English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For July 27/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.july27.26.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice
as much a child of hell as yourselves
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew
23/13-15:"‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock
people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when
others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make
the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on 26-27 July/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text, Video, Arabic & English:
Mistakes, Sins, Blunders of Transparent Political Cleverness, and Falsification
of Facts Committed by Joseph Aoun During His Visit to America/July 23, 2026
The Cumulative Toll of Hezbollah's Terrorist and Iranian Wars Since March 2
Pope Leo XIV: Elias Hoyek, Father of Greater Lebanon, and Lebanon is Very Dear
to My Heart
Netanyahu: We Will See the Lebanese Army's Ability to Control the Areas We Clear
Al-Sharaa: We Are Working to Empower the Lebanese State to Fulfill Its
Obligations and Confining Weapons to the State Is Essential
Lebanese Army Accuses Israel of Obstructing its Deployment in the South by
Continuing its “Aggressions”
Tightening Lebanese Grip on Ports Cuts Off Hezbollah's Funding Sources /
Preventing Iranian Planes from Landing Narrows the Noose on Supply Channels
Berri not opposed to Aoun and Salam's course but not optimistic about outcome
Lebanese President discusses with Macron post-UNIFIL arrangements
Lebanon seeks deeper economic integration with Iraq, PM Salam says on Baghdad
visit
Lebanon army condemns Israeli attacks preventing deployment in south
Will the US defend Lebanon? Inside the push for a new security agreement
Mojtaba Khamenei, in a message to Sheikh Qassem: Defending Hezbollah is a
steadfast Iranian strategy
Israel warns of escalation on Lebanon front as focus expands to Iran and Syria
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 26-27 July/2026
Netanyahu: We Will Respond Forcefully to Any Direct or Indirect Attack
from Iran
Trump is giving Iran talks ‘a little bit of room,’ US ambassador to UN says
Iran will halt attacks as long as US maintains pause, Iranian source says after
Trump calls off strikes
US holds fire against Iran as reports emerge of stockpile concerns
Iran army says halted retaliatory attacks as US holds fire
Iran threatens response to Ukraine attack on its ship in Caspian Sea
Iran says progress in Oman talks on Strait of Hormuz management
Oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mine in Strait of Hormuz: Report
UN chief urges immediate removal of all Syria sanctions
Syria reports fresh Israeli incursion, shelling in south
UN chief urges immediate removal of all Syria sanctions
Palestinians say Israeli settlers torch 2 mosques in West Bank
Kyiv hit with missiles; Russia and Ukraine both report civilians killed in
strikes
Saudi FM discusses regional developments with Qatar, Egypt counterparts
2 Jewish-owned bakeries damaged in Toronto with one hit by gunfire: police
6 wounded as unidentified shooter opens fire on crowd in Chicago
One dead and 26 injured in a "terrorist" vehicle attack in Berlin... Suspect is
an ISIS supporter
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on 26-27 July/2026
President Trump, Liberate Iran. Then You Will Truly Be One of History's
Greatest Heroes ...The Winning Strategy for Iran: Unconditional Surrender.Dr.
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/July 25, 2026
The Exploding Islamization of the West: A Conversation with Alexandre del Valle,
Part I/Grégoire Canlorbe/Gatestone Institute/July 26, 2026
Who will win Trump’s ear for reshaping confrontation with Iran?/Raghida Dergham/Al
Arabiya English/July 26/2026
Is Elon Musk anti-Muslim?/Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al Arabiya English/July 26/2026
The Snake, Hamas, and Political Islam/Ahmed Al-Sarraf/Al-Qabas/July 26, 2026
The classification of Al-Ibyari... the London-based Muslim Brotherhood member/Mishari
Al-Zaydi/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July 26, 2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on 26-27 July/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text, Video, Arabic & English: Mistakes, Sins, Blunders of
Transparent Political Cleverness, and Falsification of Facts Committed by Joseph
Aoun During His Visit to America
July 23, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156155/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTd1oPZut0U
Summary of the Main Topics Addressed in the Commentary
*A positive assessment of President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States,
while noting major observations and criticisms.
*Accusing President Aoun of distorting the historical facts related to
Hezbollah’s creation.
*Affirming that Hezbollah is an Iranian project and not a consequence of the
Israeli occupation.
*Criticizing the description of Hezbollah as a Lebanese resistance organization.
*Objecting to the praise directed toward the Lebanese Army leadership and Army
Commander Rodolphe Haykal.
*Criticizing the portrayal of Nabih Berri as a statesman and the defense of his
political role.
*Warning against policies of appeasement and political maneuvering in dealing
with national issues.
*Criticizing the composition of the delegation accompanying the President during
his visit to Washington.
*Holding presidential advisers responsible for certain presidential positions
and statements.
*Comparing President Aoun’s approach with that of President-elect Bashir Gemayel
in calling things by their true names.
*Calling on Lebanese citizens to practice criticism and refrain from turning
officials into political idols.
*Stressing that officials should be judged by their performance and not
glorified merely for carrying out their duties.
President Aoun’s Visit to Washington: Positives and Mistakes
President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States was an important achievement,
that the American position toward Lebanon was noteworthy, and that the overall
approach of the visit carried positive and encouraging elements. At the same
time, however, certain political mistakes and missteps accompanied the visit and
deserve to be highlighted out of respect for truth and history.
First: Falsifying the History of Hezbollah’s Creation
Since assuming the presidency, President Aoun has repeatedly stated on various
occasions that Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization that emerged as a result of
the Israeli occupation. Such a statement constitutes a falsification of history
and an insult to the intelligence of the Lebanese people. According to publicly
known facts and the testimonies of its founders and leaders, Hezbollah was never
a direct result of the occupation. Rather, it is an Iranian ideological,
military, and jihadist project established by the Iranian regime and attached to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Its leaders have repeatedly declared that
their ideological, political, and military allegiance is to the doctrine of
Wilayat al-Faqih and that their funding, armament, and direction come from Iran.
Therefore, describing Hezbollah as merely a Lebanese resistance movement does
not reflect the reality of its formation, trajectory, and role.
Second: Hezbollah Between Lebanese Identity and Iranian Affiliation
It is true that Hezbollah’s members hold Lebanese citizenship, but this does not
make the project to which they belong a Lebanese one. Its ideology,
decision-making, financing, and political and military references are all tied
to Iran. They are mercenaries in every sense of the term as defined in political
science. Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly confirmed on many occasions that Hezbollah
is part of the Wilayat al-Faqih system and that its money, weapons, and support
come from Iran.Therefore, describing Hezbollah as an independent Lebanese
organization contradicts the facts publicly declared by its own leadership.
Third: A Different Reading of the Liberation of South Lebanon in 2000
Hezbollah did not liberate South Lebanon in 2000. Rather, it occupies it,
displaced its inhabitants, and caused its destruction and devastation.
Furthermore, Israel’s withdrawal in 2000 was not the result of a military
victory by Hezbollah but came within the framework of complex regional and
international considerations. The issue of the Shebaa Farms was later used to
justify the continuation of weapons outside the authority of the state.
Fourth: Criticism of Confidence in the Army Leadership
As for President Aoun’s confidence in the Army leadership, this confidence does
not align with the realities represented by Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal, who
is affiliated with Nabih Berri and Hezbollah. Aoun bears full responsibility for
any performance or decisions issued by the military leadership as long as he
defends it and grants it political cover.
Fifth: Nabih Berri and the Concept of a Statesman
Describing Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri as a statesman is both a sin and a
crime, because Berri’s political, financial, constitutional, and militia record
lies at the heart of every crisis that has afflicted Lebanon and the Lebanese
people. He is part of the problem, not the solution.He also serves as cover for
Hezbollah’s jihadist and Iranian policies and has contributed to consolidating a
political reality that has weakened the state and its institutions.
Sixth: The Problem of Political Cleverness and Appeasement
One of the main causes of Lebanon’s crises is the tendency of the majority of
political party bosses, officials, and religious leaders to adopt appeasement
and political cleverness instead of telling the whole truth. Calling things by
their true names is the essential gateway to building a real state and restoring
the Lebanese people’s confidence in their leadership.
Seventh: Criticism of the Presidential Delegation
Many Lebanese, including myself, question the reasons behind the selection of
certain members of the delegation that accompanied President Aoun to Washington.
This “poorly assembled” delegation was not the best representation of Lebanon
for a visit of such importance. The exclusion of certain figures and ministers,
including the Foreign Minister, raises many doubts and questions.
Eighth: The Role of Advisers
The advisers surrounding President Aoun, especially those involved in drafting
his speeches and positions, are characterized by approaches that lack a Lebanese
national perspective and that openly and blatantly distort historical and
political realities.
The President needs advisers who possess the courage to tell him the truth
rather than flatter him.
Ninth: Comparison with Bashir Gemayel’s Experience
Some compare Joseph Aoun to Bashir Gemayel, and this is a major mistake.
Bashir’s experience was distinguished by honesty, clarity, and courage in
calling things by their true names, without resorting to appeasement or
ambiguity. He also surrounded himself with capable advisers who were willing to
express opposing opinions whenever necessary.
Tenth: A Call for Criticism and Against Creating Idols
Lebanese citizens, especially those who consider themselves sovereignists,
should stop blindly applauding any official, including the President of the
Republic, who is merely a public servant working for the state and its citizens.
Performing one’s duties does not place a person above criticism or
accountability. Joseph Aoun must not become a new political idol, because
previous experiences have proven that political sanctification leads to further
mistakes and failures.
Conclusion
President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States was positive in terms of its
form and overall results. However, it was marred by major political mistakes,
most notably:
*Justifying Hezbollah’s creation and linking it to the Israeli occupation.
*Polishing the image of Nabih Berri and presenting him as a statesman.
*Defending the Army leadership and granting it unconditional confidence.
*Furthermore, reliance on advisers who serve as deposits for Hezbollah, Nabih
Berri, the Syrian Nationalist Party, the remnants of Michel Aoun’s disastrous
legacy, and groups of opportunists and hypocrites does not provide the President
with a critical reading of reality.
Ultimately, speaking the truth, no matter how difficult, remains a national and
moral duty. Public officials should be evaluated based on their performance and
commitment to the truth, not on the amount of applause that surrounds them.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email:
Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
The Cumulative Toll of Hezbollah's Terrorist and Iranian
Wars Since March 2
LCCC/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
A statement issued by the Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of
Public Health announced that "the total cumulative toll of the war since March 2
is as follows: [number of] dead and 12,236 wounded."
Pope Leo XIV: Elias Hoyek, Father of Greater Lebanon, and
Lebanon is Very Dear to My Heart
Central News Agency/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Pope Leo XIV wrote via X: Yesterday, in Lebanon, Elias Hoyek, Patriarch of
Antioch for the Maronites from 1899 to 1931, was beatified. He was a man of
dialogue and hope, and a prominent ecclesiastical, social, and political figure,
so much so that he was called "Father of Greater Lebanon." May the intercession
of the new Blessed always accompany the Maronite faithful throughout the world,
and may he obtain the gift of peace for all the Lebanese people, who are very
dear to my heart.
