English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 23/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The Weed & Good Wheat Seed Parable/The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field
Matthew 13/24-30: “Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?”But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 22-23 July/2026
Saint Charbel Makhlouf: An Expanded Biography of the Life and Holiness of Lebanon’s Great Hermit/Elias Bejjani/July 23/ 2026
Rubio says Syria must tackle internal challenges, not fight Hezbollah
Berri: Trump understands me better than some Lebanese
Lebanese Army calls on Israel to use coordination channel instead of firing at troops
Israel’s next moves: Lebanon withdrawal, Gaza tactics and Iran tensions
Israel-Lebanon talks to be held in Italy on August 4: Italian FM
Lebanon PM says Beirut working for 'complete Israeli withdrawal'
No return yet: Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh residents caught in another chapter of uncertainty
Trump authorizes resumption of direct US flights to Lebanon after meeting with Aoun
3.5 Tons of Drugs Seized at Beirut Port, Destined for Africa; Those Involved Arrested
An Analysis of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's Visit to the United States and His Meeting with US President Donald Trump/Former Judge and Lawyer François Daher/ Facebook/July 22, 2026
A Diplomatic Surprise in Beirut and Three Tracks of US Support After Aoun's Visit/Najwa Abi Haidar/Al-Markazia/July 22, 2022
When Patience Ran Out/Imad Moussa/Nidaa Al Watan/July 23, 2026
The State's Opportunity and the Cost of Alternatives/Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/July 23, 2026
Division and the Loss of a Common Language/Rafiq Khoury/Nidaa Al Watan/July 23, 2026
Hezbollah is an Iranian faction… and Lebanon will not take lectures from a state that brought occupation/Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/July 22, 2026
Washington opened the skies. Lebanon must secure the ground/Makram Rabah/A l Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
‘Pilot Zones’ Pitting Beirut Government Against Hezbollah Launched in South Lebanon/Mark Dubowitz/FDD-Policy Brief/July 22/2026
Report: Netanyahu fails to arrange Trump meeting as US pushes for Lebanon withdrawal
Aoun insisted on 'full Israeli withdrawal' in talks with Trump
Aoun says disarming Hezbollah has requirements to fulfill
The Full Text of President Joseph Aoun’s Speech Delivered at the Lebanese Embassy Gathering in Washington, D.C. on21 July/2026
Lebanese-American who stabbed Rushdie to go on trial again
Hajj Hassan in first Hezbollah comment on Aoun-Trump talks

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 22-23 July/2026
US military says new strikes on Iran have ended, marking 11th successive night of attacks
Trump attends return of US soldiers killed in Iran war
Iran’s Ghalibaf says there will be no safety if Iran’s security is not guaranteed
Trump vows to bomb Iranian infrastructure every time Tehran fires on ships in Hormuz
Iran denies existence of nuclear facility at Kolang mountain
Trump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
Rubio says US still willing to negotiate over Iran crisis
Jordan army says intercepts four Iranian missiles, four drones
US court sets June 2027 trial for Venezuela's ousted Maduro
Yemen's Houthis sent radio warning to ships: International Chamber of Shipping
US, Saudi Arabia agree to civil nuclear deal: Energy Department
Mamdani says NYC can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should
Canada cancels joint bridge-opening event with US after Trump announces tariffs
Ukraine recaptured 700 sq km of territory this year, outgoing top general says
Zelenskyy speaks to Trump envoys to ‘reinvigorate diplomacy’
Russia says it struck Ukrainian ports and ships
France records over 5,700 excess deaths in June heatwave: Authorities

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 22-23 July/2026
Syria’s leader charms the world, crushes the Druze. Israel should be wary/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Times of Israel/July 22/2026
Jordan Should Stop Hedging and Stand Firm Against Iran/Ahmad Sharawi/FDD-Policy Brief/July 22/2026
Trump's Apparent Confusion: Who Are Friends of His and Who Are Friends of the West/Dr. Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/July 22, 2026
Houthis should think twice before threatening Red Sea shipping, former CIA officer Norman Roule tells Arab News/Nada Al-Turki/Arab News/22 July 2026
Chehabism and Vision 2030: When the state becomes a project of reform and transformation/Dr. Simon A. Kachar/Arab News/July 22, 2026
Jordan’s position within the regional conflict has shifted/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/July 22, 2026
Iran moves the battle to Kuwait and Yemen/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 22, 2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 22-23 July/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 22-23 July/2026
Saint Charbel Makhlouf: An Expanded Biography of the Life and Holiness of Lebanon’s Great Hermit
Elias Bejjani/July 23/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156061/
Saint Charbel Makhlouf is one of the most renowned saints of the Maronite Church and the Catholic Church in modern times. His fame has spread far beyond Lebanon and the Middle East to every continent of the world. Millions of believers know him as the “Heavenly Physician” because of the countless graces, healings, and miracles attributed to his intercession. Maronites and Catholics celebrate the feast of Saint Charbel each year on July 23, commemorating his passing from this earthly life into eternal glory. His life remains a remarkable example of asceticism, prayer, self-denial, and obedience. He has become a spiritual symbol of Lebanon and of the Universal Church, while his shrine in Annaya is today one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in the world.
His Birth Name and Early Life
Saint Charbel was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf on May 8, 1828, in the village of Bekaakafra in the district of Bsharri in northern Lebanon. Bekaakafra is considered one of the highest inhabited villages in Lebanon.
His father was Antoun Makhlouf, and his mother was Brigitte Chidiac. Youssef grew up in a humble and devout rural family whose livelihood depended on farming and livestock raising. He lost his father at a young age, a hardship that marked his childhood. From an early age, he showed signs of deep piety and a strong attraction to prayer and solitude. He often withdrew to a nearby cave to pray in silence, and the villagers sometimes referred to him as “the little hermit.”
His Religious Calling and Entrance into Monastic Life
From his youth, Youssef felt a powerful call to the monastic life. In 1851, he secretly left his family home and entered Our Lady of Mayfouq Monastery, belonging to the Lebanese Maronite Order.
Upon entering religious life, he took the name Charbel, in honor of Saint Charbel of Antioch, a Christian martyr of the second century. After a period of formation, he moved to Saint Maroun Monastery in Annaya, where he continued his monastic journey. On November 01,1853, he professed his first monastic vows.
He later pursued his philosophical and theological studies at Kfifan Monastery, where he studied under the guidance of the holy monk Nimatullah Al-Hardini, who would later be canonized as a saint of the Maronite Church.
His Priestly Ordination
Father Charbel was ordained a priest on July 23, 1859. Remarkably, this same date would later become his liturgical feast day. Following his ordination, he returned to Saint Maroun Monastery in Annaya, where he devoted himself to a life of prayer, labor, and silence.
His Life at Annaya Monastery
Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya, located in the Jbeil region of Lebanon, has become one of the most famous monasteries in the Christian world because of its association with Saint Charbel.
He lived there for more than sixteen years as a monk before moving to the hermitage.
He became known for:
Long periods of silence.
Complete obedience to his superiors.
Profound humility.
Love for the poor.
Constant devotion to the Holy Eucharist.
Severe asceticism.
He firmly believed that monks should live the Gospel in practice and not merely in theory.
His Move to the Hermitage
A hermitage is a place of strict monastic solitude where a hermit lives a life of prayer, contemplation, and work apart from the world. In 1875, his superiors granted him permission to move to the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, located near Annaya Monastery. There he spent the final twenty-three years of his life.
A Life of Asceticism and Prayer
Saint Charbel’s life in the hermitage is considered one of the most rigorous examples of asceticism in Maronite monastic history.
His daily life centered on:
Prayer/He spent long hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Fasting/He fasted during most days of the year.
Vigil/He slept only a few hours each night.
Manual Labor/He participated in simple agricultural work.
Silence/He spoke only when absolutely necessary.
His Personal Virtues
Humility/He never sought position, recognition, or fame. He considered himself the least among the monks.
Obedience/He faithfully carried out the instructions of his superiors without complaint.
Voluntary Poverty/He embraced poverty throughout his entire life.
Constant Prayer/Those who knew him regarded him as a man who lived continually in the presence of God.
Love for the Eucharist/ The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was the center of his spiritual life.
His Death
On the evening of December 16, 1898, while celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the hermitage, Father Charbel suffered a stroke. He remained ill for several days before passing away on December 24, 1898. The Maronite Church celebrates his liturgical feast on July 23, the date associated with his priestly ordination and spiritual remembrance within the Church tradition. He was seventy years old at the time of his death.
Events Following His Death
Soon after his burial, extraordinary events began to occur. Residents of the area reported seeing mysterious lights emanating from his tomb during the night. Because these occurrences continued, Church authorities opened the tomb several months later. To their astonishment, his body was found largely incorrupt and preserved in an unusual manner. It was also observed to exude a fluid resembling a mixture of water and blood. This phenomenon continued for many years. His remains were examined on several occasions during the twentieth century, attracting the attention of physicians, researchers, clergy, and pilgrims from around the world. Today, the saint’s relics are preserved at his shrine in Annaya, which receives millions of pilgrims.
Annaya Monastery and His Shrine
Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya has become the worldwide center of devotion to Saint Charbel.
The site includes:
The saint’s tomb.
A museum containing his personal belongings.
The historic monastery church.
The modern basilica.
A pilgrims’ reception center.
Every year, visitors arrive from Lebanon, the Arab world, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
His Beatification
After extensive study of his life and miracles, the Cause for Beatification was introduced in Rome.
On December 5, 1965, Pope Paul VI declared Father Charbel Blessed during the Second Vatican Council. This event marked a historic milestone for the Maronite Church.
Twelfth: His Canonization
Following the recognition of additional miracles in Lebanon and many other countries, his cause was further examined.
On October 9, 1977, Pope Paul VI canonized him as a saint of the Universal Church.
Since that day, he has been officially venerated throughout the Catholic world as Saint Charbel Makhlouf.
Thirteenth: Some of the Most Famous Miracles Attributed to His Intercession
Thousands of spiritual and medical testimonies have been attributed to Saint Charbel’s intercession.
Among the most notable are:
The Healing of Sister Marie Abel Kassis/This miracle played a central role in the process leading to his beatification. She was cured of severe illnesses after invoking his intercession.
The Healing of Nohad El Shami/ Her case became one of the most famous modern miracles associated with Saint Charbel. She was reportedly healed from a serious paralysis, and two unusual wounds appeared on her neck following a vision of the saint.
Healings from Cancer/
Numerous testimonies from Lebanon and abroad describe recoveries from various forms of cancer attributed to his intercession.
Healings from Blindness and Paralysis/
Church and medical commissions have documented many reports concerning the healing of severe and incurable conditions.
The administration of the Annaya shrine continues to receive reports and testimonies from countries throughout the world.
Fourteenth: The Spread of His Veneration Throughout the World
Today, Saint Charbel is among the most widely venerated saints of the Christian East.
Churches, monasteries, shrines, and chapels dedicated to him can be found in dozens of countries, including: Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Hundreds of churches, chapels, and shrines bearing his name have been established across the globe.
Fifteenth: The Spiritual Importance of Saint Charbel
The significance of Saint Charbel lies in the fact that he:
United prayer and work.
Lived the Gospel with extraordinary fidelity.
Embodied the spirituality of Eastern Christianity.
Offered a universal model of asceticism and contemplation.
Became a spiritual bridge between East and West.
For this reason, Christians, Muslims, and people of various religious backgrounds visit his shrine seeking prayer, healing, and blessings.
A Prayer Through the Intercession of Saint Charbel for Lebanon
Lord God, Master of history and of all nations, we ask You through the intercession of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, Hermit of Annaya and Saint of Lebanon and the world, to look with mercy upon Lebanon and its people. Grant its sons and daughters wisdom, courage, and fidelity to the truth. Bless every effort that seeks justice, peace, freedom, and human dignity. Protect Lebanon from violence, division, and corruption. Strengthen the rule of law and its institutions, and safeguard its sovereignty, independence, and territorial unity. Lord, heal the wounds of the Lebanese people, comfort those who suffer, and grant all public servants the grace to work faithfully for the common good.
Through the intercession of Saint Charbel, make Lebanon once again a land of encounter, love, witness, and mission, according to Your holy will. To You be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Conclusion
Saint Charbel remains one of the most prominent spiritual figures in the history of Eastern Christianity. His hidden life in a small hermitage in Annaya became a universal testimony to faith, prayer, holiness, and total dedication to God. Today, his name is honored in hundreds of churches, monasteries, and shrines throughout the five continents, making him one of the most beloved saints of the modern era.
**The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com
**Note: The information presented in this study has been compiled from numerous reputable ecclesiastical, theological, historical, and scholarly sources.
Introduction

Rubio says Syria must tackle internal challenges, not fight Hezbollah
Naharnet/July 22/2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of a Syrian military intervention against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a scenario that President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated in recent months. “Well, the Syrian authorities are not big fans of Hezbollah, but what we’ve encouraged Syria to do is to focus on its own internal challenges that it has in sort of building a nation-state. They still face pretty substantial challenges and threats from within – I mean ISIS remains a threat there,” said Rubio in response to a question at the ASEAN summit.“Hezbollah is an enemy of this new government in Syria and they in many ways will seek to undermine that government over time,” he suggested. “One of the best things Syria can do to secure its future is to secure its border with Lebanon so that we don’t have weapons and arms coming back and forth across that border in an effort to destabilize Syria,” Rubio added.

Berri: Trump understands me better than some Lebanese
Naharnet/July 22/2026
Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that what matters now, after the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Joseph Aoun in Washington, are “the results on the ground, not just the form of the agreement.”“The real test after this meeting is the consolidation of the ceasefire and the withdrawals, which have not yet happened,” Berri told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. He pointed out that “the withdrawal carried out from the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Monday hardly counts as a withdrawal, seeing as the town is very small and was not fully occupied.”
“Furthermore, the criminal demolitions targeting homes, civilian neighborhoods, and infrastructure continue, as do the attacks on residents on the outskirts of the occupied villages,” Berri noted. He added that he believes that the success of this summit hinges on achieving these steps. “I had previously said, ‘Achieve results and prove me wrong,’ which has not yet happened,” Berri went on to say. Asked about his feedback on Trump’s remarks that the Speaker would support the framework agreement process once he sees progress on the ground, Berri responded with a laugh and said: “It seems that President Trump understands me better than some Lebanese.” Trump had on Tuesday expressed confidence that Berri would eventually back the agreement once progress becomes clear. "I think when he sees, because I've heard that he's a good person, good man, and when he sees the progress made, I'm sure he's going to come on," Trump said. Aoun for his part said that Berri wants to see the war end, noting that the speaker is from southern Lebanon and has long worked to rebuild the region where the ongoing Israeli ground invasion and massive aerial bombardment have killed around 4,000 people. "He actually is supportive of what we are doing, but we need to be careful. His position as a Speaker and as a leader of the Shia community, we have to understand how critical is his position," Aoun emphasized. "I can tell you that Speaker Berri is a man of state. He is supportive of what we are doing, and he is supportive of ending the state of hostility, ending the war once for all," Aoun added.

Lebanese Army calls on Israel to use coordination channel instead of firing at troops
Agence France Presse/July 22/2026
The Israeli military has said that it only fired "warning shots into the air" after Lebanese soldiers entered an area that was "not part of the pilot area" in the Zawtar region, prompting the Lebanese Army to respond in a statement. Insisting its troops were only deployed in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, and had not crossed into Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh as Israel claimed, the Lebanese Army said Israel "should address any problem through the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L) and through the approved coordination and communication channels, instead of carrying out attacks."
In a separate incident, the Lebanese Red Cross said that two rescuers were wounded and an ambulance severely damaged when a landmine exploded near a convoy heading to search for a missing person in an occupied area. The Red Cross said it had received the required permits before entering, and that it was working to provide a safe passage for the wounded paramedics. Lebanese state media also said Israeli forces briefly detained and released three men from the southern village of Shebaa, a Sunni-majority town near the border whose residents largely stayed despite the war.

