English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For July 19/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.july19.26.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed meto bring good news
to the poor
Luke 04/14-21: "Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit,
returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding
country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When
he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on
the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the
prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place
where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed meto bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free, to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it
back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed
on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing.’"
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on 18-19 July/2026
To President Aoun: Hezbollah & the mullahs
understand only the language of force. Force is necessary for the liberation of
Lebanon and peace with Israel/Elias Bejjani/July 18/ 2026
They falsely claim to be Christians for Lebanon while they are practically
Christians for the Mullahs’ Iran and Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/July 15/2026
Israel-Lebanon conflict death toll rises to 4,328, Health Ministry says
First Visit by a Lebanese President to the
US Since 2009
President Aoun Arrives in Washington Tomorrow, Meets with Rubio
Aoun in Washington amid progress in Lebanon-Israel talks
After 17 years, Lebanese presidency makes a new White House visit: What is at
stake
The US Embassy in Beirut advises its citizens against traveling to Lebanon.
Urgent US travel warning for 15 Middle Eastern countries, including Lebanon.
A Crime That Does Not Expire/Abu Arz/Facebook/July 18, 2026
Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah fighters after drone spotted in
southern Lebanon
Israeli army claims striking Hezbollah drone cell in southern Lebanon
Diplomatic source to Sky News Arabia: Israel rejects withdrawal from Zawtar El
Charqiyeh under South Lebanon pilot areas plan
LBCI Source: Contacts continue on pilot areas as talks await President Aoun's US
visit
UN to list south Lebanon historic castles as 'in danger' from conflict
Besieged Hezbollah is ready for anything to regain its strength… even a
confrontation with the army?
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on 18-19 July/2026
16 US service members have died in the Iran
war, reflecting a conflict fought largely in the air
Two US service members in Jordan killed in Iranian attack, US says
Iran’s leader Mojtaba Khamenei says US breaches show Trump’s signature is
‘worthless’
US military launches new airstrikes to punish Iran for deaths of US troops
Battle for control of Hormuz Strait
US-Iran strikes: Latest developments
US hails plan to restore Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline
UKMTO reports tanker incident involving military forces east of Oman’s Duqm
Iraq, US sign 48 agreements during PM's visit
Saudi Arabia condemns continued Iranian attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan
Kuwait reports injuries, damage to power, water plant & KPC oil facility after
Iran attack
GCC secretary general says Iran attacks on civilian facilities ‘war crimes’
Bahrain activates sirens again after thwarting earlier wave of Iranian attacks
Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul charged with hit-and-run in California
US lifts some Hong Kong sanctions imposed by Trump, autonomy status unchanged
First death reported in Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on 18-19 July/2026
Iranian Regime's Insatiable Drive to
Wipe Out Jews, Christians, Minorities: World Turns a Blind Eye/Dr. Majid
Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/July 18/2026
Iran Threatens Riyadh to Protect the Houthi Card: Hostility Will Worsen Its
Isolation/Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/July 18, 2026
Iraqi FM to Asharq: We are ready to mediate between Washington and Tehran, and
ending the war is a priority/Asharq Bloomberg/July 18,
Defense deals signal rise of a new-look NATO/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/July 18,
2026
Tehran and Tel Aviv and the Reshaping of the Eastern Mediterranean/Mustafa Fahs/Asharq
A Awsat/July 18/2026
Victory/Samir Atallah/Asharq A Awsat/July 18/2026
Looking at the Iranian Dilemma from Above/Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq A Awsat/July
18/2026
Silicon valley didn’t buy democracy, it rented the ballot/Intissar Ben Aziz/Al
Arabiya English/18 July/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on 18-19 July/2026
To President Aoun: Hezbollah & the mullahs understand only the language of
force. Force is necessary for the liberation of Lebanon and peace with Israel.
Elias Bejjani/July 18/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156021/
Those who repeat today that peace cannot be achieved through force and that wars
are not a solution either ignore the lessons of history, choose to disregard
them, or surrender to an illusion that reality has repeatedly proven false. One
of the latest figures to repeat this claim is Lebanese President Joseph Aoun,
who rarely lets a day pass without emphasizing that peace with Israel cannot be
achieved through force. Yet such statements do not alter a single fact on the
ground.
Since his election, President Aoun has given dialogue every possible
opportunity, whether directly or indirectly, and the result has been absolutely
nothing. Why? Because Hezbollah is not an independent Lebanese party. Rather, it
is an ideological Iranian jihadist terrorist army composed of Lebanese
mercenaries, operating on Lebanese soil as an Iranian occupation force. It
receives its orders and funding from Tehran and owes absolute allegiance to the
doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih, not to the Lebanese Constitution or the national
interest.
Anyone who believes that an ideological, terrorist, jihadist, and sectarian
organization of this nature will voluntarily surrender its weapons is detached
from reality. Organizations driven by such doctrines, like Hezbollah, do not
retreat because of dialogue, statements, or appeals. They retreat only when they
are defeated and stripped of their ability to impose their will by force.
This is not merely a theory; it is a historical fact. Nazism did not fall
through negotiations, fascism did not collapse because of declarations, ISIS was
not defeated through sermons, and armed jihadist organizations did not withdraw
through dialogue. They were overcome by military force that destroyed their
structures and deprived them of the ability to continue.
The Iranian project in Lebanon and the wider region is, at its core, no
different from any other expansionist ideological project. It relies on armed
militias, fuels conflicts, hijacks states, usurps decision-making authority, and
turns entire populations into hostages serving an external agenda. Anyone who
believes that this project will end through appeasement or illusory compromises
is deceiving both himself and the Lebanese people.
Therefore, what is required from the Lebanese state—and from the President in
particular—is not the repetition of empty slogans or self-deception, but rather
the acknowledgment of a fundamental reality: there can be no state in the
presence of a militia, no sovereignty alongside a parallel army, and no peace
while an organization monopolizes decisions of war and peace outside legitimate
institutions.
President Aoun and the rest of Lebanon’s officials and politicians must fully
understand that genuine peace is not born from weakness but from decisiveness.
It is not imposed by wishes but by balances of power. Without ending the
dominance of illegal weapons and dismantling Iran’s military project in Lebanon,
any talk of peace will remain little more than rhetoric for media consumption.
War is not, in itself, a moral value. However, at critical moments in history,
it has been the only means of overthrowing aggressive regimes and projects that
rejected every political solution. From the defeat of Nazism emerged European
peace, and from the defeat of expansionist empires arose more stable political
systems.
As for Lebanon, it will not regain its statehood and sovereignty as long as
Hezbollah retains its weapons and operates as a disguised Iranian occupation
force. The road to peace begins when arms become the exclusive prerogative of
the state, when the Iranian project suffers complete defeat, and when Lebanese
decision-making is returned solely to the Lebanese people.
This is the reality confirmed by history, no matter how much advocates of grand
slogans seek to deny it.
More importantly, Lebanon must permanently cease to function as an arena and
open battlefield for the false narrative of “resistance,” the rhetoric of
“liberation,” dreams of liberating Palestine, or calls to throw Jews into the
sea. All of these heresies must end, and those who promote them should be
prevented from operating in Lebanon and treated as enemies and an existential
threat to Lebanon and its people. It is also necessary to enact a modern
national political parties law and revoke the licenses of all organizations
whose ideologies and agendas conflict with the Lebanese Constitution, including
the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Ba'ath Party, the Islamic Group, and
movements inspired by Nasserism or the radical left.
As for peace with the State of Israel, it is no longer merely an option but an
urgent and necessary requirement.
They falsely claim to be Christians for Lebanon while they are
practically Christians for the Mullahs’ Iran and Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/July 15/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/155944/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epzG5HwKp3k&t=118s
The meeting held at the “Saydet al-Bir” monastery under the title “Christians
for Lebanon” raises deep questions and doubts regarding the identity of the
organizing body, its legal status, and the names of its founders and those
responsible for it, as there is no clear or public information available
regarding any of these. As for the statement issued by the meeting (found at the
bottom of the page), particularly the parts regarding considering Israel an
enemy and an existential threat and regarding “resistance” as a sacred right of
peoples, these are blatant political heresies. The participants in the meeting
do not necessarily represent the entities and institutions to which they belong,
noting that some figures whose names were listed in the statement as attendees
or supporters were quick to deny their responsibility for the statement and its
entire content.
Mysterious Identity and Unanswered Questions
When I attempted to search for and verify information regarding this
group—especially since its name was not familiar to the majority of the Lebanese
people before the issuance of its “un-Lebanese” and “un-Christian” statement,
which is hostile to peace—a set of fundamental questions arose for which I found
no answer:
Who are the founders of the “Christians for Lebanon” group?
Is this group officially registered with the relevant authorities?
Does it possess a license (“Ilm wa Khabar”) from the Ministry of Interior and
Municipalities?
Who are the members of its administrative or executive body?
Who is its president or secretary-general?
Who is in charge of its media and organizational affairs?
According to the available data, no clear statements answering these questions
have appeared, nor did the text of the statement itself contain any official
definition of the group or its organizational structure.
Content of the Statement: A Blatant Intersection with the “Resistance Axis”
The political content of the statement reflects total bias toward the Iranian
Mullahs, Hezbollah, and all terrorist groups, which is clearly evident in the
following points:
Considering Israel an enemy and an absolute existential threat.
Considering “resistance” (in its militia concept) a sacred right of peoples.
Rejecting what is called the “Abrahamic Project.”
Emphasizing Lebanon’s religious and pluralistic identity in a fragmented way to
serve a specific agenda, ignoring the danger of the religious identity that
Hezbollah has sought to impose on the Lebanese by force of arms.
These positions intersect completely and blatantly with the political discourse
supporting the “Iranian terrorist resistance axis” and its local arm represented
by “Hezbollah” (Iran’s destructive army in Lebanon).
Questions Regarding the “Saydet al-Bir” Monastery and the Exploitation of Names
A question directed to the ecclesiastical authorities: What entity permitted
this meeting to be held at the “Saydet al-Bir” monastery, which is a monastery
belonging to the Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross founded by Saint
Yaacoub Haddad (Father Yaacoub the Capuchin)? Does hosting the meeting
necessarily mean that the monastery or the order adopts its content and
political positions?
There is no doubt that some entities and figures associated with the
participants, or whose names were mentioned in the report, were quick to clarify
later that they are not responsible for the statement and do not adopt its
content. Here we ask the fundamental question: Who is the actual hidden party
that drafted the statement and issued it in the name of this hybrid meeting?
Conclusion: Hiding Behind Christianity to Justify Terrorism
It remains to be said that the content, approach, and objectives of this
statement do not serve the interest of Lebanon or the Lebanese, nor do they fall
within the scope of striving for peace, stability, and the restoration of the
state and sovereignty. Rather, the statement brazenly expresses support for
“Hezbollah” and justifies its military, security, and terrorist role, which is
totally contradictory to the concept of the state.
