English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For July 29/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by
him who sits upon it
Matthew 23/16-22/”Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone
swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the
temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the
gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears
by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the
altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift
or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears
by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and
by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of
God and by him who sits upon it.
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on 28-29 July/2026
He Who Rolls a Stone, It Will Roll Back on Him … A Faith Reflection on
God’s Justice and the Harvest of Human Deeds/Elias Bejjani/July 27/2026
New Round of Israel-Lebanon Talks Set for August 4
Israel’s Yellow Line, a Shifting Edge of War Pushing Gazans from Home
Lebanon, Israel to discuss peace, security agreement next week: US official
Residents return to a southern Lebanese village after a US-brokered agreement
Lebanon's Health Ministry says death toll from Israeli attacks rises to 4,333
UNIFIL says it discovered 4,000 kilograms of ammonium nitrate in South Lebanon
Lebanese-German identified as suspect in Germany ramming attack: What happened?
From Iraq to Tripoli: Lebanon eyes a new role in the regional energy map
Miss Lebanon Perla Harb departs for Vietnam to compete in Miss World 2026
The Opportunity to Rebuild the State/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Troubled Diplomacy... An Impossible State/Brigadier General Khaled Hamadeh/Al-Liwaa/July
28/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on 28-29 July/2026
Hundreds gather to honor late US Senator Lindsey Graham at Capitol
Netanyahu’s First Meeting with Trump Since Iran War Began Is Chance to Mend Ties
Netanyahu meets Trump at White House as they seek to bridge differences over
Iran
Israel says US bombers used its bases to strike Iran
Iran proposes temporary Hormuz plan giving itself greater control over transit
lines
UN official alarms Security Council over rising Israeli settler attacks in West
Bank
Saudi Arabia says its forces downed drones launched by Iran-backed Iraqi groups
Iran war deal to have no fees, no tolls for passage through Strait of Hormuz: US
official
US, UAE announce first bilateral military AI task force
Yemen's Houthis say targeted Saudi tanker in Red Sea
Ukraine FM says he warned Iranian counterpart against escalation, support for
Russia
Zelenskyy says discussed Patriot air defenses, Russia talks in ‘good’ Trump
meeting
New Trump admin rule to speed up deportations of asylum seekers
Iran Hangs Two Anti-Government Protesters in Public
Saudi Arabia Says It Intercepted and Destroyed Drones Launched from Iraqi
Territory
Gulf, Arab States Condemn Attempted Drone Attack against Saudi Arabia
Analysts: Houthis’ Future Tied to Iran’s Fate, Solution Begins With Restoring
the State
EU Condemns Iran 'Aggression' against French Diplomats
Jordan Army Says It Downed Drone in Eastern Desert
Tensions Rise between Locals, Israeli Forces in Syria’s Yarmouk Basin
Oman presents Iran with Gulf-backed plan for voluntary fees to use Hormuz
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on 28-29 July/2026
The US military must RACE to rebuild its supply of munitions/Bradley
Bowman and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery/New York Post/July 28, 2026
A 'Respected' Medical Journal's War Against Doctors/Gerald M. Steinberg/Gatestone
Institute/July 28, 2026
US Treasury sanctions Turkish Hamas financiers as Erdogan presses for F-35s/Sinan
Ciddi and Tyler Stapleton/FDD's Long War Journal/July 28/2026
The Middle East Moves Toward a Multifront Maritime War/Bridget Toomey and Behnam
Ben Taleblu/FDD-Policy Brief/July 28/2026
Oil Is the Key/Hussein Shobokshi/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Syria Poised for a Major Role/Fayez Sara/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 28 July/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on 28-29 July/2026
He Who Rolls a Stone, It Will Roll Back on Him … A
Faith Reflection on God’s Justice and the Harvest of Human Deeds
Elias Bejjani/July 27/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/148087/
The Holy Bible teaches us that God is love, but He is also a God of justice and
holiness. Throughout life’s journey, many people believe they can hurt others,
wrong them, or slander them without facing the consequences of their actions.
Yet God’s Word clearly teaches that a person reaps what he sows, and that evil
can never be a path to true peace or happiness. This reflection is a call to
examine ourselves, choose the path of love and goodness, and remember that
whatever we do to others will return to us in one way or another, because God’s
justice neither fails nor disappears.
There is no doubt that human life follows one of two paths: the path of good or
the path of evil, each carrying deep spiritual, human, and practical meaning.
Every person, regardless of social status, education, or wealth, must choose
which path to follow and accept full responsibility for that choice, remembering
that no one can escape the consequences of his deeds, whether good or evil,
because God’s justice is perfect and never makes mistakes.
If you are a righteous and wise person who fears God in your words and actions
and believes in the Day of Judgment, then you must understand that evil brings
only destruction to its owner. True wisdom is found in fearing God, controlling
oneself, and avoiding injustice and harm. Every word you speak and every deed
you do will leave a mark that will return to you sooner or later.