Israel’s next moves: Lebanon withdrawal, Gaza tactics and Iran tensions
LBCI/July 22/2026
As the first phase of implementing the pilot zones plan begins, under which the Israeli army is set to withdraw from the area of Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh in southern Lebanon, Israel revealed a new military policy that it had previously used in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The policy is known as “roof knocking.” According to reserve soldiers deployed to Lebanon, the tactic involves orders given to troops to fire small missiles onto the roofs of buildings or homes targeted for destruction, giving residents some time to evacuate. The policy had previously drawn U.S. criticism over the harm it caused to civilians. Meanwhile, soldiers who released recordings of such orders being given said implementing the tactic could undermine successful operations targeting Hezbollah members. Amid Israeli threats and new plans, as well as Tel Aviv’s claims of obstacles and Lebanese failures in completing the implementation of the framework agreement, which it says are hindering the continuation of its army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the expected summit this week between Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump had been postponed. The delay came amid reports that Washington is seeking to exert further pressure on Tel Aviv to accelerate its withdrawal from Lebanon and halt drone flights and firing in areas where the Lebanese army has deployed. While pressure continues over the Lebanon file, coordination is underway regarding Iran, with expectations that Israel could participate in any operation against Iran if the U.S. president decides to turn his threats into military action and assassinations targeting Iranian officials.In the meantime, the Israeli army continues training for various expected scenarios, whether on the Lebanon or Iran fronts, while monitoring advanced Iranian missiles launched toward areas in Jordan, a strategic concern for Israel and what is considered an indirect military message to Tel Aviv.

Israel-Lebanon talks to be held in Italy on August 4: Italian FM
LBCI/22 July ,2026
A new round of U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Italy on August 4, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday. "We will host another session of dialogue on August 4," Tajani told parliament, following a round of talks between delegations from the two countries in Rome last week. AFP

Lebanon PM says Beirut working for 'complete Israeli withdrawal'
LBCI/22 July ,2026
Beirut is working towards a "complete Israeli withdrawal" from areas it occupies, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Wednesday on a visit to a village where Lebanon's army recently deployed. "We will continue mobilising our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south," he said in Zawtar al-Gharbiya. The Lebanese military had begun deploying in the village on Tuesday. Israeli forces were previously present on its outskirts. Salam made his statement a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, where Aoun said he "stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory." Under the agreement signed last month, Lebanon's army is meant to disarm Hezbollah in the "pilot zones" it will operate in, banning military activity from any non-state group to pave the way for future Israeli withdrawals from other areas. The group has repeatedly rejected the agreement and refuses to lay down its weapons. However, the military said on Tuesday that Israeli forces "opened fire in the vicinity of these units," adding that the incident would hinder the deployment. The Israeli military said it had only fired "warning shots into the air" after Lebanese soldiers entered an area that was "not part of the pilot area.”AFP

No return yet: Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh residents caught in another chapter of uncertainty
LBCI/22 July ,2026
The hours of waiting were long and difficult. Residents of Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh woke up hoping they would be allowed to return to their town the day after the Lebanese army deployed there. Instead, that hope turned into disappointment. For their own safety, the army urged residents to wait. Clearance operations are still underway, with teams discovering aerial bombs, unexploded ordnance and other suspicious objects. The security situation also remains highly sensitive because the eastern part of the town is still under Israeli control. On Monday, Israeli forces opened fire near Lebanese army troops. As the Lebanese army carried out its deployment in Zawtar el-Gharbiyeh in accordance with arrangements coordinated through the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, its units advanced to within 200 meters of Zawtar el-Charqiyeh.

Trump authorizes resumption of direct US flights to Lebanon after meeting with Aoun
LBCI/22 July ,2026
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would allow the resumption of direct flights by U.S. airlines to Lebanon following his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: "After meeting with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, who has done a remarkable job working to transform his Country, I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land."

3.5 Tons of Drugs Seized at Beirut Port, Destined for Africa; Those Involved Arrested
National News Agency/July 22, 2026
The Ministry of Finance's media office announced in a statement that Lebanese customs seized 3.5 tons of drugs at the Port of Beirut that were destined for smuggling to an African country. In a subsequent statement, the media office announced the arrest of all members of the group involved in the smuggling operation, under judicial supervision.

An Analysis of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's Visit to the United States and His Meeting with US President Donald Trump:
Former Judge and Lawyer François Daher/ Facebook/July 22, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Lebanese President's visit to the United States and his meeting with President Donald Trump took place after Hezbollah signed its surrender document on November 27, 2024.
The contents of this document enabled the Lebanese authorities to withdraw their support for Hezbollah as an armed organization operating outside the state's control. It also allowed them to sever their ties with the Iranian Islamic Republic's project in the Arab region, which aims to eliminate Israel from the world map, starting from Lebanese territory. Furthermore, it paved the way for Lebanon to commit to disarming all illegal weapons spread throughout its territory as a prelude to liberating it from Israeli occupation, and subsequently to conclude a permanent peace agreement with Israel that would resolve all outstanding border issues between the two countries.Furthermore, the framework agreement signed yesterday between Lebanon, Israel, and the United States on June 26, 2026, is essentially an implementation of the November 27, 2024 agreement. It establishes a coordination mechanism among the signatories to achieve the objectives outlined therein, which are identical to those of the aforementioned November 27, 2024 agreement. Under its provisions, Lebanon will no longer be a source of hostility towards Israel or a source of instability for its security, after its southern region had been, since the Cairo Agreement of November 3, 1969, open territory for Palestinians until 1982, then for Hezbollah until 2000, and subsequently for Iran through the same party, to launch military operations and subsequent hostile acts against Israel since July 2006. What the authorities in Lebanon aspire to is in the hands of Hezbollah, and behind it the Islamic Republic of Iran, due to its religious, ideological, political and financial dependence on it, as long as it does not enjoy any independence in determining its fate, and as long as the authorities refrain until now from deterring it and disarming it.

A Diplomatic Surprise in Beirut and Three Tracks of US Support After Aoun's Visit
Najwa Abi Haidar/Al-Markazia/July 22, 2022 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia - President Joseph Aoun's visit to Washington was not limited to its political symbolism and public messages. It also opened the door to a new phase of US engagement in supporting the Lebanese presidency, through practical steps expected to begin gradually in the coming period.
While the statements of US President Donald Trump and President Aoun garnered attention, Trump's remarks about Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri stood out. He described Berri as "a good man," stating that "when he sees what is being achieved, he will join the agreement." He also expressed a willingness to talk with Hezbollah, positions considered indicative of a different US approach to managing the next phase. Well-informed political sources revealed to Al-Markazia that the visit's results will not remain confined to political stances, but will be translated into three key steps that Washington is counting on to support the presidency and strengthen the process of restoring the state's sovereignty.
Najwa Abi Haidar/Al-Markazia/July 22, 2022 The first step involves resuming direct flights between Lebanon and the United States, following Trump's announcement of the decision. According to sources, the implementation phase will involve cooperation between the FBI and relevant Lebanese authorities to establish the necessary security and technical mechanisms to ensure the highest safety standards, given that the flights will be direct between the two countries, requiring meticulous security arrangements prior to their launch.
The second step concerns supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces with in-kind assistance valued at approximately $150 million, including training programs, equipment, and advanced weaponry. Reports indicate that Washington is awaiting a detailed list of the Lebanese Army's needs from the command before commencing the support program. The third surprise, according to sources, is the anticipated visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Beirut. Its primary objective is expected to be a meeting with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, carrying a direct message to him that complements the positive signals Trump conveyed during his meeting with President Aoun. According to the information, Rubio will inform Berri that the next phase requires his support for the state and the current administration, backing of the framework agreement, and rallying around the President and Lebanese legitimacy. This aligns with an American vision that considers the success of this path a gateway to rebuilding state institutions.
The sources add that Rubio may include Syria in his regional tour, in the context of reaffirming US support for President Aoun's plan to implement the roadmap he presented, with its essential provisions and demands. Meanwhile, the strategic US objective, according to the same sources, remains dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure, weakening its influence, and rebuilding the Lebanese state and its institutions. In parallel with the American move, sources indicate that several Arab countries are preparing to release aid to Lebanon as soon as this process begins. Meanwhile, France and Italy are moving to expedite the convening of a conference to support the Lebanese army, which has been repeatedly postponed in recent months. The sources emphasize that the conference is no longer tied to political conditions or obligations as it once was, but has become, in light of the new international climate resulting from the Washington visit, an inevitable necessity falling under the umbrella of international support for the current administration and legitimate Lebanese institutions.

When Patience Ran Out
Imad Moussa/Nidaa Al Watan/July 23, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
How can we address the growing impatience of Haj Mahmoud Qamati with the tutelary authority? His tactical patience has run out, and his strategic patience is on the verge of exploding. He set deadline after deadline, hoping the tutelary authority would repent its folly and sins and follow the path of Sheikh Naim, who seems oblivious to God's will. Yet, the authority remains stubborn and obtuse, squandering its power and holding its trump card. Haj Mahmoud Qamati, the most melodious voice in the party's repertoire, was shocked to learn that "the issuance of visas to Iranians and Iranian diplomats has practically ceased." A calamity has befallen us. Lebanon's tourism depends on Iran. Lebanon's economy is supported by Iran. Lebanon's trade balance relies on Iran. We can't even wage proxy wars without Iran. Iran is Lebanon's lifeline; how can a country breathe without its lifeline? Is he breathing through his spleen or his backside? Haj Qamati put his finger on the wound. He urged officials to address the Shibani issue urgently. Instead of offering advice, making empty promises, and issuing statements from afar, Qamati should take a quick trip to Ashrafieh to meet with Foreign Minister Haj Youssef Raji to clarify the matter. Perhaps the minister will be persuaded by the perspective of the party's national relations official, restoring the ambassador's honor and opening Lebanon's doors to all beloved Iranians: diplomats, Revolutionary Guards, Khatam al-Anbiya Guards, embassy guards, tunnel advisors, explosives experts, and ordinary citizens. It's true that the embassy is a den and an intelligence center. Provocative and vile statements are issued from Beirut, the latest being a post on the X platform, gloating over the death of American Sergeant Angel S. Rambaran in a bombing in Jordan with the text: "The equation is clear: death is the inevitable fate of anyone who attacks our beloved Iran," accompanied by photos of Rambaran. It is true that the Iranian embassy is an advanced center for the Revolutionary Guard and a haven for fugitives. But addressing its situation is possible. Raji is open to all options, including closing the embassy and severing relations with our sister nation, Iran. As for preventing Iranian planes from landing, this too can be handled amicably. Between Donald Trump's displeasure and the eruption of the militia leader's fury, logic dictates that the state's interest lies in preventing Haj Qamati from completely losing his temper and peacefully storming the airport with a unit of Hezbollah fighters, while other units terrorize the accredited ambassadors in beloved Lebanon.
Ultimately, it is clear that Qamati has lost his patience. Whoever finds him should feed him to the first "Bobby" they encounter in the streets of Beirut. He's a real pain.

The State's Opportunity and the Cost of Alternatives
Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/July 23, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Hours after President Joseph Aoun's plane landed in Washington, and before he even sat down for his meeting with US President Donald Trump, a call was made to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reaffirming the Kingdom's support for Lebanon and extending an official invitation for Aoun to visit Riyadh. This timing was not coincidental, but rather a clear Saudi endorsement of the path Aoun is pursuing before his reception at the White House. This Arab and international embrace of the legitimate authority carries a clear message of encouragement to move forward in restoring the state to its full role. It also confirms that Lebanon will not be alone if it chooses to consolidate its sovereignty and rebuild its institutions on the basis of the state's monopoly on weapons and decision-making. However, this support is not a blank check. Washington and Riyadh are linking their continued engagement with Lebanon to what the Lebanese authorities will achieve in the next phase, specifically regarding the issue of Hezbollah's weapons. Following the conclusion of the Washington visit, attention will shift from pronouncements and pledges to the practical test of the state's ability to translate its commitments into concrete steps in the coming weeks and months. In addition to the outcomes of the Washington visit, a number of regional factors warrant close monitoring in the coming weeks, given their direct repercussions on the Lebanese landscape. The most significant of these factors is the fate of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, in light of the ongoing escalation between them for over ten days. This memorandum has suffered a significant blow and is now teetering, but it has not yet collapsed entirely. Indicators that would confirm its complete demise include Israel's direct involvement alongside Washington in targeting Iran, or the reopening of a large-scale offensive in southern Lebanon. At that point, it will be clear that the memorandum of understanding has ended, and the region has entered a new phase. Should the memorandum collapse, it is difficult to imagine Hezbollah remaining unaffected by its consequences. The relative calm currently prevailing in the south is, to a large extent, a result of the pressure exerted by the Trump administration on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt military operations against Hezbollah. The second, equally important factor relates to the role that President Ahmad al-Sharaa might be assigned in any new approach to the issue of Hezbollah's weapons. If the Lebanese state fails to move from statements and pledges to concrete actions to dismantle the party's military infrastructure, Washington is unlikely to remain a mere spectator or tolerate the continuation of the status quo. In this context, there are growing indications that the United States might resort to outsourcing the task to external parties, with Israel handling part of the operation in the south and the southern suburbs of Beirut, while President al-Sharaa would be tasked with dealing with Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley. This scenario is no longer mere speculation, especially after President Trump's repeated statements on the matter, most recently during his meeting with President Joseph Aoun at the White House. Ultimately, the question is no longer whether this file will be opened, but rather who will address it, at what cost, and in whose political interest. Between Lebanon taking control of its own destiny or having solutions imposed upon it from abroad, the coming weeks appear crucial in shaping the country's future and its position within the regional power dynamics.

