on one member state as an attack on all. Ukraine’s proposed membership of the European Union would also provide an additional element of security, he said. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine wants to join the 27-nation bloc by 2027 - which would require significant reforms and legislation. On Saturday, Zelenskyy raised concerns about bilateral talks between Russia and the US, which he said included a proposal from Moscow for $12 trillion in investments. Sybiha said some of these discussions could affect Ukraine’s sovereignty or security, and Kyiv would not support any such deals made without it. He also said any country’s decision in the course of a peace settlement to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea or the Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, would be “legally void.”“We will never recognize this. And it will be a violation of international law,” Sybiha said. “This was not about Ukraine. It’s about principle.”

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 08-09/2026
Why Some of Trump's Muslim 'Allies' Fear a Loss of Iran More Than They Fear Iran
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/February 08/2026
[F]or several of these regimes, the real danger is not Iran's collapse, but an ideological exposure that could follow decisive American action, as well as concern about Israel becoming more prominent in the region.
"Death to America," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced in 2023, "is not just a slogan, it is a policy." For decades, Iran has also been encircling Israel in a "ring of fire" the better to destroy it. Hezbollah in Lebanon; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza; Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen are not independent actors pursuing local grievances. They are integral components of a coherent Iranian strategy, backed by Russia and China, aimed at expanding Islamist Iran's influence in the region by force; destabilizing sovereign states, and eroding the regional order from within. This strategy is not reactive; it is doctrinal.
What many have largely avoided addressing is the extent to which some governments, such as Qatar's and Turkey's -- which host American military bases -- benefit from U.S. security guarantees.
While publicly Qatar and Turkey affirm their commitment to "stability", at the same time they zealously set about destabilizing half the planet by funding, promoting, and even training Islamist terror networks that presumably serve their own strategic interests. To Western audiences, they speak the language of moderation, while churning up grievance narratives and ideological victimhood at home.
Qatar, for instance, presents itself as a neutral mediator, a champion of dialogue, and a facilitator of regional diplomacy, while in practice, for years, Qatar has provided safe haven, financial channels, and political legitimacy to just about every Islamic terrorist group.
"Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran... Qatar transferred funds through various channels, primarily via their largest foundation, Charai, which is one of the largest funding sources for terrorist organizations in the world." — Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations, YNet, April 18, 2024.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman once prioritized domestic reform, economic diversification, and social transformation – while, in recent weeks, viciously turning against Israel "even more than al-Jazeera."
The United Arab Emirates, under the exceptional, trailblazing leadership of its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has offered a striking example of unwavering loyalty to the West, to the Abraham Accords, and he demonstrates leadership in showing that extremist Islam need not be a requirement. For the UAE, opposing Iran does not demand embracing Islamism, anti-Western rhetoric, or hostility toward Israel. Through normalization with Israel, economic openness, technological cooperation, and a degree of religious tolerance rare in the region, the UAE has presented an awe-inspiring example of stability rooted in cooperation rather than ideological warfare. Bin Zayed's strategic clarity stands in perfect contrast to the duplicity other Gulf states and illustrates that alignment with Israel and the United States need not come at the expense of any legitimacy.
Israel has no imperial ambitions, no desire to dominate Arab capitals, and no ideology of regional subversion. Its military actions are defensive responses to existential threats posed by Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, their proxies, propaganda, and terrorist organizations.
Israel does not fight Islamic terrorism because it wants to. It fights Islamic terrorism because it has to.... To portray Israel as the destabilizing force while downplaying the role of the countries subscribing to extremist versions of Islam is not analysis; it is narrative distortion and journalistic malpractice.
Trump's Middle East policy threatens not only Iran's nuclear ambitions; it threatens an entire system built on moral relativism, selective outrage, and strategic double-talk.
Exposure, not war, is what these countries fear – and what they should get.