As for hiding behind Christianity, this is a behavior that fundamentally
contradicts true Christian faith. Christianity is based primarily on the values
of love, peace, reconciliation, and justice, not on the discourse of axes,
conflict, division, and the justification of wars, killing, and destruction for
the benefit of foreign agendas.The fundamental problem with this meeting is not only related to the content of
its suspicious statement, which is hostile to peace and everything that is
Lebanese, but also to the legitimate doubts and many questions surrounding the
authority and motives of the party that called for it, in light of the complete
absence of any transparency or legal and organizational existence for it.
Israel-Lebanon conflict death toll rises to 4,328,
Health Ministry says
LBCI/18 July/2026
Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center said the cumulative toll
from the Israeli attacks since March 2 has risen to 4,328 killed and 12,227
injured as of July 17.
First Visit by a Lebanese President to the US Since 2009
Beirut: Asharq Al-Awsat/July 18, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
President Joseph Aoun departed for Washington on Saturday for an official visit,
the first by a Lebanese president to the United States since 2009. The visit, at
the invitation of US President Donald Trump, is seen as a diplomatic step
Lebanon hopes will advance the implementation of the "framework agreement" with
Israel, solidify the ceasefire, and secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from
the areas they still occupy in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Presidency announced in a statement Saturday morning that President
Aoun and First Lady Nemat Aoun had departed for Washington at the invitation of
US President Donald Trump. The statement noted that "a Lebanese-American summit
will be held at the White House, and President Aoun will also hold meetings and
consultations with a number of US officials to discuss the situation in Lebanon,
ways to solidify the ceasefire and restore security and stability to Lebanon in
general, and the south in particular, Israel's withdrawal from the occupied
Lebanese territories, and the extension of state authority over all areas."Aoun
is scheduled to hold a summit with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, preceded
by a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as a number of
other senior US officials. The visit is particularly significant after Lebanon
and Israel entered into direct negotiations, for the first time in decades,
under US auspices. These negotiations culminated on June 26 in a "framework
agreement" stipulating the implementation of reciprocal phases, including a
gradual Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern
areas, and the commencement of what are known as "pilot zones." During the
latest round of negotiations in Rome, the two sides agreed to finalize the
operational structure for these zones and begin implementing them within days,
in an attempt to test the agreement's implementation mechanism before expanding
it. However, this path continues to face field and political obstacles,
especially since Israel links its complete withdrawal to a guarantee of
Hezbollah's disarmament. Furthermore, the agreement lacks a clear timetable for
the withdrawal, raising doubts within Lebanon about Tel Aviv's commitment to its
pledges. Hezbollah and Amal Movement Attack the Framework Agreement
In contrast to official efforts and reliance on the Lebanese state's efforts to
end the war on Lebanon, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement continued their
political escalation against the Framework Agreement. During a protest in Tyre
under the slogan "We Resist, We Do Not Compromise," the two parties asserted
that the agreement grants Israel political and security gains and perpetuates
its occupation of parts of southern Lebanon. They held the Lebanese authorities
responsible for pursuing a negotiating track that, in their words, "serves
Israeli objectives."
Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine stated that the agreement "covers up the enemy's
crimes and invites the occupation to remain." He argued that it replaces Israeli
withdrawal with the concept of "redeployment," linking this to the disarmament
of the resistance. He accused the Lebanese authorities of making "gratuitous
concessions" and pursuing options that serve the goals of Israel and the United
States. He reiterated that the party rejects any path that leads to
relinquishing its weapons or engaging in direct negotiations with Israel. For
his part, MP Ali Khreis announced the Amal Movement's absolute rejection of the
agreement and any direct negotiations with Israel, emphasizing that what is
required is a complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese
territory, not acceptance of so-called "experimental zones." He also called on
the state not to pursue "losing options," asserting that Israel does not abide
by any agreement, and that the option of resistance and national unity remains,
in his words, the fundamental guarantee in confronting Israel.
President Aoun Arrives in Washington Tomorrow, Meets
with Rubio
NNA/July 18, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Press reports indicate that President Joseph Aoun's plane has arrived at Joint
Base Andrews. The flight lasted 12 hours and 4 minutes, after which he will
proceed to his temporary residence in Washington, located approximately ten
minutes from the White House. President Aoun and First Lady Nemat Aoun departed
Beirut this morning for Washington at the invitation of US President Donald
Trump. A Lebanese-American summit will be held at the White House, and President
Aoun will also hold meetings and consultations with a number of US officials to
discuss the situation in Lebanon, ways to solidify the ceasefire and restore
security and stability to Lebanon in general and the south in particular,
Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories, and the extension of
state authority over all areas. President Aoun will meet with US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio tomorrow, ahead of his anticipated meeting with President
Trump on Tuesday.
Aoun in Washington amid progress in Lebanon-Israel talks
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/July 18, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Sources from Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath confirmed that Lebanese President Joseph
Aoun departed Beirut this morning, Saturday, for Washington, D.C., on a visit of
exceptional political and security significance. This comes after indirect
negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Rome saw progress described by the
United States as positive, amid indications of an imminent transition from
political understandings to practical steps, beginning with limited Israeli
withdrawals in southern Lebanon. The visit coincides with US efforts to launch
the first phase of the framework agreement reached in late June, which
stipulates a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, the
deployment of the Lebanese army, and efforts to end the military confrontation
that has persisted since the renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah. The
Lebanese president was accompanied on his first visit to Lebanon by Neemat Aoun
and a number of his advisors. His talks with senior US officials are expected to
be a pivotal moment for assessing the results of the recent negotiations and
discussing the guarantees required for moving to implementation.
Progress in Rome
The Italian capital, Rome, hosted the sixth round of direct negotiations between
the Lebanese and Israeli delegations under US auspices. This was the first round
held after the signing of the framework agreement in Washington. The US Embassy
in Beirut announced that the two sides reached an agreement on the general
structure and implementation mechanism for the "pilot zones," with the
completion of technical details and the commencement of implementation expected
within days. This will coincide with the launch of extensive technical talks to
implement the remaining provisions of the agreement. Sources from Al-Arabiya and
Al-Hadath revealed a few days ago that the Israeli withdrawal from the first
pilot zones will begin before the Lebanese president's visit to Washington. This
move is seen as a practical indication of the seriousness of the new approach
and a message of support for the Lebanese presidency before its meetings in the
US capital.
The Withdrawal Impasse and Hezbollah's Weapons
Despite the progress, the most prominent points of contention still revolve
around the conditions of the Israeli withdrawal from the border areas. According
to American sources, Lebanon is demanding a comprehensive ceasefire before
implementing any phase of the agreement, along with a clear and binding
timetable for the Israeli withdrawal. In return, Israel stipulates that any
withdrawal must be accompanied by guarantees confirming the Lebanese army's
ability to prevent Hezbollah's return to the areas from which its forces will
withdraw. Meanwhile, the United States is demanding a Lebanese commitment to
prevent any military activity by the party in the south. Washington, at the same
time, affirms that it has officially separated the Lebanese negotiation track
from its talks with Iran, although it continues to monitor the potential impact
of any regional escalation on the situation on the ground in Lebanon.
American Support for the Lebanese Track
Before his departure, President Joseph Aoun affirmed that "Washington is now
listening to Lebanon," and that the Lebanese file is now directly on the table
of US President Donald Trump, considering the current formula for the agreement
with Israel to be "the best possible" under the present circumstances. These
statements align with indications of growing American interest in closing the
southern Lebanese front, within a broader vision aimed at reducing hotspots of
tension in the Middle East after months of escalation. In this context, Axios
quoted American and Israeli officials as saying that President Trump told
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a phone call on July 9, that
it was necessary to begin redeploying Israeli forces and withdrawing from
Lebanon and Syria, warning that the continued military presence in these two
arenas could lead to a new escalation.
After 17 years, Lebanese presidency makes a new White House
visit: What is at stake
LBCI/18 July/2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is set to visit Washington in two days for a
meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at a time when the United States is
playing a central role in Lebanon-related developments, particularly as the main
sponsor of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations.
The visit marks the first official invitation of a Lebanese president to the
White House in 17 years, since former President Michel Suleiman. Aoun arrives in
Washington following the latest round of Rome talks, where the U.S. played a key
role in pushing for the implementation of pilot areas aimed at giving momentum
to the negotiations.
The president’s agenda is expected to focus on three main files. On the security
front, Aoun will seek to reinforce the ceasefire and translate the framework
agreement into practical steps, starting with an Israeli withdrawal, the
deployment of the Lebanese Army and opening the way for reconstruction. On the
military level, he will call for continued U.S. support for the Lebanese Army,
the continuation of assistance programs and support for an international
conference to strengthen the army’s ability to extend state authority across
Lebanese territory. Economically, Aoun will seek international support for
investment and for Lebanon’s financial recovery and reform process. The visit
will include meetings with senior U.S. officials and researchers at American
think tanks involved in shaping policy toward Lebanon, with the aim of turning
political momentum into security and economic support. While the meetings
organized by the Lebanese Embassy in Washington are expected to be a key moment
for Lebanon, attention will also focus on Trump’s remarks during the public part
of the visit. The main challenge for Lebanon remains translating U.S. demands
into concrete measures that strengthen state sovereignty in security, military
and economic matters, while implementing the trilateral framework aimed at
placing weapons under state authority and ending the state of war between
Lebanon and Israel.
The US Embassy in Beirut advises its citizens against
traveling to Lebanon.
NNA/July 18, 2026
The US Embassy in Beirut advised Americans against traveling to Lebanon and
urged them to reconsider travel to or through the Middle East. In a statement,
the embassy said: "Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security
environment remains complex with the potential for unexpected escalation. We
remind US citizens in the region to continue exercising caution and encourage
them to monitor the news for urgent developments. Americans traveling within or
through the region should check with their airlines to ensure their flights are
still scheduled. US citizens are advised against traveling to Lebanon and to
reconsider travel to or through the Middle East."
Urgent US travel warning for 15 Middle Eastern countries,
including Lebanon.
Central News Agency/July 18, 2026
US embassies in the Middle East warned against travel to the Gulf region and the
Middle East, urging people to avoid Lebanon and Iraq and to reconsider visits to
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The U.S. embassies in Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, and
Saudi Arabia issued identical security alerts, noting that the security
situation in the region remains complex with the potential for unexpected
escalation. They advised U.S. citizens to exercise extreme caution, monitor
local news, and check their flight schedules, while being aware of the
possibility of travel disruptions or airspace closures without warning, and to
seek shelter in the event of attacks. The alerts specifically advised against
travel to Lebanon and Iraq, and recommended reconsidering travel to Bahrain and
Saudi Arabia. The State Department's broader warning included 15 destinations:
Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, Iran, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Yemen.
(Source: RT/n)
A Crime That Does Not Expire
Abu Arz/Facebook/July 18, 2026
Hezbollah could not have controlled Lebanon for decades, nor built a state
within a state, and an army stronger than the army, were it not for the support
and cover provided by the pillars of power, from the presidents of the republic
to the last official who participated, colluded, or remained silent.