Netanyahu: We Will See the Lebanese Army's Ability to
Control the Areas We Clear
Al-Markazia/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News
that Israel is "fighting Hezbollah with resounding success." He added that
"simply proposing an agreement with Lebanon is a major step forward, because it
shows that Hezbollah's ability to intimidate the Lebanese government has been
significantly diminished." Regarding the role of the Lebanese army, Netanyahu
said, "We will see how things turn out regarding the Lebanese army's ability to
control the areas we clear."
Al-Sharaa: We Are Working to Empower the Lebanese State to
Fulfill Its Obligations and Confining Weapons to the State Is Essential
Al-Markazia/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa warned of the
danger of an explosion of the situation in Lebanon, stressing that any
escalation would have direct negative repercussions for Syria and the region.
Al-Sharaa emphasized Damascus's support for the Lebanese state's monopoly on
weapons, the decision of war and peace, and the enforcement of the law,
considering that the continued presence of weapons outside the state's authority
will have significant repercussions for Lebanon and the region. Al-Sharaa
accused Hezbollah of participating alongside the former Syrian regime in the
14-year war against the Syrian people, stating that it contributed to the
displacement and killing of large numbers of civilians. He added that the party
still possesses its weapons and maintains a presence along the Syrian-Lebanese
border. He affirmed that the Syrian state is working to enable the Lebanese
state to fulfill its obligations, noting that reaching practical and realistic
solutions may require a gradual and deliberate approach to implementation.
Regarding regional affairs, al-Sharaa opined that the success of the security
agreement with Israel could pave the way for a comprehensive peace, while
emphasizing that Syria's rights in the Golan Heights will not be relinquished.
Lebanese Army Accuses Israel of Obstructing its Deployment in the South by
Continuing its “Aggressions”
Middle East/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Lebanese army on Sunday condemned the continued “aggressions and violations”
by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, accusing them of hindering the completion
of its deployment under the framework agreement signed by the two countries. In
a statement carried by Agence France-Presse, the army said: “The Israeli
occupation forces continue their aggression and violations of existing
understandings and international law through the systematic destruction and
bulldozing of homes, shelling, and machine-gun fire in several southern areas.”
The army added that “the continuation of these attacks is obstructing the
completion of the army’s deployment according to the existing understandings.”
The Lebanese army began its deployment on Tuesday in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of
the “pilot areas” in southern Lebanon, under the framework agreement signed by
Lebanon and Israel last month with US sponsorship.
Tightening Lebanese Grip on Ports Cuts Off Hezbollah's
Funding Sources / Preventing Iranian Planes from Landing Narrows the Noose on
Supply Channels
Beirut: Youssef Diab / Asharq Al-Awsat / July 26, 2026 (Google translation from
Arabic)
The confrontation between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah is no longer limited
to the issue of weapons and the implementation of international obligations in
the south. It has expanded to include tightening control over seaports, the
airport, and border crossings, reducing the party's influence, and ultimately
cutting off its illicit financial resources. Since the election of President
Joseph Aoun and the formation of a new government headed by Nawaf Salam, the
authorities have begun implementing a security and administrative approach to
reassert their sovereign control over land, sea, and air ports, which Hezbollah
has relied on for years to secure supply and funding lines and circumvent
official oversight.
Security data indicates that the measures taken by the state in recent months
“do not stop at reorganizing operations within these facilities, but have struck
at the heart of Hezbollah’s logistical structure in one of its most sensitive
areas, significantly curtailing smuggling operations and severing funding routes
that existed across the border with Syria, the airport, and the port.” Although
control measures and efforts to combat smuggling continue to be strengthened
daily, their results are beginning to materialize on the ground through the
waning influence of Hezbollah within institutions where it once held sway. A
source involved in the land, sea, and air border crossings file reveals that
Hezbollah’s influence within these facilities “has declined unprecedentedly
since the beginning of the new era.” The source confirms to Asharq Al-Awsat that
this decline “has directly impacted Hezbollah’s financial and logistical
capabilities, which, prior to the last war, benefited from a different security
and administrative environment that allowed for a wide margin for the movement
of goods and funds.” In recent months, the Lebanese state has successfully
implemented a high level of technical oversight after introducing modern
scanners at the Port of Beirut, Rafik Hariri International Airport, and the
Masnaa border crossing. This has significantly reduced the smuggling of goods,
prohibited materials, and funds that previously passed through these facilities.
The source emphasizes that the illegal crossings, which for years constituted
the primary lifeline for Hezbollah's logistical operations, "no longer play the
role they once did, after Syrian authorities tightened their procedures on the
other side, in parallel with enhanced Lebanese oversight. This has led to a
near-complete cessation of illegal crossings." A Radical Change
The source further noted that "the reality of the illegal crossings with Syria
has changed radically compared to previous years, when Hezbollah's smuggling
trucks crossed regularly, exploiting the state's weakness and its abdication of
its role in favor of Hezbollah and the smuggling networks operating under its
umbrella." The change was not limited to regulating the movement of goods, but
also extended to financing networks. The official source spoke of “a noticeable
decline in the smuggling of suitcases of cash and gold through the airport, as
well as in the smuggling of Captagon pills and hashish, which was one of the
most prominent illicit activities associated with smuggling operations.” The
source emphasized “the importance of the decision to prevent Iranian planes from
landing at Rafik Hariri International Airport, which tightened the noose on
supply channels, after it led to the closure of one of the routes that were used
to transport funds and materials supporting Hezbollah.” The fall of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime constituted the most significant shift and the strongest blow
that Hezbollah has received since its founding, as it lost one of its most
important strategic corridors; Syria no longer constitutes the safe logistical
environment that Hezbollah and Iran relied on for years to transport weapons and
funding into Lebanon. In this context, a security source explained that
“Hezbollah’s influence within the institutions overseeing the management of
ports and border crossings has become almost nonexistent.” As a result of a
series of security and administrative measures aimed at restructuring the
oversight system within the Port of Beirut, Rafik Hariri International Airport,
and the Masnaa border crossing, a source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that these
measures "included the transfer of a large number of security and administrative
personnel who were believed to be under the influence of Hezbollah and who were
providing cover for the almost daily passage of goods." The source emphasized
that "the restructuring at these ports contributed to closing loopholes that
constituted weaknesses within the relevant agencies." The source added, "The
official authorities did not stop at administrative transfers, but also launched
investigations and prosecutions against individuals suspected of facilitating
the passage of goods, suitcases of money, and jewelry for Hezbollah in recent
months, as part of a policy aimed at dismantling networks of influence within
public facilities."
Berri not opposed to Aoun and Salam's course but not
optimistic about outcome
Naharnet/26 July ,2026
"He who is admired by Saudi Arabia is admired by the whole world, and it seems
Saudi Arabia admires me more than some Lebanese people," Speaker Nabih Berri has
said.
"I've always said it, and I still say it: we in Lebanon need a tripartite
guarantee comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United States and Iran," said Berri in
an interview with the Asas Media news portal. He added: "My relationship with
President Joseph Aoun is excellent. We disagree on some political points, but we
are in constant contact. Before his trip to Washington, he called me and asked,
'What do you advise me to do?' I told him, 'I advise you on two things:
solidifying the ceasefire and ensuring a complete Israeli withdrawal, and the
return of the people to their villages and homes.'""When he returned from
Washington, I called him to congratulate him on his safe return, and I will
visit him soon. My relationship with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is continuous
and filled with affection," Berri said. The Speaker does not oppose the current
political course of action taken by Aoun and Salam, but he is "not optimistic
about achieving decisive positive results. His pessimism stems from the issue of
time," Asas Media said. "What is happening in Zawtar al-Gharbiysh is the biggest
proof of this. People waited for days before they could temporarily enter their
villages, and the Israeli attacks are still ongoing. How much longer will it
take to achieve a complete Israeli withdrawal and the return of the southerners
to their land?" Berri explained.
Lebanese President discusses with Macron post-UNIFIL
arrangements
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a phone call with French President Emmanuel
Macron to discuss developments in Lebanon and the wider region following recent
events. During the conversation, Aoun briefed Macron on the outcome of his visit
to the United States, including his talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and
senior American officials. The discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon,
the period following the agreement on the framework arrangement, and the
implementation of its provisions. The two leaders also discussed the situation
in southern Lebanon amid continued Israeli attacks on several towns and
villages, stressing the need to halt the hostilities and ensure compliance with
the ceasefire. Aoun and Macron further reviewed plans for the period following
the end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
emphasizing the importance of continued international support to preserve
stability in southern Lebanon. The two presidents agreed to remain in close
contact to monitor developments and coordinate on ongoing efforts related to
Lebanon's security and stability.
Lebanon seeks deeper economic integration with Iraq, PM
Salam says on Baghdad visit
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he is seeking to strengthen strategic
economic integration with Iraq and other countries in the region, following
meetings with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad. Salam said he and the accompanying
government delegation were pleased with the visit to Iraq, where they held talks
with President Nizar Amidi and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. During the meetings,
Salam said he reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to advancing regional connectivity
and strategic integration projects across multiple sectors, particularly energy,
telecommunications and transport. He said Lebanon is determined to capitalize on
opportunities created by ongoing regional transformations, emphasizing that
economic cooperation among regional countries is a cornerstone of stability,
strength and shared prosperity when based on mutually beneficial partnerships.
Salam added that Lebanon hopes to play an active role alongside Iraq in shaping
regional development projects, saying such cooperation could create new
investment opportunities and support sustainable development and economic growth
in both countries.
Lebanon army condemns Israeli attacks preventing deployment
in south
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Lebanon's army on Sunday condemned ongoing Israeli military activities in the
country's south that it said were preventing its full deployment under a
framework deal reached with Israel last month."Israeli occupation forces
continue their attacks and violations of current understandings and of
international laws through the systematic destruction and bulldozing of homes,
bombardment and sweeps with automatic weapons in several southern areas," an
army statement said, adding that "the continuation of these attacks obstructs
the army's full deployment according to current agreements and prevents the
return of residents to their villages and towns."AFP
Will the US defend Lebanon? Inside the push for a new security agreement
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Will the United States defend Lebanon if it is subjected to an external attack?
The answer for now is no. Simply put, there is no signed defense agreement
between the two countries that obligates Washington to intervene militarily to
defend Lebanon. The military relationship between Lebanon and the United States
is currently limited to security cooperation, through which Washington provides
the Lebanese army with training, assistance and military exercises, depending on
the political circumstances.Currently, Lebanon and the United States are seeking
to reach a security agreement that would transform this cooperation into a
permanent, binding and long-term arrangement. This was among the issues
discussed during the meeting between Presidents Joseph Aoun and Donald Trump in
Washington. So, what is the nature of a security agreement?It is a formal
agreement between two countries that establishes a legal framework for
cooperation and defines the rights and obligations of both sides, as well as the
mechanisms for collaboration.The United States has security agreements with
several countries in the region, including Egypt, Iraq and Israel, among others.
Binding defense agreements, however, are those it has with countries such as
NATO members. Could a security agreement evolve in the coming phase into a
defense agreement? One that includes a U.S. commitment to defend Lebanon in the
event of an attack, in addition to providing it with advanced military
equipment? This proposal was previously raised by late U.S. Sen. Lindsey
Graham.While the nature and content of the agreement remain to be clarified,
what is certain is that Washington is prepared to support the Lebanese army and
the Lebanese state. As for moving toward a defense agreement, that would be a
major political decision that would shape the future relationship between the
two countries and Lebanon’s position in the next phase.