Iran, since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is not merely a rival or destabilizing neighbor. It is the ideological and operational core of modern Islamist warfare in the Middle East. Since 1979, Tehran has armed, funded, trained, and coordinated proxy organizations with the explicit aim of undermining Western influence. Pictured: Khamenei gives a speech on November 1, 2023, televised on Iran's Channel 1. (Image source: MEMRI)
US President Donald J. Trump's Gulf Arab allies, according to the New York Times, oppose an American strike on Iran primarily out of fear of regional instability and the possible damage to economies, tourism, and domestic security. While this explanation may sound credible on the surface, a deeper and far more uncomfortable reality is that for several of these regimes, the real danger is not Iran's collapse, but an ideological exposure that could follow decisive American action, as well as concern about Israel becoming more prominent in the region.
A serious confrontation with Iran would not only reshape the regional balance of power; it would also force a number of Arab states to clarify positions that for decades they have fought to keep ambiguous.
Iran, since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is not merely a rival or destabilizing neighbor. It is the ideological and operational core of modern Islamist warfare in the Middle East. Since 1979, Tehran has armed, funded, trained, and coordinated proxy organizations with the explicit aim of undermining Western influence. "Death to America," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced in 2023, "is not just a slogan, it is a policy." For decades, Iran has also been encircling Israel in a "ring of fire" the better to destroy it.
Hezbollah in Lebanon; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza; Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen are not independent actors pursuing local grievances. They are integral components of a coherent Iranian strategy, backed by Russia and China, aimed at expanding Islamist Iran's influence in the region by force; destabilizing sovereign states, and eroding the regional order from within. This strategy is not reactive; it is doctrinal.
Trump's Iran policy, after years of hesitant US engagement at best, has consistently combined economic pressure and military deterrence, with limited diplomatic patience, to restore America's international credibility.
Trump's restoration of credibility has apparently unsettled not only Iran's regime, but also some of Washington's supposed regional allies, who have grown accustomed to maneuvering Washington when desirable. Some, such as Qatar, have built fancied empires by never committing to any side and instead playing every side. Just as much blame, however, must go to those leaders in the Middle East and Europe who agreed to be played.
What many have largely avoided addressing is the extent to which some governments, such as Qatar's and Turkey's -- which host American military bases -- benefit from U.S. security guarantees.
While publicly Qatar and Turkey affirm their commitment to "stability", at the same time they zealously set about destabilizing half the planet by funding, promoting, and even training Islamist terror networks (such as here, here, here, here and here) that presumably serve their own strategic interests. To Western audiences, they speak the language of moderation, while churning up grievance narratives and ideological victimhood at home.
A decisive confrontation with Iran might shatter the carefully maintained duplicity that these countries have so tenderly nurtured for decades.
Qatar, for instance, presents itself as a neutral mediator, a champion of dialogue, and a facilitator of regional diplomacy, while in practice, for years, Qatar has provided safe haven, financial channels, and political legitimacy to just about every Islamic terrorist group. Hamas's senior leaders have been welcome to live in Qatar as safe and comfortable billionaires ​​​​​​while directing their terrorist operations elsewhere.
According to Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations:
"Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran... Qatar transferred funds through various channels, primarily via their largest foundation, Charai, which is one of the largest funding sources for terrorist organizations in the world."
Qatar's state-owned media empire, Al -Jazeera, consistently amplifies Islamist narratives, demonizes Israel, and undermines moderate Arab governments, all while projecting an image of supposed neutrality. In fact, by its own admission, it was Qatar that whipped up and catalyzed the entire disruptive "Arab Spring" that begin in 2010. When Qatar is not acting out its central role in sustaining this Islamist terrorist ecosystem, an absent decoy to deflect attention, such as the Iranian regime, could redirect scrutiny toward Qatar even further.
Turkey, looking forward rather than backward, appears to agree with that assessment. Turkey, doubtless, shares the same point of view. It appears to be using its proxy, Syria -- under the interim presidency of former al-Qaeda leader Ahmed al-Sharaa -- and a place on Trump's alleged "Board of Peace " in Gaza, eventually to pincer Israel in the middle.
Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who regularly uses jihadist and anti-Israel rhetoric, Turkey abandoned what was left of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular legacy in favor of overtly Islamist, neo-Ottoman goals. "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers," Erdogan once recited.
Under Erdogan's rule, Turkey also hosts Hamas operatives, offers political cover to Islamist causes, and has dispatched armed flotillas, built 31 new warships, threatened Greece, and has been doing his utmost to acquire American F-35 stealth fighter jets. While Turkey competes with Iran in certain arenas, it also benefits from Iran's role as a regional spoiler that distracts attention from Erdogan's own neo-Ottoman ambitions. A serious weakening of Iran would, by removing this diversionary decoy, expose Turkey's broader regional agenda in Syria and Gaza with greater visibility.
Saudi Arabia, by contrast, has suffered direct attacks from Iranian-backed forces and has legitimate reasons to fear aggression from Iran, which for decades appears to have had its acquisitive eyes on the kingdom's oil fields as well as its guardianship of Islam's two holiest sites: the pilgrimage Kaaba stone and its surrounding mosque in Mecca, and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are not partners; they are fierce rivals and competitors. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman once prioritized domestic reform, economic diversification, and social transformation – while, in recent weeks, viciously turning against Israel "even more than al-Jazeera."
The United Arab Emirates, under the exceptional, trailblazing leadership of its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has offered a striking example of unwavering loyalty to the West, to the Abraham Accords, and he demonstrates leadership in showing that extremist Islam need not be a requirement. For the UAE, opposing Iran does not demand embracing Islamism, anti-Western rhetoric, or hostility toward Israel. Through normalization with Israel, economic openness, technological cooperation, and a degree of religious tolerance rare in the region, the UAE has presented an awe-inspiring example of stability rooted in cooperation rather than ideological warfare. Bin Zayed's strategic clarity stands in perfect contrast to the duplicity other Gulf states and illustrates that alignment with Israel and the United States need not come at the expense of any legitimacy.
The suggestion advanced by the New York Times and other media that Israel represents a greater threat to regional stability than a weakened Iran is not merely inaccurate — it inverts reality. Israel has no imperial ambitions, no desire to dominate Arab capitals, and no ideology of regional subversion. Its military actions are defensive responses to existential threats posed by Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, their proxies, propaganda, and terrorist organizations.
Unlike Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and their proxies, Israel operates within legal and moral constraints that are routinely ignored or openly rejected by its adversaries. To portray Israel as the destabilizing force while downplaying the role of the countries subscribing to extremist versions of Islam is not analysis; it is narrative distortion and journalistic malpractice.
Israel does not fight Islamic terrorism because it wants to. It fights Islamic terrorism because it has to. It has shown time and again that it would clearly prefer to be left in peace under its fig tree. Israel fights because, to survive against such overwhelming belligerence, it must — usually alone, often condemned, and often while its supposed "allies" hedge their bets.
Many regional actors benefit indirectly from Israel doing the difficult and dangerous work of confronting Iran's proxies, among other adversaries, even as they publicly distance themselves from Israel's actions to placate domestic opinion or ideological associates. This hypocrisy is rarely acknowledged in Western mainstream media coverage, yet it remains a defining feature of the region's geopolitics.
Trump's Middle East policy threatens not only Iran's nuclear ambitions; it threatens an entire system built on moral relativism, selective outrage, and strategic double-talk. By demanding accountability, enforcing sanctions, and refusing to indulge diplomatic illusions, Trump exposed the fragility of regimes accustomed to managing perceptions rather than confronting realities. His approach has disrupted comfortable arrangements that allowed Iran's regime to expand while claiming plausible deniability.
The resistance to Trump's Iran strategy, therefore, is rooted in a fear of transparency and a lurking competition for supremacy. A Middle East no longer dominated by Iranian subversion and chaos would force too many actors to answer uncomfortable questions about their own financing networks, ideological alignments, and long-standing contradictions. For regimes built on doubletalk, truth is far more dangerous than missiles.