But if you harden your heart, blind your spiritual sight, kill the grace of
shame within you, close your ears to the truth, and silence your
conscience—which is God’s voice within you—remember that the pain you plant in
the lives of others will one day knock on the door of your own life. God’s
judgment may seem delayed, but it never expires and never escapes the watchful
eyes of God.
The Bible confirms this truth in the Book of Proverbs: “Whoever digs a pit will
fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will roll back on him” (Proverbs
26:27).
The Apostle Paul also says: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever
a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
As a Lebanese proverb says: “You will surely drink from the same cup that you
made others drink from.”
How many proud and foolish people ignore this obvious truth! They plot evil,
rejoice in harming others, and imagine that cruelty gives them power or
prestige. Yet in the end, they reap nothing but the ruin of their own lives, the
loss of inner peace, and the destruction of their souls.
In contrast, Christ calls us to a completely different path—the path of love,
forgiveness, and mercy. He says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and
persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). A true believer does not seek revenge or return
evil for evil. Instead, he leaves judgment to God, who knows the secrets of
every heart and rewards each person according to his deeds.
All of us encounter people who make hurting others their goal, hatred their
method, and gossip and slander their way of life. They hurt even those closest
to them because they have lost the grace of conscience and exchanged mercy for
hatred and love for envy.
Let us pray that God grants those who walk in the paths of evil, hatred, and
blind jealousy the grace of repentance and a return to the truth before it is
too late. May they come to understand that whoever digs a pit for another will
fall into it himself, whoever rolls a stone against another will have it roll
back upon him, and whoever gives others a cup of bitterness will one day taste
its bitterness himself.
As for those who reject repentance and persist in evil and injustice, caring
neither for God nor for His commandments, let them remember that divine judgment
is real and that every person will one day stand before the Lord to give an
account for every word, every deed, and every intention.
Let us always remember that life is governed by God’s perfect justice. What you
sow today, you will reap tomorrow. What you do to others will return to you in
one way or another. Therefore, as believers, let us sow love so that we may reap
peace, sow mercy so that we may receive mercy, and turn away from evil so that
we may walk in the light of God.
In conclusion, whoever rolls a stone to harm others will one day have that stone
roll back upon him. But whoever sows goodness and love will receive God’s
blessing, joy in the heart, and peace of conscience.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
New Round of Israel-Lebanon Talks Set for August 4
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
The US State Department confirmed Monday that the next round of talks between
Israel and Lebanon will be held in Rome on August 4 through 6, as Israel
prepares to withdraw from two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon. Italian Foreign
Minister Antonio Tajani first announced the next round of US-mediated talks last
week, with a State Department official detailing the talks to AFP on the
condition of anonymity. "In Rome, technical groups will focus on advancing the
full implementation of the framework agreement," the official told AFP, adding
that the planned discussion "includes expanding the pilot zone process,
resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace
and security agreement." The Israel-Lebanon framework deal emerged after war
broke out between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah on March 2,
against the backdrop of the wider Middle East war. It calls for an end to the
war in Lebanon, disarmament of the Lebanese movement, the deployment of Lebanese
troops in the south and for Israeli forces to steadily withdraw from the country
in two "pilot zones.""The experience of the initial zones will help us perfect
pilot-zone implementation so it can expand in a phased manner," the US official
added. Lebanon's army on Sunday condemned Israel's ongoing military operations
in the south of the country, arguing it was preventing its full deployment under
the framework deal. Beirut has reported intermittent Israeli strikes and
artillery shelling on the south despite the lull in fighting.
Israel’s Yellow Line, a Shifting Edge of War Pushing Gazans
from Home
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
On a road in Gaza City's Zeitoun district, Palestinian resident Assem Dawla
loaded mattresses and bags onto a truck as concrete yellow blocks marking the
edge of Israel's expanding military zone stood amid the rubble nearby. He said
it was the seventh or eighth time since the war began that he and his family had
been forced to leave a shelter because of Israeli evacuation orders and the
advance of what residents call the yellow line. Zeitoun is one of at least five
locations across Gaza where residents and Hamas officials say Israel has
expanded areas under its control in recent days by moving forward the yellow
line, a military demarcation established under a US-brokered ceasefire reached
in October. As men hoisted belongings onto a waiting truck, elderly relatives
picked their way through debris. Continued Israeli military activity made it too
dangerous to remain, Dawla said. "We are taking our belongings out and going to
leave the place because the occupation (Israel) has moved the yellow line all
the way to Salah al-Din Street," he said. With the
October ceasefire, President Donald Trump set out a peace plan for Gaza that
largely halted major fighting after two years of devastating Israeli war in Gaza
triggered by Hamas' attack on southern Israel. The plan called for a surge in
humanitarian aid, governance by a civilian Palestinian administration, the
disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the
deployment of an international force to help maintain security.