Division and the Loss of a Common Language
Rafiq Khoury/Nidaa Al Watan/July 23, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Lebanon is in an unprecedented predicament, unlike any of its previous crises: the loss of a shared national and political language in both discourse and practice. What seemed like an opportunity to escape the quagmire of occupation and weapons after Hezbollah's unilateral war to support Gaza and then Iran, has transformed into a deeper crisis and an existential threat. What was portrayed as a disagreement over the "Tripartite Framework" agreement between Lebanon, Israel, and the United States is, in reality, a profound division, with a very wide and unbridgeable chasm separating the two sides. The presence of both sides in the same government does not alter this reality. The logic of President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the official and popular majority, and those supported by Arab and international powers, is that the framework is an open option for direct negotiations to end the war, reclaim the land, and rebuild, thus saving Lebanon and allowing it to exercise its sovereignty. The logic of the "Shia duo" and Iran is that the agreement is "national treason" that places Lebanon under American and Israeli "guardianship" and plunges it into the "Abrahamic era."
Rafiq Khoury/Nidaa Al Watan/July 23, 2026 The problem lies not only in the sharp division but also in the fact that the state's reliance on the framework and American patronage, and the Shiite duo's reliance on negotiations between America and Iran, are both bets on a shifting game governed by uncertainty. There is no guarantee of a solution in Lebanon, neither at the Lebanese-Israeli negotiating table under American auspices, nor at the American-Iranian negotiating table, which is threatened by renewed war. President Donald Trump will not go to bed hungry if he cannot pressure Netanyahu to withdraw completely from Lebanon, a withdrawal contingent on the Lebanese army's success in disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its infrastructure. And Iranian officials will not be concerned unless Trump guarantees an Israeli withdrawal and acceptance of their conditions regarding the preservation of Hezbollah's weapons. Haven't we learned from bitter experience that regional and international powers exploit crises and impasses more than they exploit solutions if those solutions do not serve their interests?
The state that declared the restoration of its decision-making power over war and peace knows that the decision remains outside its control. It rests in the hands of Israel and Iran. While Tel Aviv needs a green light from the US to decide on war or to carry out a targeted operation in Jabal Ali al-Taher and Nabatieh, Tehran typically prefers to wage war through its proxies in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza before being forced into a direct US attack. Some now say that the decision for war rests with Hezbollah, while the decision for peace rests with Iran. But Sheikh Naim Qassem, in his book "Hezbollah: Methodology and Experience," states frankly: "We do not make the decision of war and peace ourselves, but rather we refer it to the Supreme Leader, who determines when confrontation becomes a religious obligation," based on the premise that "the legitimacy of Hezbollah's Shura Council comes from the Supreme Leader." The test is simple: Who can prevent Hezbollah from launching a new war of support if the American-Israeli war against Iran is renewed? And what can the state do to implement any agreement it reaches with Israel, with American support, whether it be ending the war, ending the state of hostility, or achieving peace, and of course, disarming illegal weapons? If America and Israel have left the disarmament to the state, which has consistently maintained that the issue is internal and can be resolved through dialogue, what kind of dialogue are they talking about without a shared national and political language? If the role of weapons, in the view of Iran and Hezbollah, is organically linked to the Iranian regional project and its guardianship of the state, what is the meaning of talking about an internal solution to an internal issue that is, by definition, regional and even international? Robert Kaplan says that "agreements of fear are stronger than agreements of hope." And no one knows. What kind of agreements await us even if the war does not resume?

Hezbollah is an Iranian faction… and Lebanon will not take lectures from a state that brought occupation!
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/July 22, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – In the context of the systematic campaign Hezbollah has been waging for months against the Lebanese state, MP Ali Fayyad, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, stated that “this Lebanese authority is acting with the logic of the defeated, negotiating the terms of its surrender.” He added that “even though it justifies its positions by claiming to seek to extricate Lebanon from the repercussions of the Israeli occupation and aggression,” it has “entrenched the occupation, provided cover for its aggression, hollowed out sovereignty, deepened the division among the Lebanese, threatened internal stability, and weakened the national position.” In response, sovereign political sources, speaking to Al-Markazia, questioned whether Lebanon, or rather Hezbollah, is victorious. In reality, not in the fantasy world the party inhabits, Israel is deep in the south, not Hezbollah in the Galilee. In other words, thanks to the party’s adventures, we are indeed defeated, and we cannot act as victors. Fayad added that the government's performance "presented an image of Lebanon as a mere puppet show, combining stupidity, naiveté, and subservience to foreign powers." Here, too, the sources question whether the decision to launch a war "because diplomacy has failed, and to liberate the five points through fighting and the military option," which the party has been discussing for months, demonstrates intelligence and shrewdness, especially after witnessing its results on the ground. Fayad continued in a speech he delivered on Sunday from the Saint Therese area, saying, "What the people of the South and the occupied border villages are being subjected to—targeting, assassinations, destruction, bulldozing, and arson—is taking place under the cover of the official Lebanese authority, which legitimized the enemy's justifications and pretexts when it agreed to the framework agreement, which constitutes a scandal by all national and international standards." In response, the sources say, even if we concede, for the sake of argument, that what is happening is covered up by the Lebanese government, it is also covered up by the party. Otherwise, why would it stand idly by while the enemy commits its crimes and not take military action on the ground to deter it? And why would it bear arms then? The answer is clear: Iran doesn't want it to act now. We will leave it at that, the sources add, as everything the party says today is merely an echo of Iran's position after it became clear to everyone that it is nothing more than an Iranian faction in Lebanon. The Lebanese state will not take lessons or accept lectures from a rogue state or its proxies, especially after it succeeded through diplomacy where the party and its weapons failed. It has imposed the launch of the model zones initiative on the ground, which may lead to the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation, an occupation caused by the party and its patron.

Washington opened the skies. Lebanon must secure the ground
Makram Rabah/A l Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
President Joseph Aoun’s July 21 meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House was important, but not because of the ceremonial photographs or diplomatic compliments. It was important because Lebanon, after years of being treated as either a battlefield or a humanitarian file, was once again addressed as a state capable of making decisions. Trump pledged substantial American support, discussed strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces and announced that American airlines would be permitted to fly directly to Lebanon for the first time since 1985. Yet he offered no clear timetable for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. The Lebanese understandably celebrated the flight announcement. For a country with a vast American diaspora, direct service would reconnect families, encourage investment and reduce the exhausting journey through European or Gulf airports. But authorization is not the same as implementation. Before flights resume, American authorities must conduct an extensive security review of Beirut airport, and commercial airlines must decide that operating the route is safe. Several major American carriers have suspended service even to other destinations in the region because of security concerns.No presidential announcement can order an airline into an insecure country.
That is the real meaning of the Washington meeting. Direct flights are not merely a transportation issue. They are a test of whether Lebanon can finally become a normal state: one airport, one army, one security authority and one government capable of guaranteeing that its territory will not be used for somebody else’s war. This is also why the discussion about disarming Hezbollah must be rescued from the reckless language of military confrontation. Too many politicians speak as though disarmament requires the Lebanese Army to march into Shia villages and fight a new civil war. That would not restore the state. It would destroy what remains of it. Hezbollah’s military structure has already been severely degraded by successive wars and the loss of senior commanders and infrastructure. The greater challenge now is not defeating every remaining fighter in battle. It is dismantling the political, financial and institutional system that allowed an armed organization to operate above the law. The confrontation has therefore shifted. Lebanon is no longer dealing only with Hezbollah as a militia. It is confronting the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) architecture that founded, financed and trained Hezbollah, turning southern Lebanon into an extension of Iran’s regional security strategy. It is also confronting a Lebanese deep state that has benefited from the presence of weapons outside legitimate institutions. Hezbollah was founded with the support of Iran’s IRGC, and its regional role has always extended far beyond the defense of Lebanese territory. That domestic deep state is symbolized by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and by a political order that has learned to use Hezbollah’s weapons as leverage. The weapons provide muscle even when they are not fired. Their existence influences appointments, elections, judicial decisions and the limits of permissible political speech. Disarmament will remain incomplete unless this network is dismantled inside the government itself.
President Aoun consequently carries a sacred responsibility. As the former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, he knows the institution better than any civilian politician. Supporting the army cannot mean protecting every officer from scrutiny. It must include a lawful and transparent vetting process to identify personnel who place partisan or foreign loyalties above the chain of command. This is not a call for sectarian retaliation or collective punishment. It means investigating compromised officers, removing those who obstruct lawful orders, securing military intelligence from political interference and prosecuting individuals when credible evidence exists. The same standard must apply across ministries, security agencies, customs facilities, the airport and public institutions. A state cannot confiscate illegal weapons while allowing the infrastructure protecting those weapons to remain embedded within it.
Aoun must also confront the legal machinery that has protected Lebanon’s political class. The military tribunal has repeatedly been used against civilians, journalists, activists and government critics. International human-rights organizations have documented its broad jurisdiction, inadequate due-process protections and chilling effect on freedom of expression. Abolishing civilian trials before military courts will require legislation, but the president should lead that constitutional campaign rather than remain silent behind institutional excuses.
The military tribunal should serve military discipline, not political discipline.
The same clarity is required regarding Lebanon’s laws criminalizing contact with Israel. The state cannot negotiate with Israel through American mediation while threatening ordinary citizens, journalists and peace advocates for engaging in discussion. Lebanon’s 1955 boycott law has been interpreted so broadly that political and civilian contact may be treated as a criminal offense. Protecting Lebanon from espionage is legitimate. Criminalizing dialogue is not. Decriminalizing contact does not require Lebanon to surrender its rights, ignore Israeli occupation or abandon demands for accountability. It simply recognizes that a country cannot negotiate peace while criminalizing the human contact that makes peace imaginable. President Aoun returned from Washington with American attention and a powerful symbol in the promise of direct flights. But symbols will not protect Beirut airport, rebuild the south or restore public confidence. The flights will become real only when Lebanon becomes secure, and Lebanon will become secure only when sovereignty is enforced inside its institutions – not merely announced at its borders. The Lebanese do not need another celebration built around a promise. They need a state capable of ensuring that the airplane announced in Washington can actually land safely in Beirut.

‘Pilot Zones’ Pitting Beirut Government Against Hezbollah Launched in South Lebanon
Mark Dubowitz/FDD-Policy Brief/July 22/2026
Israel ceded security control over three southern Lebanese towns on July 21 in a test of the Beirut government’s ability to keep out the Hezbollah terrorists who were operating in the area.
The institution of the so-called “pilot zones,” devised by the United States, came as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun secured a rare White House visit. But for all the pageantry and the promotion of peace, there is no substitute for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) proving its mettle against the Iran-backed terrorist group — no matter how long that takes.
A Testing Ground for the LAF
Following the IDF pullback, LAF troops rolled into Zawtar Al-Gharbiya, a town on the northern cusp of Israel’s buffer zone. The LAF similarly deployed in Froun and Srifa, towns outside the zone that were also designated as “pilot zones” during several rounds of US-hosted negotiations between the Lebanese and Israeli governments. Together, the towns constitute proving grounds for LAF security enforcement. Though the IDF fired warning shots when Lebanese soldiers strayed past a pilot-zone boundary, the handovers were held up by Beirut as the successful rollout of a process designed to culminate in a total Israeli pullout. Israel insists that the complete imposition of Beirut’s sovereign authority and a full dismantling of Hezbollah in the south must come before any final Israeli withdrawal.
Aoun Presses Trump for Further Israeli Withdrawals
Aoun’s White House visit was the first by a Lebanese president in 17 years, highlighting the trust President Trump has placed in him to advance the landmark Lebanese-Israeli detente. Although Aoun pressed Trump for more sweeping Israeli withdrawals, the U.S. president played this down, using Jerusalem’s preferred term of “redeployment” for the current troop movements. Trump, whose administration broke with decades of U.S. convention by engaging directly with Hamas for a Gaza ceasefire, voiced openness to speaking to Hezbollah as well. “There is the problem of Hezbollah. I am ready to talk to Hezbollah, I am ready to talk to everyone. If President Aoun wants me to speak to them, I will do so,” Trump said.
IDF Has Shouldered Greatest Risk
The southern Lebanon pilot zones are a triumph of creative statesmanship, not least that of the Trump administration. Even so, a greater sense of proportion is in order. It is the IDF, at great expense and risk, which cleared Hezbollah terrorists and their facilities out of these three towns. The LAF, which for decades failed to deliver on its pledges to impose Beirut’s authority, is merely being asked to carry out mopping-up operations and prevent Hezbollah from returning. Scores more towns and villages south of the Litani River remain to be handed over and judged for the effectiveness of LAF enforcement there. That will take months or years. Until then, Israel is fully entitled to maintain its buffer zone as the most concrete means of fending off the Hezbollah threat. Aoun wants to put the cart before the horse, so as to avoid difficult and long-delayed confrontations with his fanatical, Iran-backed countrymen. This explains why he is pushing for Israel to quit Lebanese soil entirely, attempting to sell Trump on the idea that, once this occurs, Hezbollah will somehow be mollified into a consensual disarmament.It would be unwise of Trump to buy into this inverted logic. If he does indeed speak to Hezbollah, the only topic should be the timetable for its capitulation. For his part, Aoun should be cautious about elevating his most lethal domestic rival to the status of an interlocutor with the American president.
**Mark Dubowitz is the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Mark and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Mark on X @mdubowitz. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Report: Netanyahu fails to arrange Trump meeting as US pushes for Lebanon withdrawal
Naharnet/July 22/2026
A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was set for this week has been postponed at the request of the American side, a source familiar with the details told Israeli newspaper Haaretz. While one source said the situation in Iran was behind the delay, two other sources said the meeting was postponed in an effort to pressure Israel into beginning to withdraw troops from the first pilot zone in southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese Army to deploy there instead. An Israeli source denied that the Americans were the ones who decided to postpone the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, which he said had been scheduled for Monday. Instead, he attributed the postponement to Netanyahu's decision to postpone his flight to the U.S. due to the postponement of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's funeral. However, an official in the Trump administration told Haaretz that no meeting between the two leaders at the White House had been scheduled in the first place. Netanyahu’s office told Haaretz on Monday that no decision had yet been made on whether Netanyahu would fly to Washington next week. The prime minister's office isn't believed to have prepared for such a flight, even though Graham's official funeral services are set to be held on July 28 and July 29. One source noted that efforts are being made to schedule a new meeting with Trump early next week. The Israeli source confirmed that the Americans had urged Israel to begin implementing the Israeli army’s withdrawal from pilot areas in southern Lebanon before Trump met with Aoun. If the meeting does happen, the situation in Iran and Lebanon is expected to be at the top of the agenda. Israeli sources believe Netanyahu is interested in renewing the war with Iran and having the Israeli army play an active role in a military campaign. As Israel's election nears, a major assault on Iran could destabilize the regime, even though that failed to happen in the previous round of fighting in the spring. In an interview with Axios earlier this month, Trump said Netanyahu had sought the meeting, which could have taken place as early as the following week. A significant rift has developed between Washington and Israel over the war in Iran and Trump's unhappiness with Netanyahu over the latter's insistence on continuing the attacks in Lebanon, Haaretz said.
Tensions between the two escalated into a shouting match, according to an Axios report that neither side denied. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, considered the most moderate voice in the administration on Iran and who is responsible for conducting negotiations with Tehran, said last week that some in Israel "are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely." Netanyahu has given interviews to U.S. media outlets in recent weeks in an apparent effort to minimize the damage to his relations with the Trump administration.

Aoun insisted on 'full Israeli withdrawal' in talks with Trump
Agence France Presse/July 22/2026
President Joseph Aoun stressed the need for Israel to pull its troops from Lebanon during his meeting on Tuesday with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, the Presidency said in a statement. "President Aoun stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, emphasizing that this constitutes a fundamental step to consolidate stability, enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty, solely through its own forces, and move forward in implementing the joint tripartite framework," the statement said, referring to a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel last month.

Aoun says disarming Hezbollah has requirements to fulfill
Naharnet/July 22/2026
President Joseph Aoun has said that ever since he assumed his post, the state has “worked decisively toward one goal: one state, one army, and putting an end to all illegal armed groups operating outside the state's authority.”“What we need now is an institution strong enough to achieve this, and the Lebanese Army is the institution that bears the weight of everything I have described tonight. The Lebanese Armed Forces are not just an army; they are the only truly national institution that enjoys the trust of all Lebanese citizens, and the only force that belongs not to any sect, party, or faction, but to Lebanon alone. They guard our land and our maritime borders,” Aoun said at a reception at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington. He added: “Let me address directly the question I know is on everyone’s mind tonight: is disarming Hezbollah truly achievable? Yes, but only if we are honest about what it actually requires.”“The armed group we are talking about is not a foreign mercenary force. It is composed of Lebanese citizens who, over forty years, have been molded by a massive and sustained investment -- ideological, social, and military -- into a non-state armed group operating outside the control of the government,” Aoun said.He noted that this reality “does not make the objective any less urgent.”“Rather, it makes the method all the more crucial. History offers a proven path, from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, and it is no mystery: disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration,” the president said. “It begins with removing the root cause that Hezbollah has always cited as its justification for existence: the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory. It continues with the Lebanese Armed Forces assuming full and exclusive operational control, which requires immediate and unconditional support for our military forces, the sole legitimate defender of this country,” Aoun added. “And it ends with reintegration: a program to re-establish reconstruction managed solely by the Lebanese state, coupled with genuine economic opportunities, will ensure that weapons are no longer the only option, but rather a choice between them and a functioning state that fulfills its promises,” the president went on to say. He continued: "At every stage of this process, the Lebanese state must be the party that exercises its authority over its territory, controls its borders, and holds the sole monopoly on the decision of war and peace within its borders. This is the path I have chosen, and it is the path I came to Washington to ask you to take with us."