All of these are partners in the crime of selling Lebanon to the Islamic
Republic of Iran, and they bear full responsibility for the disguised
occupation, destruction, and collapse that has befallen the nation.
In conclusion: No one who betrayed the nation or contributed to its destruction
should escape punishment, nor should they have the right to enjoy the money and
gains they acquired as the price for selling Lebanon. This is a crime of high
treason that does not expire.
At your service, Lebanon.
Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah fighters after
drone spotted in southern Lebanon
Reuters/18 July/2026
The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah cell near Tebnit in southern
Lebanon on Saturday after soldiers identified a Hezbollah drone in the area. The
air force located fighters that had been operating drones and taking cover near
Israeli troops, the military said in a statement, adding that the activity
violated ceasefire understandings. There was no immediate comment from
Hezbollah.
Israeli army claims striking Hezbollah drone cell in southern Lebanon
LBCI/18 July/2026
Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Ella Waweya claimed in a post on X
that the military struck a Hezbollah drone-operating cell after its members
launched a drone near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. According to Waweya,
troops from the Commando Brigade operating under the 36th Division detected the
drone near the village of Tebnine. The Israeli Air Force, guided by ground
forces, then located the operators, who were allegedly hiding near the security
zone, and carried out an airstrike "to eliminate the threat."Waweya said the
incident constituted a violation by Hezbollah and reiterated that the Israeli
military would continue to act against any threats to its forces or Israeli
civilians.
Diplomatic source to Sky News Arabia: Israel rejects
withdrawal from Zawtar El Charqiyeh under South Lebanon pilot areas plan
LBCI/18 July/2026
An Israeli refusal to withdraw from Zawtar El Charqiyeh is preventing the
implementation of the “pilot areas” plan in southern Lebanon, a diplomatic
source told Sky News Arabia. The source said that after Frun, the Lebanese Army
will deploy in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, followed by Al-Ghandouriya, Qlaileh, Burj
Qalaouiyah and then Srifa. The inspection of private properties in Froun in the
coming days will be carried out in coordination with the Lebanese judiciary, the
source said, adding that the Lebanese Army’s deployment in Frun and subsequent
operational steps were based on a plan submitted by the army. The source added
that Lebanon has agreed to the participation of any European country in the
verification mechanism for the pilot areas, noting that Italy has proposed
working with the United States on the mechanism.
LBCI Source: Contacts continue on pilot areas as talks
await President Aoun's US visit
LBCI/18 July/2026
Contacts took place Friday between the U.S. military mediator and both the
Lebanese and Israeli sides to follow up on the implementation of the pilot
areas, a source following the negotiations told LBCI. The source said
implementation has begun in the first pilot area, which includes villages under
Israeli fire control and effectively under occupation, as well as in a second
area under direct Israeli occupation. The process is expected to continue with
an Israeli withdrawal "very soon."
The source added that the next phase will depend on the implementation process
and the outcome of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's visit to Washington, after
which a new date for the negotiations will be set.
UN to list south Lebanon historic castles as 'in danger'
from conflict
Agence France Presse/18 July/2026
The United Nations looks set to list a Biblical site, Lebanese castles, an
antelope migration path and the world's deepest lake as world treasures under
threat, including from war or climate change. The 196 members states of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are to
cast votes from Friday next week on new additions to its World Heritage and
World Heritage in Danger lists when they meet in Busan, South Korea. "We may not
have the means to deploy peacekeepers... but we can send a message to the entire
world," the director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo
told AFP. "These sites are important, and everything must be done to prevent
their destruction." Safeguarding "heritage allows communities that have been
traumatised, victims of conflicts, to begin to come back and rebuild," he added.
Some 1,200 sites around the globe are listed as part of UNESCO World Heritage.
Making the heritage list often sparks a lucrative tourism drive, and can unlock
funding for the preservation of sites that can face threats including pollution,
war and negligence.A site being qualified as heritage in danger, Assomo said,
was not a reprimand but a measure meant to help states "find funding, partners
and attention" to better preserve it.
Fast-tracked to 'in danger'
Three sites, so far unlisted, are expected to be fast-tracked and voted straight
onto the list of endangered places. These could include the archaeological site
of Sebastia, identified as being Biblical Samaria, in the Israeli-occupied
Palestinian territory of the West Bank. The site itself is in an area of the
West Bank under Israeli control. But Palestinians in the adjacent village, which
is under dual Israeli-Palestinian control, have long depended on tourist visits
to the ruins for their income and fear Israel could completely cut off access.
Israel left UNESCO in 2017, but remains a member of the World Heritage
Committee, which has the final say on which sites are inscribed on each
list.Also to be given priority are five castles in south Lebanon, an area under
fire from Israel, one of which -- the Crusader fortress of Qalaat al-Chakif or
Beaufort Castle -- Israeli troops captured in May. UNESCO members are also to
vote on directly listing the Boma-Badingilo grassland and woodland savannahs in
South Sudan the as under threat from both war and climate change. One million
animals -- including antelopes and gazelles -- migrate through the vast
wilderness located between the White Nile and the Ethiopian border every year,
leaving scars on the grasslands that are visible from the sky. Beyond these
priority cases, some sites already listed as heritage spots could now further be
labelled as endangered. These include the remains of Roman baths and a
second-century triumphal arch and hippodrome in the southern Lebanese city of
Tyre, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment in recent months. Also a
potential candidate is the ancient Greek settlement of Tauric Chersonese in the
Crimea peninsula that Russia unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.Ukraine
argues it is under threat from unauthorised excavations, large-scale
construction projects, and the relocation of artifacts after Russia's invasion
of Crimea.
'Ecological degradation' -
In Russia, the world's deepest lake -- Lake Baikal -- could also be labelled in
danger as authorities struggle to contain damage from pollution, mass tourism,
large-scale logging and lower water levels due to a dam upstream in Mongolia.
The vast Siberian lake contains 20 percent of the world's total unfrozen
freshwater reserve, according to Russia. Known as the "Galapagos of Russia", it
is home to a huge variety of flora and fauna. But in a 2023 report, the UN
agency warned that if the "unfolding ecological degradation of Lake Baikal" was
not urgently stopped and reversed, it would be classified as in danger. "Some
actions are being implemented to address this," it added, but "the mission
considers that they are not sufficient".Other sites are also vying for a simple
listing. In France, the Normandy beaches on which the Allies landed on June 6,
1944 during World War II could finally receive UNESCO recognition. Two theatres
built in the Amazon forest in Brazil and the Tunisian village of Sidi Bou Said
might also be listed.
Besieged Hezbollah is ready for anything to regain its
strength… even a confrontation with the army?
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/July 18, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that
specialized units thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of
sophisticated weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border. The weapons were intended
to be transported through Syrian territory into Lebanon for the benefit of the
terrorist militia Hezbollah. For its part, the Joint Operations Command in Iraq
announced the formation of a committee to investigate the details of the
operation. On Wednesday, Iraq imposed sanctions on Hezbollah and several of its
officials, such as Mahmoud Qamati, and its allies, such as former MP Suleiman
Frangieh. These developments indicate that the regional noose is tightening
around Hezbollah's neck, and that the countries that were under Iranian control
and constituted the vital artery through which money and weapons reached
Hezbollah are now in a different position, effectively "strangling" the party
financially and militarily, according to sovereign political sources speaking to
Al-Markazia. All of this is in addition to a final and definitive official
Lebanese decision to restrict weapons to the state, following a cabinet decision
on March 2nd that designated Hezbollah's military wing as an outlawed
organization. The party is reading these developments and feels that the siege
is tightening around it from both inside and outside, the sources continue, and
it is naturally not comfortable with this situation, which will be further
solidified with President Joseph Aoun's visit to Washington to meet with US
President Donald Trump on the 21st of this month. From this point, he began to
escalate his rhetoric, launching daily attacks, through his media outlets and
his parliamentary bloc, against the President of the Republic. He also
threatened to dismantle the framework agreement, particularly the pilot zones,
through his own people. This was alluded to by MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of
the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, on Thursday when he stated that the
agreement was unviable, that the Zionists would be unable to impose it, and that
the Lebanese people would thwart its effects on the ground. All this while the
party's cadres implicitly challenged the state and the army, asserting that no
one would be able to disarm them. According to sources, there is serious concern
that the party's precarious situation, where it sees itself constrained from all
sides, might drive it to do anything to regain its strength. It seems the party
will not hesitate to engage in internal provocations and confrontations, perhaps
even with the Lebanese army in the pilot zones, in order to, firstly, thwart the
agreement and prevent the advancement of this experiment, which would deprive
Iran of its leverage in Lebanon and the party of its pretext for taking up arms
for liberation. Secondly, it aims to regain control of the territory and the
political landscape. Is the Lebanese state prepared to confront this scenario,
which all of the party's pronouncements suggest it is determined to implement?
Or is the party's exaggeration simply for populist reasons?
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 18-19 July/2026
16 US service members have died in the Iran war,
reflecting a conflict fought largely in the air
AP/July 19/2026
BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey: The US military said on Saturday that two additional
service members were killed as part of the war with Iran, bringing the total
number of deaths to 16. The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American
boots don’t need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict
that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across
the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has
escalated after a breakdown in peace talks. President Donald Trump has said the
war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As of Saturday
afternoon, he had yet to issue a statement on the latest set of deaths that
occurred in Jordan, with the White House instead sending the statement issued by
US Central Command.
First fatalities came soon after the war started
Shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian
port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply
and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style
building that had no defenses.
A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1
attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Later in March,
six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting US
military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in “friendly”
airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place,
according to US Central Command. On Monday, the US military said a Navy pilot
died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the
July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the
emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the
helicopter were rescued. On Saturday, the US Central Command said two service
members were killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile
and drone attacks. The military said one US service member is “currently”
missing after the attack. The military said as part of the most recent
announcement that it was withholding additional information, including the names
of the deceased, until 24 hours after families had been notified. The deaths in
the war are not limited to Americans. Iranian authorities said at least 50
people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes in the past
three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday. People
working on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel
and Lebanon have also perished in the conflict.
Two US service members in Jordan killed in Iranian attack, US says
Reuters/18 July/2026
Two US military personnel in Jordan were killed on Friday as they defended
against an attack by Iranian missiles and drones, the US Central Command said in
a statement on Saturday.
Iran’s leader Mojtaba Khamenei says US breaches show
Trump’s signature is ‘worthless’
Reuters/18 July/2026
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement on Saturday
that repeated US breaches of a memorandum of understanding signed by the
presidents of Iran and the United States had shown that President Donald Trump’s
signature was “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.”
Washington and Tehran have exchanged strikes after a ceasefire agreement fell
apart last week, raising fears of a return to all-out war. Khamenei said the
United States should know that the Iranian nation and the “resistance front” had
“unforgettable lessons” for it.