The region does not suffer from a lack of diplomacy. It suffers from an excess of illusion. Iran's regime is not some misunderstood actor seeking stability; it is a theocratic dictatorship that oppresses women, murders innocents – estimated at this point to be more than 90,000 -- and exports violence, in Khamenei's own words, as state policy.
Trump's refusal to indulge this illusion marked a historic breakthrough — a rare moment of strategic honesty in Middle Eastern affairs — one that clarifies who genuinely seeks stability and those who benefit from engineering perpetual instability. Such honesty may well have unsettled not only Iran's leaders but also those who quietly rely on chaos to obscure their own failures and unrelenting bellicosity.
Exposure, not war, is what these countries fear – and what they should get.
**Pierre Rehov, who holds a law degree from Paris-Assas, is a French reporter, novelist and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of six novels, including "Beyond Red Lines", "The Third Testament" and "Red Eden", translated from French. His latest essay on the aftermath of the October 7 massacre " 7 octobre - La riposte " became a bestseller in France. As a filmmaker, he has produced and directed 17 documentaries, many photographed at high risk in Middle Eastern war zones, and focusing on terrorism, media bias, and the persecution of Christians. His latest documentary, "Pogrom(s)" highlights the context of ancient Jew hatred within Muslim civilization as the main force behind the October 7 massacre.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22262/trumps-muslim-allies-iran
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Prince William visits Saudi Arabia at an extraordinary moment
Stephen Charles Hitchen/Arab News/February 08, 2026
As Prince William arrives in Riyadh this week, he writes the latest chapter in a remarkable story of friendship between the UK and Saudi Arabia — one that stretches back almost a century.
This visit comes at an extraordinary moment. Our two nations are deepening our partnership across trade, energy, investment and culture in ways that would have seemed unimaginable not long ago. Vision 2030 has opened the Kingdom up to the world in breathtaking ways. Yet what strikes me most — and which I am certain will strike the Prince of Wales — is both the scale of the transformation and the care being taken to preserve what makes Saudi Arabia unique. This is a country building boldly for the future without forgetting its past. Prince William will experience this balance firsthand. In Riyadh, he will see how sustainability, sport and technology are creating new industries and new possibilities for the next generation. And in AlUla, he will see the Kingdom’s conservation efforts and sustainable farming techniques: proof that Vision 2030 is as much about conservation as it is about modernization.
Prince William visits the Kingdom at the request of the British government, reflecting the seriousness with which the UK views its partnership with Saudi Arabia. The foundation of our relationship was traditionally energy, defense and cooperation on regional security challenges. But today, we are modernizing and broadening the relationship to create a partnership fit for the 21st century. The visit reminds us that our partnership has never been broader, deeper or more energized by possibility.
The Public Investment Fund and its portfolio companies have invested about $21 billion in the UK since 2017, including stakes in Newcastle United F.C., Selfridges and Heathrow Airport, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s confidence in UK assets. Thousands of Saudi students at British universities are forging connections that will endure for generations. I am proud that UK expertise is helping to shape the Kingdom’s transformation across finance, tourism, education and the creative industries. And now that it is easier than ever to travel to the Kingdom, I hope that even more Britons will take the opportunity to travel here and experience the country firsthand.As we approach a century of diplomatic relations between our two countries, Prince William’s visit reminds us that our partnership has never been broader, deeper or more energized by possibility. This is a nation of extraordinary energy and purpose — transforming rapidly while holding fast to the values and identity that define its character. The best, I am confident, is yet to come.