نص كلمة الرئيس جوزاف عون من السفارة اللبنانية في واشنطن عقب اجتماعه مع الرئيس الأميركي دونالد ترامب
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O48VD5HR7o
The Full Text of President Joseph Aoun’s Speech Delivered at the Lebanese Embassy Gathering in Washington, D.C. on21 July/2026
It's a small country that has time and again given far more to humanity than its size would ever suggest and, in doing so, has rightfully earned its place as a bridge between the East and the West.
Lebanon is not simply a country of 18 recognized religious communities living within one set of borders. It is proof, after barely a century, that those communities can share one homeland, one flag, one army, without any of them having to disappear into the others.
I have the honor of being the only Christian head of state in the entire Arab world. In fact, from Indonesia to Morocco, I do not say that as a matter of personal distinction. I say it because it reflects Lebanon's unique model of coexistence—a system that can actually work, generation after generation, through the worst that history has thrown at it.
That is worth protecting, not for Lebanon's sake alone, but for the region. It is worth protecting because it rests on the same foundation upon which you have built your own nation.
For almost one hundred years, Lebanon has been a democracy. Through occupation, through civil war, through economic collapse, our people never stopped voting, never stopped debating, never stopped believing that they had the right to choose who governed them.
Our democracy has been tested in ways few democracies ever have. It has bent, but it has never broken.In just the past few years alone, our people have endured the strain of hosting the highest number of refugees per capita of any nation on Earth; the horror of the Beirut port explosion; a financial collapse that wiped out a lifetime of savings overnight; a global pandemic; a political vacuum; and a devastating war.
And still, they did not give up on their country.
Lebanon is suffering enormously. Thousands of our civilians have been killed, including many women and children who should have been safe in their own homes. Entire villages have been destroyed. Entire families have been wiped out. Nearly one in five people has been displaced from their homes.
To us, these are not statistics. They are our children, our parents, our neighbors, and our friends. Behind every number is a face, a name, a family, and a life forever changed.
As many of you know, I spent forty-two years of my life serving in the Lebanese Armed Forces, rising through its ranks before becoming its commander-in-chief.
Those four decades rooted in me a conviction that I carry into this office every single day: that Lebanon can only be secure and can only be whole when it is one state, one army, protecting all Lebanese without distinction. That conviction is not a slogan for me. It is the mission of my presidency.
And it is from that conviction that I carry the responsibility to bring this war to an end, to help those families return home, rebuild their communities, look to the future with hope, and to end once and for all the state of hostility with Israel while reinforcing the sovereignty of the Lebanese state.
That responsibility is what brings me to Washington today. And I believe that, for the first time in years, we finally have a real chance to make history. Moments like this appear only once in a generation. Nations either recognize them or spend another generation regretting that they did not.
For nearly fifty years, Lebanon has been a battlefield for other people's conflicts and interests—Palestinian, Syrian, Israeli, Iranian, and, yes, at times our own. But something new is happening today. Not by chance, not by luck, but by choice—our choice.
First, inside Lebanon itself. Since taking office, the state has worked decisively toward one goal: one state, one army, and an end to non-state armed groups operating outside it.
We are pursuing real reforms, working to end corruption, and rebuilding institutions that the Lebanese people can trust again. Every step we have taken proves the same point: that this path—the path of a sovereign, accountable state—is not just the right path in principle, but the only path that can actually end conflict and deliver the prosperity our people deserve.
And this is not a path that we walk alone. It is one that a clear majority of Lebanese, across every community, stands firmly behind. Second, around us, we have made a deliberate choice to restore Lebanon's relationships across the region and the world and to reposition Lebanon where it belongs—not as a battleground for others' agendas, but as a sovereign state that refuses interference from anyone, in any form. That choice has earned us renewed support from France, across the Arab world, and beyond. And that shift is nowhere more significant than with our neighbor Syria. We are building a relationship with Damascus based on what should always have been an exclusive state-to-state relationship founded on mutual respect, sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs.
Neither of us wants to repeat the tragedies these interventions caused in the past—tragedies that could destabilize not just Lebanon, not just Syria, but the entire region. And third, there is the United States. Under President Trump's leadership, and through the trilateral framework this administration brokered between Lebanon and Israel this past June, we have the most serious and sustained American engagement with Lebanon's stability in decades. That framework did not happen by accident. It happened because your administration pushed for it and because Lebanon showed up ready to make it real.And believe me, domestic will, regional support, and American leadership rarely align at the same time. Tonight, they do. I came to Washington because opportunities like this do not come often. But politics and diplomacy give us the opening. What we need now is an institution strong enough to deliver on it. The Lebanese Armed Forces is the institution that carries the weight of everything I have described tonight. The Lebanese Armed Forces is not simply an army. It is the only true national institution that has the trust of all Lebanese—the one force that belongs to no sect, no party, no faction, but only to Lebanon itself. It guards our land and maritime borders. It defeated ISIS on our own soil. It stands as our front line against narcotics trafficking, organized crime, and smuggling across our borders. It works alongside our internal security forces to maintain public order. It protects the critical infrastructure upon which our people depend every day. And when disaster strikes—flood, explosion, or collapse—it is the Lebanese Armed Forces that answers first, every time, for every community, without exception.
This is the institution in which we are asking you to continue investing because its record speaks for itself: proven, tested, and worthy of the trust we ask you to place in it.
And it is this same institution that the world will be watching most closely as we take on the hardest question of this evening. Let me address directly the question I know is on everyone's mind tonight: Is the disarmament of Hezbollah realistically achievable?
It is—but only if we are honest about what it actually requires.
The armed group we are speaking of is not a foreign mercenary force. It is composed of Lebanese citizens who, over forty years, were shaped by an enormous and sustained investment—ideological, social, and military—into a non-state armed organization operating outside government control.
That reality does not make the goal less urgent. It makes the method more important.
History offers a proven path—from the FARC in Colombia to the IRA in Northern Ireland—and it is not a mystery: disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration.
It begins by removing the root cause that Hezbollah has long cited as its justification: the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory.
It continues as the Lebanese Armed Forces assume full operational control, which requires immediate and unconditional support for our military—the sole legitimate defender of this country.
And it concludes through reintegration: a reconstruction program run through the Lebanese state alone, paired with real economic opportunity, so that the choice for every community is no longer between the gun and nothing, but between the gun and a functioning state that delivers.
The equation is simple. A political track without an economic track is a state that cannot compete. An empowered state is the only alternative to a vacuum. And if the state does not fill that vacuum, others will. I want the next generation to remember Lebanon not as the place where wars never ended, but as the place where peace finally prevailed. Not simply because the guns fell silent, but because the state became strong enough to protect its people, provide opportunities for its citizens, and build a future worthy of their talents. That is the partnership we hope to build with the United States.
I believe there has never been a better moment to build it, nor a partner better suited to help us build it than the United States.
Thank you.

Lebanese-American who stabbed Rushdie to go on trial again
Associated Press/July 22/2026
The Lebanese-American man who was convicted of trying to kill Salman Rushdie is going on trial again in the United States, this time in a federal terrorism case that is probing deeper into what allegedly motivated the stabbing on a lecture stage in 2022. Opening statements are set for Wednesday in Hadi Matar's trial in the federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York. It's about 70 miles (113 km) from the arts and intellectual retreat where the renowned author and free-speech advocate was attacked as he was about to discuss writer safety. The Booker Prize-winning Rushdie, now 79, is expected to be among the first witnesses, again describing the stabbing that nearly killed him and left him blind in one eye. He has recounted the moment and his lengthy recovery in testimony at Matar's state-court attempted murder trial, in a memoir and in multiple interviews. "The thing that happens when you get really a close-up look at death — that's as close as you can get without actually doing the dance of death and heading off to nowhere — it stays with you," he told The Associated Press in 2024. "There's a shadow." Matar, 28, already is serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence on a state-level attempted murder and assault conviction. That case focused mostly on the details of the knife attack itself; the federal one delves more into questions of motive. Matar has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. Prosecutors have argued that he was acting out of loyalty to Iran's theocratic government and Iran-backed Hezbollah after the Islamic Republic's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's death because of his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses."
Matar's electronics included information on the fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, that sought Rushdie's death, and Matar kept a journal and sticky notes logging his research on Rushdie and possible ways and places to kill him, prosecutors said in a 2025 court filing. In Matar's New Jersey bedroom, federal agents found photos of Khomeini and now-deceased successor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the filing said. "When he attempted to carry out the fatwa, he believed he was doing so on behalf of" Hezbollah, which the U.S. government designates as a "terrorist" organization, assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Lynch and Charles Kruly wrote in the filing. Asked about the case Tuesday, Matar's attorney Nathaniel Barone said he planned to give an opening statement. In the years leading up to the trial, Matar's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to exclude some evidence from his social media accounts and other digital activity, arguing that the government's electronic searches cast too big a net. Matar declined to testify at his state court trial, and it's unclear whether he will take the stand in federal court. At his state court sentencing, Matar said he believed in free speech, but he asserted that Rushdie was "a hypocrite" who "wants to bully other people." Matar also spontaneously spoke out in support of Palestinians while heading into and out of the state courtroom. Born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated from Lebanon, Matar is a citizen of both countries. His mother has said he turned moody and withdrawn after a 2018 trip to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. Rushdie was born in India, raised in Britain — where he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II — and now is a U.S. citizen. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for "Midnight's Children," a magical realist novel about a personal and national journey that begins at the instant when India became independent. But Rushdie became most famous, and notorious, for "The Satanic Verses," particularly a passage featuring a dream sequence about the Prophet Mohammad. Some Muslims saw it as blasphemous, and often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family. Khomeini's 1989 fatwa drove Rushdie into hiding for years. Although Iran hasn't focused in recent years on the decree, it was never rescinded. Iran's government denied involvement in the 2022 stabbing, but its Foreign Ministry's then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie invited trouble by insulting Islam. After "Knife," Rushdie's memoir about the stabbing, he returned to fiction with last year's "The Eleventh Hour," a book of short stories and novellas. He was recognized with a Dayton Literary Peace Prize lifetime achievement award in November.

Hajj Hassan in first Hezbollah comment on Aoun-Trump talks
Naharnet/July 22/2026
MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah on Wednesday noted that "what happened in Washington in the summit between President Joseph Aoun and U.S. President Donald Trump amounted to nothing more than a general American rhetoric and promises without guarantees, without specifying any timeframe for redeployment, and without achieving any progress or accomplishments."In an interview with Sputnik Radio, Hajj Hassan added that "the U.S. president's call for the Syrian side to intervene in Lebanon constitutes a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, without any comment from the Lebanese president or from those who claim to uphold sovereignty in Lebanon."He also pointed out that "the Israeli withdrawal being discussed is from liberated areas, seeing as the enemy army was present on the outskirts of Zawtar, not in the heart of Zawtar."Regarding the U.S. president's remarks about the possibility of communication with Hezbollah, he said, "We were having coffee; we don't have time for this talk," adding that "there can be no dialogue with those who attack us, destroy our land and homes, and kill our people."Rejecting the "condescending American approach," Hajj Hassan noted the "absence of any timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory within the framework agreement" recently signed by Lebanon and Israel with U.S. backing. "Is the issue of arming the Lebanese Army being raised to confront Hezbollah or Israel?" the MP wondered, while emphasizing the "ongoing cooperation and trust between Hezbollah and the military establishment."He pointed out that "Hezbollah does not agree to preventing it (the group) from receiving funds from Iran for reconstruction, while allowing funds from other sources." He also affirmed "Hezbollah's continued cooperation with the Lebanese Army and maintaining a strong and close relationship with the national army, which does not succumb to pressure and knows how to fulfill its duty."He stated: "It is incorrect to say that the framework agreement does not require the approval of the cabinet and the parliament."Hajj Hassan also lamented that "Lebanese authorities are widening the gap between themselves and the Lebanese people and are not maintaining any common ground with them," while stressing that "it is difficult to ‘remove’ Hezbollah's popular base."

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 22-23 July/2026
US military says new strikes on Iran have ended, marking 11th successive night of attacks
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
The US military said in a statement on Wednesday that it ended its latest round of strikes on Iran that marked the 11th consecutive night of American attacks. “CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US Central Command said in a statement. The strikes lasted about 75 minutes late on Tuesday, according to the US military. Washington said Iran has attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the last three months. The Iran war began when the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war have killed thousands and displaced millions. Fifty civilians have been killed and 500 wounded in the recent US strikes on Iran, an Iranian health ministry official said. US troop deaths in the war have risen to 18 in recent days. On Monday, US President Donald Trump vowed revenge against Iran after a deadly weekend for US troops. Last week, Trump threatened to expand the targets being struck in Iran to include energy plants and bridges. With Reuters

Trump attends return of US soldiers killed in Iran war
Reuters/July 22, 2026
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Delaware: US President Donald Trump attended a ceremony for four US service members who returned to American soil in flag-draped caskets on Wednesday after being killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East. The ceremony, known as a “dignified transfer” of the bodies, comes amid growing frustration with the US-Israeli war with Iran. The war has cost US taxpayers at least $37.5 billion, has led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more ‌than 450 troops. It ‌has killed thousands of Iranians. Both Republican and Democratic ​lawmakers ‌have ⁠raised questions ​about the ⁠war, which has boosted global oil prices and shows no signs of ending. Since the war started in February, Trump has offered differing objectives for the war. The US president traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the ceremony. “We’re going to honor them. For me it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But it has to be done,” Trump said before leaving for the ceremony. Asked what ⁠he would tell the families of the fallen, Trump said: “All ‌I’m going to say is, we love you. We ‌love your child, and that’s what they are ​to them. They’re their children. There’s no ‌games, no nothing.” US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ‌ceremonies at Dover — home of the largest US military mortuary — during times of war or conflict. The three US service members killed when an Iranian missile hit their sleeping barracks at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday were First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, ‌28, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19. All three were assigned to US Army air defense brigades. The fourth death, of Sergeant ⁠Michael Emmanuel Swinton, ⁠30, occurred on Sunday in a separate incident in Irbil, Iraq, during a controlled detonation of an attack drone. The Pentagon said on Monday that 100 service members have been injured since July 7 and 96 percent have returned to duty. Four in five Americans expect the war to drag on for an extended period, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted this month. Some 37 percent of respondents approved of US military strikes against Iran. Trump’s approval rating has hovered near the lowest levels of his political career since the conflict began, with Republican strategists warning that rising living costs have neutralized the political benefits of his tax cuts. Higher gas prices and cost-of-living concerns pose a political ​risk to Trump’s Republican Party ahead ​of November’s midterm elections, in which it risks losing its House majority and possibly its control of the Senate.