US military launches new airstrikes to punish Iran for
deaths of US troops
Agencies/July 19, 2026
DUBAI/WASHINGTON: The US military said Saturday that it launched new airstrikes
against Iran to “swiftly punish” the country’s Revolutionary Guard for an attack
in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one missing and four
requiring hospitalization. The Central Command said in a statement that the
airstrikes began at 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT), at President Donald Trump’s direction.
“The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten
commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service
members in Jordan last night,” it said, without providing further details.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said the US carried out an attack near Sirik in southern
Iran, adding that no casualties or damage to infrastructure have been reported.
The US and Iran have intensified attacks since an interim ceasefire deal signed
a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out
war. The new strikes came after the US military announced its first troop deaths
due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, following a drone
and missile attack on a base in Jordan on Friday. The dead were not identified.
Since the war began, 16 US service members have been killed and over 430
wounded. The previous recorded death of a US service member was that of a
helicopter pilot who crashed in the Arabian Sea earlier this month. Early in the
war, an Iranian drone strike on a command center in Kuwait killed six soldiers.
One soldier died after an attack on a base in Saudi Arabia. Six were killed when
a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: “Godspeed, heroes. Their
sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”Iran appeared to target other US Gulf
allies and Jordan on Saturday after US attacks on Iranian bridges, power
facilities and other infrastructure.Iran’s supreme leader warned of
‘unforgettable lessons’Minutes before the US announced the troop deaths earlier
Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader warned of “unforgettable lessons” if the US
keeps attacking the Islamic Republic. The remarks read out on state TV and
attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, also called
President Donald Trump’s signature “worthless and invalid.” An Iranian
negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed
about a month ago and aimed at permanently ending the fighting. Tehran’s
declarations snapped another fragile thread as the war shows no end in sight.
Now Khamenei warns of “lessons” not only from Iran but also its armed proxies in
the region, calling them the “Axis of Resistance.” The US issued a global travel
alert over the rising tensions.
The battle has focused on control of the Strait of Hormuz. The widening strikes
now threaten civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants for
drinking water, while the global economy again is on alert.The US has violated
its commitments under the deal and now Iran is “no longer implementing them,”
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV. There was no
new word on mediation efforts. Iranian strikes reported in Kuwait, Bahrain,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, Kuwait came under sustained attack, with the
armed forces saying they had intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones,
and that some firefighters and oil sector workers had been injured while
responding to the attacks. Iran’s IRGC said it had struck a US military support
center at Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem
Air Base. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later said one of its oil facilities had
been hit in “repeated Iranian attacks,” causing significant damage and some
injuries, according to the state news agency. It was the second attack against a
desalination plant in two days in the tiny desert nation that depends on
desalination for 90 percent of its drinking water. The strikes injured several
people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing
several power generation units offline. As well as hitting Kuwait, the IRGC
targeted a site in Bahrain where US combat aircraft were gathered at Sheikh Isa
Air Base and an intelligence data center, Iranian media said. Several
firefighters and a worker were injured while battling two other blazes sparked
by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait briefly closed
its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling
most flights to and from the capital. The Guards also destroyed at least two US
fighter aircraft and three other aircraft during a missile and drone attack
early on Saturday on the US base in Al Azraq, Jordan, according to Iranian
state TV. Saudi Arabia’s early warning system issued alerts early on Saturday
urging residents of Al-Kharj and Yanbu to seek shelter. Al-Kharj, east of
Riyadh, is home to a military base that hosts US troops, while Yanbu, on the
Red Sea, has a key oil export terminal.
Two people briefed on the matter said an Iranian missile attack, the first on
Saudi Arabia in more than three months, had triggered the alerts. Saudi state
media did not say what had prompted the alerts and the government media office
did not respond to a request for comment.
The IRGC made no mention of any attack on Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Iraq said it
shot down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news
agency said the kingdom’s air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles, while
air sirens sounded multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day and in Saudi
Arabia in the morning, according to their governments. The secretary general of
the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, accused Iran
of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.
Battle for control of Hormuz Strait
Agencies/July 19, 2026
Earlier, the Central Command said it had hit Iranian surveillance sites,
military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime
capabilities. US airstrikes early on Saturday killed three people and wounded
eight others in the southern Hormozgan province, which borders the Strait of
Hormuz, while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged, Iranian state TV
reported. The US carried out further airstrikes in the same province on Saturday
afternoon, the semi-official Fars news agency said, quoting provincial
authorities. Iran’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that 50 people had been
killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes on the country over the past
three weeks. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the
United States of seeking control over the Strait of Hormuz, which usually
handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Both sides have taken aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it is
enforcing a naval blockade and Iran saying it targets vessels violating its
rules on navigating the strait. The European Union and Gulf states called on
Iran to immediately and unconditionally halt all attacks and interference with
maritime navigation and to keep the strait open without conditions or fees,
according to a joint statement reported by Saudi state TV on Saturday. *
US-Iran strikes: Latest developments
Agence France Presse/18 July/2026
Hostilities in the Middle East intensified on Saturday after a seventh straight
night of U.S. attacks on Iran, with Tehran threatening a "full-scale offensive"
in response and the strategic Strait of Hormuz remaining virtually closed. Here
are the latest developments:
Bahrain 'thwarted' Iranian attacks
Bahrain's army said its "air defense systems thwarted" a wave of Iranian attacks
on Saturday, as an AFP journalist in Manama reported hearing blasts after sirens
sounded.
Iran hits Kuwait power, water plant
Kuwait said Iran struck another of its power and water plants, leading to the
deactivation of several power generation units, a day after a similar attack.
Seventh night of U.S. strikes on Iran
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that it "hit surveillance sites,
military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime
capabilities" as American forces concluded strikes on Iran for the seventh
consecutive night.
Tankers 'hit mines'
Two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz struck mines, according to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards -- an assertion denied by the U.S. military.
The Guards said the tankers that hit mines were directed by "deceptive American
intelligence agencies" and had caught fire.
CENTCOM issued a brief denial. The Guards said separately that they had
"stopped" four ships attempting to transit the strategic passage.
Gulf countries hit
Iran's army said it struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Jordan in
response to American attacks.
The targets in Kuwait were tied to the Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al-Salem base. The
targets in Jordan were fuel tanks at the Al-Azraq base.
Kuwait, Jordan respond
Kuwait's army wrote on X on Saturday that explosions might be heard as a result
of "air defense systems intercepting hostile targets". Jordan's army said it had
shot down 10 Iranian missiles with no casualties or damage.
Bahrain base targeted
The Iranian army said it targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United
States, according to state television.Air raid sirens were sounded in Bahrain,
which hosts a major U.S. naval base, according to the country's interior
ministry. Bahrain and Qatar earlier said they had intercepted missiles.
Casualties reported
Iranian state-controlled IRNA news agency said on Saturday that U.S. strikes had
killed three people and wounded eight in Hormozgan, a province in the country's
south.
Blasts in central Iran
Five explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd shortly after
U.S. strikes were announced, according to the IRNA state news agency. Mehr,
another state-controlled agency, reported explosions "in several provinces in
the south" of the country.
'Full-scale offensive'
Tehran threatened to resume "full-scale offensive operations" if U.S. strikes
continue over the coming days, Major General Mohsen Rezaei said, according to
state-controlled news agency IRIB.
"Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses... and
no political border will be safe," he said.
US hails plan to restore Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline
Agence France Presse/18 July/2026
The U.S. State Department reported a major oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria,
which has been closed for decades, will be restored by the two countries. "The
United States welcomes the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government
of the Syrian Arab Republic's intent to advance the rehabilitation and
reconstruction of the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline as a priority infrastructure
project," the State Department said in a statement, calling it "of bilateral and
regional strategic significance."The pipeline will link Iraqi oil production to
export markets in the Mediterranean and beyond. "Today's announcement marks an
important milestone for the region and for Syria-Iraq relations," the State
Department added. Washington is overseeing an international consortium "to
execute the technical and financial aspects of this project," which is expected
to have an initial transport capacity of two million barrels of crude daily once
fully rehabilitated, the department said. In Damascus last week, TotalEnergies
CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that Syria could become an "important transit country
for oil coming from Iraq to the Mediterranean," especially with the need for
"alternative routes" given the closure of the Strait of Hormuz from to the Iran
war and its effect on global energy supplies. Since April, Iraq has been
transporting crude through Syria by truck to circumvent the closure of the
strait, which briefly reopened after a fragile ceasefire but has since been
locked down by Iran after U.S. strikes resumed earlier this month. The
announcement of the oil pipeline restoration comes as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali
al-Zaidi visits Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump praising his
leadership.
UKMTO reports tanker incident involving military forces
east of Oman’s Duqm
Reuters/18 July/2026
A merchant vessel and military forces have been involved in an incident about
100 nautical miles east of Duqm, Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime
Trade Operations (UKMTO). “Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to
interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region,” UKMTO said in a
note on Friday, without giving further details.
Iraq, US sign 48 agreements during PM's visit
Agence France Presse/18 July/2026
Iraq signed 48 agreements and partnerships with American companies, many in the
oil sector, during a visit to the U.S. by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, his
office said Saturday. Oil-rich Iraq has been trying to move past decades of war
and unrest, but still suffers from poor infrastructure, failing public services,
mismanagement and endemic corruption. It is in urgent need of an economic boost,
especially after losing revenue due to a halt in oil exports caused by the
Middle East war. "A total of 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding,
cooperation agreements, and partnership declarations were signed between public
and private sector entities in Iraq and the United States," the Iraqi leader's
media office said. They include "cooperation and partnerships involving the
ministries of oil and electricity... with ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell,
and Halliburton," as well as several deals related to the construction of a
major crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria.Iraq also signed a deal with
Starlink, which dominates the global satellite communications sector, to
introduce services to the country. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump
praised Zaidi as a "champion" in a meeting at the White House. Zaidi, a
businessman, came to power this year with U.S. blessing after Trump vetoed
another candidate. He has vowed to boost Iraq's fragile economy and disarm
pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq that have targeted U.S. facilities. Iraq has long
walked a tightrope between the competing influences of allies the United States
and neighboring Iran.
Saudi Arabia condemns continued Iranian attacks on Kuwait,
Bahrain and Jordan
Al Arabiya English/18 July/2026
Saudi Arabia on Saturday strongly condemned Iranian attacks against Kuwait,
Bahrain and Jordan, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Kingdom
reiterated its complete rejection Iran’s attacks on civilian infrastructure and
vital facilities, including a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait,
according to SPA. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its full support for the three
countries in all measures they take in response to the Iranian attacks, saying
the strikes violate international law and the principles of good neighborliness.
The Kingdom also stressed the need for an immediate halt to all forms of
military escalation in order to safeguard the security and stability of
countries across the region and protect their people.
Kuwait reports injuries, damage to power, water plant & KPC oil facility after
Iran attack
Al Arabiya English/18 July/2026
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said one of its oil facilities was hit on Saturday
by “repeated Iranian attacks,” resulting in significant material damage and some
injuries, according to Kuwait’s state news agency. The Gulf country on Saturday
said Iran struck another of its power and water plants, leading to the
deactivation of several power generation units, a day after a similar attack.