But progress has stalled. Israel effectively controlled an estimated 64% of Gaza
by late April. Nearly all of the territory's roughly 2 million residents are
concentrated in a narrow coastal area under Hamas control, living largely in
damaged buildings or makeshift shelters and facing dire humanitarian
conditions.
Hamas has so far refused to disarm, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said on May 28 that Israel intends to expand the area under its
control to 70% of the enclave. Israeli forces have continued near-daily
military strikes across Gaza.
WARNINGS VIA TEXT AND DRONES
Residents in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, Gaza City's Zeitoun, Tuffah and
Shejaia neighborhoods, as well as northern Rafah, told Reuters that Israeli
forces have advanced the yellow block markers during the past 10 days,
triggering new waves of displacement in areas already devastated by months of
conflict. At least seven people interviewed by Reuters said residents in some
affected areas received warnings via text messages or drone-mounted loudspeakers
before leaving once again. The Israeli military said its forces are deployed in
Gaza to protect Israel from attack and that the yellow line was being clearly
marked on the ground to reduce the risk of contact between troops and
civilians. The Israeli military’s "defensive posture in the area includes a
security zone, a physical barrier, intelligence capabilities, technological
means, and operational activity by troops," the military said. For many Gazans
ordered to move, the process has become painfully familiar: gathering whatever
survived the previous displacement — a few blankets, a cooking pot, a child's
schoolbag — and setting out, often after dark, for another area designated as
safe by the Israeli military.
MULTIPLE DISPLACEMENTS
Near the shattered remains of buildings in Zeitoun, Dawla's mother, Umm Sami,
limped through what was left of the family's property, collecting whatever could
still be salvaged. “Why am I leaving? They (Israeli army) became close, they put
the yellow line here. The day before, they struck there, and we left," she said.
Like most of Gaza's population, Dawla's family has been displaced multiple times
since the war began, rebuilding temporary shelters only to be ordered to move
again days or weeks later. In a statement issued on July 20, the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an Israeli
displacement order in Zeitoun forced 30 families from their tents, which
residents said were subsequently destroyed. As trucks carrying the remnants of
household lives rolled away and a child walked past yellow blocks protruding
from the wreckage, residents faced yet another uncertain journey. “The whole war
is displacement, displacement. You can't stay anywhere without (Israel) telling
you, ‘Get out of here, we want to come in,'" Dawla said.
Lebanon, Israel to discuss peace, security agreement
next week: US official
Al Arabiya English/28 July ,2026
The next round of US-led negotiations between Lebanon and Israel will take place
in Rome from Aug. 4 to 6, a State Department official said late Monday, as
Washington works to broaden a fragile process aimed at ending the state of war
between the two countries.
The official said the parties enter the discussions with significant momentum,
citing the launch of the first pilot zone in southern Lebanon and Lebanese
President Joseph Aoun’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House
last week. In Rome, technical groups will focus on advancing full implementation
of the framework agreement. That work includes expanding the pilot zone process,
resolving outstanding border issues, and moving toward a comprehensive peace and
security agreement between the two sides. The talks build on a trilateral
framework signed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States on June 26 after
several rounds of direct negotiations. Under the deal, the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF) is to assume sole security control of areas vacated by Israeli forces and
certify that they have been cleared of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure.
Lebanese troops began taking over the first three villages, Froun, Srifa and
Zawtar al-Gharbiya, on July 20, despite two of them not being occupied by
Israeli forces. The State Department official described the first pilot zone as
a concrete opportunity to deliver progress on the ground, restoring Lebanese
state authority through what the official called the verifiable disarmament of
terrorist organizations. Experience from the initial zones, the official added,
would help refine implementation so it can expand in a phased manner. Obstacles
remain. Israel has said its forces will stay in a security zone roughly six
miles deep along the frontier for as long as Hezbollah remains armed, and the
framework sets no timetable for a full withdrawal. Hezbollah has rejected the
arrangement. The State Department official called the trilateral framework the
only path to lasting peace, saying full implementation serves the interest of
both countries and that the Trump administration is committed to its success.
Residents return to a southern Lebanese village after a
US-brokered agreement
The Associated Press/28 July ,2026
Residents are returning to a largely destroyed village in southern Lebanon after
a US-brokered agreement opened the area to civilians as part of efforts to end
the latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. They are
finding shattered or blackened homes, with damage as intimate as a bullet-pocked
mirror or graffiti thought to be scrawled by Israeli forces. The turquoise roof
of a mosque’s minaret has been cracked. Mahasen Faqih and her husband, Mohammed
Sobeih, are among the few who have returned to Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, which was
damaged during the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group
based in southern Lebanon. Their home is uninhabitable, with collapsed ceilings
and shattered rooms, but the couple said they will live in their grocery store
until it is rebuilt. The US-brokered “pilot zones” agreed to in landmark direct
talks between Lebanon and Israel allows civilians and the Lebanese army to enter
the area. But Israeli military vehicles remained visible nearby, with a tank
churning up dust, and Israeli drones flew overhead, underscoring the fragile
situation. Uncertainty remains along Lebanon’s southern border after the
fighting that began shortly after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February,
as Hezbollah fired at Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground
forces.