Mojtaba Khamenei, in a message to Sheikh Qassem:
Defending Hezbollah is a steadfast Iranian strategy
Janoubia/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei affirmed Iran's support for the Lebanese
Hezbollah in a message addressed to its leader, Naim Qassem. Khamenei's message
came in response to a pledge of allegiance sent to him by Hezbollah fighters in
Lebanon. Khamenei said, "Now, as Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the vanguard of the
resistance factions, stands as a solid rock against the brutal aggression of the
Zionist entity and its supporters, this steadfastness has become an inspiring
message to the free peoples of the world in their march towards liberation from
the oppression of global arrogance and its followers." He added, "Undoubtedly, a
large part of this great achievement is due to the patience, nobility,
sacrifices, and solidarity of the Lebanese people, especially the people of the
South." Khamenei emphasized that defending Hezbollah remains one of Iran's
steadfast strategic policies. He stressed that preserving Lebanon's territorial
integrity and ensuring a "complete and unconditional" cessation of Israeli
attacks are "a prerequisite for any memorandum of understanding to end the
imposed war with the aggressor America." The letter accused the United States
and Israel of oppression and injustice, and stated that "jihad and resistance"
are the only remaining path.
Israel warns of escalation on Lebanon front as focus expands to Iran and Syria
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Israeli military officials have warned that the fragile ceasefire along the
Lebanese border could unravel, bringing the region closer to renewed security
escalation, particularly if tensions with Iran erupt into a broader conflict. A
senior Israeli military official described the situation on the northern front
as increasingly precarious, claiming there has been a slowdown in implementing
the framework agreement governing the deployment of the Lebanese army in the
designated pilot areas. The remarks coincided with statements from an official
in Israel's Northern Command, who said Israeli military operations against
Hezbollah are continuing. The developments come as Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to Washington for talks with U.S.
President Donald Trump. Ahead of the visit, Netanyahu maintained ambiguity over
Israel's military posture across multiple fronts. Following a government
meeting, reportedly held in an underground bunker because of security concerns,
he addressed the Iranian file without providing details on possible next steps.
Although expectations of a large-scale Israeli strike on Iran over the weekend
have receded, Israeli officials said the air force has prepared a target bank
involving hundreds of potential strikes inside Iran should military action
become necessary. At the same time, the Israeli army has reinforced its presence
along the Syrian front by deploying additional troops, establishing checkpoints
inside Syrian territory and distributing warning leaflets to residents west of
the city of Daraa. The notices urged residents to remove roadblocks and warned
against taking actions that could obstruct Israeli military operations,
signaling that the Syrian front could once again become an active theater of
conflict.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 26-27 July/2026
Netanyahu: We Will Respond Forcefully to Any Direct or Indirect Attack
from Iran
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from
Arabic)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that any Iranian
attack on Israel, whether direct or through proxies, would be met with a "sharp"
Israeli response, considering such a move a "very serious mistake" on the part
of Tehran. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said that Israel would
respond forcefully if Iran fired on it directly or indirectly. He added that the
war would end "either with the fall of the Iranian regime or when Iran pays the
price for everything it is doing in the region," accusing Tehran of targeting
its neighbors and destabilizing the region. The Israeli Prime Minister pointed
out that Iran "is shooting at everyone and all its neighbors," adding: "Look at
what it is doing without a nuclear weapon; just imagine what it would do if it
had a nuclear weapon." Netanyahu's remarks came after the Iranian military
warned that the war would "expand further" if the United States decided to
continue launching strikes against the Islamic Republic, a stance preempting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington. Army spokesman
Mohammad Akramnia told state television, "If the Americans fall once again into
Israel's trap or side with them, and insist on continuing the war, especially
through airstrikes, it will expand geographically further." He also reminded the
audience that the war had already extended to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the
entrance to the Red Sea, referring to the recent military escalation by the
Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen. He added, "The scope of our operations now
encompasses the entire region." He described the situation in the Middle East as
"difficult and unstable" for the United States, predicting that Washington is
currently seeking to develop a "new strategy." He affirmed Iran's readiness "for
every option and every scenario that seems likely." Israel announced on Friday
that Netanyahu would meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on
Tuesday.
Trump is giving Iran talks ‘a little bit of room,’ US ambassador to UN says
Al Arabiya English/26 July ,2026
US President Donald Trump has paused attacks on Iran to allow more room for
diplomacy, the US ambassador to the United Nations told Fox News. “He’s giving
talks some space, he’s giving it a little bit of room,” Mike Waltz told the
broadcaster on Sunday. Waltz did not provide further detail on the nature of the
talks, but there has been a weekend lull in the fighting between Iran and the
United States. The Pentagon paused bombing operations after 13 nights of
escalating strikes and there were no weekend reports of attacks by Iran on its
neighbors.Asked about the pause, a senior official in Trump’s administration
said on Saturday that the president “has always been clear that his preference
is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the
table in a serious way.”A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that Iran
will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its pause on
strikes, but added that Tehran remains skeptical of US intentions. “Iran’s
position remains ‘attack for attack’: if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt
its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States,”
the source told Reuters. “There is more skepticism than optimism about the halt
in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than
genuine,” the source added. The New York Times and CNN both reported that Trump
had backed off plans to escalate the war with even bigger military options after
concerns were raised on Friday by some of his advisers, including over whether
US missile defense stocks were running low from protecting US bases in the
region.CNN and the Times both identified Pentagon Chief of Staff Dan Caine as
having raised such concerns. CNN said Vice President JD Vance also had expressed
reservations.News site Axios reported that Trump had been receiving plans for
strikes on Iran from the Pentagon every afternoon for two weeks and signing off
on them each night, until Friday when the latest plan was presented to him and
he decided not to go ahead. Trump’s decision to pause strikes has come at a
turning point in the war, with both sides testing the boundaries of escalation
that they set before a ceasefire ended major fighting in April and the interim
agreement reopened Hormuz in June. With Reuters
Iran will halt attacks as long as US maintains pause,
Iranian source says after Trump calls off strikes
LBCI/26 July ,2026
Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its latest
pause on air strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, after
President Donald Trump abruptly called off his two-week-old bombing
campaign.After 13 nights of intensifying U.S. air strikes on Iran, the Pentagon
abruptly suspended the campaign late on Friday, with no U.S. attacks reported on
either Saturday or Sunday. Iran, which had been following each night of U.S.
attacks with its own strikes on neighboring countries that host U.S. bases, has
also so far held fire for two days.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday
that Trump had decided to pause U.S. attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.
"He's giving talks some space, he's giving it a little bit of room," Waltz said,
without providing further details.Reuters
US holds fire against Iran as reports emerge of stockpile
concerns
Agence France Presse/26 July ,2026
Iran passed another night without U.S. airstrikes on Sunday, as Washington
paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over
dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation. The lull has
revived hopes of a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of consecutive
nightly U.S. bombardments, although U.S. media reported the pause could also
reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and other defensive
weapons. Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic
efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict then expanded beyond the
vital energy corridor to include attacks on U.S. bases, regional shipping and
Gulf allies. Iran's army warned on Sunday that the war would widen even further
if the U.S. chose to press ahead with attacks, ahead of a visit by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington on Tuesday."If the Americans once
again fall for the Zionists' deception, or move in line with them, and insist on
continuing the war, particularly through air strikes, geographically this will
expand further," army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told state television.
Meanwhile, U.S. operations against Iran were "on a hold", CNN reported, quoting
an unidentified Pentagon source, even as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened
a "much higher level" of strikes on Friday. Plans to escalate the campaign have
been shelved in part because of those shrinking supplies, The New York Times
reported, citing two people briefed on the matter. Trump also faces the risk of
a wider Middle East war, the estrangement of vulnerable Gulf allies and further
shocks to the global economy, the newspaper said. Vice President JD Vance and
top U.S. general Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation at a White
House meeting on Friday, CNN reported. Caine told Trump the military could carry
out the options available to him successfully but warned of the possible
implications, according to the network.
'Much higher level' -
Trump said on Friday he had not decided whether to return to an all-out
operation."We're talking to them right now. I think they're getting more and
more serious," he told journalists. Trump said Iran faced a choice between a
deal and strikes at a "much higher level".
The war that Trump once predicted would last four or five weeks is now nearing
its fifth month, and is weighing on the Republican's approval ratings ahead of
crucial U.S. midterm elections in November. The Pentagon had presented Trump
with a plan for a 14th night of strikes but he declined to authorize it in
favour of a push for talks, Axios reported.
New front -
Fighting has meanwhile spread to a new front. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels
said they struck Saudi Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, a day after
Riyadh bombed Houthi targets. A surface-to-air battery operated by Greek
personnel in Saudi Arabia downed two ballistic missiles and a drone over Yanbu,
the Greek air force media office said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran
could not be blamed for the escalation and offered to broker talks between the
Houthis and Riyadh, saying "there is no military solution". On Sunday, Iran's
armed forces stopped six vessels attempting to transit the Hormuz strait over
the past 24 hours after warnings, according to state television. Tehran's
effective blockade of the waterway remains the central flashpoint with
Washington. Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with neighboring
Oman on "common principles and operational mechanisms" for shipping in the
Strait. In June, Oman and Iran said they would discuss imposing service fees, a
move Washington opposes, but Muscat also said ships could transit Hormuz via its
waters, angering Tehran, which responded with a pattern of escalation.
Iran army says halted retaliatory attacks as US holds fire
Al Arabiya English/26 July ,2026
Iran said on Sunday it has halted retaliatory attacks against US allies in the
Middle East after Washington stopped its strikes on the country for the past two
nights. The Iranian declaration came after Washington paused a war nearing its
fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were
restraining plans for further escalation.“These attacks continued until two
nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their
attacks,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia. “Since... our strategy has
essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory
operations.”Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic
efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict then expanded beyond the
vital energy corridor to include attacks on US bases, regional shipping and Gulf
allies.But the recent lull has revived hopes of a return to negotiations after
nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly US bombardments, although US media
reported the pause could also reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot
interceptors and other defensive weapons.The US and Iran have submitted their
responses to a Qatari-Pakistani proposal to resume talks between Washington and
Tehran, according to Al Arabiya sources.Meanwhile, US operations against Iran
were “on a hold,” CNN reported, quoting an unidentified Pentagon source, even as
US President Donald Trump threatened a “much higher level” of strikes on Friday.
Plans to escalate the campaign have been shelved in part because of those
shrinking supplies, The New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on
the matter. Vice President JD Vance and top US general Dan Caine both raised
concerns about escalation at a White House meeting on Friday, CNN reported.
Caine told Trump the military could carry out the options available to him
successfully but warned of the possible implications, according to the
network.Iran’s army however warned on Sunday that the war would widen even
further if the US chose to restart its attacks, ahead of a visit by Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington on Tuesday. With AFP
Iran threatens response to Ukraine attack on its ship in
Caspian Sea
AFP/26 July ,2026
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday warned that his country would
respond to a deadly attack by Ukraine on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea. It
came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had carried out
long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea against vessels transporting military
cargo involving Iran, underscoring the increasingly international dimensions of
Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel,
killing a sailor,” Araghchi said on X, describing it as “a blatant UN Charter
violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.”He added that,
during calls with the European Union’s Kaja Kallas and Russian top diplomat
Sergei Lavrov, he “made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO
UNANSWERED.”Iran’s foreign ministry said the attack caused the ship “to explode,
killing one sailor and injuring several others.”Tehran “has never intervened in
the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.On
Saturday, Zelenskyy said on social media that armed forces had achieved “very
strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea – including vessels
used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.”Ukraine’s
intelligence services, for their part, reported on Telegram that drone attacks
had been carried out against “cargo vessels under international sanctions that
were used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia.”According to
Iranian state television, the foreign ministry summoned the Ukrainian charge
d’affaires in Tehran on Saturday to protest this “hostile and criminal act.”