Firefighters tending to the blaze and a worker have been injured in the attack,
according to the Kuwaiti fire department. Kuwait accused Iran on Saturday of
targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, after
reporting attacks on an oil facility and a power and water plant. “The repeated
targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach
targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and
safety of civilians,” the foreign ministry said. US forces launched strikes
against Iran for a seventh night in a row on Friday. Iran has retaliated by
striking non-warring Gulf parties, with Bahrain and Kuwait coming under drone
and missile attacks.Kuwait Airways said on Saturday it had rescheduled most
flights after the country temporarily suspended operations at Kuwait
International Airport following the attacks. With Agencies
GCC secretary general says Iran attacks on civilian
facilities ‘war crimes’
AFP/18 July/2026
The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned recent Iranian
attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Saturday, saying strikes on civilian
infrastructure amounted to “war crimes.”
“Iran’s actions constitute a highly dangerous escalation, a grave violation of
international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, as well as war crimes
requiring international accountability and prosecution, given the deliberate
targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities,” Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi
said, in a statement.
Bahrain activates sirens again after thwarting earlier wave of Iranian attacks
Al Arabiya English/18 July/2026
Bahrain activated its air sirens for a second time on Saturday, warning
residents to shelter after it detected possible incoming drones or missiles.
Earlier, its army said that the country's air defenses repelled a wave of
Iranian attacks, as an AFP journalist in Manama reported hearing blasts after
sirens sounded. “Air defense systems thwarted” the attacks, the army said in a
statement, adding that they “intercepted and destroyed a number of treacherous
Iranian aerial assaults.”
Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul charged with hit-and-run in California
The Associated Press/18 July/2026
Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was charged Friday
with a misdemeanor hit-and-run over a collision with a parked car. Pelosi, 86,
was driving his brown convertible July 3 in Yountville, California, a town in
the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of
the road, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement at the time.He
briefly stopped and then allegedly drove away. The parked car was unoccupied and
no injuries were reported. Pelosi did not have any alcohol in his system,
according to the statement. State law requires drivers involved in accidents
resulting in property damage to stop and provide their vehicle and license
information; Pelosi was charged with a misdemeanor violation of that law. In
addition, Pelosi was charged with an infraction of making an unlawful turn, Napa
County prosecutors said Friday. No attorney for Paul Pelosi was listed in court
records. Nancy Pelosi's press office did not immediately respond to a call
seeking comment. Paul Pelosi's court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 14. Pelosi
pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in
Napa County and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation.
He served two days in jail and received good conduct credit for two other days,
leaving just one day to serve in a work program at the courthouse. As part of
his probation, Pelosi was required to pay thousands in fines and victim
restitution, attend a three-month drinking driver class and install an ignition
interlock device, which forces drivers to provide a breath sample to prove
sobriety before the engine will start.
That same year he was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer at the couple’s
San Francisco home.
US lifts some Hong Kong sanctions imposed by Trump, autonomy status unchanged
Reuters/18 July/2026
The United States on Friday partially removed Hong Kong-related sanctions and
trade restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump in 2020 over China’s
security crackdown on the territory, but did not restore its autonomous status,
the US State and Treasury departments said. China had earlier announced that the
US decision to allow the expiration of Trump’s national emergency declaration
over Hong Kong would restore the territory’s special trade and economic status,
but US officials disputed this assessment. The US Treasury Department announced
that it had allowed only the national emergency portions of Trump’s order to
expire. The order was issued during Trump’s first term in response to Beijing’s
imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong. The July 14, 2020, order,
which had been extended annually for the past five years, imposed sanctions on
individuals associated with Hong Kong’s security crackdown and suspended the
territory’s special economic and trade privileges associated with its prior
autonomous status. A US State Department spokesperson said that while the
national emergency has ended, other parts of the executive order remain in
effect. “As E.O. 13936 states, Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to
justify differential treatment in relation to the PRC under the particular US
laws and provisions listed in the E.O.,” the State Department spokesperson
added, using an acronym for People’s Republic of China. The Treasury said the
emergency expiration does not affect restrictions imposed under the Hong Kong
Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 or the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020. A
Treasury spokesperson said the two laws had significant overlap with the
national emergency that has now been rescinded, adding that sanctions will
remain on 38 of 49 people affected by the executive order. “The non-renewal is
consistent with sanctions modernization efforts that streamline sanctions for
greater efficiency and effectiveness, including by ensuring our sanctions are
not duplicative,” the Treasury spokesperson said. Hong Kong had benefited from a
special economic and trade status with the United States that was separate from
US dealings with China. This status was based on the principle that Hong Kong
remained a separate customs territory and maintained a high degree of autonomy
after its 1997 handover from Britain to China.
The decision to let the order lapse marks a significant reversal and comes after
recent trade talks between Washington and Beijing that also produced tariff
reductions. The US has treated Hong Kong the same as China on tariffs and export
controls since 2020, but it was not immediately clear whether the order’s
expiration would affect duties imposed by Trump since he returned to office in
January 2025. Those duties were imposed based on other US laws.
China says US is moving in a more positive direction
China’s commerce ministry nonetheless welcomed what it called a restoration of
Hong Kong’s status as a step toward implementing understandings reached during
recent talks between Beijing and Washington. Trump met Chinese President Xi
Jinping in Beijing in May and has invited Xi to visit the White House in
September. “The US adjustment of its Hong Kong policy in a more positive
direction also aligns with the widespread expectations of the international
community,” the statement published on its website said. It urged the US to
respect China’s sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, restore and
strengthen normal trade and economic exchanges with the city, and help improve
China-US relations. Critics of the security law say it has crushed the
wide-ranging freedoms promised to Hong Kong when it returned to Chinese rule;
supporters say it has brought stability to the city after a year of
anti-government protests in 2019. The United States began eliminating Hong
Kong’s special status in June 2020, halting defense exports and restricting the
territory’s access to high-technology products as China prepared to enact the
security legislation. The Hong Kong government, which is selected by a
pro-Beijing committee, also welcomed the move.
First death reported in Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City
The Associated Press/18 July/2026
A Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York
City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday. Officials didn't
release additional information about the person's identity, age or details on
when and how they fell ill. Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the
source of the outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that has infected at least
67 people and hospitalized dozens, according to city Health Department data.
Much of the scrutiny has focused on the air conditioning systems atop many large
buildings, which can release water vapor carrying the bacteria.
Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia, is treatable but kills about 10
percent of patients, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Last year, seven people died and more than 100 were sickened during
an outbreak in New York’s Harlem neighborhood.
City officials began tracking the current outbreak July 2, after two people were
infected in the area. The city says tests have identified either living or dead
Legionella bacteria - the micro-organisms that cause the disease - in cooling
towers on more than 75 Upper East Side buildings. They include prominent
museums, private schools and pricey apartment houses. It's not yet clear which,
if any, of them contributed to the outbreak, but all the buildings were ordered
to clean, drain and disinfect the cooling towers. They are devices sometimes
used to cool large buildings. Legionella bacteria grow in warm water and can
spread in cooling towers, hot tubs and showerheads. In many cases, people
contract the disease by inhaling tiny droplets of contaminated water.
Legionnaires’ disease doesn’t spread person-to-person.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on 18-19 July/2026
Iranian Regime's Insatiable Drive to Wipe Out Jews, Christians,
Minorities: World Turns a Blind Eye
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/July 18/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156033/
The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, has operated as
a terrorist state, using the IRGC and proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the
Houthis to advance its aims.
No diplomatic deal or agreement has ever permanently halted these activities:
the regime views such pacts as temporary opportunities for enrichment and
rearmament.
One rarely sees robust UN condemnations or widespread mainstream media outrage
when Iranian attacks and plots against synagogues are carried out or disrupted.
Yet, when Israel defends its citizens against attacks by Iran backed Hezbollah,
the volume of criticism and calls for restraint are immediate and intense. This
double standard emboldens terrorists and isolates the one democracy in the
region, which actively counters a threat to Western civilization.
The international system's bias against the tiny state of Israel that is
fighting to defend these sanctimonious ingrates only undermines security,
freedom and peace, and -- in ostentatious displays of cowardice, such as pleas
to create a terrorist Palestinian state -- actually rewards Iran's aggression
against the West by showing the terrorists that terrorism works.
Governments need to close Iranian embassies where IRGC influence is suspected,
expel connected diplomats, impose crippling sanctions that halt all trade, and
fully cut economic ties. Iran's diplomatic missions have long served as hubs for
intelligence and proxy coordination.
Fully supporting U.S. and Israeli efforts against the regime is also crucial to
neutralizing the threat.
Symbolic measures -- bans and designations -- while welcome, urgently need to
evolve into comprehensive isolation: severed diplomatic ties, airtight
sanctions, and unwavering support for those on the front lines. Only by treating
the Iranian regime and its proxies as the terrorist networks they are — without
illusions of "moderation" — can the world curb their threat. Israel's defense is
not merely self-preservation; it protects the principle that no nation can live
under the shadow of genocidal intent.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, has operated as
a terrorist state, using the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and proxies such
as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis to advance its aims. No diplomatic deal or
agreement has ever permanently halted these activities: the regime views such
pacts as temporary opportunities for enrichment and rearmament.
Despite sanctions and military setbacks, Tehran's ideological commitment to the
destruction of Israel, and targeting Jewish, Christian, Baha'i and other
worldwide minority communities, remains a core pillar of its foreign policy and
proxy strategies.
In Iran, far from being "just" rhetoric, this antagonism is daily seen in a
pattern of terrorist operations, including plots against synagogues, Jewish
sites, Christians, Baha'i and other "infidels," which exposes the regime's
transnational reach.
When, however, anyone says that Iran is doing this, the so-called international
community and United Nations are completely silent.
Recent incidents highlight a horrific wave of attacks and foiled plots targeting
Jewish, Christian and other minority institutions. In the United Kingdom and
across Europe, Iranian-linked actors, often operating through proxies or
networks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been tied to
intimidation, arson and shooting attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools,
stabbings of Jewish individuals, and threats against community sites. These
operations demonstrate the regime's determination to export its antisemitic and
anti-"infidel" ideology and use diaspora networks or recruited proxies to strike
at Jewish, Christian and other "infidel" targets far from the Middle East.
Authorities in the UK and other countries have documented multiple Iran-backed
attacks and plots, especially against Jewish communities.
In response, the UK has taken a strong and rightful step by designating the IRGC
a terrorist organization. Under new national security powers, providing any
assistance to the group — or expressing support — can now result in severe
penalties, up to 14 years in prison. Similarly, the EU added the IRGC to its
terrorist list in February 2026, a significant policy shift that acknowledges
the group's role in repression and international terrorism.
These developments make clear that the Iranian regime's ideological goals —
annihilating Israel and targeting Jews globally — persist and are still being
actively pursued. The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its 1979 Islamic
Revolution, has operated as a terrorist state, using the IRGC and proxies such
as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis to advance its aims.