Lebanon's Health Ministry says death toll from Israeli attacks rises to 4,333
LBCI/July 28/2026
Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center said the cumulative toll
from Israeli attacks has risen to 4,333 people killed and 12,236 wounded as of
July 28.
UNIFIL says it discovered 4,000 kilograms of ammonium
nitrate in South Lebanon
LBCI/July 28/2026
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it discovered nearly
4,000 kilograms of highly explosive ammonium nitrate earlier this month during a
routine search operation in the southern border town of Houla. In a statement,
UNIFIL said peacekeepers found 385 abandoned containers inside a building near
Houla on July 2 while conducting a routine inspection along a nearby road. The
containers held approximately 4,000 kilograms of explosive material, consisting
primarily of ammonium nitrate compounds. Following a thorough risk assessment,
UNIFIL's explosive ordnance disposal specialists carried out on-site procedures
to neutralize and render the materials safe, eliminating the threat posed by the
explosives.
Lebanese-German identified as suspect in Germany ramming
attack: What happened?
LBCI/July 28/2026
On Saturday, a Pride march was taking place in Berlin when a small truck drove
into the crowd, striking several participants. One woman was killed, and 29
people were injured. The driver fled the scene and disappeared before police
found him inside a cabin, where he was killed during an operation.But the
question remains: Who was he? His name was Abdul Ballout, 21. He was of Lebanese
origin from southern Lebanon but was born and raised in Germany. He dropped out
of school after the 10th grade and worked several jobs, including as a security
guard and a driver. His father described him as kind, emotional and “having the
heart of a child,” saying his son had been brainwashed. “Our family is Shiite
and does not support ISIS, but my son was sympathetic toward Sunnis, although he
considered the group to be bad,” his father said.This is Abdul Ballout’s story,
but it does not end there. Before the Berlin attack, there were already
questions surrounding his path. Abdul Ballout visited Lebanon in July 2025 and,
according to LBCI information, he was planning to join ISIS in Syria before
Lebanese authorities detained him on charges of belonging to the group. The
Military Court sentenced him on Oct. 15, 2025, to three months in prison. He was
later released on bail of LBP 800,000 and deported to Germany. There, in May
2026, he was convicted of preparing a violent and dangerous act that threatened
state security. However, the implementation of the sentence was postponed, and
Abdul Ballout was placed under the supervision of an officer responsible for
monitoring conditional releases. According to German media reports, he was
expected to soon attend a rehabilitation and counter-extremism session, but he
carried out the attack before attending the meeting. As a result, German
authorities are facing intense criticism over failing to imprison him and
allowing him to remain free. Ultimately, Abdul Ballout’s roots are Lebanese, but
his actions remain an individual responsibility and do not represent Lebanese
people in Germany or the nature of relations between the two countries.
From Iraq to Tripoli: Lebanon eyes a new
role in the regional energy map
LBCI/July 28/2026
Lebanon today faces a real opportunity in the energy sector, and the story
starts in Iraq. After the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. war
on Iran, Baghdad began working to diversify its oil export routes. It is also
planning to increase production from around 4.4 million barrels per day to
nearly 10 million, meaning it will need new outlets to export these additional
quantities. This is where Lebanon saw an opportunity and decided to secure a
role in the project. This was the issue discussed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam
with his Iraqi counterpart, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, in Baghdad on Sunday.
So, what was proposed?
Iraq has signed preliminary agreements with a consortium that includes U.S.
companies and a Qatari company to conduct technical and financial studies for
new oil export routes.
One of the key routes would start in Basrah, pass through Haditha and reach
Baniyas on the Syrian coast. From there, Lebanon proposed creating a branch of
this pipeline that would connect to the oil facilities in Tripoli, allowing the
country to become part of Iraq’s oil export network through the Mediterranean.
The proposal received a positive response from Iraq, and a joint committee was
formed to follow up on the issue. Lebanon’s energy minister also sent a letter
to his Iraqi counterpart requesting that a technical committee be dispatched to
inspect the Tripoli facilities and study the possibility of connecting them to
the project.
However, discussions were not limited to the pipeline.