• Stephen Charles Hitchen is the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia. X: @UKAmbKSA

Italy is building peace with Milano-Cortina Olympics
Antonio Tajani/Arab News/February 08, 2026
Milano-Cortina 2026 is a global event, bringing to Italy 3,500 athletes from more than 90 countries, competing in 304 events, with an estimated worldwide audience of 3 billion people. Friday’s opening ceremony was attended by about 50 heads of state and government from across the world. Milano-Cortina 2026 is not solely about sport; above all, it represents development, innovation and a forward-looking vision. With an estimated economic impact of €5.3 billion ($6.2 billion), the Olympic Winter Games will leave a lasting legacy in terms of infrastructure and territorial development. They will also serve as a powerful instrument of soft power, delivering a durable strengthening of Italy’s international positioning. For the first time in history, the Olympic Winter Games will be “diffuse:” two emblematic cities — Milan and Cortina — and an entire system of territories — Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige — united by a sustainable and inclusive vision. This constitutes a first, clear political signal. The Winter Games generate effects that extend well beyond the sporting dimension, influencing infrastructure, territorial development, industrial value chains and the international standing of Italy.
The organizational framework of the Olympic Winter Games foresees the involvement of approximately 18,000 volunteers, alongside a dedicated diplomatic task force bringing together young officials, institutions and local communities. This commitment confirms Italy’s capacity to successfully host events of global scale, as demonstrated most recently by the Catholic Church’s Jubilee in 2025. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has accompanied the arrival of the Olympic Winter Games with an integrated strategy, launched two years ago with the establishment of the Office for Sports Diplomacy and developed through an international roadshow across Europe, North America and Asia, involving athletes, media and businesses.
The strategy has pursued a twofold objective: to promote the territories and communities involved and to strengthen Italy’s image as an innovative, sustainable and welcoming country. The Olympic Winter Games have featured prominently in numerous initiatives, including Expo Osaka 2025, international business forums and the Italian Sport Day around the world. Italy has chosen to invest decisively in sports diplomacy, making it a structural component of its foreign policy. For these reasons, Italy has chosen to invest decisively in sports diplomacy, making it a structural component of its foreign policy. The Olympic Games embody values such as fair and peaceful competition among young people from across the world and have always stood as universal symbols of peace, respect and inclusion. In an international context marked by conflict, sport remains a credible space for dialogue. The Olympic Games were born in the name of peace. Italy has reaffirmed this commitment by facilitating the adoption of the UN Resolution on the Olympic Truce, supported by Pope Leo and the president of the republic — an appeal for sport to contribute to silencing the weapons.
In the past year alone, more than 233,000 people have been killed by armed violence, resulting in over 123 million displaced persons worldwide. Italy continues to play a leading diplomatic and humanitarian role, working for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, while also addressing less visible conflicts, such as in Sudan, where millions have been forced to flee. Through humanitarian initiatives such as Food for Gaza and Italy for Sudan, Italy remains at the forefront of efforts to protect civilian populations, particularly children, who are among the most affected by the consequences of war. Milano-Cortina 2026 therefore represents a unique opportunity to reaffirm Italy’s identity and core values. Through these Olympic Winter Games, Italy seeks to address the world as a builder of peace, growth and international cooperation. The “Games of Peace” will be a shared commitment, embraced collectively.
• Antonio Tajani is Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.

Saudi banks at the center of a more diversified economy
Talat Zaki Hafiz/Arab News/February 08, 2026
At a time when the global economy is grappling with inflationary pressures, tight financial conditions, geopolitical risks, and lingering concerns over equity market valuations, economic resilience has become a defining advantage. With global growth projected by the International Monetary Fund at just 3.3 percent in both 2025 and 2026—below the long-term historical average—countries with strong financial systems are best positioned to weather ongoing uncertainty. Saudi Arabia stands out in this regard. Despite challenging global and regional conditions, the Kingdom’s economy has demonstrated notable resilience, supported in large part by the strength and stability of its banking sector. Throughout 2025, Saudi banks maintained solid financial indicators, underpinned by strong economic fundamentals, ample liquidity, and a robust fiscal position. Data from the Saudi Central Bank’s Monthly Statistical Bulletin for December 2025 highlight the depth and resilience of domestic liquidity conditions. Broad money supply (M3) increased by 8.4 percent year on year to SR3.2 trillion ($844.7 billion), reflecting the stability of funding within the financial system. At the same time, reserve assets rose by 5.3 percent to approximately SR1.7 trillion, while government reserves stood at around SR390 billion. These buffers have provided confidence and flexibility at a time when many economies are facing fiscal and financial constraints. While lending growth continued to outpace deposit growth, the banking sector maintained sufficient liquidity to support credit expansion and day-to-day operations. This was reinforced by the Saudi Central Bank’s role as lender of last resort, alongside banks’ ability to access alternative funding sources, including sukuk issuance, to meet medium- and long-term financing needs.