No diplomatic deal or agreement has ever permanently halted these activities:
the regime views such pacts as temporary opportunities for enrichment and
rearmament.
Under the 2015 JCPOA "nuclear deal" reached between Iran and the Obama
administration, funds and sanctions relief flowed to Iran, benefiting the IRGC
and its proxies. This empowerment directly contributed to heightened aggression,
culminating in the horrific Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. The
regime's foundational goal of "wiping" Israel off the map remains unchanged,
rooted in revolutionary ideology, based on a genocidal Islamic hadith that
rejects Jews and Jewish self-determination within any borders:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight
with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O
Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him." — Sahih al-Bukhari 2926,
Book 56, Hadith 139.
Israel's actions in defending itself are therefore not only justified but
essential, not just for itself but for broader regional and global stability.
Iran maintains terrorist cells and influence operations in numerous countries.
While the United States and Israel have confronted this threat head-on through
sanctions, intelligence, and military measures, much of the international
community has been slower or indifferent in response. One rarely sees robust UN
condemnations or widespread mainstream media outrage when Iranian attacks and
plots against synagogues are carried out or disrupted. Yet, when Israel defends
its citizens against attacks by Iran backed Hezbollah, the volume of criticism
and calls for restraint are immediate and intense. This double standard
emboldens terrorists and isolates the one democracy in the region, which
actively counters a threat to Western civilization.
Israel maintains strong and peaceful relations with all nations that do not seek
its destruction. It has every right — and indeed the duty — to defend itself
against an ideologically driven regime that is working for its obliteration. The
international system's bias against the tiny state of Israel that is fighting to
defend these sanctimonious ingrates only undermines security, freedom and peace,
and -- in ostentatious displays of cowardice, such as pleas to create a
terrorist Palestinian state -- actually rewards Iran's aggression against the
West by showing the terrorists that terrorism works.
The IRGC's banning by the UK's and its designation by the EU's are positive
steps, but without deeper action, they remain symbolic. The IRGC and its
affiliates operate on European and Western soil, endangering citizens through
plots to harm locals. Mere listing or banning is insufficient. Governments need
to close Iranian embassies where IRGC influence is suspected, expel connected
diplomats, impose crippling sanctions that halt all trade, and fully cut
economic ties. Iran's diplomatic missions have long served as hubs for
intelligence and proxy coordination.
Fully supporting American and Israeli efforts against Iran is also crucial to
neutralizing the threat.
The EU should also abandon its outdated distinction between Hezbollah's
so-called "military" and "political" wings. As with Hamas or the Houthis,
Hezbollah functions as a unified proxy of Iran. Its political activities fund
and legitimize its terror apparatus. Treating the "wings" separately allows
continued financing and influence under the guise of social or political work.
Full designation is necessary for consistency against the IRGC's death grip.
The UN and the international community must stop turning away from this clear
and present danger.
The Iranian regime's pursuit of the annihilation of Israel, Jews, the United
States and the West is an ongoing operational reality. Foiled plots against the
West -- including against President Donald J. Trump and other senior officials,
journalists, dissidents and diplomats -- underscore the urgency. Symbolic
measures -- bans and designations -- while welcome, urgently need to evolve into
comprehensive isolation: severed diplomatic ties, airtight sanctions, and
unwavering support for those on the front lines. Only by treating the Iranian
regime and its proxies as the terrorist networks they are — without illusions of
"moderation" — can the world curb their threat. Israel's defense is not merely
self-preservation; it protects the principle that no nation can live under the
shadow of genocidal intent.
**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)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22708/iran-regime-drive-to-wipe-out-jews-christians
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Iran Threatens Riyadh to Protect the Houthi Card: Hostility
Will Worsen Its Isolation
Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/July 18, 2026 (Google translation from
Arabic)
Al-Markazia - The leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi,
declared that the true equation today is "Sanaa Airport for Riyadh Airport,
airports for airports, ports for ports, and a blockade for a blockade," days
after strikes targeted Sanaa International Airport, which is under Houthi
control. In a speech on Thursday, al-Houthi said: "All Saudi oil and vital
facilities are targets for our missiles and drones if they engage in aggression
against our country. The Saudis must respect themselves and cease their blockade
and interference in all our affairs, because we will never accept the
continuation of the blockade and control over our ports, our airports, our
goods, the movement of our sick and travelers, and all aspects of our lives." He
pointed out that instead of adhering to de-escalation during the past period,
the Saudis launched a comprehensive aggression against Yemen, under American
supervision, with British partnership and Israeli contribution. When the Houthis
threaten Saudi Arabia, it means Iran is threatening Saudi Arabia, according to
diplomatic sources speaking to Al-Markazia. This also means that Tehran intends
to play all its cards and cross all red lines, even targeting the Kingdom, if it
feels its influence in Yemen is threatened. For Iran, the Houthis are a valuable
"joker" it has yet to play. According to Reuters, Iran has asked them to prepare
to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the next phase, should the confrontation
between Iran and the Americans intensify and it needs to exert more pressure on
the Americans, the Gulf states, and the world at large. But will these hostile
messages from Iran, conveyed through the Houthis to Riyadh, push Saudi Arabia,
and the Arab and Western worlds to retreat, back down, and submit to Tehran, or
will they make them more convinced that the Iranian regime cannot be tolerated
due to its hostility and practices? The second possibility is more likely, the
sources conclude.
Iraqi FM to Asharq: We are ready to mediate between
Washington and Tehran, and ending the war is a priority
Asharq Bloomberg/July 18, 2026
WASHINGTON: Iraq has announced its readiness to play a mediating role between
the United States and Iran as part of a diplomatic effort aimed at ending the
war and paving the way for renewed dialogue, with Baghdad expressing its
willingness to help bridge differences, particularly on economic issues. Iraqi
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Asharq’s Washington bureau chief, Hiba Nasr,
that Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Zaidi will visit Iran on July 23 following
his visit to the United States. He added that Iraq will present its vision on
the need to end the war during the prime minister’s visit to Iran, stressing
that any discussion of initiatives, particularly on economic matters, first
requires an end to the escalation and that “everything is possible to discuss if
the war is ended.”
The Iraqi foreign minister added that Baghdad is ready to play a mediating role
between Tehran and Washington, especially on economic issues, stressing that the
priority at this stage is to stop the war and create the conditions for
dialogue. Hussein noted that the Iraqi prime minister’s tour will also include a
visit to Turkiye on July 28, in addition to a possible visit to Saudi Arabia.
He explained that Iraq had previously played a role in bringing Tehran and
Washington closer together during previous administrations, adding that Baghdad
is not carrying an American message to Iran but can convey the views it heard in
Washington, while also presenting Iraq’s own position.
He pointed out that the Iraqi prime minister raised a number of issues related
to the war during his visit to Washington, stressing that Iraq is “ready to be a
mediator between the two sides, especially on economic issues.”He added that
“the war has caused direct damage to Iraq and is a harsh war,” explaining that
the country is facing difficulties exporting its oil through the Strait of
Hormuz, which he described as “the only passage” for Iraqi oil exports, while
exports through the Kurdistan pipeline to Turkiye do not exceed about 200,000
barrels per day.
The Iraqi foreign minister stressed that the solution lies in returning to
dialogue and ending the war.
Confining weapons to the state
On the domestic front, the Iraqi foreign minister said the issue of armed
factions is an internal matter related to politics and the Iraqi Constitution,
which does not permit the existence of weapons outside the authority of the
state. He stressed that decisions on war and peace should rest solely with the
government.
He added that three factions have already handed over their weapons to the armed
forces, while dialogue is continuing with four other factions, two of which have
announced their intention to surrender their weapons after the departure of US
forces next September.
Hussein stressed that Iraq cannot build its economy or attract major companies
and investments without providing a secure environment both domestically and
regionally.
He said: “We are entering a new phase, and the Iraqi government, especially the
prime minister, is giving this issue great attention because it is not possible
to rebuild the Iraqi economy, attract major companies to invest or revitalize
the economy without providing security. We need a stable domestic security
situation, and we also need a stable regional security environment.”Regarding
relations with Syria, Hussein said Baghdad had upgraded its ties with the new
Syrian government, noting that his talks in Damascus with President Ahmed Al-Sharaa
and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani covered oil and economic issues.He added
that the two sides reached understandings on reconstructing the oil pipeline
from Iraq to Banias in Syria with the participation of American and Gulf
companies, in addition to another project to extend an oil pipeline to Aqaba in
Jordan. The Jordanian minister of energy is scheduled to visit Baghdad to
discuss the matter.
Partnership with Washington to attract investment
Regarding relations with the United States, the Iraqi foreign minister said ties
are based on the Strategic Framework Agreement, expressing Baghdad’s desire to
expand investment by American companies in infrastructure and the oil and gas
sectors.
He said: “We are facing challenges and we need a strong partner and strong
companies capable of investing capital and technology in Iraq, and that partner
is the United States, with which we have relations governed by a strategic
agreement.”
He also highlighted the improvement in Iraq’s relations with its Arab neighbors,
noting positive understandings with Saudi Arabia and continued coordination with
Kuwait to resolve outstanding issues, particularly those related to the past,
while also strengthening ties with Jordan, Egypt and Syria.
US withdrawal and security cooperation
Regarding the US military presence, Hussein said the withdrawal of American
forces is proceeding in accordance with the agreement reached with the previous
government and will take place in two phases. He said the final phase would end
the military presence and complete the withdrawal from the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq by the end of next September, stressing that the United States is committed
to the agreement.
He added: “We began talks with the American side regarding the withdrawal of the
international coalition forces, including US forces, because what is present is
not only the American military but also the broader international coalition.
However, we may still need security understandings between the United States and
Iraq, and that does not mean there will be no security cooperation in
intelligence sharing and the exchange of information. We are living in a time of
war, and we do not know what the future holds or where the situation is heading.
There is still no clear picture of the future of the region in light of the
continuing escalation.” Hussein stressed that Iraq is working to shield itself
from the repercussions of the war, warning that its continuation would lead to
further destruction across the region and emphasizing the need to work with all
parties to bring the conflict to an end.
He said: “We are trying to protect Iraq. We have succeeded in preventing Iraq
from becoming part of this war, but its repercussions have reached us, and we
have become one of its victims. The Iraqi economy is a victim of the war because
of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and it is our duty to protect Iraq.”
He added: “We are not part of this war, we do not believe in war, and we have
never believed in expanding it.”
* This interview originally appeared in Arabic in Asharq Bloomberg
Defense deals signal rise of a new-look NATO
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/July 18, 2026
The dust is still settling from the recent NATO summit in Turkiye, a key forum
framed around longer-term strategic questions for the military alliance.
However, in the event, many of the headlines were made by the announcement of
$50 billion in military agreements — deals that will contribute to the
“Europeanization” of the alliance. Reflecting the dealmaking mood, US President
Donald Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Turkiye imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s
purchase of Russian air defense missiles, warming ties between two allies. Trump
also expressed a willingness to sell Turkiye F-35 fighter jets.