The future of Tripoli’s oil facilities was also discussed, including the
possibility of rehabilitating them and establishing a new refinery to process
crude oil. The goal would be to meet Lebanon’s domestic needs first, and
eventually export if the project proves economically viable. In the short term,
Lebanon proposed benefiting from Iraqi fuel oil exports, which would be
transported by trucks to the Port of Tripoli, similar to the process through
Baniyas in Syria. The delegation said Tripoli’s facilities currently have the
capacity to receive around 150,000 tons, with the possibility of increasing
storage capacity by around 500,000 tons. It also proposed using the Zahrani
storage tanks if cooperation expands. According to LBCI sources, the Iraqi prime
minister asked his oil minister to explore ways for Lebanon to benefit from the
project, similar to Syria, as Iraq needs more than one outlet to the
Mediterranean, and any connection with Lebanon would necessarily pass through
Syria and require its approval. For this reason, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said
he would contact Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to emphasize that the
project could represent an opportunity for cooperation benefiting all sides. The
issue was a key part of the Salam-al-Zaidi talks, along with another file:
internet connectivity. Lebanon inquired about the possibility of laying
fiber-optic cables alongside the oil pipelines, allowing it to provide Iraq with
internet services and cooperate in the digital sector.A technical committee
between the two countries’ telecommunications ministries was also formed to
follow up on the issue. While these projects will not come to fruition
overnight, they represent an important foundational step. If the committees
succeed in their work, they could transform Tripoli into a regional hub for
energy and logistics services, securing Lebanon a role in a project that carries
significant economic opportunities in the coming years.
Miss Lebanon Perla Harb departs for Vietnam to compete in
Miss World 2026
LBCI/July 28/2026
Miss Lebanon 2025 Perla Harb will depart for Vietnam on August 9 to represent
Lebanon at the 75th edition of the Miss World pageant, marking the competition's
diamond jubilee. She is expected to return to Lebanon on September 6 following
the conclusion of the event.
Harb, 22, is from the southern village of Maamariyeh, near Sidon. She holds a
bachelor's degree in Banking and Finance and works as a professional model. She
was crowned Miss Lebanon on October 4, 2025, during a ceremony held at LBCI
studios, where she received the crown from outgoing titleholder Nada Koussa, who
reached the Top 20 semifinals at Miss World. Harb will compete alongside 115
contestants from around the world for the Miss World 2026 crown. As part of the
pageant's "Beauty With a Purpose" initiative, she will promote a campaign
focused on digital safety, raising awareness about online harassment and
violence against women and vulnerable communities. The competition will conclude
with the final on September 5, when reigning Miss World Suchata Chuangsri of
Thailand will crown her successor.
The Opportunity to Rebuild the State
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
The Washington summit between President Donald Trump and President Joseph Aoun
reaffirmed Lebanon’s path toward independence after decades of occupation and
subordination to an axis of destruction that exacted a staggering toll: mass
killing, systematic devastation on the scale of more than one Gaza, collective
displacement, economic collapse, aggravating poverty, and the loss of a
generation of skilled professionals and gifted youths.The summit opened the door
to a genuine restoration of the Lebanese state. It placed the recovery of
national territory at the center of the agenda: land came under direct Israeli
occupation, towns erased from the map, and the region south of the Litani River
emptied of its residents and rendered uninhabitable. It also confronted the
other source of Lebanon’s ruin: Iranian domination through Hezbollah that is
embodied above all in an illegal arsenal which turned villages and homes into
military sites, reducing their residents to human shields in the service of
Iran. The summit strengthened the case for direct negotiations. The premise is
clear: the real threats are occupation and Hezbollah’s grip on the country, not
negotiation itself. Direct talks offer Lebanon a path toward a stronger
relationship with the United States and the other international partnerships it
urgently needs. At the same time, the launch of the
“pilot zones” sets Israel’s withdrawal in motion. It may be gradual, but it
represents a break with open-ended occupation and the destruction of property.
The process also underscored the existence of American guarantees for
withdrawal, regardless of Israel’s maneuvering or the political and electoral
pressures facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The summit further raised the question of what Tehran may still try to do
through its proxy, even after the collapse of the “memorandum of understanding”
that had tied Lebanon’s fate to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s investment in Hezbollah is among its largest anywhere, in both funding
and weaponry. The network of tunnels built for missiles and drones in southern
Lebanon, an area transformed into a private Iranian sphere of influence, is said
to have cost more than $3 billion. None of that prevented its crushing defeat:
towns split apart, others were erased entirely, and tunnels destroyed one after
another. This reality places an enormous
responsibility on the Lebanese government. Lebanon must recover its south, and
the devastated communities of the south must be able to return home. Those
residents have every right to expect the state - and the state alone - to
guarantee their security and stability. The alternative is the continuation of
occupation. There is no sustainable middle ground.
The “framework agreement” makes Lebanon responsible for controlling its
territory and ending every parallel, illegitimate armed presence. Washington has
requested detailed disarmament plans and clear mechanisms of accountability.
The summit therefore put Lebanon’s commitments to the test: the government’s own
decisions, the ministerial statement that preceded them, the Taif Agreement,
constitution, and international resolutions requiring the surrender of illegal
weapons and the dismantling of the statelet’s parallel military, economic, and
financial structures.