Iran’s Ghalibaf says there will be no safety if Iran’s security is not guaranteed
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
Iran’s top negotiator more or less declared war on the entire region Wednesday, declaring no safety if Iranian security “is not guaranteed.”Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that no one will sell oil if Iran does not sell oil. “The equation of this war is clear: either all or none!” he said in a statement posted on X. “If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces,” he added, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. “We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to pre-war conditions.”

Trump vows to bomb Iranian infrastructure every time Tehran fires on ships in Hormuz
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to knock out one Iranian bridge or power plant in return for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, warning he was “not finished” with a war that has already cost Washington $37.5 billion. Fighting over the strait led to the collapse of a preliminary deal between the United States and Iran, and Tehran has reimposed its blockade on the strategic conduit for oil and gas shipments, firing on vessels that seek to transit. The blockade has rattled markets and sent oil prices climbing, adding to the pressure on Trump to find an off-ramp to a conflict that has hit Americans’ pocketbooks heading into closely-fought midterm elections. “Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media, reiterating his longstanding threat to go after Iranian infrastructure. But top US diplomat Marco Rubio maintained Washington is still willing to find a negotiated agreement with Tehran. “We remain open to working it out in a negotiated way. But right now, they don’t seem to be serious about that,” Rubio said at a Southeast Asia ministers’ meeting in Manila.Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had previously said that diplomatic exchanges with Washington through mediators were continuing. On Wednesday afternoon, a US missile hit Larak island in the strait, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, saying the extent of the damage was being investigated. Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the conflict, which is unpopular even with segments of his political base as it nears its five-month mark. Critics have pointed to the cost, which Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday had soared to $37.5 billion, defending a request for tens of billions in additional funding for the military. But Trump himself has so far bucked the pressure, saying on Tuesday: “We’re not finished at all... we’re not leaving right now.”
Pickaxe Mountain
The US military said it had launched an eleventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, saying it targeted military sites to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”Trump had said earlier that the next US target could be an underground complex known as Pickaxe Mountain, or Kolang in Persian, a site near Natanz where Western intelligence agencies suspect Iran is building an undeclared nuclear enrichment facility. Iran threatened reprisals, with the Khatam al-Anbiya military command saying it would “consider it as an expansion of war” if such an attack were carried out, threatening strikes on “all the interests of America, the allies and supporters,” the state broadcaster reported. Foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei, meanwhile, insisted that “Washington’s obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh where no nuclear activity is taking place is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage.”The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the BBC that inspectors “should be there already” in reference to Iran, saying it was important that the IAEA check on Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The threats came as Tehran pressed its assault on targets in US-allied Gulf states. Kuwait’s army said its air defenses were engaging drones from Iran, while Jordan said it had shot down four Iranian missiles and four drones. Air alert sirens also sounded in Bahrain, with an explosion heard in Manama. The Iranian military claimed it targeted US assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, including air defense systems, radar installations and administrative buildings. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said it had targeted US bases in Jordan.With AFP

Iran denies existence of nuclear facility at Kolang mountain
AFP/22 July ,2026
Iran again denied the existence of any secret nuclear complex at Kolang mountain on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump threatened to strike the site in the center of the country. “Washington’s obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh where no nuclear activity is taking place is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on X. He insisted “Iran’s nuclear activities have been fully declared” to the UN’s atomic watchdog. Trump had warned on Tuesday that the US would hit the site, known as Pickaxe Mountain in English. “We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump said, adding that he would not normally announce targets but “there’s not a thing they can do about it.” The US has yet to follow through on the threat. In 2025, US media outlets including The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that Iran had accelerated construction at a secret underground nuclear site at Kolang mountain, which Tehran denied. The mountain is near Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which was bombed by the US during a brief war in June of that year.

Trump approves nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
US President Donald Trump has formally approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide it with a civilian nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment in the Kingdom, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The new deal would last 30 years and is designed to give US companies “a central role in developing Saudi Arabia’s nuclear infrastructure.”“A key provision of the new accord would have American companies build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia if a joint US-Saudi study determines such a step would be warranted,” the WSJ report said. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Trump administration plans to submit to Congress a pact with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology. The administration will reportedly submit to Congress within days a document known as a 123 Agreement that will be signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.The two signed a preliminary agreement in Riyadh last year. The agreement refers to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the US government and American companies to work with entities in the Kingdom to develop a multibillion-dollar civil nuclear industry. With Reuters

Rubio says US still willing to negotiate over Iran crisis
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the United States is still willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis but Tehran is not serious about talks, as the widening conflict disrupted the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Rubio made his comments in a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage the interim ceasefire agreement signed by the US and Iran in June, which replaced an earlier April ceasefire. In another sign that diplomacy remains alive, Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has visited mediator Pakistan and asked Islamabad to continue its efforts. Rubio said Washington was “always committed to diplomacy” but doubted whether Tehran was equally committed to negotiations. “The problem we’re having right now is that they’re not serious about talks. If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies,” Rubio said in Manila. He stressed that Iran could not be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz, arguing it would create a dangerous precedent for the world including Southeast Asian countries, many of which have territorial disputes in the South China Sea with China. “If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent, which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said. Speaking later in the day, Rubio touched on Iran’s worsening economic situation. “They (Iran) are facing hyperinflation, runaway inflation, and high food costs. These are all pre-existing. They've all gotten worse. They've suffered a tremendous amount of damage to their military infrastructure, but they've also spent 20 years taking every penny they have and not spending it on their country,” Rubio said, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila,With no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the US military bombed targets across Iran for an 11th straight night on Tuesday. Tehran residents reported hearing explosions in the early hours of Wednesday as Iran activated its air defenses over the capital, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said.
Explosions were also reported in the southeastern coastal cities of Chabahar and Konarak, and two blasts were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.Earlier, Iran targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump confirmed that 18 US service members had been killed so far in the war, including four in Iranian attacks on US military bases in Jordan and Iraq over the last few days. Oil prices rose further in Asian trade on Wednesday after climbing more than 2 percent on Tuesday following the Houthi threats, with Brent crude hovering above $91 a barrel and US gasoline back over $4 a gallon. On Tuesday, Trump renewed his threats to again attack Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz “pretty soon,” which he said in June 2025 had been “totally obliterated” after the US military bombed the facility, buried in a mountain range, that month. Iran promised it would retaliate. Fifty civilians have been killed and 500 wounded in the recent US strikes on Iran, a health ministry official said. With Reuters

Jordan army says intercepts four Iranian missiles, four drones
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday, adding that two others fell in an open area, as Tehran pressed its attacks across the region. “Air defense systems today detected six missiles coming from Iranian territory,” the army said in a statement, adding that they “intercepted and downed four missiles, while the other two fell in two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage.” Jordanian media earlier reported explosions that could be heard in the southern port city of Aqaba. In addition, Jordanian news agency Petra reported that Jordanian military aircraft intercepted and downed four drones coming from Iran and targeting the country, quoting an unnamed source from the armed forces’ general command. The report further quoted the source as saying that none of the drones caused injuries or material damage. Since the beginning of the Middle East war, Jordan has repeatedly been targeted by Iran with drones and missiles. With agencies

US court sets June 2027 trial for Venezuela's ousted Maduro
LBCI/22 July ,2026
Venezuela's ousted president Nicolas Maduro will go on trial in the United States on June 1, 2027, a judge ruled Wednesday, after his capture in a stunning U.S. military raid in January. The former leader, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for more than seven months after pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges. AFP

Yemen's Houthis sent radio warning to ships: International Chamber of Shipping
LBCI/22 July ,2026
Yemen's Houthis have been recorded sending radio warnings to ships, the International Chamber of Shipping told AFP on Wednesday, after the rebels announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. "We can confirm that the Houthis were recorded transmitting a warning message to ships in the region," the ICS said. AFP

US, Saudi Arabia agree to civil nuclear deal: Energy Department
Al Arabiya English/22 July ,2026
The US and Saudi Arabia have agreed to a deal that will allow the Kingdom to develop its civil nuclear program, the US Energy Department said on Wednesday. “These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening US-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a 123 agreement, alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement,” the Department of Energy said in a statement. “Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation.”Wright said the deal would uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation. “Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits to the American and Saudi people,” he added.DOE said the agreement would be trasmitted to Congress for review and that it would create high-paying US jobs, strengthen US energy and national security posture, and deepen the strategic US-Saudi partnership.DOE said this would also strengthen the United States’ competitive edge in civil nuclear technology. “The 123 agreement provides great access for American companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program, benefiting American industry, workers, and supply chains while helping to meet Saudi energy needs.”

Mamdani says NYC can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should
AP/July 22, 2026
NEW YORK: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said late Tuesday that the city would not be able to execute an arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war-crimes court for Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged the federal government to do so. In the video Mamdani described the Israeli prime minister as a “war criminal” and said he is not welcome in New York City. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said in a video posted on X. “The federal government however does and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” he added, referring to the International Criminal Court. Mamdani had told the New York Times earlier this month that he and the city’s legal department were discussing arresting Netanyahu if he comes to New York City for the UN General Assembly in September. President Donald Trump on Monday told Netanyahu in a social media post that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.” The post did not directly mention Mamdani. Mamdani had said throughout his mayoral election campaign last year that he would seek to order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under the criminal court’s warrant over Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza. In his video message Tuesday, Mamdani said his administration has reviewed all avenues available and determined the city can’t execute the arrest warrant. “I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large,” he said. Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, responded by telling the mayor “enough.”“You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda,” he said in a statement on social media. “Do your job!” The world’s top war-crimes court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza. They said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

Canada cancels joint bridge-opening event with US after Trump announces tariffs
AP/July 22, 2026
WASHINGTON: A planned joint US-Canada ceremony Friday celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after President Donald Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on most Canadian goods.
In announcing the tariffs, Trump accused Canada of unfairly discriminating against US automobiles, alcohol and dairy products, escalating tensions with one of the United States’ closest allies. “In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries,” said Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, in an emailed statement. The move came after US and Canadian officials reached an agreement earlier this month to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge following delays tied to disagreements between the two countries.Canada now plans to hold its own ceremony Friday. It is now unclear whether the United States will hold a separate ceremony. Two US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations said they still expect the bridge to open to traffic July 27 but are less certain than they were before. “We remain committed to opening the bridge on July 27th, and to celebrating this milestone among Canadians on July 24th,” said Ghassabeh. The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) bridge spans the Detroit River and connects Detroit with Windsor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony had initially been scheduled for June 12 but was abruptly postponed after officials said the United States and Canada were still working to resolve “outstanding issues.”Canada financed construction of the bridge under an agreement allowing it to recover the cost through toll revenue. The Trump administration had sought changes to that arrangement. The project, negotiated under former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, has been under construction since 2018 and cost nearly $4.4 billion. The bridge is named after Canadian hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. It is expected to become another major economic artery between Canada and the United States. In February, Trump demanded in a social media post that Canada give the US government at least half ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands, part of his broader clashes with Canada over trade. Those tensions resurfaced this week. The White House said the tariffs would take effect in 30 days, leaving time for negotiations. Trump has previously delayed or backed away from some threatened import taxes. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement about the tariffs that his government believes in the “benefits of free and fair trade” and remains prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration. The tariffs could escalate into a broader trade war as Canada weighs how to respond. “If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted on social media.

Ukraine recaptured 700 sq km of territory this year, outgoing top general says
Reuters/22 July ,2026
Ukraine has recaptured 700 sq km (270 sq miles) of its territory this year, outgoing Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Wednesday, confirming he was leaving the top military job. “I am handing over to my successor an army that is not only holding the defense but is also on the offensive,” Syrskyi said in a statement on Telegram.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that a young major general, Mykhailo Drapatyi, would replace Syrskyi after days of street protests. The move followed the ousting in a wider government reshuffle last week of tech-savvy reformist defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which brought out into the open the deep divisions in the Ukrainian defense leadership.Syrskyi has held the commander in chief position since early 2024, after playing key roles in Kyiv’s defense in the early days of the war and in a lightning counteroffensive to retake swathes of the northeastern Kharkiv region in 2022.But he has faced harsh criticism for a rigid command style which some service members have said resulted in unjustifiably high troop losses. In his statement he highlighted his track record, including stopping a Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, and an operation in Russia’s Kursk region in 2024.

Zelenskyy speaks to Trump envoys to ‘reinvigorate diplomacy’
AFP, Kyiv/22 July ,2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in a bid to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia. US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled since Washington’s attention has turned to the Middle East, while Russia stuck to its hardline demand that Ukraine cede territory.“I just spoke with President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer,” Zelenskyy said on X. “Peace is needed - peace with dignity, and Ukraine has long been ready for it. Our teams keep staying in close contact, including to follow up on everything we have discussed,” he added. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would meet his US counterpart Marco Rubio on Thursday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Manila, to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Iran. In recent months, Kyiv has appeared to stall Moscow’s grinding offensive in the east and has substantially expanded its drone strikes against Russia, disrupting ordinary life there in the war’s fifth year. Moscow has meanwhile escalated its deadly missile strikes against Kyiv, launching dozens of hard-to-intercept rounds as Ukraine struggles with depleted air defense stocks. Russia has repeatedly urged Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds as a precondition for any peace deal. Kyiv has rejected the demand. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiraled into Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

Russia says it struck Ukrainian ports and ships
Reuters/22 July ,2026
Russia said on Wednesday it had struck the Ukrainian cities of Odesa and Chornomorsk, hitting port infrastructure and vessels that it said were supporting the Ukrainian military. Russia’s defense ministry said the latest strikes had targeted a dry-cargo ship unloading at Chornomorsk port, as well as a military cargo store and fuel and lubricant storage tanks.It said it had also hit loading and storage facilities at Odesa, and a dry-cargo ship and a bulk carrier that were transporting cargo to Odesa for the Ukrainian military. Russian drones also hit three warehouses storing Ukrainian drones, the ministry added in a statement. Reuters could not independently verify the content of the statement. Nearly 4-1/2 years into the war, Russia and Ukraine have stepped up military activity in and around the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, with each side attacking dozens of ships including oil tankers and cargo vessels.