The large number of defense transactions, which include European countries
buying surveillance drones, and NATO buying aircraft, underlines how much the
debate has changed within the alliance since Trump’s first presidency. At the
2018 NATO summit in Brussels, Trump threatened to withdraw from the alliance
unless other countries took serious steps toward reaching the benchmark of 2
percent of gross domestic product spending they had agreed to about four years
earlier. Fast forward to July 7-8, and Canadian and European allies announced in
Turkiye that they are increasing spending on defense rapidly, spending 20
percent more in 2025 than in the previous year, amounting to a $139 billion
boost.
Yet, while Trump has helped influence the debate over greater military spending
in the last decade, broader factors are also pushing European and Canadian
increases in defense budgets, and fueling the “Europeanization” of NATO. A
combination of Russian military assertiveness, instability in the Middle East
and Africa, and concerns about China in the Asia-Pacific has driven this trend.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 altered defense calculations for Europe. It
was a wake-up call that also prompted Sweden and Finland, after decades of
neutrality, to join the alliance.
The positive news for NATO is that the alliance is becoming more able to face
what might be huge internal and external challenges on the horizon. In 2019,
French President Emmanuel Macron said the alliance had become “brain dead” as a
result of a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, including the diminished
commitment of the US under Trump. However, Macron has since said that the
Russian invasion of Ukraine gave the alliance the jolt it needed with the “worst
of electroshocks.” Nevertheless, the remainder of the Trump presidency is likely
to continue to see tensions within NATO, and Europe and Canada remain dependent
for now on the US for key capabilities.
NATO has formed closer ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
In this context a key debate is underway about how best Europe might fill these
gaps. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has launched a “Made in NATO” plan for a
new age of transatlantic industrial cooperation. However, the EU is set on
fostering its own homegrown industries with its own “Made in Europe” concept. At
the heart of the dispute is how to spend the flood of defense money Europe is
pouring into rearmament.
Beyond these defense deals, there were key discussions about the alliance’s
future strategic direction. Perhaps the most important was framed by Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, highlighting the need for institutional
revision. The Turkish leader warned that “today’s world is not a continuation of
the old world in which NATO was founded. A new world has been established, and
within this new global architecture, NATO’s positioning must be fundamentally
different.”
What Erdogan alluded to is the doctrine of strategic expansion initiated through
global partnerships, embodied in the so-called NATO 3.0 concept, a major reform
of the alliance in response to fast-changing geopolitical realities in an
increasingly multipolar world. As a result, Turkiye is enhancing defense
cooperation with some states in the Middle East.
However, perhaps the most consequential geography of interest for NATO, with its
combined membership of nations accounting for around half of global GDP and a
collective population of over 1 billion, is the huge Asia-Pacific region, where
China has been rising now for decades. Rutte said earlier this month that China
is having a massive buildup of its own military and will have 1,000 nuclear
warheads by 2030, adding: “So let’s not be naive about China. This foursome
(China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran) is the main long-term threat we face.”
In recent years, NATO has formed closer ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia,
and New Zealand. Officials from all four countries attended the Turkish-hosted
meeting. The alliance is also cultivating warmer relations with India, which is
part of the Quadrennial Defense Review with the US, Japan, and Australia. Taken
together, tensions with NATO are likely to simmer for the remainder of the Trump
presidency, despite the increased defense spending by Europe and Canada. The
best way for the alliance to withstand these US headwinds will be to continue to
transform, including building more global partnerships, and helping to provide
strategic direction in a rapidly changing security environment.
**Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
Tehran and Tel Aviv and the Reshaping of the Eastern
Mediterranean
Mustafa Fahs/Asharq A Awsat/July 18/2026
Between geographical constants and political shifts, the Eastern Mediterranean
is undergoing a historic reconfiguration. Political boundaries, ideological
barriers, and dogmatic regimes are receding in favor of shared interests and
historical commonalities. This realignment of interests comes in the wake of the
collapse of Baathist rule: first in Iraq, followed 21 years later by Syria,
while Lebanon's Baathist remnants collapsed between them following the
withdrawal of the Assad regime's army from Lebanese territory in 2005.
This geographical space, stretching from Baghdad to Damascus, onward to Beirut,
and extending to the Palestinian national authority, remained for years a
hostage to American bargaining between Tehran's influence and Tel Aviv's
aggression, at the expense of its peoples and states. This dynamic persisted
until the Iranian and Israeli projects collided directly following the October
7, 2023, Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
One cannot discuss the reconfiguration of the Eastern Mediterranean without
pausing at the events of October 7, which serve as a foundational milestone in
this transformation. The event marked a definitive American shift away from the
regional policies that had governed the area since September 11, 2001.
Consequently, one of its most prominent geopolitical outcomes was the severing
of the land corridor connecting Tehran to Damascus following the collapse of the
Assad regime. Strategically, establishing stability in the Eastern Mediterranean
was impossible without dismantling the Syrian wing of the Baath party. Driven by
new regional balances, majority rule in Iraq naturally dictates majority rule in
Damascus. This dynamic has established genuine mutual interests between the two
nations after decades of ideological hostility fueled by competing Baathist
factions, alongside deep sectarian tensions that still require robust political
and social will to heal from their bloody legacies.
Between Damascus and Baghdad, a new political lexicon is emerging as the former
liberates itself from Iranian tutelage and the latter sees Tehran’s grip loosen,
paving the way for a reconstructed strategic interest network extending toward
Beirut, Tripoli, Amman, and Aqaba.
The shape of this regional shift have been underscored by a series of closely
timed diplomatic milestones, notably the Syrian president's attendance in Ankara
on the sidelines of the NATO summit to meet US President Donald Trump, and the
inaugural official visit of Iraq’s new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, to
Washington to meet the American leader. Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam traveled to Istanbul for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while
a high-level diplomatic and security delegation from Baghdad visited Riyadh.
There, al-Zaidi’s government outlined its blueprint for regional engagement,
firmly asserting that Iraq will no longer serve as a tool to threaten the
stability of its neighbors.
This emerging geopolitical picture, with its profound political and economic
dimensions shaping up under a green light from Washington, is triggering alarm
in both Tel Aviv and Tehran. Israel has come to a belated realization regarding
the strategic blunder it committed by withdrawing its tacit protection of the
Assad regime, which had reliably safeguarded its borders for five decades.
Meanwhile, Iran remains in denial about the post-October 7 reality, specifically
that Lebanon and Syria have permanently slipped from its sphere of influence. As
the US president discussed the future of bilateral relations with the Iraqi PM,
Iran was once again subjected to American bombardment - a stark signal that the
conclusion of this war, regardless of how many rounds it takes, will never allow
the region to return to the previous status quo.
Within this new configuration, Tel Aviv is actively attempting to sever this
corridor by occupying southern Syria and disrupting the economic pathways
stretching from the Empty Quarter to the Anatolian mainland. Israel is equally
unsettled by the growing regional and international interest in the strategic
value of Lebanese ports as vital links connecting the Eastern Mediterranean to
global markets. Consequently, despite mounting American pressure, Israel appears
entirely unready to accommodate this shifting reality.
Meanwhile, Baghdad has begun actively working to liberate a portion of its
exports and energy supplies from dependency on the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq is
expanding its overland transit networks toward the Syrian port of Tartus and the
Turkish port of Ceyhan, while simultaneously awaiting a move from the Lebanese
government to restore the Port of Tripoli to the historic Kirkuk–Tripoli
transport pipeline. From Beirut to Damascus, and all the way to Baghdad, a
corridor is taking shape today that transcends a mere economic project; it
revives the contours of historical geography without replicating its past
political failures. At the very heart of this transformation lies Lebanon’s
opportunity - a prospect that demands a bold political vision capable of
grasping the magnitude of this ongoing shift and actively maximizing its gains,
rather than passively settling for whatever new arrangements others choose to
forge.
Victory
Samir Atallah/Asharq A Awsat/July 18/2026
The car rental business took off in the United States during the 1960s. One
year, the market leader, reaping enormous profits, launched a nationwide
advertising campaign with the slogan: "Guess who's No. 1." Its rival responded:
"Don't guess. We're No. 2."
There is nothing insignificant about being No. 2 in a competition as demanding
and complex as this. Think of all those who never even reached second place, or
those who once held it and then lost it. Egypt and Morocco both turned in
admirable performances in the football tournament. Yet the habitual mourners and
complainers were quick to call for denunciations of conspiracies and
conspirators. What conspiracy could there possibly be in a match watched by
millions? None of the other teams, the French, the Spaniards, the Brazilians, or
the Africans, invoked conspiracy theories. Football is perhaps the one game
where cheating is virtually impossible: millions of witnesses, top referees,
state-of-the-art cameras, and decisions scrutinized down to the fraction of a
second. Such primitive lamentations are beneath the level of progress Arab
football has achieved. No other activity brings humanity together quite like the
World Cup. It leaves no room for the language of myth and superstition before a
human stage occupied by millions, celebrating or grieving, yet all united in
their cheers.
Small things seem even smaller when measured against great events. But should we
really dwell on such nonsense when the world is filled with the significance of
an occasion like this? These are not mere trivialities. They are unhealthy
symptoms that threaten society as a whole. We writers are only ordinary
witnesses. The greater danger lies in what is written by some of our scholars,
respected thinkers, and intellectual authorities, people such as Mohamed Abou
El-Ghar. At times he startles us, confronting us with his numbers, his science,
and his intellectual rigor. At other times, he delights us by introducing us to
remarkable new talents. Tirelessly. May God grant him good health.
Looking at the Iranian Dilemma from Above
Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq A Awsat/July 18/2026
The story is vast, the stakes are immense, and this is the issue above all
others. The war unfolding today because of Khomeinist Iran is not a war like any
other, nor is it just another crisis. It is a struggle between competing visions
seeking to shape a new world. That is the perspective from which we should view
this issue.This is not simply a matter of a strategic strait that opens today,
closes tomorrow, and reopens the day after. Nor is it merely about ballistic
missiles, drones, proxy militias, or even nuclear weapons. These are only
manifestations of the deeper driving force: the Iranian regime's determination
to impose its will and its vision not only on the region but on the world. That
is why this dilemma must be viewed from a higher vantage point. With that in
mind, I would like to examine the views of two prominent Iranian writers and
scholars living outside Iran.
The first is Vali Nasr, the Iranian-American professor of international
relations at Johns Hopkins University. Writing in the Financial Times, he argued
that the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran did not arise from
a misunderstanding of their informal understanding, but from the balance of
power that the understanding effectively froze at the time it was reached.
Washington later sought to alter that balance, while Tehran remained determined
to preserve it. In other words, according to Nasr, Iran interpreted the
understanding as a victory and as an American acknowledgment of its regional
influence. Iranian leaders therefore reacted with anger to what they saw as a
betrayal of that supposed victory: Washington's failure to restrain Israel in
Lebanon, its refusal to release funds to Tehran, its unwillingness to recognize
Iran's authority over the Strait of Hormuz, and the continued flow of weapons
and military equipment to the Gulf states and Jordan. According to Nasr, all of
this demonstrated an American effort to undermine the influence Iran had gained
during the war.