Iran says progress in Oman talks on Strait of Hormuz management
AFP/26 July ,2026
Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the
Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway crucial for oil and gas trade that both
countries border. The latest talks come after the United States resumed attacks
on Iran in an effort to end Tehran’s control of the strait, following a June
memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that had briefly eased
tensions. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said several rounds of
negotiations were held in Iranian capital Tehran on Friday and Saturday between
Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers.The discussions focused on “common
principles and operational mechanisms” for ensuring the safe passage of shipping
through the strait while respecting the sovereign rights of the two states,
Baghaei said. He described the talks as “useful” and said progress had been
made, adding that “technical and political consultations between the two sides
were continuing.”In June, Oman and Iran said they would discuss imposing service
fees, a move Washington opposes.But Muscat also said ships could transit Hormuz
via its waters, angering Tehran, which responded with a pattern of escalation.
Iran said on Saturday that it had not recorded any US attacks after nearly two
weeks of strikes. According to news site Axios, the Pentagon presented US
President Donald Trump with a plan for a 14th consecutive night of strikes, but
he declined to authorize it in favor of renewed talks.The report said Trump made
the order to hold fire after an Omani delegation arrived in Tehran “for talks on
a new arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”Responding to a separate
question, Baghaei said there had been “no change” in the status of shipping
traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. On Sunday, Iran’s armed forces stopped six
vessels attempting to transit the Hormuz strait after warnings over the past 24
hours, according to state television.
Oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mine in Strait of Hormuz: Report
Reuters/26 July ,2026
An oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with a naval
mine, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.Tasnim said the
tanker struck the mine after leaving the route designated by Iran in the
strategic waterway. There was no immediate official statement from Iranian
authorities regarding the incident.
UN chief urges immediate removal of all Syria sanctions
LBCI/26 July ,2026
The U.N. chief at the end of a two-day visit to Syria on Sunday urged the
removal of all sanctions imposed on the country during the era of now ousted
ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Antonio Guterres told a press conference in Damascus "I welcome steps that have
eased sanctions, and opening new possibilities for economic recovery, but all
these sanctions must be removed immediately."AFP
Syria reports fresh Israeli incursion, shelling in south
Agence France Presse/26 July ,2026
Syrian state media said Israeli forces carried out an incursion into the
country's south on Sunday, a day after the visiting U.N. chief urged an end to
Israeli violations and respect for Syria's sovereignty. State news agency SANA
said that "Israeli occupation forces carried out an incursion early Sunday into
the villages of Maariya and Al-Aarda in the Yarmuk basin in the west of Daraa
province". It said the soldiers, accompanied by three military vehicles and a
bulldozer, set up a checkpoint in Al-Aarda, and that forces "dropped leaflets in
towns in the Yarmuk basin warning residents against closing roads or obstructing
the advance of the vehicles". After the December 2024 overthrow of longtime
ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel sent troops into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone
that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-occupied Golan since
1974. It has carried out strikes and repeated incursions deeper into Syrian
territory. Israeli officials have said they intend to keep forces in a "security
zone" in southern Syria, where they seek a broader demilitarised zone. Also on
Sunday, SANA said Israeli forces fired artillery shells at farmland near the
Quneitra province village of Taranja, without reporting casualties.
Visiting U.N. chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday said that "violations of
Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must
cease.""What is happening in the region around the Golan Heights is totally
unacceptable," he said, emphasising that "the Golan Heights are Syrian
territory." During a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday,
Guterres reaffirmed the UN's "commitment to Syria's sovereignty, independence,
unity and territorial integrity, and expressed deep concern regarding violations
by Israel" of the 1974 disengagement agreement, a UN statement said. Israel
captured most of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later
annexed the areas under its control, in a move not recognised by most of the
international community. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Saturday that
"the continuation of Israeli military actions and the unlawful occupation of our
land beyond the 1974 line is a direct threat to the security of the region",
demanding an "immediate and unconditional withdrawal".Last month in the Yarmuk
Basin area, state media and a local official said residents of the village of
Abidin fled Israeli artillery fire after locals tried to block a road to stop an
Israeli patrol that was advancing in the area. Despite tensions between the
neighbors, Israel and Syria's new authorities have held several rounds of direct
talks and have agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.
UN chief urges immediate removal of all Syria sanctions
AFP/26 July ,2026
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged the removal of all
sanctions imposed on Syria during the era of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, as he
concluded a two-day visit to the country.“I welcome steps that have eased
sanctions, and opening new possibilities for economic recovery, but all these
sanctions must be removed immediately,” Guterres told a press conference in
Damascus. Syria’s new authorities, who took power in December 2024, are trying
to turn the page after more than 13 years of war, and to reboot the economy and
rebuild infrastructure and institutions. Western countries including the United
States have begun lifting economic sanctions on Syria. But investors have
remained cautious, as the World Bank has estimated the country’s post-war
reconstruction could cost $216 billion. “The United Nations stands with the
people of Syria at this pivotal moment. And I came carrying the strongest
possible appeal to the international community, an appeal to spare no effort to
support the Syrian people and to support the Syrian government,” Guterres said.
“Syria today is at a crossroads,” he added. Guterres is the first UN chief to
visit Syria since his predecessor Ban Ki-moon in 2009, two years before the
start of Syria’s war, which killed half a million people. “Syria needs
investment in its people, its economy and its institutions. Syria needs support
to restore essential services, rebuild infrastructure, revive livelihoods,” he
said. It also needs help “for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of
refugees and internally displaced people,” he added.
Palestinians say Israeli settlers torch 2 mosques in West Bank
Agence France Presse/26 July ,2026
Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques in the
occupied West Bank overnight Sunday, after this week's deadly clashes in the
territory left six people dead. Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has
surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Abdel Azim Wadi, mayor of the town of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus, told
AFP that settlers torched a mosque under construction in the southern part of
the town. "The fire destroyed the mosque's entrance and even damaged its
stonework," Wadi said. He added that the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti
on the mosque's walls, including the word "revenge". The Israeli military said
troops were dispatched to the outskirts of Qusra after receiving a report that a
mosque had been set ablaze. "The soldiers searched for suspects who had fled
prior to their arrival and identified signs of arson and graffiti at the scene,"
it said, adding that Israeli police would investigate and collect evidence. In a
separate incident, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Kour,
near Tulkarem, and sprayed racist slogans on its walls, according to the
Palestinian ministry of endowments and religious affairs. The ministry said that
"groups of settlers burned a mosque in the village of Kour in Tulkarem
governorate and wrote racist slogans on its walls". On Friday, deadly clashes
broke out between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell that
left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. The Israeli military subsequently
raided the city of Nablus and several nearby towns, announcing the arrest of
dozens of Palestinians as it launched what it described as a "counter-terrorism"
operation in the West Bank. On Saturday, the city had largely ground to a halt,
with long queues of vehicles forming at petrol stations as fuel supplies
dwindled, an AFP journalist reported.
Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including
militants, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers, according to
Palestinian figures. Official Israeli data show that at least 48 Israelis, both
civilians and members of the security forces, have been killed in attacks by
Palestinians or during Israeli military operations. Excluding annexed east
Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside
more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are illegal under
international law.
Kyiv hit with missiles; Russia and Ukraine both report
civilians killed in strikes
Reuters/26 July ,2026
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under ballistic missile attack from Russian
forces early on Sunday, while other regions suffered bombardments later during
the day that killed two people. Russia, for its part, said four people were
killed by a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of
Horlivka. Ukraine’s air force said Russian forces had targeted the capital with
ballistic missiles, as explosions rocked the city. In its morning note, the air
force said Russia had launched seven ballistic missiles and 136 drones at
Ukraine overnight. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, one person was killed and
twelve others required medical attention after a daytime drone attack.
Meanwhile, a glide bomb attack killed one person and wounded six in the southern
city of Zaporizhzhia, which has been under heavy bombardment in recent months.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one blaze had broken out on the seventh and
eighth floors of a multi-story apartment block in a central district after the
overnight missile attack. Three people were wounded in the capital, and
unofficial social media channels showed footage of fires burning. President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned on Friday that Russian attacks were likely over
the next 48 hours. In Horlivka, a city in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s
Donetsk province, Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said four civilians had
been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.
Prikhodko gave no further details. On Saturday, Russian-installed authorities
accused Ukraine of deliberately attacking civilians after 12 people were killed
in a drone attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine’s
Zaporizhzhia region. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war
launched by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Thousands of
civilians have died, most of them Ukrainians killed in Russian attacks. Read
more: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy: Russia wants to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops
to conflict
Saudi FM discusses regional developments with Qatar, Egypt
counterparts
Al Arabiya English/26 July ,2026
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held separate phone
calls with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Egypt to discuss the latest
regional developments and efforts to reduce tensions, the Kingdom’s foreign
ministry said on Sunday. During the calls, the ministers reviewed the latest
developments in the region and discussed ways to continue supporting efforts
aimed at reducing escalation, advancing diplomatic solutions, and ensuring the
security and safety of waterways in the Gulf and the Red Sea. The discussions
also focused on preserving the security and stability of the region, the
ministry said. The phone calls come as regional diplomatic efforts continue to
focus on deescalation and safeguarding maritime security in key shipping routes
across the Gulf and the Red Sea.
2 Jewish-owned bakeries damaged in Toronto with one hit by gunfire: police
CBC/July 26, 2026
Toronto police are investigating after two separate locations of a Jewish-owned
bakery chain reported damage, with one hit by gunfire, on Sunday morning.
Officers responded to reports of a bakery with a damaged window due to gunshots
near Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue W., Toronto police said on social media
platform X. They said another location of the same chain, near Bathurst Street
and Steeles Avenue W., had reports of a broken window, but not by gunfire. Duty
Insp. Scott Bradbury said at a news conference that officers found evidence of a
shooting only at the first location and there were no reported injuries at
either place. He said the hate crime unit and gun and gang task force are
investigating."We understand that this is concerning for those that work and
live in this area, especially members of the Jewish community, and we have all
the resources available to thoroughly investigate this matter," he said.
Residents can expect an increased police presence as the investigation
continues. Bradbury said investigators are not yet certain if both incidents are
connected, but noted that both bakeries are part of the same chain. He urged
anyone with information or video evidence to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Incident 'shattered' sense of peace in residents. The joy and feeling of
security amongst community members was "shattered" along with the windows, as
the bakeries are closed during the police investigation, said Noah Shack, CEO
with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. "It's alarming for residents
heading over to grab bagels on a Sunday morning to instead be greeted by police
tape," he said. "Thankfully no one was injured ... but of course concern [is
there] about how this could continue to escalate." Shack urged government
officials at all levels to "take this threat seriously" by ensuring law
enforcement are adequately resourced to respond. "This has to be a country of
peace, order and good governance and that has to be our north star in driving
the response to this incident," he said. In a post to X, Toronto Mayor Olivia
Chow said the "targeted attacks" on the Jewish-owned bakery chain are "vile" and
"unacceptable." "We all have a responsibility to stand against hate," she said.