France records over 5,700 excess deaths in June heatwave: Authorities
AFP/22 July ,2026
France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during a record-breaking heatwave last month, health authorities said on Wednesday, describing the excess mortality among people aged 15 and older as “unprecedented.”Those who lost their lives between June 17 and July 2 died of “all causes” -- none yet clearly linked to the heat, they said. In comparison, the country reported 5,722 excess deaths linked to heat over the whole summer last year.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 22-23 July/2026
Syria’s leader charms the world, crushes the Druze. Israel should be wary
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Times of Israel/July 22/2026
Sharaa seems to be a pragmatic diplomat, but before pursuing warmer ties, Jerusalem needs guarantees that he will stop repressing his minority citizens
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has charmed world capitals with pragmatic diplomacy, from a White House visit to neutral dealings with Russia and Iran, but has used his global popularity to rule through centralization that has crushed Syrian minorities. Sharaa is now commendably reaching out to Israel. His outreach raises fears that he wants to leverage a possible thaw in relations with Jerusalem to weaken his country’s Druze, whose suspicions continued to build after the mysterious killing of one of their own, last week, and government stonewalling. Until Sharaa reaches a credible accommodation with the Druze, Israel is well-advised to remain wary of deeper ties with Damascus.
Since taking power in December 2024, Sharaa has built strong ties with regional capitals and Washington. He became the first Syrian leader in decades to visit the White House despite his past as an Al-Qaeda fighter against US troops in Iraq. Washington lifted broad sanctions that had long damaged the Syrian economy.
Sharaa also turned the page with Russia, traveling to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin even as the West remained distant over Ukraine. Sharaa has kept his foreign policy focused on economic rebuilding rather than ideology.
With Iran, Sharaa has avoided direct confrontation despite old grievances from the civil war. He stays out of the wider US-Iran conflict and only intercepts Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah when they cross Syrian territory. He presents these actions as defense of Syrian neutrality.
The same pragmatic tone appears toward Israel. Sharaa has authorized direct talks through his foreign minister and limited his demands to Israeli withdrawal to the 1974 line and an end to overflights and strikes. Israel has said its operations target Iranian proxies, not the new government, and has reduced such activity as Damascus has cracked down on those networks.
Sharaa’s diplomatic gains contrast sharply with his domestic record. He equates national unity with strict centralization and views decentralization as treason. This approach has created serious friction with Syria’s main minority communities. Alawites and Kurds suffered massacres, while the Kurds were forced to sign away most of their autonomy for limited self-rule. The Druze now face similar pressure to disarm and submit.
Sharaa’s centralization exceeds even the Assad dynasty’s methods. Hafez al-Assad kept firm control from Damascus but practiced pragmatic accommodation: once groups accepted his authority he generally left them alone on local matters. Sunni merchants expanded their businesses, and the Druze of Suwayda and eastern Arab tribes enjoyed autonomy.
Bashar Assad failed to replicate his father’s savviness and abandoned this balance. He allowed relatives to seize businesses from Sunni merchants, provoked the Druze and tribes, lost influence in Lebanon in 2005, and triggered the 2011 revolution. He responded with brutality and relied on Russian and Iranian support until Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah contributed to his downfall.
Sharaa has reversed Bashar’s foreign alignments by courting nearly every major capital. Domestically he has copied Bashar’s heavy centralization, this time wrapped in Islamist ideology — instead of the Baath’s Arab nationalism — and accompanied by similar corruption among his brothers and associates. Most governments have overlooked these problems because of his diplomatic progress. Only Israel has objected, driven by its own Druze citizens who serve loyally in the Israeli military and maintain tribal ties to the Syrian Druze in Suwayda
When Sharaa’s forces moved against the Syrian Druze, Israel intervened with air support to help them hold defensive lines and struck Damascus warningly. Today Sharaa’s forces control 34 destroyed Druze villages and roughly 150,000 people remain displaced inside Suwayda province.
Sharaa is unlikely to accept this situation indefinitely and will seek new ways to bring remaining autonomous areas under central control. This standoff has become the main obstacle to improved Damascus-Jerusalem relations despite Syria’s overtures.
Israel fears Sharaa could use warmer ties as cover to finish subduing the Druze. But a workable solution exists. The Druze issue can be settled along the lines of the earlier Kurdish agreement. Such a settlement would remove the principal barrier to deeper Syrian-Israeli engagement and could open the path to a bilateral peace treaty. For the Druze to accept any deal they will need credible external security guarantees. The July 16 killing of Ma’moun Mukahhal, followed by the government’s seizure of the body, refusal of an autopsy, and shifting explanations of the cause of death, is only the latest incident reinforcing their distrust. Reports of ISIS activity in neighboring Daraa add to their vulnerability. The Druze will not rely on Sharaa’s assurances alone. Any viable arrangement will require American backing, ideally in a formal document similar to the one provided the Kurds. Once Israel is convinced that Sharaa is not using diplomatic outreach as a tool to undermine the Druze, Syria can advance on international legitimacy, regional stability, and domestic cohesion at the same time.
Without addressing the Druze question through a US-guaranteed framework, Sharaa’s foreign-policy achievements will remain fragile, undermined by the centralizing pressures he applies inside Syria.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan organization focused on national security and foreign policy.