David Schenker, a former US official, has warned that responsibility for
verifying whether the Lebanese Armed Forces fulfill their role in the “pilot
zones” will fall to US Central Command. Its task will be to ensure that the army
“imposes its authority over the areas Israel will evacuate, clearing them of
Hezbollah and its infrastructure.”In Beirut, and especially among the displaced,
serious questions are now being asked about the danger of Lebanon being dragged
into another “support war” on behalf of the Iranian regime. Those concerns are
growing amid the possibility of a wider US-Israeli confrontation with Iran,
after Tehran violated the memorandum of understanding by keeping the Strait of
Hormuz closed and extending its coercive strategy through the Houthi militias at
Bab el-Mandeb.
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar declared, “We will not leave Iran alone.” His colleague
Hassan Fadlallah claimed that the group now possesses “a regional equation
extending from Hormuz to Bab el-Mandeb and all the way to Ali al-Taher.” Ali al-Taher
is the commanding hill in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces are reportedly
trapping a number of Quds Force members - Lebanese and Iranian alike - inside
tunnels. More alarming still was the threat issued by former MP Nawaf Moussawi:
“Our young men are present in the field throughout all areas of the south, and
they are only waiting for the signal.”
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to the liberated town
of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh was met with the same tired refrains that belong to an
earlier era of sectarian and factional rule by force in the south. Some of the
statements made during the visit were particularly troubling because they
revived a claim that has already proved hollow: that Hezbollah’s weapons are an
internal matter to be resolved through dialogue.
Reality says otherwise. Hezbollah continues to refuse to hand its weapons to the
army, while directing increasingly inventive accusations of treason against the
state, suggesting that there is little, if any, common national ground between
Hezbollah and the Lebanese state. Hezbollah does not merely support Iran’s
regional project. It amounts to an extension of the Quds Force, organically tied
to that project. The duty not to squander this opportunity to restore the state
became even more urgent after the startling admission by Hezbollah
Secretary-General Naim Qassem: “We do not make decisions of war and peace
ourselves. We refer them to the supreme leader, who determines when
confrontation becomes a religious duty.”
No force in Lebanon today can rival the legitimacy of the state. In addition to
considerable Arab, American, and broader Western support, constitutional
authority enjoys wide popular backing across regions and sects. Everyone
understands that Hezbollah remains capable of provoking security disturbances.
But the likely result would be the group’s complete isolation, particularly
after the state has prohibited its military and security activities.What Lebanon
needs now is resolve and a willingness to move beyond the usual political
playbook. The state must work with independent Shiite leaders and communities in
the south to put the Nabatieh and Tyre appeals into practice. These declarations
reject Hezbollah’s weapons and its so-called “resistance,” and place
responsibility for recovering the land and protecting its people exclusively in
the hands of the state. They also insist on a fundamental principle: the voices
of the victims must come first. Lebanon can no longer afford reckless gambles
that invite occupation, displacement, and uprooting. Those gambles brought the
south its worst catastrophe, town by town, until whole communities were reduced
to a landscape of open graves.
Troubled Diplomacy... An Impossible State
Brigadier General Khaled Hamadeh/Al-Liwaa/July 28/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156299/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US President Donald Trump
today at the White House. It is a visit he has eagerly awaited, aiming to secure
a role alongside Washington in its war on Iran, or to persuade Trump to resume
military operations, thereby proving his theory that negotiations with Lebanon
are futile and that maintaining a security belt in the south is a necessity.
Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu comes a week after his meeting with Lebanese
President Joseph Aoun, which resulted in a declared Lebanese commitment to the
framework agreement according to its terms, alongside a US reaffirmation of
obliging Israel to implement it. Will the
circumstances surrounding Netanyahu’s visit lead to a shift in the US
stance—discarding the bet on diplomacy in the Arabian Gulf and Lebanon in favor
of military options through which Israel strengthens its partnership with the
United States and reclaims a leading role in the ongoing regional war?
Regionally, despite the cessation of military operations announced by Washington
three days ago and the wave of wide-ranging speculations surrounding its
underlying reasons and hidden objectives, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) attacks have expanded to target logistical and civilian infrastructure
across all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, in addition to targeting Saudi
oil tankers in the Red Sea. Putting aside all the talk
about a shortage of ammunition and interceptor missiles, Washington is
undoubtedly serious about finding a way out of the status quo—which has become a
political deadlock for it—far beyond the usual procrastination tactics at the
negotiating table. This will inevitably lead to US welcoming, or at least
non-objection to, any field participation by Israeli and non-Israeli actors,
especially with unconfirmed reports emerging that Gulf states have launched
attacks toward the Iranian interior. This could pave the way for unconventional
military scenarios, including the establishment of regional and international
alliances.