"I will always stand with Toronto's Jewish community against antisemitism."Chow
thanked Toronto police for their ongoing efforts in identifying and bringing
those responsible to justice. "We will continue to invest in community safety
and the necessary work of confronting hate wherever it exists," she added. Adam
Minsky, president of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, said several
residents who frequent the bakeries reached out to him and were "incredibly
shaken" by the events. He said this is just the latest in a pattern of shootings
in the city this year that has scared all residents of the city, not just the
Jewish community. Some GTA synagogues were hit with gunfire earlier this year
and active investigations by police led to the arrest of suspects in relation to
some of those cases. "This is an incredibly frightening situation. Everyone in
the GTA should be able to come to a restaurant, have brunch with their family
without having to be frightened," said Minsky. He said he was happy to hear that
police were quick to respond and get the hate crime unit already involved in the
investigation
6 wounded as unidentified shooter opens fire on crowd in Chicago
BILL HUTCHINSON/CBC News/July 26, 20
At least six people were injured, two critically, early Sunday when an assailant
opened fire on a crowd gathered outdoors in a Northwest Side neighborhood of
Chicago, according to police. The drive-by shooting in the Humboldt Park
neighborhood unfolded around 2:09 a.m., the Chicago Police Department said in a
statement. "While outside, an unidentified offender discharged a firearm, which
struck multiple victims," police said in the statement. The shooter remained at
large on Sunday. Detectives were working to identify the assailant and a motive
for the attack. A dispatcher relayed that a 911 caller reported hearing up to 30
gunshots, according to ABC Chicago station WLS. The caller, according to a
recording of police radio transmissions obtained by WLS, said a neighbor was
shot on a porch along with a woman. Two women and four men, ranging in age from
33 to 46, were taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds, police told ABC
News.9 separate mass shootings across US leave 9 dead, 60 injured over the
weekend. One victim, a 35-year-old man, was shot multiple times and was in
critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago as of
late Sunday morning, according to police. A 36-year-old man also was shot
multiple times and was in critical condition at Mt. Sinai Hospital, police said.
The remaining four victims were listed in good condition, according to police.
One dead and 26 injured in a "terrorist" vehicle attack
in Berlin... Suspect is an ISIS supporter
Middle East/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
A vehicle plowed into a crowd on the sidelines of a gay pride parade in Berlin
on Saturday evening, killing one person and injuring 29. German Interior
Minister Alexander Dobrindt declared that all indications pointed to the attack
being an "Islamist terrorist attack." Speaking from the scene of the attack, the
minister stated, "Everything we see here indicates that we are dealing with an
Islamist terrorist attack," announcing that the number of injured had risen to
29. An initial report had indicated 16 people were injured in the ramming.
Berlin police had earlier released a photo of a suspect in the attack as part of
an appeal to the public for help in locating him. The German Federal
Prosecutor's Office and the Berlin State Criminal Police Office announced that
the suspect's name is "Abd B." He is 21 years old, and that the investigation is
being conducted "on suspicion of an attack." Authorities warned: “If you
encounter the suspect, immediately call 110. Do not attempt to speak to him, as
he may be armed and dangerous.” The suspect was described as slim and
approximately 1.90 meters tall, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
German media reported on Sunday that the suspect is a supporter of the Islamic
State (ISIS) and has a prior conviction for violent crimes. The newspapers Bild
and Der Spiegel reported that “Abd B.” traveled to the Middle East last year in
a failed attempt to join ISIS. They added that he was later convicted in Germany
of “preparing a serious act of violence with the intent to cause destruction.” A
police spokesperson stated that the suspect in the van attack, whose identity
has been established but who has not yet been apprehended, is linked to
“Islamist circles.” Dominik Pretz, a spokesperson for the Berlin fire
department, reported “17 injuries, including one person who died at the scene,”
according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Police spokesman Florian Nath stated
that the vehicle used in the attack was left at the scene in Tiergarten park,
where the march was supposed to end. Nath said the vehicle, a minivan or small
SUV, was completely wrecked in the impact. Police announced that the search for
the perpetrator or perpetrators in the surrounding woods, conducted primarily
with helicopters equipped with thermal imaging cameras, had yielded no results,
and concluded that the search now needed to be expanded to encompass the entire
city. Nath noted that it was still too early to characterize the incident as an
attack, indicating that investigators still needed to speak cautiously with
witnesses. Meanwhile, Berlin Mayor Kai Wegener described the incident as an
attack on Berlin's free and open society. For his part, a government
spokesperson said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his Interior Minister "will
seek a full investigation into the circumstances of this heinous act and ensure
that its perpetrators are punished." Following the incident, the remainder of
the event was cancelled, and the police posted on Instagram, addressing the
participants: "Please go home."
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on 26-27 July/2026
President Trump, Liberate Iran. Then
You Will Truly Be One of History's Greatest Heroes ...The Winning Strategy for
Iran: Unconditional Surrender
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/July 25, 2026
President Donald Trump has a winning strategy on Iran. The military campaign
should not stop until Iran's regime delivers an unconditional surrender, as
Germany and Japan did in World War II.House Speaker Mike Johnson should be
cautious about telling Trump to "wrap it up." The US strikes on Iran have been
as breathtaking as they were overdue – and massively complex. What would the
world look like today if in 1942 the US and its allies had been told to "wrap it
up"?
Trump should not listen to anyone who tells him to slow down or ease up. The
Gulf Arabs are being hit hard again -- presumably to induce them to rush to
Trump to beg him to negotiate so that the strikes will stop.
The Iranian regime is now playing another card, signaling that it "wants to
talk." Of course it does. The United States should insist only on unconditional
surrender.
Iran's pattern is clear: escalate, absorb strikes, then call for talks by
mediators from Qatar, Oman, Pakistan or other Muslim Brotherhood allies that are
trying to buy Iran time.
Any pause risks resetting the conflict in Iran's favor.
Close coordination with Israel is indispensable. As America's most trusted and
capable ally in the region, Israel shares core strategic interests: neutralizing
Iran's nuclear threat, tackling terrorism, and ensuring long-term regional
stability. Israeli intelligence has repeatedly demonstrated deep infiltration of
the Iranian regime and understanding of its inner workings. No other partner
comes close to matching this alignment.
President Trump, liberate Iran. Then you will truly be one of history's greatest
heroes.
President Donald Trump has a winning strategy on Iran. The military campaign
should not stop until Iran's regime delivers an unconditional surrender. House
Speaker Mike Johnson should be cautious about telling Trump to "wrap it up." The
US strikes on Iran have been as breathtaking as they were overdue – and
massively complex. What would the world look like today if in 1942 the US and
its allies had been told to "wrap it up"?
When confronting the task of eradicating the Iranian regime — the world's top
state sponsor of terrorism and enthusiastic violator of human rights — it is
essential to go in with all options on the table: economic sanctions, military
operations, and political isolation all working in concert. The Nazi regime
under Hitler, for instance, was not defeated through proportionate responses or
limited engagements. The WWII Allies committed to total victory, dismantling the
machinery of aggression, root and branch. The same principle applies today.
President Donald Trump has a winning strategy on Iran. The military campaign
should not stop until Iran's regime delivers an unconditional surrender, as
Germany and Japan did in World War II.
Against Iran's ideologically driven theocracy, which has spent decades exporting
violence, funding proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and
oppressing its own people, pauses, ceasefires and restraint are recipes for
perpetual conflict. Iran uses the hiatus to rearm and rebuild, then resumes
further escalation.
What was required, as the Trump Administration saw after two months of misguided
diplomatic efforts, was to end the era of impunity.
The American strikes on Iranian military sites over the past two weeks have been
a strong and necessary step. It would be heroic if Trump could at last liberate
Iran from the regime that Senator John Fetterman has called "a 47-year-old war
crime."
House Speaker Mike Johnson should be cautious about telling Trump to "wrap it
up." The US strikes on Iran have been as breathtaking as they were overdue – and
massively complex. What would the world look like today if in 1942 the US and
its allies had been told to "wrap it up"? With all due respect, the speaker
should kindly help the administration to "finish the job." If he is anxious
about the upcoming midterm elections, he might recall that Americans like
winners, not quitters.
Trump, while offering Iran's leaders as many off-ramps as humanly possible --
even announcing what his next moves would be -- has tried, futilely, to give
Iran's leaders every chance to make a deal, although we should rejoice that it
was not Vice President JD Vance's disastrously misbegotten Islamabad Memorandum
of Understanding, which was basically a capitulation to the regime's demands.
The American military operations are successfully degrading the regime's
capabilities. Trump's leadership stands out as the strongest and most realistic
on Iran.
When one of Iran's proxies, Yemen's Houthis, attacked two commercial ships in
the Red Sea on July 22, Trump informed Iran that it, too, would be held
accountable.
Trump is also deploying one of his most potent "golden winning cards" which
should be expanded: strikes on critical infrastructure and especially on members
of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
This approach echoes the Allied strategy in World War II. When confronting Nazi
Germany, the Allies did not limit themselves to battlefield engagements.
Similarly, against Imperial Japan, the U.S. targeted not just military bases but
cities and supply lines, to break both the capacity and the will to fight. These
operations were overwhelmingly powerful — far beyond anything the Axis powers
had anticipated. The enemy had gambled on limited Western resolve; instead, they
faced total commitment. Surrender followed.
The lesson is that when facing a tyrannical regime bent on domination,
tit-for-tat exchanges only prolong the agony.
Trump should not listen to anyone who tells him to slow down or ease up. The
Gulf Arabs are being hit hard again -- presumably to induce them to rush to
Trump to beg him to negotiate so that the strikes will stop.
The Iranian regime is now playing another card, signaling that it "wants to
talk." Of course it does. The United States should insist only on unconditional
surrender.
Iran's pattern is clear: escalate, absorb strikes, then call for talks by
mediators from Qatar, Oman, Pakistan or other Muslim Brotherhood allies that are
trying to buy Iran time.
Iran's goal, as seen in its repeated pattern of the last months, if not years,
is to regroup and resume destabilizing the region once pressure eases. Trump is
doing perfectly by maintaining momentum. The US operations must continue without
pause until Iran offers unconditional surrender. Any pause risks resetting the
conflict in Iran's favor.
Similar to how Israel has applied sustained pressure on Hamas, Hezbollah, and
other Iranian proxies — targeting leadership, military infrastructure, and
supply lines — the U.S. must impose comparable intensity on both Iran and the
Houthis. This sends a powerful message for global security: attacking commercial
ships and sponsoring terrorism carry unbearable costs.
Iran will likely enlist its allied third-party mediators to push for
de-escalation while secretly rebuilding military capabilities. Watch for Iran's
games.
Close coordination with Israel is indispensable. As America's most trusted and
capable ally in the region, Israel shares core strategic interests: neutralizing
Iran's nuclear threat, tackling terrorism, and ensuring long-term regional
stability. Israeli intelligence has repeatedly demonstrated deep infiltration of
the Iranian regime and understanding of its inner workings. No other partner
comes close to matching this alignment.