Jordan Should Stop Hedging and Stand Firm Against Iran
Ahmad Sharawi/FDD-Policy Brief/July 22/2026
Iranian attacks on neighboring countries, relaunched after the collapse of the Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and Washington, have now claimed the lives of two U.S. troops in Jordan and possibly a third. On July 18, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that “two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action,” while a third remained “missing.” Since July 8, Iran has launched 47 missiles and eight drones at Jordan, most of them targeting al-Azraq, a town roughly 50 miles east of Amman that hosts a major air base used by U.S. forces.
Previously, Jordan was struck by 166 ballistic missiles and 125 drones launched by Iran and its proxy militias in Iraq in response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Tehran regime that began at the end of February before being halted in early April. Tehran’s attacks on Jordan reflect its pressure strategy against a vulnerable U.S. partner that hosts American forces.
However, the attacks are also leading Jordan to portray Iran more clearly as an aggressor — a departure from previous confrontations between Iran, the United States, and Israel, when Amman sought to maintain a cautious balancing act.
Iran Begins Attacking Jordanian Infrastructure
Iran’s targeting strategy against Jordan initially differed from its approach towards the Gulf states during the war. Whereas Tehran struck energy and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf, its attacks on Jordan focused almost exclusively on bases hosting U.S. forces.
That distinction has now begun to erode. Although most of the latest attacks continued to focus upon U.S. forces in al-Azraq, Iran also targeted the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba, adjacent to the Israeli port of Eilat, on July 19. The U.S. Embassy in Amman reported that, “Authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba.”The Jordanian army subsequently confirmed that four missiles had targeted the city, three of which were intercepted, with the fourth landing in an open area.
The attack marks a shift in Iran’s targeting calculus. Targeting Aqaba is an unprecedented escalation; unlike the Gulf ports previously attacked, Aqaba sits on the Red Sea and serves as Jordan’s only maritime gateway. The port handles approximately 65 percent of Jordan’s imports and 80 percent of its exports, meaning that placing Aqaba on Iran’s target list poses a threat to the kingdom’s economic security.
Jordanian Reactions
Jordan has traditionally pursued a careful approach toward the Islamic Republic, trying both to avoid placing itself in Tehran’s crosshairs and to manage domestic sensitivities over any perceived cooperation with Israel or the United States. But as Iranian attacks have increased, Amman’s responses have begun to pin responsibility mainly on Tehran. Following the attack on Aqaba, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had delivered a “strongly worded protest against ongoing, unjustified Iranian attacks on the Kingdom,” to the Iranian charge d’affaires.
On the other hand, Fars News, which is closely affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that individuals in Jordan had provided intelligence that improved the accuracy of Iranian missile strikes against U.S. forces. This is a continuation of Iran’s efforts to incite the Jordanian public against the U.S. military presence in the kingdom. In response, Jordanian officials accused Iran of conducting incitement campaigns through its media arms, seeking to push citizens into the streets and foment unrest. Jordanian criticism of Iran remains tempered by a reluctance to absolve Washington and Israel. Some prominent commentators portray Jordan as paying the price for an American-Israeli war and have faulted Washington for exposing its Arab partners to retaliation but often stop short of justifying Iran’s attacks.
Washington Should Help Jordan Stand Up to Iran
In 2022, Washington and Amman signed a seven-year, nonbinding memorandum of understanding under which the United States pledged to request at least $1.45 billion in annual assistance for Jordan. That assistance, together with the U.S. military presence, has greatly strengthened Jordan’s ability to defend its airspace. Washington should now facilitate Amman’s deeper inclusion into the U.S.-led regional air and missile defense architecture, improving Jordan’s capacity to intercept Iranian missiles and drones.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Trump's Apparent Confusion: Who Are Friends of His and Who Are Friends of the West
Dr. Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/July 22, 2026
Shortly after signing the MOU, Trump expressed approval for Iran's continued production of ballistic missiles: "I'm saying that ⁠if other countries have ​them, it's a little bit ​unfair for them not to have some.... If ​Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and ​they all have some, I would ‌say ⁠in relative proportion, I think it's okay." No, it is not "okay." Qatar and Saudi Arabia do not go around shooting up their neighbors or vowing "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" every day. It would be naive not at least to consider the possibility that countries such as Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan are all charmingly -- and often lavishly -- waiting Trump out, while positioning themselves for their versions of "best interests" the minute he leaves office. "Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide.... Even more than Iran," according to Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations.
Turkey has been appearing as Trump's back-up "friend," and it now hopes that he will supply F-35 stealth fighter jets, even as it plans for a war with Israel and threatens Greece and Cyprus.
The Republican Party is divided between the isolationist faction embodied by Vice President JD Vance and the majority who remember all too well that what starts in Sudetenland does not stay in Sudetenland, and who still see Israel, a fellow democracy, as a powerhouse of military and human intelligence essential for maintaining US influence in the Middle East.
According to the New York Times, Vance talked Trump into this "deal" with Iran's terrorist regime, a situation worse than no deal, because one succumbs to the soothing illusion that you might actually have an enforceable agreement. It is the same trap that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain walked into with Germany's Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1938, but by now we should know better. What the US should pursue is unconditional surrender -- "We win, they lose" -- as with Germany and Japan in World War II.
Trump was offering Iran billions to "rebuild" -- it is not clear what, but likely its military and nuclear weapons program. Iran's frozen assets, therefore, were not to be used to repay the US, Israel or the Arab Gulf States for the damage Iran inflicted on them, but to rebuild Iran's nuclear program, which includes "thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges" hidden under Pickaxe Mountain. Iran was about to be rewarded for waging a 47-year war by getting repaid to continue it.
Israel flatly announced that it would continue to defend itself – as well as defending Western civilization – despite Vance's unseemly and misplaced fulminations, which falsely portrayed Israel as the belligerent while ignoring Iran, the actual aggressor.
The MOU contains not one word about the regime's violent crackdown on the Iranian people. According to Trump, 54,000 Iranian protestors were killed by Iran's security forces in January alone.... The Iranian people feel betrayed.
Vance, who has never expressed friendly sentiments toward Israel nor supported the war on Iran, was given the task of negotiating with Iran. He has been trying to defend his indefensible MOU and slamming Israeli officials who, frozen out of the negotiations, had the nerve to express reservations about the abysmal results.Trump has claimed several times that "regime change" has already taken place in Iran. This is misleading and he knows it. The IRGC has always been part of the regime; it now holds the levers of power. The mullahs' regime has simply become the IRGC regime. The faces have changed but the same policies and institutions remain.
Trump originally described Iran's current leaders as "less radical" and "very rational people" -- until, just hours after the electronic signature, the very official who had signed it, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, went on television and called for "the liberation of Jerusalem."
What Trump may be forgetting is that Americans love victory.
It is to be hoped that now Trump will actually "finish the job" -- with regime change and without F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Otherwise, the chance of any long-term peace in the Middle East is zero.
It is to be hoped that the US President might now kindly reconsider who his real friends are and who America's real friends are. A few of President Trump's "good friends" he has mentioned are the leaders of Qatar, Turkey, Russia and China. They might be friends of his; unfortunately, that does not mean they have at heart the best interests of America or the West. Their definitions of "best interests " may well consist of what they would like -- not necessarily what the Free World might like.
It would be naive not at least to consider the possibility that countries such as Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan are all charmingly -- and often lavishly -- waiting Trump out, while positioning themselves for their versions of "best interests" the minute he leaves office.
Qatar, a country with only 350,000 citizens, reportedly has "invested" between $400 billion and $1.2 trillion since 2000 toward "influencing" the United States. It is not promoting Jeffersonian democracy. This number does not include Qatar's gift to the US of a $400 million "flying palace" presidential jumbo jet or a pledge of $243 billion, "laying the groundwork for a bigger $1.2 trillion economic pledge." What is Qatar requesting and expecting as a return on the investment? Has anyone asked?
Qatar is also the largest supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, which openly seeks "the downfall of the West by its own hands." The Muslim Brotherhood's motto is "Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
"Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide.... Even more than Iran," according to Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations.
Turkey has been appearing as Trump's back-up "friend," and it now hopes that he will supply F-35 stealth fighter jets, even as it plans for a war with Israel and threatens Greece and Cyprus.
Indoctrination is coming from China (here, here and here), instilling unfavorable views of Israel and the United States, and trying to derail America from constructing data centers and further developing artificial intelligence.
The Republican Party is divided between the isolationist faction embodied by Vice President JD Vance and the majority who remember all too well that what starts in Sudetenland does not stay in Sudetenland, and who still see Israel, a fellow democracy, as a powerhouse of military and human intelligence essential for maintaining US influence in the Middle East.
China's record of unscrupulousness against the US is as long as it is elaborate. It includes sending spy balloons over America's most sensitive military bases; buying "farmland" next to them; flooding the country with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that have taken the lives of more than 100,000 Americans each year, the equivalent of downing one large passenger plane every day; developing deadly pathogens in secret laboratories; smuggling poisonous agricultural pathogens into the country, stealing roughly $600,000 worth of intellectual property each year; lying about the human transmissibility of Covid-19, thereby costing the lives of more than one million Americans; smuggling in hundreds of military-aged men who may be waiting for a cue from their home country; creating so far, by an industrial-scale birthright-tourism industry, an estimated 1.3 million new American citizens who are immediately taken back to China and educated there until they are 18, when they can return, vote, donate to campaigns, run for office and potentially take over America -- to name just a few of the Chinese Communist Party's infractions.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has, for the length of his career, brought nothing but grief to every place he touched. He turned the Russian city of Grozny into rubble, approved the use of chemical weapons in Syria; and invaded Georgia, Crimea and the Ukraine -- where he has seen more than 2 million Russian casualties since his ill-advised invasion.
After reading the non-binding Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran, one might well wonder how the president could have approved such a text. It has been described as "a surrender agreement with a murderous and cruel terror regime."
According to the New York Times, Vance talked Trump into this "deal" with Iran's terrorist regime, a situation worse than no deal, because one succumbs to the soothing illusion that you might actually have an enforceable agreement. It is the same trap that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain walked into with Germany's Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1938, but by now we should know better. What the US should pursue is unconditional surrender -- "We win, they lose" -- as with Germany and Japan in World War II.
The MOU failed to address any of the objectives outlined by Trump on February 28, when US and Israeli military operations against Iran began. Not a single word addresses the danger posed by Iranian ballistic missiles, even though it has become clear — since Iranian launches directed at Diego Garcia—that Iran possesses many with a range far exceeding previous estimates. Iran's missiles are capable of reaching most of Europe and they may soon have missiles putting the United States within range.
Worse, shortly after signing the MOU, Trump expressed approval for Iran's continued production of ballistic missiles:
"I'm saying that ⁠if other countries have ​them, it's a little bit ​unfair for them not to have some.... If ​Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and ​they all have some, I would ‌say ⁠in relative proportion, I think it's okay."
No, it is not "okay." Qatar and Saudi Arabia do not go around shooting up their neighbors or vowing "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" every day.
There was also no mention in the MOU of Iran's terrorist proxies, except for an oblique and ambiguous mention of "Lebanon." The text states that the cessation of hostilities is "total and permanent" on "all fronts, including in Lebanon," and that Lebanon's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" will henceforth be guaranteed. The Iranian regime appears to have been reading that as implicit permission for its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah -- which took over Lebanon by being granted veto power in its government in 2008 -- to stay in place to continue trying to obliterate Israel.
Also overlooked by the MOU was the devastation caused by the massive assaults on Israel, a country smaller than New Jersey (roughly 22,000 sq km). Wars against Israel, into which Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon, have turned beautiful Lebanon, once the "Switzerland of the Middle East," into a failed state.
The agreement also required that "immediately upon the signing of this MoU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade." Trump was therefore agreeing to relinquish the leverage that the US had against the Iranian regime. The text further states that Iran will grant free passage to all vessels in the Persian Gulf for a period of "sixty days only" -- the "only" meaning that after 60 days, Iran could demand from commercial ships tolls or "fees" for transiting the strait. Iran therefore now regards the strait as being under its control.
"The United States of America," the MOU continues, "undertakes, with regional partners, to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran". Trump was offering Iran billions to "rebuild" -- it is not clear what, but likely its military and nuclear weapons program. Iran's frozen assets, therefore, were not to be used to repay the US, Israel or the Arab Gulf States for the damage Iran inflicted on them, but to rebuild Iran's nuclear program, which includes "thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges" hidden under Pickaxe Mountain. Iran was about to be rewarded for waging a 47-year war by getting repaid to continue it.
Even if the funding would not have come directly from American taxpayers, but instead from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, the proposal implied that Iran's regime was about to be restored as powerful as ever, and that neighboring countries could soon expect to pay a protection tribute for using the Strait of Hormuz. The risk of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons — the central issue Trump says he is seeking to prevent with the war — was touched on in the MOU, in a highly watered-down manner. The text states that "the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons." Iran's regime has consistently claimed — while lying — that it has no desire for nuclear weapons. By signing the MOU, Trump appeared to accept this lie as the truth. In addition, he had previously demanded the removal or destruction of enriched uranium; then suddenly, he accepted "on-site blending" — at least until the uranium was enriched back up again. The text also specified that this process would take place "under the supervision of the IAEA." After witnessing the International Atomic Energy Agency's sorry lack of effectiveness in the past, that provision should be permanently written off as wishful thinking.
The text concluded by speaking of upcoming talks regarding "the issue of enrichment, and other mutually agreed matters relating to the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear needs," signaling that Trump might be willing to accept continued uranium enrichment and possession of centrifuges – which, it turns out, Iran had already secreted under Pickaxe Mountain -- and noted briefly in the MOU as "keeping the status quo."
"Immediately upon the signing of this MOU," the document stipulated, "and until the termination of sanctions, the U.S. Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives" – a waiver that Trump later rescinded following Iran's ceasefire violations.
The MOU, as argued by those seeking to excuse the wretched nature of its content, is not a formal, binding treaty. It nevertheless established the foundation and framework for negotiations that had already begun. Ironically, the text of the MOU aligned so closely with Iranian demands that Iran's leaders could easily have adhered to what had been accepted by the United States while preserving whatever they wished.
As for the goal of regime change in Iran, which Trump had promised the Iranian people by writing "Help is on its way," he quickly declared a thing of the past: "We are not seeking regime change in Iran." Iran's current leadership, dominated by the ruthless IRGC, will be able to rebuild and consolidate its power. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, which have apparently grasped this new threat, have been acting accordingly. Having probably -- not surprisingly -- lost confidence in American security guarantees, they appear to be adapting to the survival of Iran's regime and banking on maintaining dialogue with it rather than confronting it.
The MOU contains not one word about the regime's violent crackdown on the Iranian people. According to Trump, 54,000 Iranian protestors were killed by Iran's security forces in January alone. The MOU did not mention the continuing mass arrests, tortures, rapes or executions. The regime's atrocities and the repression of its own citizens would therefore not only have continued but likely intensified. The tens of thousands of Iranians massacred by the regime in January have already been forgotten; they are simply never mentioned. The Iranian people feel betrayed.
For the time being, it seems, Iran's Houthi proxy in Yemen will remain in place and continue to be funded and armed by Iran. Israel flatly announced that it would continue to defend itself – as well as defending Western civilization – despite Vance's unseemly and misplaced fulminations, which falsely portrayed Israel as the belligerent while ignoring Iran, the actual aggressor.
Thanks to the impressive efforts of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the government of Lebanon is in the process of implementing a plan to be rid of Iran's main proxy, Hezbollah. Rubio oversaw the signing of an agreement -- this one binding -- between the Lebanese, US and Israeli governments affirming their "shared goal of achieving lasting peace." This binding agreement contradicts the terms of the non-binding MOU signed with Iran.
Israel has fought the war on Iran alongside the United States with the aim of preventing Iran's regime from acquiring nuclear weapons and causing further harm to the Middle East, the US and the Free World. Like the Gulf Arabs – not to mention most of the Iranian people – Israel would probably like to see the end of Iran's regime. Instead, a IRGC military regime, as horrendous or worse than that of the mullahs, remains in place, attacking neighbors with missiles and drones, supporting terrorism, and torturing and executing its citizens. Although weakened, Iran still possesses highly enriched uranium, missiles and drones and it is claiming ownership of the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway, demanding "protection" fees from commercial ships and firing on those that decline.
On April 8, reportedly at Vance's urging, Trump decided on a two-week ceasefire that lasted more than two months. Informed late about the ceasefire and excluded from the negotiations that followed the ceasefire, Israel was not mentioned in the MOU, even as an "entity." Trump and his administration have made it clear that they expect Israel to accept all US decisions.
The Israeli people remember that Trump has long acted as a good friend to Israel, but they see that he has recently distanced himself from their country in favor of enemies that are sworn to Israel's destruction. Trump even denied that Israel had shared intelligence about Iran's newest assassination attempt.
Vance, who has never expressed friendly sentiments toward Israel nor supported the war on Iran, was given the task of negotiating with Iran. He has been trying to defend his indefensible MOU and slamming Israeli officials who, frozen out of the negotiations, had the nerve to express reservations about the abysmal results. For the US vice president to have stated that it is in the interest of Israeli leaders not to antagonize "the only powerful ally [they] have anywhere left in the entire world" was as inaccurate as it was venomous. Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, India, Argentina, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain -- the last three members of the Abraham Accords -- have all been steadfast allies.
Trump has claimed several times that "regime change" has already taken place in Iran. This is misleading and he knows it. The IRGC has always been part of the regime; it now holds the levers of power. The mullahs' regime has simply become the IRGC regime. The faces have changed but the same policies and institutions remain.
Trump originally described Iran's current leaders as "less radical" and "very rational people" -- until, just hours after the electronic signature, the very official who had signed it, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, went on television and called for "the liberation of Jerusalem." Recently he announced that Iran "will not allow any interference in the Strait of Hormuz," then began violating every agreement.
What Trump may be forgetting is that Americans love victory.
Russia and China remain Iran's allies; if Trump now proves to be irresolute, they will quickly help Iran regain its strength. The Iranian regime insists that it will kill Trump, control the Strait of Hormuz, and, in general, suit itself. European leaders, who, at the conflict's outset, declared "this is not our war," will most likely continue to pursue a policy of appeasement toward Iran while distancing themselves from Israel. "We cannot have a status quo in which Iran can close the Strait at any time or use its proxies to attack Israel," former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned on June 19. "We have to finish the job so that this regime is defanged — period".On July 8, President Trump, at a NATO summit in Ankara, had apparently seen enough. Iran had fired on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in violation of a week-long pause it had requested for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Trump announced that the ceasefire was "over", called Iran's leaders "scum" and said, "Let's just finish the job."The US has been bombing Iranian military installations for the last ten days, impeding Iran's ability to control the Strait of Hormuz.It is impossible to believe that any kind of "deal" with Iran's current regime -- which will not abide by one anyhow -- is even being contemplated. It is to be hoped that now Trump will actually "finish the job" -- with regime change and without F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Otherwise, the chance of any long-term peace in the Middle East is zero.
*Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22728/trump-iran-confusion
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Houthis should think twice before threatening Red Sea shipping, former CIA officer Norman Roule tells Arab News
Nada Al-Turki/Arab News/22 July 2026
RIYADH: A Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and disrupt global energy supplies has sparked fresh concerns over the security of one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. But according to former senior CIA intelligence officer Norman Roule, the Iran-backed group now faces a vastly different strategic environment than it did a decade ago. On Monday, Yemen’s Houthis declared what they described as a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, warning that energy exports beyond the Gulf could also be targeted. The announcement prompted Saudi Arabia’s Joint Forces Command to warn that any threat to international shipping would be met “swiftly and firmly.”Roule, who spent 34 years managing Middle East-related intelligence programs, including serving as the US national intelligence manager for Iran, said the Houthis’ rhetoric should be taken seriously — but so should the military and political realities they are confronted with. “The United States continues to maintain a robust naval force in the region, which is more than capable of working with Saudi partners to ensure the stability and frequent navigation in the Red Sea,” he told Arab News. “Fortunately, we have the support of European actors who are maintaining a naval force under the Operation Aspides architecture. They have announced that they will be bringing additional mine-sweeping capacity into the Red Sea, which would be useful.”
The Houthis must weigh the consequences of any escalation, he added.
“The Houthis will need to consider this: they have Saudi-American military forces, which would be quite devastating, and there is even the potential Israeli action if the Israelis attempted to repeat their terrifically damaging attacks on the Houthis.
“This said, Washington also understands that the Iranians have continued to work with the Houthis to enable them.”His comments come only weeks after Yemen’s Southern Giants Brigades announced they had intercepted a boat allegedly carrying equipment destined for Houthi drone and explosive boat production facilities on the Red Sea coast. The seizure underlined Tehran’s continued support for its Yemeni proxy despite repeated diplomatic efforts to calm the conflict, according to Roule.
“This shows that despite negotiations that were ongoing prior to the end of the ceasefire, Iran’s Quds Force was sending weapons to the Houthis to enable their attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea,” he said. “At this point, the Houthis have made a number of statements. They have not undertaken specific actions, but Washington will certainly take this seriously and coordinate very closely with the Kingdom to consider its response.”
Roule argued that the biggest change since the war erupted was not military but political in nature.
“This isn’t 2015,” he said. “The international community looks at Yemen quite differently. Saudi Arabia has spent several years working very hard on pursuing a diplomatic and a political solution in Yemen. Its military is very capable. So the Houthis will need to consider all of these variables as they move forward.”He believes Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian investment in Yemen has also transformed international perceptions of the conflict.
“The humanitarian situation has improved significantly, in large part because of the significant donations made by the Saudi government and the work done by the Saudi government to clear mines, establish schools, water purification plants, electric power plants in the region. So you have a different political situation in Yemen,” Roule said. “The international community doesn’t spend its time perceiving excessively, blaming Saudi Arabia or other regional partners for problems the Houthis themselves cause in the region. “And lastly you have the Europeans, who have shifted how they handled the Red Sea as a whole under the Biden administration. We had Operation Prosperity Guardian. We had a number of different dynamics. “So you have a military evolution, an international evolution of how they look at Yemen, and terrific work by Saudi Arabia to provide humanitarian support to the Yemenis and to follow a diplomatic and political solution whenever possible, working with regional neighbors.”Beyond Yemen, Roule sees Saudi Arabia as increasingly central to global economic stability at a time of unprecedented regional turbulence. “Saudi Arabia, through its consistent production of oil through the East-West pipeline and its coordination with the international community, has protected the global economy,” he said. Reflecting on his own visits to the Kingdom, he added: “I’m seeing people that are fun, energetic, prosperous, ambitious, optimistic, and at the same time doing hugely consequential things in one of the most challenging moments in the region’s history.“That’s really a special honor and it’s a privilege for me to be able to see this up close.”
Roule also reflected on one of the defining issues of his career: Iran’s nuclear program. Having participated in the negotiations and implementation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, he said the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2018 reflected broader concerns that it had failed to curb Tehran’s wider regional behavior.“The Trump administration’s position was recognizing what it temporarily, or in a long term, did for a launch nuclear program,” he said.
“The funds that Iran received (from sanctions relief) went to the missile program. How did that play out in Saudi Arabia and against Abu Dhabi? The funds that the sanctions relief provided went to militias. How did that play out to Iraqi militias, Hamas, Hezbollah?
“And of course, the funds went to the structure that oppressed the Iranian people. So the question becomes: Did JCPOA make the region safer? The Trump administration in 2018 decided no, it did not.”Asked about reports that US intelligence had warned that Iran might retaliate against US-Israeli strikes by attempting to close the Strait of Hormuz, Roule said intelligence agencies present likely scenarios rather than prescribe policy. He also noted that Tehran’s threats against Gulf shipping were longstanding.
“Since 2012 until the day before this conflict, Iran conducted over 30 attacks against shipping using special forces, mines, missiles and other violent activity,” he said. “So it’s in the public realm that they have targeted the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
“Likewise, their leaders have periodically, over the years, talked about taking control of this.”
He added: “The question becomes: knowing this threat exists, do you think something else you’re going to do can achieve what you’re trying to do before that threat is executed?”Roule believes Washington achieved one of its principal war aims by preventing Iran from rebuilding its nuclear capability. “The missile program has been dramatically reduced,” he said. “It’s still potent enough to fire against its neighbors but Iran’s capability to develop an intermediate-range missile system to threaten Europe and an intercontinental system to threaten the United States — it doesn’t exist. “The enrichment major factories have been destroyed.”He also contrasted Iran’s asymmetric regional strategy with Washington’s direct targeting of missile infrastructure, while praising the performance of Saudi Arabia’s air defenses during recent exchanges.
“Whereas, let’s consider Israel: many years of attacks, a lot of distance, so they have much more warning time,” he said. “So, the Gulf performance was … superb, which is great testimony (to Saudi Arabia’s) Ministry of Defense and the work it’s put into training, equipment, etc.”
Roule believes the broader challenge extends far beyond missiles and military hardware.
“Iran didn’t become a revolutionary, aggressive actor yesterday,” he said, noting that attacks by Tehran on Gulf shipping and regional partners had been documented for years.
Asked whether recent events had exposed limits to US security guarantees or encouraged Gulf states to seek alternative arrangements, he rejected any notion that Iran’s behavior should simply be tolerated.“We destroyed 90 percent of Iran’s missiles,” Roule said. “Now, at some point it’s up to the Gulf and other countries to include the United States and to include Israel, to say, ‘How long do you put up with Iranian terrorism and threats to the region?’
“No other country has killed 600 Americans in Iraq. That’s Iran through its militias. No other country blows up embassies throughout the region. How many missiles that came at Riyadh and Abu Dhabi from the Houthis came from Iranian sources? How many ships have been fired upon, from Singapore to Panama?”Ultimately, Roule believes the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia has grown as global markets become increasingly interconnected. “The world has changed in that you have an absence of great powers but what you do have now is global markets, and global markets are important because Saudi Arabia, for example, is a global node of economic power,” he said.
“If I’m the Iranians and I want to touch the world, I fire a missile against Saudi Arabia because I’m hopefully going to damage Saudi Arabia, but the global markets will face it.
“That’s the challenge faced by the region, and your government’s powerful role in the diplomatic community, played by your foreign minister, your king and your crown prince, of giving you the ability to build that coalition and to play the leadership role that you and the (Gulf Cooperation Council) should do in the world today.”