On the Lebanese domestic front—specifically regarding the framework agreement,
which is currently in intensive care and appears headed for a "long-term coma,"
not only due to ongoing Israeli bombardment, but also because of the positions
surrounding it since Aoun’s departure from the White House—President Aoun’s
speech at the dinner hosted by the Lebanese Embassy in Washington in honor of
the Lebanese President marked a clear departure from the phased approach (pilot
zones) stipulated in the framework agreement. Aoun linked the disarmament of the
Party to "the removal of the occupation and a reconstruction program managed by
the Lebanese state, coupled with genuine economic opportunities, so that arms
are no longer the only option." Aoun attempted to barter weapons for something
akin to a "Marshall Plan," as if disarmament were not a Lebanese demand endorsed
by the constitution and stipulated by all international resolutions—and the
primary cause of national division and the inability to form a government—but
rather just another spoils of war that is now ready to be converted into
economic gains.
Following Aoun’s stance, opposing positions on the framework agreement poured
in. Most notably on the domestic front was the stance of Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri, who announced his "adherence to rejecting any direct negotiations
between Lebanon and Israel, stressing that cementing the ceasefire and the full
withdrawal of Israel from occupied Lebanese territories is the only acceptable
path." Berri—who did not make the slightest reference to Hezbollah’s
weapons—reneged on everything related to Lebanon’s right to negotiate, arguing
that Lebanon needs Saudi and Iranian guarantees alongside American ones to
implement the framework agreement.
For his part, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei seized the moment by holding the
Lebanese indebted for continuing the war, stating that "the Islamic Republic of
Iran emphasizes that safeguarding Lebanon’s territorial integrity and completely
and unconditionally ending the aggression of the Zionist entity is a fundamental
prerequisite for any agreement to end the imposed war with the aggressive
America." (Election Follow-up) In what can be
considered institutional disorientation and hyper-constitutional procedures, the
visit of former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt to Paris stood
out. He met with President Emmanuel Macron and proposed looking for a framework
for French troops to return to Lebanon to participate in implementing the
agreement once the UNIFIL mandate ends at the end of the year. Re-raising this
issue once again between Macron and President Aoun in a phone call may point to
the illusion of being able to influence the game of international influence.
Facing this surreal scene—levels unseen even in banana republics—we must
ask: What stance will President Aoun adopt before the upcoming visit of Saudi
envoy Yazid bin Farhan to Beirut in the coming days to follow up on the
Kingdom’s role regarding the implementation of the framework agreement
(especially since everyone knows his country's position on Hezbollah's weapons)?
How will Lebanon deal with General Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command,
and General Joseph Clearfield, who are visiting Beirut to discuss the success
criteria for the pilot zones? What is the fate of the upcoming round of
negotiations between the Lebanese and Israeli delegations next week in Rome?
Does all of this not provide Netanyahu with ample room to further tamper
with Lebanon? Does it not raise questions in Washington, among Arab sponsors,
and in Europe regarding the reality of Lebanon as a political entity? And does
this troubled diplomacy truly reflect a viable state?
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 28-29 July/2026
Hundreds gather to honor late US
Senator Lindsey Graham at Capitol
Reuters/28 July ,2026
Hundreds of US lawmakers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday to honor
Lindsey Graham, the late Republican senator whose outspoken support for an
assertive US foreign policy made him one of the party’s last prominent hawks. US
Air Force bands played as Graham’s flag-draped coffin stood in the cavernous
rotunda, in a nod to his pre-Senate career. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were due later in the day
to attend the funeral of an ally who forcefully lobbied Washington to back both
countries during conflict. President Donald Trump, who Graham denounced early in
his political career before becoming a staunch supporter, is due to speak at the
Washington National Cathedral funeral. “It really ended up being a great
friendship,” Trump said of his fellow Republican in an interview with Fox News
on Tuesday, praising Graham for his help navigating partisan politics in
Washington. “If I needed a Democrat, he could usually produce that Democrat if I
had to have them in an emergency. He was a great politician and a great
gentleman.”Graham, a South Carolina Republican who died suddenly from a heart
ailment on July 11 at age 71, was a defense hawk who regularly called for an
interventionist US role on the world stage and strongly backed both Israel and
Ukraine. He met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv only a day before his death, the 10th
time he had visited Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The Senate is
preparing to vote on a bipartisan package of new sanctions on Russia that Graham
spent his final days trying to push across the finish line. Graham was one of
Trump’s most visible allies, making frequent appearances on cable television
news shows to tout the administration’s policies. In recent months, he had been
a stalwart defender of the unpopular Iran war.
Sister vies to succeed him in Senate
Graham had been running for a fifth term in the Senate after winning the South
Carolina Republican primary in June. His sister, Darline Graham, was appointed
by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to fill the remainder of his term. She
has announced her intention to seek a full six-year term in November, with
Trump’s endorsement. The Democratic candidate, pediatrician Annie Andrews, is
considered a long shot given South Carolina’s strong Republican lean. Lindsey
Graham served as his sister’s guardian after their parents died when she was
still a girl. A former Air Force lawyer and a member of South Carolina’s Air
National Guard, Graham served in the state legislature and the US House of
Representatives before winning his Senate seat in 2002. He briefly ran for
president in the 2016 election, when he was adamantly opposed to Trump’s
candidacy; he called the future president a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious
bigot” on CNN. But he eventually became one of Trump’s most loyal backers in the
Senate, and the two were frequent golf partners. In addition to Tuesday’s
ceremonies in Washington, Graham will have funeral services on Wednesday in
South Carolina, where he will be buried.