Trump has proven to be the strongest and most effective leader to confront the
Islamic Republic of Iran in its 47-year history. No previous administration
dared to challenge it with such resolve. His first demand of unconditional
surrender was correct, and it should remain the position now. Sustained pressure
must continue on the regime itself and its network of proxies. There can be no
let-up. Iran's forces of destruction cannot be allowed to survive and later
regroup. They must be comprehensively dismantled to secure lasting peace and
stability.
President Trump, liberate Iran. Then you will truly be one of history's greatest
heroes.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and
board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on
the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22732/liberate-iran-unconditional-surrender
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
The Exploding Islamization of the West: A Conversation
with Alexandre del Valle, Part I
Grégoire Canlorbe/Gatestone Institute/July 26, 2026
One of the great successes of Islamist movements appears to have been to
convince much of the third generation of Muslim families to break with
assimilation. Many of that generation were beginning to become more integrated
than their parents or grandparents.
[B]y launching barbaric jihadist attacks -- such as Bataclan, Charlie Hebdo,
London, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Berlin, or the July 14 Nice attacks --
radical Islamists in fact aim to induce hostility toward Muslims and provoke a
clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, to motivate Muslims to separate from
their non-Muslim environment and de-assimilate. This strategy has been most
effective. Islamic terrorism produces criticism of Islamism. The Islamists then
say that the criticism is proof that they are victims of Islamophobia.... This
community then functions as a counter-society against Western society, which is
perceived as harmful, decadent, "Islamophobic," or "racist."There are networks
that organize Islamization – it seems, mainly of three kinds. The first network
consists of Islamist movements themselves.... Some states play an extremely
direct role in this process: Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan, among others.... The
institutions involved include the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
which brings together 57 Muslim states and promotes an international Islamic
order. One can also mention ISESCO, the Islamic counterpart of UNESCO. These
structures help to spread a narrative that by adapting to Western culture...
This narrative not only tries to adapt sharia to Europe, but tries to push
Europe to adapt to sharia.
The third network is... the dominant current within Western societies
themselves, shaped by "political correctness." Out of fear of conflict, fear of
not getting votes, or Western postcolonial guilt, many Europeans conveniently
manage not to see the Muslim colonization of Turkey, Egypt, Albania, Kashmir,
Cyprus and Israel. The last is where Jews have lived for nearly 4000 years and
are therefore the indigenous population. Muslims did not even exist until the
seventh century.
Sometimes, simply out of a desire to buy peace in their neighborhoods, Western
elites accommodate Islamist demands. Local elected officials, confronted with
"difficult" neighborhoods, come to implicit agreements with a community's
representatives just in order to preserve a form of peace.
We are, in fact, creating "extraterritorial mini-caliphates."
US President Donald Trump has spoken of "civilizational erasure." He is
absolutely right.
Many Islamists tell Muslims in Europe that their presence in a non-Muslim
country can be justified only on two conditions. First, they must re-Islamize in
order to protect themselves from the supposedly harmful influence of the
unbelieving societies. Second, they must contribute to expanding the Muslim
community until it one day becomes dominant. In this mindset, living in Europe
becomes acceptable only if one works to transform it gradually into an Islamized
space.
A great mistake of the Western elites seems to have been to reduce "national
interests" only to material interests. Many in the West appear to have believed
that democracy and human rights would seduce all of humanity. They passed over
in silence the dimensions of religion and ethnic values of the West — its shared
culture, language and history, and its anchoring in Judeo-Christian
priorities—in order to present democracy and human rights as a model exportable
to the entire world.
Much of the West no longer thinks of itself in cultural, religious, or
civilizational terms. It thinks of itself rhapsodically as a space that is open
to all ethnicities and religions, reduced to individual rights, democracy, and
consumption -- and capable of extending over the entire world.
Much of the West also no longer believes in its own civilization; many no longer
even believe it is a civilization. Under these circumstances, how could it be
capable of pursuing a policy of defense of Western civilization and the
Judeo-Christian heritage?
This loss of self-awareness might explain some serious strategic errors. If one
believes that Europe has neither religion, history, shared values nor
civilization, then Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, or Turkey can appear
merely as economic partners. Their investments, buildings, football clubs, and
financial power are noticed; their ideological and religious roles are
overlooked.
If the West had preserved a vision of itself as a civilization, it could have
maintained economic relations with these countries while prohibiting any
religious interference. It could have said clearly: "We cooperate, but you do
not finance the Islamization of our territories." The West, having stopped
seeing itself as a civilization, allowed Islamist powers to finance mosques,
associations, and networks of influence on its own soil.
If you refuse to defend your civilization, you are disarming your nation. The
West is a civilization shared by a number of groups, which are mainly the
products of Judeo-Christian values. If a nation does not know its identity, how
can it defend itself? If a nation renounces its value systems, its traditions,
its historical religion, and its heritage, it implicitly accepts changing its
population, identity and religion.
"[B]y launching barbaric jihadist attacks -- such as Bataclan, Charlie Hebdo,
London, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Berlin, or the July 14 Nice attacks --
radical Islamists in fact aim to induce hostility toward Muslims and provoke a
clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, to motivate Muslims to separate from
their non-Muslim environment and de-assimilate." — Alexandre del Valle.
Alexandre del Valle is a French author specializing in geopolitics.
Grégoire Canlorbe: What do we know, please, about the Islamization of Europe?
Alexandre del Valle: The Islamization of countries such as Belgium, France, the
United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, or the Netherlands has, in my view, reached a
critical threshold, perhaps even a point of no return. The reasons are at once
demographic, cultural, and ideological. These recent minorities have not only
reached a significant numerical weight; they also have much higher fertility
rates. Above all, for the past twenty years or so, there has been not only a
failure of assimilation, but a form of de-assimilation among populations that,
until then, had seemed assimilated.
One of the great successes of Islamist movements appears to have been to
convince much of the third generation of Muslim families to break with
assimilation. Many of that generation were beginning to become more integrated
than their parents or grandparents. They had begun to adopt some codes of
European societies: freedom of individuals, freedom of movement, separation
between religion and politics, sometimes even emotional and sexual freedom. You
could see young Muslim women dating Christians, atheists, or non-Muslims.
For a number of years, though, you can see a retreat, particularly during
conversations on "Islamophobia." Islamists, often with the support -- or
complacency -- of many on the "left," have managed to instill in many Muslims a
mentality of mistrust, sometimes verging on paranoia, leading them to believe
that they are surrounded by enemies -- that the non-Muslim society is
fundamentally hostile to them, and that they must therefore not join it. In what
turned out to be a bestseller in France, The Strategy of Intimidation, I
explained that by launching barbaric jihadist attacks -- such as Bataclan,
Charlie Hebdo, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Berlin, or the July 14 Nice
attacks -- radical Islamists in fact aim to induce hostility toward Muslims and
provoke a clash between Muslims and non-Muslims, to motivate Muslims to separate
from their non-Muslim environment and de-assimilate.
This strategy has been most effective. Islamic terrorism produces criticism of
Islamism. The Islamists then say that the criticism is proof that they are
victims of Islamophobia. Young people who were assimilated, or at least
interested, are encouraged to withdraw voluntarily into an isolated Islamic
community. This community then functions as a counter-society against Western
society, which is perceived as harmful, decadent, "Islamophobic," or "racist."
In this framework, withdrawal—whether it involves a veil, marrying only within
one's religion, Muslim clothing excluded by non-Muslims from everyday life, or
abstention from some democratic activities -- is then presented as a condition
of survival in the face of a small minority community supposedly being oppressed
by a large majority.
There is now a discourse in these Muslim communities that suggests it might be
best if they separated themselves from the rest of society. The separation is
being presented as a demand for protection, a right to difference, or even a
right to reparations in the face of the supposedly "racist" attitude of Western
society. The discourse presents Western society as diabolically secular,
anti-religious, perverse, Islamophobic, and, of course, Zionist. In this
narrative, Christians are often described as the accomplices of Jews or Zionists
-- a view that further reinforces the hostility toward the host society and the
wish to separate from it.
Canlorbe: Is this Islamization spontaneous?
del Valle: Often it is not spontaneous. There are networks that organize
Islamization – it seems, mainly of three kinds. The first network consists of
Islamist movements themselves. These may be transnational organizations, such as
the Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistani Tabligh, the Barelvi or Deobandi movements,
the Europe-based Turkish movement Milli Görüş, or Salafist currents. Those
networks are supported by associations, foundations, mosques, Islamic centers --
and also by states.
Some states play an extremely direct role in this process: Turkey, Qatar and
Pakistan, among others. They sometimes act openly, sometimes through religious,
diplomatic, consular, or associative intermediaries. Often Muslim states,
transnational Islamist organizations, and international institutions converge
into what appears to be the three major poles of re-Islamization.
The institutions involved include the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
which brings together 57 Muslim states and promotes an international Islamic
order. One can also mention ISESCO, the Islamic counterpart of UNESCO. These
structures help to spread a narrative that by adapting to Western culture,
Muslims who have immigrated to Europe are betraying their parents, their
religion and their ancestors. Muslims are told that their parents already began
this betrayal by integrating, and that their dignity requires a form of
redemption: becoming fully Muslim again, re-Islamizing themselves, and claiming
a form of sharia adapted to Muslim minorities in Europe. This narrative not only
tries to adapt sharia to Europe, but tries to push Europe to adapt to sharia.
The process is made clear in two books by Bat Ye'or: Islam and Dhimmitude: Where
Civilizations Collide, or her other major work on dhimmitude, The Dhimmi: Jews
and Christians Under Islam.
The second network is not Muslim; it is a new, Marxist "far left." Out of hatred
for the West, Jews and Israel, many seem to see radical Islam as an instrument
for destabilizing and eradicating Western societies. Complicity with Islam
appears to stem from their hostility to Jews, "Zionists" -- meaning Jews -- and
Judeo-Christian values such as individual merit, opportunity, free-market
economies, democratic self-rule as opposed to top-down rule by a government or
religious decree, and so on. In this revolutionary logic, Islam is perceived as
a force of rupture capable of shaking -- and eventually displacing -- Western,
democratic, Judeo-Christian states. Marxist, Third-Worldist, and pro-Palestinian
circles see this political pressure as a lever to confront the established
order, with a view to revolution.
The third network is more diffuse but just as important: it is the dominant
current within Western societies themselves, shaped by "political correctness."
Out of fear of conflict, fear of not getting votes, or Western postcolonial
guilt, many Europeans conveniently manage not to see the Muslim colonization of
Turkey, Egypt, Albania, Kashmir, Cyprus and Israel. The last is where Jews have
lived for nearly 4000 years and are therefore the indigenous population. Muslims
did not even exist until the seventh century.
This capitulation affects both the left and the right. Sometimes, simply out of
a desire to buy peace in their neighborhoods, Western elites accommodate
Islamist demands. Local elected officials, confronted with "difficult"
neighborhoods, come to implicit agreements with a community's representatives
just in order to preserve a form of peace. That appeasement is sometimes known
as a "pax islamica": a momentary peace in the hope of avoiding the cost of
escalating demands and even more concessions – which usually come soon enough,
anyway.