Crucially, this expansion has not come at the expense of financial stability. Capital adequacy ratios across the sector remained comfortably above regulatory requirements, while asset quality indicators continued to improve. Credit growth has supported economic activity without elevating systemic risks. Banks have continued to meet the financing needs of the private sector, including mortgages and small and medium-sized enterprises. The loan-to-deposit ratio declined to a prudent 80.34 percent, compared with 83.24 percent a year earlier, signaling improved liquidity management. Claims on the private sector rose by 10.2 percent year on year to SR3.15 trillion, underscoring sustained credit momentum. Mortgage lending increased by 10.8 percent to approximately SR938 billion in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting steady demand in the housing market. Even more striking was the growth in financing to SMEs, which rose 37 percent year on year to SR427.7 billion. As a result, SMEs’ share of total bank credit increased from 9 percent in the third quarter of 2024 to 11 percent a year later.
This trend represents meaningful progress toward Vision 2030’s objective of raising SME financing to 20 percent of total credit. It also highlights the expanding role of Saudi banks in supporting private sector development, job creation, and economic diversification.
Shariah-compliant financing continued to gain momentum, rising by 13.5 percent to SR2.7 trillion in the third quarter of 2025. The steady expansion of Islamic finance underscores its growing importance as a pillar of inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Consumer lending remained resilient but measured. Consumer loans and credit card balances reached SR476.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up modestly from a year earlier, while credit card balances alone increased by 10 percent. These trends point to healthy household demand while remaining consistent with prudent credit conditions. Overall, the December 2025 bulletin presents a cautiously optimistic outlook. Despite persistent global risks, Saudi Arabia’s strong fiscal position, resilient banking sector, and diversified growth drivers provide a solid foundation for stability.
The Saudi Central Bank’s continued focus on monetary stability, sustainable credit growth, and financial system resilience has been instrumental in navigating global uncertainty. As many economies confront tightening constraints, Saudi banks are emerging not only as a source of stability, but as a key driver of sustainable economic growth.
• Talat Zaki Hafiz is an economist and financial analyst.
X: @TalatHafiz

When Tyrants Beg for Talks: The Danger of Empowering Iran's Soul Crushing Murder Factory Once Again
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/February 08/2026
The plea from Iran's regime is clearly a last-ditch effort to hold on to power so the mullahs can keep on torturing, slaughtering and putting out the eyes of their citizens. Whenever Iran's regime feels weak, it discovers "negotiations." In Shia Islam, you are told that if "Islam" is being threatened, you are to practice dissimulation (taqiyya). For Iran's mullahs, "talks" have always been a tactic to buy time, reduce pressure, and strengthen their hand.
When President Barack Obama came to power, Tehran quickly pivoted toward negotiations. The result was a fake deal that rescued the mullahs when they were at their most vulnerable. The deal offered not only "breathing room," but more than $150 billion, and, after a few years – which would already have ended on October 18, 2025 – as many nuclear weapons legitimately as the regime could have built. This "breathing room" not only led to the Iranian regime's re-empowerment, but helped to finance its entire war industry, including the nuclear weapons.
Years of repression, corruption, economic mismanagement, and brutality have created a population that has risen up against the ruling elite again and again, while the US and other ostensible protectors of freedom, such as the UN, looked chastely the other way. The social contract between the Iranian state and its citizens is now sustained only through brutality, terror and fear.