Very well. But what, Dr. Nasr, is the solution?
To accept the Iranian vision?
Amir Taheri, the veteran Iranian journalist and author, offers a far clearer
answer. He criticizes what he sees as the fundamental flaw in the American
understanding of the Iranian threat, although he acknowledges that the current
U.S. president, Donald Trump, has been bolder than his predecessors, including
George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. One must first
understand the nature of this regime and the way it thinks. As Taheri puts it:
"When facing an enemy like this, the worst thing you can do is wound it and
leave it alive. With such an enemy, you either kill it or turn it into a
friend."
Taheri, once a prominent journalist during the Shah's era and now based in
London decades later, argues that "after nearly half a century, it has become
clear to everyone that the Khomeinist regime is incapable of reforming itself,
except for the worse."
He goes further, arguing that the real solution lies in overwhelming military
force. To achieve victory, he says, military pressure must be reinforced by
diplomacy aimed at persuading the countries of the region and Europe to adopt a
united position toward Tehran. Such a strategy, he argues, requires patience and
perseverance, not merely tweets. These are two perspectives from two Iranian
minds. One argues, albeit indirectly, that Iran's regional influence should be
accepted. The other argues that it must be uprooted. In their view, there is no
genuine middle ground, because the regime's conception of itself and of the
world is deeply entrenched and resistant to change.
Silicon valley didn’t buy democracy, it rented the ballot
Intissar Ben Aziz/Al Arabiya English/18 July/2026
Venture capital once exercised much of its political influence through lobbying
and conventional campaign donations. Now some of its biggest players are
spending heavily to shape primary contests before voters reach the general
election. Corporations had already contributed $517 million to super PACs and
hybrid PACs seeking to influence the 2026 midterms, according to Public
Citizen’s most recent tally, and we are not even at the general election yet.
Crypto, AI, Big Tech and online betting accounted for 57 percent of that total.
These fast-growing industries are now outspending categories of political money
that once defined American campaigns. I had to read that number twice when I
first saw it. One name in that pile surprised me less than it probably should
have: Andreessen Horowitz. The Silicon Valley venture firm, together with
personal political contributions from co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben
Horowitz, accounted for $115.5 million, according to New York Times reporting
cited by Public Citizen. There was a time when oil companies and defense
contractors treated Washington like their playground. Now a venture capital
firm, the kind of institution that raises money from pension funds and
university endowments to bet on startups, has become a major force in American
election spending. To understand how we got here, you actually have to go back
before AI. Back to a Senate race in Ohio in 2022, and a guy named JD Vance.
Before entering politics, Vance co-founded Narya Capital, which initially raised
$93 million from investors including Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Eric Schmidt
and Scott Dorsey. When Vance decided to run for the Senate, Thiel did not just
back him quietly. He contributed roughly $15 million to Protect Ohio Values, a
super PAC supporting Vance, one of the largest sums a single donor had committed
to an outside group backing one Senate candidate. A venture financier funding
the political rise of someone who had worked within his professional network,
that is increasingly becoming the job description for parts of Silicon Valley.
Vance was not an outlier. He was a pilot program.
And he was not Thiel’s only bet. Thiel also contributed roughly $15 million to a
super PAC supporting Blake Masters, his former colleague, during Masters’s
unsuccessful 2022 Arizona Senate campaign. He has distributed smaller
contributions across a long list of Republican candidates for more than a
decade. This is not someone who developed a late-in-life interest in politics.
It is a venture capitalist doing what venture capitalists do, spreading money
across a portfolio of promising founders, except the founders are candidates now
and the exit is not an acquisition. It is a Senate seat, or in one case, the
doorstep of the presidency.Thiel has also been unusually blunt about what he
thinks of the system in which he is investing. In a 2009 essay, he wrote that he
no longer believed “freedom and democracy are compatible,” while arguing that
democratic politics was unlikely to advance his libertarian objectives. Make of
that what you will. It is worth knowing about the man who has spent more than a
decade deciding which candidates receive his money. The AI industry took the
Vance model and scaled it up. Two rival political networks are now spending
heavily to shape the debate. Leading the Future, funded by major donors
including Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, sits on one
side. Public First Action, a bipartisan nonprofit advocacy organization that
received a $20 million donation from Anthropic, sits on the other.
Collectively, the two networks say they have raised more than $200 million,
although the total combines money held by different types of political and
advocacy organizations. They have already spent tens of millions.
To be fair, the two sides genuinely disagree about how AI should be regulated.
That is a real fight, not just theater, and I do not want to flatten it into a
single villain story because that would be lazy. But look at what many of the
ads are actually about: immigration, the cost of living and public safety. These
are the same poll-tested categories every political consultant reaches for. The
point is not necessarily to win an argument about AI policy in public. It is to
make sure that whoever wins is already sympathetic to your position before the
argument starts.
New York’s 12th Congressional District is the example everyone in this world
keeps bringing up. Alex Bores, a state assemblyman, co-sponsored legislation
requiring major AI developers to report certain safety incidents. His record on
AI regulation helped make the congressional primary a battleground for competing
industry-backed groups, which spent more than $15 million supporting and
opposing him. He lost. The emerging status quo suggests that electing friendly
lawmakers may be cheaper than arguing with unfriendly ones.
None of this is technically illegal, by the way. A pair of 2010 court decisions,
Citizens United and SpeechNow.org v. FEC, opened the way for corporations,
unions and wealthy individuals to direct unlimited amounts toward independent
political spending.
Crypto pioneered the strategy in 2024. The Fairshake super PAC network spent
more than $133 million in independent expenditures targeting lawmakers it
considered hostile to its policy agenda and supporting candidates it viewed as
favorable, on both sides of the aisle. Less than a year after the election,
major stablecoin legislation became law, reinforcing the industry’s belief that
electoral spending could help produce a more favorable policy environment.
AI money is now copying much of that playbook because the industry watched
crypto use it and concluded, reasonably, that political spending can deliver
influence.
What feels different this time is who is actually affected. Crypto generally
required people to make a deliberate decision to participate. They had to buy
in, open a wallet and make some effort to understand it. AI is not like that. It
is already in the search bar, the customer service chat and the tool your child
used for homework last night. Few people meaningfully opted in.
That means the industry spending to shape AI regulation is not lobbying on
behalf of a niche market. It is lobbying on behalf of technology that already
touches almost everyone.
Molly White, a researcher who has tracked political spending by the technology
and cryptocurrency industries for years, told NPR that such spending is not only
about any one race. It also sends a message to other politicians about what may
happen if they cross the industry.
That is the real product being bought here, not simply a particular election
outcome, which is expensive and never guaranteed, but deterrence, which is
cheaper by comparison and can last for years after the ballots are counted. This
is no longer only an American financial story. Gulf sovereign investors,
including Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Abu Dhabi-backed Mubadala and MGX, and Qatar’s QIA,
have become increasingly important sources of capital for the global AI
industry. Their involvement reflects long-term diversification strategies and a
determination to secure a stake in the technologies shaping the global economy.
There is no evidence that these funds financed or directed the US campaign
activity described here. But their growing role underscores a broader reality:
the capital behind AI is increasingly global, even as the political battle over
how it is regulated is playing out in Washington. I do not think every venture
capitalist wading into politics is acting in bad faith, and I do not think the
spending stops either way. Some of these people sincerely believe excessive
regulation would hand the future of AI to Beijing. That argument deserves a real
response, not a shrug.
Money is also beginning to check money, however imperfectly. Anthropic’s support
for a rival advocacy network is at least evidence that the industry’s political
debate is not entirely one-sided. The strategy produced results for crypto, and
the scale of AI spending suggests that its major players believe it can work for
them too. There is currently little indication that campaign finance law will
change enough to alter that calculation. What I keep coming back to is this:
money from some of the wealthiest people in one of the wealthiest and
fastest-growing industries in the world is not pluralism, no matter how many
sides it funds. It looks like democracy without actually functioning like one.
The real decisions happen elsewhere now, in a term sheet, a PAC filing or a call
about whether a little-known congressional candidate is worth eight figures in
outside spending this cycle.
The question worth asking is not whether the spending continues. It is whether
anyone notices the next time a familiar-looking attack ad appears against a
candidate few people outside the district have heard of, and bothers to trace it
back to the boardroom decision behind it.
Democracy has survived worse than this. It does not survive well when nobody
asks where the money came from.
Selected Face Book & X tweets on
18 July/2026
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Islamic Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas project their thinking onto
Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are ultra precise in targeting and do
not strike randomly because every strike costs an arm and a leg. When the IDF
hits a non-military buildings, it is always because Hamas or Hezbollah
terrorists were using it to hide their missiles, drone operators, snipers, or
marksmen. Iran and its proxies explain such Israeli strikes as desperation:
Because Israel has not been able to beat the militias, it takes its revenge on
civilians. This is not true for Israel, but absolutely true for Iran, Hezbollah
and Hamas, whose much inferior military hardware can only cause destruction when
they target civilians and their infrastructure. When Iran strikes oil,
electricity and water installations in Kuwait, it is not a sign of strength but
one of weakness. Iran and its proxies are dying, but before they do, they'll try
to wreak havoc across the region. The faster the world forces the Islamic regime
of Iran to collapse, the better for everyone.
Shadi khalloul שאדי ח'לול
Israel save the Christians in Lebanon from these racists evils, the archi-terrorist
Arafat. Israel saved the Christian Maronites from annihilation. As Syriac
Aramaic Maronite i am proud of my country Israel and thank her for sacrificing
their beloved ones to save my people.
henri
https://x.com/LfBachir10452/status/2077912689066582143/video/1
The Maronites owe Ariel Sharon a debt of gratitude for forcing Yasser Arafat out
of Lebanon. If they truly understood how much Israel did for them, they would
never have turned their backs on the Jewish state.
ראש ממשלת ישראל
@IsraeliPM_heb
https://x.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/2078535354865312164/video/1
Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the Ambassador of Argentina to Israel and
conveyed a message to President Milei ahead of the World Cup final: "Javier, you
are a true friend. We support you and support Argentina tomorrow - good luck!"
Israel Defense Forces
Earlier today, a Lebanese Army vehicle drove over an explosive device in
southern Lebanon. As a result, a Lebanese Army soldier was killed, and two
additional soldiers were injured.
Following a review, it can be determined that the explosive device did not
belong to the IDF and was most likely placed in the area by the Hezbollah
terrorist organization.
The incident occurred in the area of Al-Mansouri, within the Security Zone in
southern Lebanon. In this area, IDF soldiers have not been present recently.
It should be noted that the Lebanese Army vehicle entered the Security Zone
without prior coordination with the IDF, as required according to the existing
coordination mechanism.
The IDF calls on the Lebanese civilians and the forces present in the area to
avoid entering areas where Hezbollah continues to pose a threat and to
coordinate movements in advance, as required, for their safety.