These three networks — the Islamist, the alliance with the Marxist "far left,"
and a misguided, Western political correctness — allow Islam to advance by
peaceful means, such as proselytizing, infiltrating, lobbying, revising
education, legal pressure, political pressure, and community demands. What the
great Islamic invasions failed to accomplish between the 7th and 15th centuries,
Islam is achieving today through immigration, demography, ideological influence,
and institutional conquest.
The great expert on Islam, Bernard Lewis, spoke of a third great wave of
Islamization. We are witnessing it today not only in Europe but also in Africa
and, gradually, in Canada, the United States, Venezuela, and Brazil. Across the
West as a whole, the interweaving of Islam, the far left, and political
correctness is successfully advancing the entrenchment of Islam.
We are, in fact, creating "extraterritorial mini-caliphates." This does not
necessarily mean imagining that all of Europe will be transformed into a
caliphate, but rather that many areas may cease to be culturally European. Many
of England's major cities now have Muslim mayors who are working to advance the
cause of Islam. New York, in the US, just elected a Muslim mayor who seems
deliberately to be accumulating a rather spotty record when it comes to the
different religions of his constituents. US President Donald Trump has spoken of
"civilizational erasure." He is absolutely right. In some neighborhoods marked
by massive immigration, entire zones become at once Arab-African and Islamic,
with their own norms, codes, courts, and informal authorities.
This process is difficult to curb. The more the number of Muslims influenced by
Islam increases, the more a pattern of self-reinforcement develops: marriages
only within the group, family reunification, meaning the arrival of cousins,
spouses, in-laws, or other extended family members. Pierre Brochand, former
director of France's DGSE [Directorate-General for External Security] from 2002
to 2008, noted that Islamic immigration eventually becomes self-sustaining.
Many Islamists tell Muslims in Europe that their presence in a non-Muslim
country can be justified only on two conditions. First, they must re-Islamize in
order to protect themselves from the supposedly harmful influence of the
unbelieving societies. Second, they must contribute to expanding the Muslim
community until it one day becomes dominant. In this mindset, living in Europe
becomes acceptable only if one works to transform it gradually into an Islamized
space.
In Europe, therefore, the more numerous Muslims influenced by Islam become, the
more they seek to bring in other Muslims, who are then supervised by imams,
associations, and re-Islamization networks. European laws on family
reunification, religious freedom, and immigration facilitate this dynamic.
Beyond some threshold, the increase ceases to be circumstantial: it becomes
structural, cumulative, and self-sustaining.
Canlorbe: What then happens to national interests such as immigration policy or
foreign policy?
del Valle: A great mistake of the Western elites seems to have been to reduce
"national interests" only to material interests. Many in the West appear to have
believed that democracy and human rights would seduce all of humanity. They
passed over in silence the dimensions of religion and ethnic values of the West
— its shared culture, language and history, and its anchoring in Judeo-Christian
priorities—in order to present democracy and human rights as a model exportable
to the entire world.
These elites may have believed that they could ensure the economic and political
dominion of the Judeo-Christian West through exporting an abstract "West"
belonging theoretically to everyone and empty of all ethical or religious
content.
The West ended up believing its own lie -- through the media, advertising,
universities, schools, popular culture, radio, and television -- it spread this
vision of the West within its own space and among its own population. It forgot
that this view might collide with the views of others.
Much of the West no longer thinks of itself in cultural, religious, or
civilizational terms. It thinks of itself rhapsodically as a space that is open
to all ethnicities and religions, reduced to individual rights, democracy, and
consumption -- and capable of extending over the entire world.
Much of the West also no longer believes in its own civilization; many no longer
even believe it is a civilization. Under these circumstances, how could it be
capable of pursuing a policy of defense of Western civilization and the
Judeo-Christian heritage?
This loss of self-awareness might explain some serious strategic errors. If one
believes that Europe has neither religion, history, shared values nor
civilization, then Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, or Turkey can appear
merely as economic partners. Their investments, buildings, football clubs, and
financial power are noticed; their ideological and religious roles are
overlooked.
If the West had preserved a vision of itself as a civilization, it could have
maintained economic relations with these countries while prohibiting any
religious interference. It could have said clearly: "We cooperate, but you do
not finance the Islamization of our territories." The West, having stopped
seeing itself as a civilization, allowed Islamist powers to finance mosques,
associations, and networks of influence on its own soil.
The intelligence services were often immensely disconcerted by this
indifference: they saw political authorities tolerate, for decades, the action
of Islamist networks in suburbs and sensitive neighborhoods in the name of
economic or diplomatic partnership.
If you refuse to defend your civilization, you are disarming your nation. The
West is a civilization shared by a number of groups, which are mainly the
products of Judeo-Christian values. If a nation does not know its identity, how
can it defend itself? If a nation renounces its value systems, its traditions,
its historical religion, and its heritage, it implicitly accepts changing its
population, identity and religion.
National interests cannot be defended without being aware of who we are and what
we stand for. Without knowing that, there can be no defense.
*Grégoire Canlorbe, a journalist, currently lives in Paris. He has conducted
interviews for journals such as Man and the Economy, founded by Nobel
Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase, and think tanks such as Mises Institute
and Gatestone Institute. Contact: gregoire.canlorbe@wanadoo.fr
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22688/islamization-of-the-west
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Who will win Trump’s ear for reshaping confrontation
with Iran?
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya English/July 26/2026
Something fundamental is emerging in the evolution of US foreign policy
manifested in realigning with allies and in systematically engaging competitors.
The main architect is Secretary of State Marco Rubio and leaders in the military
establishment who are redrawing the landscape of a Middle East free of Iran’s
hegemony.This would be a pivotal shift in American policy towards Iran born in
the 1979 Revolution, as it will put an end to the systematic American support of
this regime by consecutive American presidents, Republicans and Democrats,
regardless of appearances of animosity.
A critical dimension of the confrontation between the United States and Iran is
unfolding inside Donald Trump’s own administration, where two competing visions
compete. One whose principle is making a deal primarily for financial gains and
seeks to revive the memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Iran. The other is a
vision of traditional policy-making based on national security whose upholders
argue that returning to the old bargaining framework would squander a rare
opportunity to redraw the strategic balance across the Middle East and beyond.
The decisive question, therefore, is not merely what Iran will do next but whose
counsel Donald Trump will ultimately heed. For the moment, the camp of
strategists is winning the argument, but the inherent temptation for deals and
money which colors Trump’s personality could upstage the traditional argument
for national security. The power of friends and family is not to be
underestimated particularly that of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner appointed as
personal envoys of the American president to the most challenging conflicts-
Iran and Ukraine. This duo continues to believe that diplomacy can still be
salvaged and that some form of understanding with Tehran remains achievable
despite the collapse of earlier assumptions.
Their calculation is that military pressure should ultimately serve as leverage
for negotiations, allowing Trump to present himself as the architect of peace
rather than the president who led America into another prolonged Middle Eastern
war. They are dismissive of warnings that all factions of the regime adhere to
the doctrine of Iran, be it the so called pragmatists or the radicals lead by
the Revolutionary Guard currently ruling Iran. They trust they will make major
oil and financial deals with the rulers in Tehran, be it by arrangements for
Hormuz Strait or otherwise.
The Witkoff-Kushner axis is joined by Vice President JD Vance who seems
dismissive of the reputation of failure associated with this duo in resolving
major conflicts primarily that between Russia and Ukraine. Both also suffer the
reputation of distrust by friends and foes alike. So far, they are tactical
winners and strategic losers. And Donald Trump is rather angry nowadays and is
personally dissatisfied. In the opposing camp is Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
backed by influential voices throughout the national security establishment, the
military leadership, and the intelligence community. Important to note that
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff Dan
Caine are leaders in this camp as well as head of the Central Intelligence
Agency John Ratcliffe who serves as the Director of the CIA.
Their argument is that the Iranian challenge can no longer be reduced to uranium
enrichment alone. Years of negotiations demonstrated that isolating the nuclear
dossier while leaving Iran’s missile program, the Revolutionary Guard Corps and
its regional proxy network untouched merely allowed Tehran to recover, regroup,
and expand its influence.This camp does not necessarily advocate an unlimited
military campaign. Rather, it believes that the United States possesses a
strategic opportunity that may not come again: To translate its overwhelming
military superiority into a broader political restructuring of the regional
environment that enabled the IRGC to project power from Iraq to Syria, Lebanon,
and Yemen. The struggle between these two camps is far more than a bureaucratic
disagreement. It reflects two fundamentally different visions of America’s
future role in the Middle East. One seeks to manage Iran through another
negotiated arrangement capable of temporarily modifying its behavior. The other
seeks to dismantle the regional architecture that allowed the IRGC to entrench
itself across multiple Arab states.
Between these competing visions stands Donald Trump, reserving the final
decision for himself while listening to whoever can most persuasively argue that
their strategy offers both victory and political advantage, as well as financial
benefits.
Trump, however, is not making this decision in a vacuum. A profound reassessment
is taking place throughout the American national security establishment
following the failures exposed by the incomplete war with Iran and the flawed
assumptions that shaped the understandings that followed it.
Early American concessions in the MoU convinced Tehran that Washington feared
continuing the confrontation more than Iran feared its consequences. Iran’s
subsequent handling of the Strait of Hormuz reinforced that perception,
demonstrating that what had been intended as a mechanism to reduce tensions
instead became another opportunity for the IRGC to accumulate additional
leverage.
Once the Trump Administration realized it has made a terrible mistake in the MoU
and its consequences, American policy—although not yet fully consolidated—began
shifting away from crisis management toward the systematic erosion of Iran’s
strategic capabilities. Reimposing maritime pressure, denying Tehran effective
control over the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining military options against critical
infrastructure and IRGC leadership, and confronting Iran’s network of proxies
which built its regional influence- those are no longer separate initiatives.
They are components of a single strategic framework whose success will
ultimately depend on whether Trump maintains this course or returns to another
flawed agreement that grants Tehran relief before extracting a strategic price.
Marco Rubio is keen on extracting a strategic price as well as on the strategy
of reengineering the relationship with European allies, and one that invites
foes like China to be a partner in such tasks as freedom of navigation in the
Hormuz Strait. This is a cornerstone of the wider strategy he hopes will get the
president’s ear and endorsement.
This transformation inside Washington coincides with an equally significant
evolution in the Arab Gulf strategic thinking, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh continues to reject war with Iran and remains committed to diplomacy. Yet
it no longer believes that avoiding war by itself guarantees security. Saudi
Arabia is not alone in changing course towards Tehran whose rulers showed their
real colors and intentions towards Arab Gulf states.The Iranian systematic
attacks on Arab Gulf states and Jordan, threats to maritime navigation, and
repeated pressure against vital infrastructure has demonstrated that
accommodating Tehran does not eliminate its capacity for coercion, nor its
intent to revenge from the Arab Gulf states. It’s not merely a matter of
coercion but also a matter of utter hatred of the vision embraced by leaders
such as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the future of the Arab
region.
It became clearer that as long as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen remain
embedded within Iran’s network of influence, the Gulf will continue to face
strategic vulnerabilities that can be activated whenever regional tensions
escalate. This is now well understood by policy makers in the US, Europe and the
Middle East.Saudi Arabia’s objective today is not to replace diplomacy with
confrontation but to move beyond merely managing risk toward reshaping the
strategic environment that produces that risk in the first place.