The principle of "responsibility to protect " exists precisely to address situations where a regime brutalizes its own population, yet time and again, the United Nations ignores this principle when it comes to Iran. The double standard is beyond obvious: accountability is demanded elsewhere -- often wrongly, with a breathtaking lack of justice -- but postponed forever where Iran is concerned. It is probably high time for the Trump administration, out of respect for US taxpayers, to slash funding to this corrupt collection of narcissists more than it already has.
Trump's sustained economic and military pressure on Iran has, for the first time, put the Iranian regime on the defensive. To throw away such an opportunity would be a mistake of historic magnitude.
Any deal offered at this stage — no matter how well-intentioned — would serve only the interest of Iran's regime -- not that of America or the world. Even partial legitimacy would strengthen a system built on savagery and terror. If the US administration imagines that Iran would abide by anything it signs on paper – with infidels! – it may no longer deserve to lead the free world.
If President Donald Trump's loud military threats are seen by its adversaries as just a bluff, America's national security is at stake.... Deterrence works only if it is believed.
There is also a moral dimension. Negotiating with this regime at this time would signal to the Iranian people that their suffering, their protests, their imprisonment, and their tens of thousands of deaths can be brushed aside in the name of diplomatic expediency.
Iran's regime has survived for nearly 50 years by lying and deceiving, as advised by taqiyya, to extract concessions. The regime has so far succeeded in conning eight US administrations and the international community, and will no doubt attempt to do so again. Every accommodation handed to this regime will be converted into repression, instability and terror.
To discard this opportunity now would be a strategic and moral devastation. The path forward is not "negotiation," it is refusing to empower evil at its worst. Iran's rulers, now that they are on their knees, apparently want to "talk." However, any deal offered at this stage — no matter how well-intentioned — would serve only the interest of Iran's regime -- not that of America or the world. Pictured: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a statement on January 30, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Iran's rulers, now that they are on their knees, apparently want to "talk." Iranian officials, including the foreign minister, have signaled openness to negotiating a new nuclear deal -- not from "moderation" or a genuine change in behavior. The plea from Iran's regime is clearly a last-ditch effort to hold on to power so the mullahs can keep on torturing, slaughtering and putting out the eyes of their citizens.
The regime is searching for a way out. This moment, therefore, is not one for misplaced diplomatic optimism that the mullahs are now prepared to stop building nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that can reach the United States, or to stop brutalizing innocent Iranians. The regime, which rules by terror, is evidently still hoping to rule the rest of the world by terror, too.
This pattern is, in fact, how the Islamic Republic of Iran has operated since its founding in 1979. Whenever the regime feels strong — flush with cash, regionally influential, diplomatically legitimized — it is defiant, aggressive, and expansionist. Whenever Iran's regime feels weak, it discovers "negotiations." In Shia Islam, you are told that if "Islam" is being threatened, you are to practice dissimulation (taqiyya). For Iran's mullahs, "talks" have always been a tactic to buy time, reduce pressure, and strengthen their hand.
After years of sanctions and mounting pressure during the latter part of the Bush administration, after its participation in the 9/11/2001 attacks on the US, the Iranian regime found itself economically strained and politically cornered. When President Barack Obama came to power, Tehran quickly pivoted toward negotiations. The result was a fake deal that rescued the mullahs when they were at their most vulnerable. The deal offered not only "breathing room," but more than $150 billion, and, after a few years – which would already have ended on October 18, 2025 – as many nuclear weapons legitimately as the regime could have built. This "breathing room" not only led to the Iranian regime's re-empowerment, but helped to finance its entire war industry, including the nuclear weapons.
In 2015, flush with cash and international legitimacy under the tender patronage of the United States, the Iranian regime immediately turned -- not toward moderation -- but toward dramatically hardening its regional proxy networks and building a military "noose of fire" around its enemy, Israel. Iran's "Doomsday Clock," on a billboard in Tehran's Palestine Square, counted down the days to Ayatollah Ali Khameini's prediction that "the Zionist regime will cease to exist within 25 years," or 2040.