Chehabism and Vision 2030: When the state becomes a project of reform and transformation
Dr. Simon A. Kachar/Arab News/July 22, 2026
History occasionally produces leaders who do more than govern. They seek to redefine the relationship between the state and society and to reshape the trajectory of national development. In the Arab world, two experiences invite careful comparative reflection: the presidency of Fouad Chehab in Lebanon between 1958 and 1964, and the reform agenda led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since the launch of Vision 2030. Despite the profound historical, political and economic differences between mid-20th-century Lebanon and 21st-century Saudi Arabia, both experiences are united by a common conviction: that a modern state cannot be built through political rhetoric alone. It requires institutional reform, a professional public administration, investment in human capital and balanced development that reaches every region of the country.
When Chehab assumed the presidency in 1958, Lebanon was emerging from a deep political and social crisis that had exposed the stark disparities between Beirut and the country’s peripheral regions. The Lebanese state existed in constitutional form, yet it remained largely absent from the daily lives of many citizens. Vast rural areas suffered from inadequate infrastructure, limited public services and restricted access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities.
Chehab recognized that political stability could not endure without social justice and balanced national development. His vision therefore centered on building a “state of institutions” rather than a system dominated by patronage networks, sectarian leadership and personal loyalties. A cornerstone of this project was the French International Institute for Research and Training, Education and Development mission, led by Father Louis-Joseph Lebret, which provided the scientific foundation for diagnosing Lebanon’s structural challenges. Through an unprecedented nationwide assessment, the mission produced a comprehensive analysis of the country's economic and social conditions, revealing the scale of developmental inequalities between the center and the periphery.
The significance of the mission extended well beyond its findings. Its lasting contribution lay in the methodology it introduced. It represented Lebanon’s first modern attempt to formulate public policy on the basis of empirical evidence and systematic data analysis, an approach that has since become a defining principle of contemporary governance across the world.
Drawing on the mission’s recommendations, the Chehab era launched a broad program of institutional and administrative reform. These initiatives included the establishment of the Civil Service Board, the Central Inspection Authority and the modern Court of Accounts, together with the early institutional foundations of what would later evolve into the Council for Development and Reconstruction. The government also expanded educational, healthcare and development services across historically underserved regions, reflecting a commitment to strengthening state capacity while promoting more equitable national development. Chehab’s ambition was to build a state that was both capable and just: a state governed by the rule of law and strong institutions rather than by personal relationships, patronage and sectarian affiliations. For this reason, Chehabism became closely associated with the concept of the developmental state, one that viewed public administration as a catalyst for social and economic transformation.
More than half a century later, Saudi Arabia confronted a different set of challenges, both in scale and in nature. Unlike Lebanon in the late 1950s, the Kingdom possessed well-established state institutions and vast economic resources. Yet it faced the strategic imperative of adapting to a rapidly changing global economy, reducing its long-standing dependence on oil revenues and competing in an increasingly knowledge-driven world shaped by technological innovation, investment and economic diversification.
It was within this context that Vision 2030, under the leadership of the crown prince, emerged as a comprehensive national strategy for restructuring the economy, society and the state. If Chehabism sought to lay the foundations of the modern Lebanese state, Vision 2030 seeks to position Saudi Arabia for the post-oil era by redefining the country’s economic and institutional model.
The economic transformation achieved over recent years has been substantial. The contribution of non-oil sectors to the national economy has expanded steadily, accompanied by major investments in tourism, technology, entertainment, logistics and renewable energy. Foreign direct investment has increased, while reforms aimed at improving the business environment have strengthened the Kingdom’s competitiveness and attractiveness to international investors.
Social transformation has been equally significant. Women’s participation in the labor market has risen markedly, while the cultural, artistic and sports sectors have undergone unprecedented expansion. Government services have become increasingly digitalized and new opportunities have been created for young Saudis through education, entrepreneurship and innovation, reflecting a broader effort to empower human capital as a central driver of national development.
The Saudi crown prince has emerged as one of the most consequential political leaders in the contemporary Arab world.
One of the most consequential dimensions of Saudi Arabia's transformation has been the comprehensive modernization of its legislative and legal framework. These reforms have strengthened legal certainty, enhanced public confidence and established clearer rules governing civil and economic relations. Landmark legislation — including the Civil Transactions Law, the Personal Status Law, the Law of Evidence and the Penal Law for Discretionary Sanctions — has modernized the legal system by unifying legal references, strengthening the protection of rights and improving the efficiency and predictability of the judiciary.
These legal reforms have been complemented by ambitious housing and real estate policies. The “Sakani” housing program has increased homeownership among Saudi citizens to more than 70 percent, while updated property regulations have modernized real estate governance through clearer rules on shared ownership and regulated property ownership by foreign individuals and investors.
Together, these initiatives reflect a development philosophy that recognizes sustainable growth as dependent not only on ambitious economic projects but also on a stable legal architecture that upholds the rule of law, safeguards rights and creates a predictable environment for long-term investment and development.Within public administration, Saudi Arabia has embraced a governance model centered on performance measurement, continuous evaluation and digital transformation. Decision-making increasingly relies on data-driven analysis, strategic planning and rigorous performance monitoring. Although implemented in a markedly different historical and institutional context, this approach reflects the same reformist ethos that guided Chehab’s vision: the conviction that effective governance depends on competent institutions, evidence-based policymaking and a state capable of translating long-term national aspirations into measurable outcomes. The significance of the Saudi experience extends beyond the scale of the reforms that have been launched. It also lies in the nature of the leadership driving this transformation. Political history demonstrates that major reform projects require more than financial resources, strategic plans and institutional capacity. They also demand leadership capable of persuading society of the value of change and mobilizing collective energies around a shared vision of the future.
Within this context, the crown prince has emerged as one of the most consequential political leaders in the contemporary Arab world. In a relatively short period, he has succeeded in linking the national transformation agenda to a clear and forward-looking narrative built upon confidence in national capabilities, ambition and a rejection of complacency. As a result, discussions of the future, global competitiveness, innovation and technology have become integral to public discourse in Saudi Arabia, whereas such concepts had previously remained largely confined to specialized policy and academic circles. From the perspective of political sociology, charismatic leadership becomes a force for historical change when it is coupled with effective institutions and executable public policies. The German sociologist Max Weber described charismatic authority as the capacity to inspire individuals to move beyond established patterns and embrace new realities. Yet charisma derives its enduring value only when it is translated into sustainable institutions and public policies rather than remaining dependent on the personal appeal of a single leader.
In the Saudi case, the appeal of the crown prince has rested not only on political rhetoric but also on his ability to convert strategic ideas into tangible projects that have a visible impact on citizens’ lives. Initiatives such as Neom, the Red Sea Project, Qiddiya, the expansion of the tourism sector, nationwide digital transformation programs and policies aimed at empowering women and young people have evolved beyond visionary proposals into concrete economic and developmental initiatives. Together, they are reshaping both the Kingdom’s domestic landscape and its regional and global standing.
The crown prince has also introduced a distinct model of political leadership within the region, characterized by decisiveness, clarity of purpose and a strong emphasis on measurable outcomes and performance indicators. This approach has helped generate broad national engagement around the transformation agenda, allowing Vision 2030 to evolve beyond a government strategy into a comprehensive societal project involving state institutions, the private sector and civil society alike.
If Chehab succeeded during the 1960s in embedding the principle that the state should serve as an instrument of social justice and balanced development, the crown prince is advancing the proposition that the state can also function as a platform for innovation, global competitiveness and the creation of opportunities for future generations. In both cases, leadership assumes a transformative role when it is guided by a vision that extends beyond managing the present to shaping the future.
From the standpoint of political sociology, both experiences may be understood as efforts to redefine the social contract between the state and its citizens. Under Chehabism, the state sought to strengthen its legitimacy by expanding public services and development to historically marginalized regions. In Saudi Arabia, legitimacy is increasingly reinforced through improvements in quality of life, expanded economic and social opportunities, and the modernization of public institutions.
From a philosophical perspective, the two experiences also reflect a central principle of modern political thought: the strength of the state should not be measured solely by the extent of its authority but by its capacity to generate and sustain the public good. A modern state is not merely an administrative or security apparatus. It is an institutional framework that enables society to realize its economic, cultural and human potential.
Chehab believed that state-building was a cumulative, long-term endeavor requiring patience, institutional discipline and sustained commitment. Much of the philosophy underlying Saudi Arabia’s current transformation reflects the same logic: investing in institutions, planning for the future and shifting from the management of present-day challenges toward the deliberate construction of tomorrow.
This comparison does not suggest that the two experiences are identical, nor that either has been free from challenges, debate or criticism. Each emerged within its own distinctive historical, political and socioeconomic context. The value of the comparison lies instead in highlighting the transformative potential of reform-oriented leadership when it is accompanied by a coherent vision and institutions capable of translating that vision into lasting public policy.
At a time when many Arab states continue to grapple with governance deficits and institutional fragility, the experiences of Chehab and the crown prince illustrate that meaningful reform begins when the state ceases to function merely as an authority managing recurring crises and instead becomes a national project dedicated to building the future. In both cases, the citizens remained the central focus, development served as the principal instrument and the modern state constituted the ultimate objective.
• Dr. Simon A. Kachar is a university professor and expert in good governance.

Jordan’s position within the regional conflict has shifted
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/July 22, 2026
For most of this year’s Iran war, Jordan’s role has been that of an interceptor rather than a target. As it did in April 2024, when it shot down Iranian drones and missiles crossing its airspace toward Israel, the kingdom spent the early months of the conflict defending its skies alongside American forces.
However, this changed last week, when an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on a base in Jordan killed two US service members, with a third reported missing and now also believed to be dead. Two days later, Amman summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to protest what it described as continued and unjustified attacks on Jordanian territory.
Washington, which launched a new wave of retaliation against Iranian forces as a result of the attack, is treating the deaths as a direct attack on American personnel. The war has now crossed from the Gulf and Lebanon and into the wider Levant, as Jordan finds itself absorbing military, energy and economic shocks all at once. Last week’s attack represents more than an isolated security incident — it marks a fundamental shift in Jordan’s position within the regional conflict. For years, Amman sought to limit its role to containing the spillover of regional crises while avoiding becoming a direct party to them. That strategy is now becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
At the same time, Amman faces a delicate political balancing act. Its security partnership with the US and its own national interests require a firm response to attacks on its territory. Yet the government must also manage a domestic environment in which broader anti-Western sentiment continues to shape public opinion. Meanwhile, as the Strait of Hormuz becomes increasingly vulnerable to disruption, alternative trade and energy corridors have gained renewed importance, placing Jordan at the center of regional diversification efforts.
US aid and Gulf investment will remain essential shock absorbers that Jordan’s own fiscal position cannot provide. This is most evident in the proposed $18 billion Basra-Aqaba pipeline, designed to transport up to 2.25 million barrels of Iraqi crude per day to the Red Sea, while bypassing Hormuz entirely. At the same time, Aqaba’s importance as a regional logistics and maritime hub has grown, with the port becoming an increasingly attractive alternative as security risks in the Gulf persist. The UAE’s AD Ports Group’s 30-year concession to develop and operate Aqaba further reflects the strategic importance attached to the corridor.
For Jordan, geography is becoming a strategic asset. This means that preserving the kingdom’s stability is no longer solely a Jordanian priority but a regional one. The more vulnerable the Gulf’s traditional energy routes become, the greater the incentive for Washington and Gulf partners to support Jordan’s economic resilience and security, ensuring that alternative trade and energy corridors remain viable. Ultimately, Jordan’s resilience will depend on three variables: the duration of the conflict, the scale of external support, and domestic stability. A short conflict is likely to be manageable, while a prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab would not. Likewise, US aid and Gulf investment will remain essential shock absorbers that Jordan’s own fiscal position cannot provide. Finally, the greatest domestic risk lies in economic hardship compounding public anger over the wider regional conflict. Jordan is not facing a single shock but a myriad of factors, with security, energy, trade and fiscal pressures reinforcing one another. Whether Amman can absorb these pressures will depend on how long they persist and whether external support keeps pace with the growing demands on the Jordanian state.
**Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid

Iran moves the battle to Kuwait and Yemen
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 22, 2026
On the ground, the Iranian regime has begun executing its threats to expand the conflict by igniting two new border fronts. The first is in the southern Red Sea, threatening to close the Bab Al-Mandab Strait via the Houthis. The second is in the northern Arabian Gulf, through direct and unprecedented threats aimed at Kuwait. The gravity of this shift is not confined to Kuwait or the Red Sea; it extends to the entire regional security architecture. Iran is no longer limiting the confrontation to its original adversaries, the US and Israel, but is instead shifting the conflict toward neighboring countries and strategic waterways. This behavior does not represent a defensive reaction as much as it reflects a strategic trajectory that the Iranian military project has been building for decades, grounded in expanding its influence and geopolitical control over surrounding nations.
Statements issued by Iranian institutions warrant close attention, as the intensity of threats against Kuwait has escalated. The Tasnim news agency has released statements that closely mirror those issued by Baghdad prior to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Tehran cites the limited American military presence in Kuwait as a pretext for an attack, completely ignoring the fact that this presence dates back decades and serves primarily as a deterrent against any potential invasion, rather than acting as a major base for the recent US operations against Iran.
The question raised today is: how can Kuwait, and the Gulf states along with it, deal with this threat?
The challenge surpasses individual national capabilities and demands a return to the concept of collective action, through building a cohesive regional front backed by an international alliance that explicitly rejects any pretexts for expanding the war or legitimizing aggression against neighboring countries. While Washington, amid its preoccupation with managing the military confrontation, may not be expected to lead the diplomatic initiative, it can draw clear red lines confirming that the security of the Gulf and its maritime waterways falls within its vital strategic interests. Iran has not confined itself to verbal threats against Kuwait; rather, it has repeatedly struck water and electricity facilities and expanded the circle of threat to include Bahrain as well.
It appears that Tehran realizes that the tightening naval blockade on its ports, along with the potential expansion of US operations along its coastlines, could strip it of its influence over the Strait of Hormuz — the most critical leverage it has utilized in both the war and the negotiations. Consequently, it is attempting to manufacture alternative leverage. Among these efforts is transforming Bab Al-Mandab into a strategic blackmail point through the Houthis and seeking to impose a new security reality in the northern Gulf — an attempt that invokes, despite differing circumstances, some features of the fait accompli policy pursued by Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1990.
It is notable that Iran’s behavior has become cyclical; whenever it loses a strategic card, it hastens to open a new front to reproduce its tools of pressure and blackmail. To mitigate the political and legal costs, and to avoid appearing as a direct aggressor state, it is highly likely to rely more heavily on its regional proxies, such as the Yemeni and Iraqi militias.
What are the prospects of success for this new Iranian positioning? The answer is not easy because analyzing Iranian behavior cannot rely solely on assumptions of traditional rationality. The Iranian leadership also faces complex domestic equations and it fears that any impression of defeat could destabilize its internal position, after spending the country’s resources for decades on building military capabilities and financing wars.
It appears that the Houthis in Yemen have been tasked with transforming Bab Al-Mandab into an operational alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, given Iran’s declining ability to use the latter as leverage due to American military strikes. With the Houthis already rushing to threaten navigation, Yemeni forces — alongside the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen — are highly likely to find regional and international support to prevent the disruption of one of the world’s most vital trade arteries.
The expected response is not confined to the military dimension; rather, the diplomatic arena could be wider on this specific front. Major powers relying on navigation in the Red Sea — foremost among them China and India, in addition to European nations — possess a direct interest in ensuring freedom of navigation. Consequently, any military action aimed at ending the Houthi threat to the maritime waterway may enjoy a broader international consensus because it would be a defense of the principle of international freedom of navigation, rather than an extension of the ongoing war in the Gulf.
It appears that the Houthis in Yemen have been tasked with transforming Bab Al-Mandab into an operational alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, given Iran’s declining ability to use the latter as leverage due to American military strikes.
In any case, building this regional and international bloc is no longer a political option. It has become a strategic necessity — not only to confront current threats but also to deal with any arrangements that the outcomes of the war may impose in the future.
Iran is not merely seeking to manage a temporary crisis; rather, it is attempting to redraw the strategic map of the region according to its new narrative so that it emerges from the war, even if it stops early, with zones of influence and rules of engagement different from those that existed before the war. Consequently, the discussion is no longer just about how to end the war but about the shape of the regional order that will form next.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya news c

Selected Face Book & X tweets on 22-23 July/2026
Walid Joumblatt.
Dear President Aoun, Congratulations for your speech and your excellent approach for the issue of the weapons of Hezbollah.Deep respect,Walid Joumblatt.