An essential part of the strategy is expanding American-Saudi partnership across
defense, advanced technology, energy, economic corridors, and civilian nuclear
cooperation. The emerging nuclear agreement between Washington and Riyadh
reflects the depth of that strategic investment, even as Donald Trump has sought
to link its implementation to Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords. Riyadh
continues to insist that normalization with Israel remains tied to meaningful
progress toward Palestinian statehood. But it is encouraging for the Saudi
leadership to watch the American president force Israel to commit to full
withdrawal from Lebanon cementing that it does not harbor territorial claims to
Lebanon. It’s a game changer.
A similar pressure towards a declared commitment that Israel will reverse its
utter rejection of a Palestinian state will help pave the way to ushering Saudi
Arabia into the Abraham Accords which leads to normalization with Israel.
Trump’s tendency to personalize foreign policy and reduce strategic
relationships to immediate transactional bargains could collide with Saudi
Arabia’s preference for a longer-term regional framework built upon durable
strategic interests rather than short-term political exchanges.
But if President Donald Trump is committed to the emerging landscape of a
reduced regime in Tehran beyond mere containment, reversing a four-decade
American tradition of enabling the regime- including through wars such as George
W Bush’s war on Iraq- and if he is serious in reducing Israel’s expansionist
ambitions, Donald Trump would indeed be the architect of the new Middle East.
This depends on who succeeds to win Trump to his side in the battle between the
deal-makers of family and friends and the strategists for American national
security.
Is Elon Musk anti-Muslim?
Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al Arabiya English/July 26/2026
Is Elon Musk anti-Muslim? The answer to that question is, of course, no. Anyone
familiar with Elon Musk’s life and career knows that he is far removed from
religious or racial prejudice. His companies employ people from a wide range of
religious and ethnic backgrounds, and there is no evidence that he discriminates
against any particular race or religion. We do not know of a single person who
has been persecuted by Musk because of their race or faith.
In an interview with The Economist, Musk was asked a similar question because he
frequently raises sensitive issues related to immigration, cultural integration,
and Western civilization. These topics are uncomfortable for many political and
intellectual circles, and many people avoid discussing them for fear of being
accused of racism, ethnic superiority, or extremism.
But let us examine the main issues he talks about.
When it comes to immigration, Musk has consistently opposed illegal immigration.
If that position is considered racist, then all of us would have to be
considered racists. Every country has the right to protect its borders, and
those who wish to immigrate should follow legal pathways for entry and
residency.
On the issue of cultural integration, Musk has spoken about extremist Islamist
groups that seek to isolate Muslims in the West from integrating into their new
societies. What exactly is extremist about raising that concern? It is a point
we have made repeatedly ourselves. Islamist organizations, both Sunni and Shia,
operating in Europe and North America are dangerous because they encourage
extremism and hatred. They build intellectual and psychological barriers around
Muslim communities, leading to their isolation from the societies they have
joined. We know of extremist figures who fled Gulf countries and Egypt only to
continue inciting hostility against those same countries from London, New York,
and Montreal under the claim that they are defending Islam. In other words, they
carried the microbes of hatred with them from East to West. Nor did they stop
there. From their new countries, and through social media platforms, including
X, they continue to promote hatred and violence. When Musk speaks about this, he
is not saying anything new. It is a reality many people already recognize. That
does not make him hostile to Islam as a religion. Rather, he is critical of
extremists who have multiplied under the banner of multiculturalism, as though
society should simply allow them to spread hateful ideas among Muslim children
because challenging them would supposedly interfere with their culture or limit
their freedoms.
When Musk talks about Western culture and its values, he is not calling for a
civilizational or cultural clash. He is referring to principles such as
tolerance, coexistence, integration, respect for human rights and women’s
rights, respect for the rule of law, and freedom of thought. These are the
values of modern civilization. While they first emerged in Europe during the
Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and later the modern era, they have since
evolved into universal values embraced across the world, including in the United
States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and many other countries. Belief in these
principles is essential for progress and successful integration into today’s
developed world, and there is nothing inherently incompatible about them and
Islam. Values such as tolerance and coexistence are found throughout the Quran,
and the golden age of Arab and Islamic civilization was built on learning,
philosophy, and tolerance. Of course, the world has advanced since then. Freedom
of thought has expanded, and we have entered the age of artificial intelligence.
Yet, at the same time, some scenes in London’s public squares can appear to
belong more to the Middle Ages than the twenty-first century. In fact, Musk
often criticizes what he sees as excesses within modern Western culture,
including same-sex marriage, gender transition, and what he calls “wokeism.” In
that respect, he is actually closer to the views of many Muslims, as he
advocates for marriage and the preservation of traditional family values. In
that sense, he represents a more traditional form of Enlightenment thinking.
What Elon Musk says is not only correct, but also useful. We need people who are
willing to speak candidly, rather than politicians who exploit Muslim
communities for electoral gain by reinforcing narratives of persecution and
conspiracy to manipulate emotions, or intellectuals and journalists who prefer
to portray themselves as noble defenders and moral heroes while the underlying
problems continue to spread unchecked.
There are, of course, genuine anti-Muslim voices in the West, and they are
themselves extremists and racists. They feed off the rhetoric of extremist
leaders who distort the image of Islam. The best way to weaken these anti-Muslim
extremists is to weaken the influence of Islamist extremists, remove the
authority to define Islam from groups such as the Taliban, Hezbollah, the Muslim
Brotherhood, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and extremist ideologues in both
the East and the West, and instead promote the values of tolerance, coexistence,
and freedom of thought. These are the very same values that Elon Musk advocates.
The Snake, Hamas, and Political Islam
Ahmed Al-Sarraf/Al-Qabas/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
There is a prevailing belief that the term "political Islam" is unique to the
world, and that there is no "political Christianity," "political Judaism," or
even political Buddhism or Hinduism. Rather, there are only parties with
religious and political names. Consequently, the term "political Islam," common
in all spheres of discourse, pertains to Islamic states and societies, and is
often used to refer to Islamic or fundamentalist groups that are extremist,
radical, or armed. Westerners use this term to highlight the tendency of these
extremist or Salafist groups toward extremism and violence. What these people
forget is that medieval churches in Europe represented the supreme political
authority during that period, and their control was only dismantled after the
French Revolution. They were, in fact, fundamentalist and rigid in their
ideology.
Furthermore, some American presidents, religious figures, and others have had,
and continue to have, tendencies or beliefs that they are divinely appointed.
The Jews of Israel also worked to make it Jewish in identity, and to that end
they waged dozens of religious and racist wars, committing all kinds of violence
and crimes against the original inhabitants of the land. All of this qualified
them to be representatives of "political Judaism," just as there was, before and
after it, "political Christianity."
"Political Islam" has not been embodied in any movement or organization as it
has been in the Muslim Brotherhood, whose primary and ultimate goal, in every
country where they have been present, including all Western countries, has been
to seize power. It was therefore unsurprising that the newly elected head of
Hamas's political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, limited himself to thanking Iran, the
Houthis, Hezbollah, and some armed factions in Iraq for providing weapons and
bloodshed in support of Hamas, which itself emerged from the very heart of the
Muslim Brotherhood. He completely, and perhaps deliberately, omitted thanking
the State and people of Kuwait, for example, despite the fact that, based on my
experience of nearly seventy years, Kuwait was among the first to stand with the
Palestinian cause from day one. Neither I, nor tens of thousands of others, have
ever hesitated to sympathize with the cause and subsequently contribute
financially to its support, following the example of the generosity of the
Kuwaiti people and our successive governments since the mid-1950s and even
earlier. We have also witnessed this from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and
others. So, what explains this oversight? Especially since Brother Haniyeh is
not a naive politician to be swayed by such extremely dangerous matters, known
to every Palestinian. Therefore, he did not act arbitrarily, but rather, most
likely, maliciously, in a clear attempt to erase all our previous stances,
claiming that what we did was "forced." This comes at the same time that Iran,
to whom he expressed his sincere gratitude, is sending its destructive missiles
and deadly drones to our desalination plants, airports, border crossings, power
stations, and homes. Furthermore, it is instructing its proxies in Iraq to
threaten us with invasion and aggression, which has recently become almost a
daily occurrence. There is not enough space to mention the rest of Iran's crimes
against the other countries in the region. We reiterate, Haniyeh's actions did
not come out of nowhere. Behind them lies their pursuit, as Muslim Brotherhood
members, of ruling Arab states, especially the Gulf states, to serve their
expansionist projects. This aligns with the goal for which the Muslim
Brotherhood movement was founded, and perhaps the name of the movement's new
leader did not come from nowhere!
The classification of Al-Ibyari... the London-based Muslim Brotherhood member
Mishari Al-Zaydi/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July 26, 2026 (Google translation from
Arabic)
The red necks of fire stretch and tremble in the wilderness of the East and the
trees of our region, kindled and ignited whenever they are about to be
extinguished by the lovers of fire. Those who are accustomed to inhaling smoke,
riding evil, and worshipping in the sanctuaries of sedition are not only the
priests of the epic regime in Iran. On the other side, embracing the Khomeini
side, there is the (Muslim Brotherhood) group, from which Khomeini himself was
originally inspired, as were some of his peers such as Navvab Safavi, and his
disciples such as the Supreme Leader Khamenei, the lover and translator of
Sayyid Qutb. The vast majority of the Muslim Brotherhood is aligned with Iran,
and any current disagreements within the Brotherhood, however heated or
contentious, are merely superficial. But that's another, more painful,
discussion. We've witnessed Brotherhood alignments with the Iranian
fundamentalist revolutionary regime on numerous occasions, involving prominent
figures such as Rached Ghannouchi, Mahdi Akef, Hassan al-Turabi, Ismail Haniyeh,
and now Khalil al-Hayya in his first speech after being appointed head of Hamas.
In this context, the Trump administration's move against the Muslim Brotherhood
was significant and decisive. The US Treasury Department recently announced
sanctions against Brotherhood members, most notably Mahmoud al-Ibiary, a
prominent leader in the group's international organization and head of its
financial network, who resides in Britain, as well as affiliated entities in
Indonesia, Turkey, and Gaza, on charges of providing financial and logistical
support to Hamas. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Mounir Adib, a
researcher specializing in extremist groups, stated that “Al-Ibyari holds the
position of Secretary-General of the International Organization, the highest
authority within the organization.” He leads what is known as the London branch
of the Muslim Brotherhood, vis-à-vis the Istanbul branch. This move by the Trump
administration came as part of a new national counterterrorism strategy that
focused primarily on the Muslim Brotherhood as the intellectual source of modern
“jihadist terrorism.” Furthermore, the direction of American policy against the
Brotherhood’s presence and influence is linked to a broader Western approach.
Last January, a majority in the French parliament approved the European
Commission’s call to add the Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders to the list of
terrorist organizations. What about Britain, which has a very special and early
relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? Are not al-Ibyari and his
associates enjoying considerable influence and control from their base in
Britain? Furthermore, countries like Germany, Switzerland, and others have
served, and perhaps still serve, as active platforms for Muslim Brotherhood
activity across the globe, particularly in the Arab world. Confronting the
ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, both its intellectual and cunning aspects,
is a crucial step towards escaping the traps of futile socio-political and
cultural warfare. Simultaneously, it proves beneficial in the political and
intellectual battle against the other, subversive wing of political Islam: the
Khomeiniist wing in all its diverse forms.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on 26 July/2026