Iran -- investing heavily in ballistic missile programs, arms supplies to proxy militias, and asymmetric warfare -- entrenched itself across the region, from Lebanon to Syria to Iraq, while Hezbollah, not surprisingly, increased its military capabilities.
The consequences of Iran's empowerment by the Biden administration soon became clear on October 7, 2023 during Hamas's invasion of Israel, as well as massive regional destabilization. During the Biden years, Iran and its proxies launched no fewer than 151 attacks on US forces in the region -- while deepening cycles of violence. Iran's regime did not use relief to reform; it used it to prepare. Eventually Iran was targeting US officials, a Saudi ambassador, and a civilian Iranian dissident, all on US soil.
Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is arguably the weakest it has been since its founding. Internally, Iranian society is boiling. Years of repression, corruption, economic mismanagement, and brutality have created a population that has risen up against the ruling elite again and again, while the US and other ostensible protectors of freedom, such as the UN, looked chastely the other way. The social contract between the Iranian state and its citizens is now sustained only through brutality, terror and fear.
Economically, currency is in freefall, with the Iranian people bearing the cost of the collapse. Inflation has destroyed uncountable livelihoods. The economy -- no longer offering stability, growth, or hope – delivers only scarcity, uncertainty, and death.
Regionally, Iran's key allies have been weakened or removed. Its proxy forces, once perceived as unstoppable, have taken significant blows. Military pressure, particularly from Israel and reinforced by the Trump administration's policies of maximum pressure, has constrained much of the military might Iran once possessed. Iran's image as a rising regional hegemon has been replaced by that of a regime scrambling to hold together a fraying empire.
Politically, the regime is more isolated than ever. Its brutality against its own people has stripped away any remaining moral credibility. Executions, mass arrests, and violent crackdowns have further exposed the regime's nature. The idea that this system could suddenly become a responsible negotiating partner defies both logic and experience.
Because the regime is so weak, it is reaching for a lifeline. It would be geopolitically insane to give it one. Iran is doubtless hoping to wait out the current U.S. administration, knowing that time, if bought successfully, could repair its political circumstances.
Trump's sustained economic and military pressure on Iran has, for the first time, put the Iranian regime on the defensive. To throw away such an opportunity would be a mistake of historic magnitude.
Any deal offered at this stage — no matter how well-intentioned — would serve only the interest of Iran's regime -- not that of America or the world. Even partial legitimacy would strengthen a system built on savagery and terror. If the US administration imagines that Iran would abide by anything it signs on paper – with infidels! – it may no longer deserve to lead the free world.
If President Donald Trump's loud military threats are seen by its adversaries as just a bluff, America's national security is at stake. Not only must Iran's financial loopholes be closed, but military deterrence must remain credible and visible. Deterrence works only if it is believed.
There is also a moral dimension. Negotiating with this regime at this time would signal to the Iranian people that their suffering, their protests, their imprisonment, and their tens of thousands of deaths can be brushed aside in the name of diplomatic expediency.
The principle of "responsibility to protect " exists precisely to address situations where a regime brutalizes its own population, yet time and again, the United Nations ignores this principle when it comes to Iran. The double standard is beyond obvious: accountability is demanded elsewhere -- often wrongly, with a breathtaking lack of justice -- but postponed forever where Iran is concerned. It is probably high time for the Trump administration, out of respect for US taxpayers, to slash funding to this corrupt collection of narcissists more than it already has.
Iran's regime has survived for nearly 50 years by lying and deceiving, as advised by taqiyya, to extract concessions. The regime has so far succeeded in conning eight US administrations and the international community, and will no doubt attempt to do so again. Every accommodation handed to this regime will be converted into repression, instability and terror.
To discard this opportunity now would be a strategic and moral devastation. The path forward is not "negotiation," it is refusing to empower evil at its worst.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

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