Netanyahu’s First Meeting with Trump Since Iran War
Began Is Chance to Mend Ties
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump
on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran
and a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship. The
meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for
reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship
with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked
economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this
November.
The two leaders also plan to discuss the framework agreement the US and Israel
signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war, according to a White House
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting. “We have a
little difference,” Trump said Monday when asked by reporters if he and the
Israeli prime minister were on the same page with Iran. “But pretty close,
yeah.”
Trump and Netanyahu's relationship has ebbed before
Trump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years, but upon his
return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than ever.
When they started the war together in February, it was with a united front,
touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out Iran’s
leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West. But as
Iran fought back — sending drones and missiles slamming into the Gulf, and
choking off the Strait of Hormuz — Trump came under immense pressure both at
home and by allies in the region to end the conflict. Since then, Netanyahu, who
wanted to continue the fighting in Iran and against its ally, Hezbollah, in
Lebanon, has been sidelined as Trump sought a deal with Tehran. His visit to the
White House this week comes as the disagreements with Trump and Vice President
JD Vance have burst into the open over the war in Iran and more.
“The Americans are making it clear to the Israelis they are the ones who are
running the war,” Israeli journalist and political analyst Amit Segal wrote
Monday in the daily newspaper, Israel Hayom. “It is clear to everyone that
Israel has been put in the back seat.”
Netanyahu keeping focus on Iran's nuclear program
With US-Iran tensions flaring again in recent weeks, Netanyahu plans to share
with Trump Israeli intelligence on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to a
person familiar with Netanyahu’s visit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak to the media. On Fox News Channel’s
“Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Netanyahu said he hoped to sit
down with Trump “to hear what he has in mind” for Iran.
“Because I think, in many ways, it’s his decision” on how to move
forward, Netanyahu said. “If he can do so without returning to intense military
fighting, that’s fine. Why not? "But one way or the other, they have to end
their nuclear program,” he said of Iran. Netanyahu also used the interview to
warn Iran against attacking his country, saying Israel’s response would be “very
forceful.” Steps to allow other forces in Gaza and in Lebanon
But even as Netanyahu sees an opportunity, he also needs to persuade Trump that
he won’t play spoiler to US diplomatic and reconstruction efforts in Gaza and in
Lebanon, where the president has previously complained that “too many people are
being killed” by Israeli strikes.
Israel has taken recent steps in both places. In
Lebanon, where the Israeli military occupies much of the south, Israel agreed to
allow the Lebanese army to deploy to some villages as part of a “pilot program”
testing their ability to secure areas where Hezbollah once operated. The US
State Department said Monday the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon
will take place next week in Rome with a focus on expanding the program. On
Gaza, Israel’s security cabinet green-lit on Sunday a measure that would, in
theory, grant entry to the first members of an international stabilization force
outlined last year in a US-backed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Few
countries have pledged troops for the force, however, and Israel would approve
their entry into Gaza on a case-by-case basis. The troops, including from
Morocco and Uganda, would only be allowed to operate in a small, desolate area
in Rafah in the south, where the plan is to vet and house some displaced
Palestinians. The Israeli military continues to carry out strikes it says target
fighters, but that have also killed civilians.
Support for Israel has eroded
Israel has lost a significant amount of bipartisan support in the United States,
particularly over its conduct in Gaza. In June, Vance warned Israeli officials
that Trump was their only friend among world leaders. Vance is expected to
attend the meeting with Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the plan
who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.An
AP-NORC poll published earlier this month found a dramatic erosion of support
among American adults for Israel. “We’ve lost America. Thank you, Bibi,” wrote
Ben Caspit, a political commentator for Israel's Maariv newspaper.
Netanyahu meets Trump at White House as they seek to bridge
differences over Iran
AFP/28 July ,2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House Tuesday for
his first in-person talks with President Donald Trump since the Iran war began,
as the leaders sought to patch over public disagreements on the conflict. The
meeting – which took place behind closed doors – was expected to be dominated by
the war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February but
has seen a recent pause in the fighting as Washington says it wants to give
negotiations a chance. Israel has not taken part in the latest round of
hostilities between the United States and Iran, which flared earlier this month
as an April ceasefire collapsed. The talks – which the White House described as
“positive and productive” – lasted for about an hour and a half. The meeting is
the eighth between the leaders since Trump’s return to office in early 2025 and
comes ahead of key electoral tests later this year for both Netanyahu and the US
president: national elections in Israel and midterm polls in the United States.
“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran.
Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle
of peace around us,” Netanyahu said before departing from Israel.
Upon arriving in Washington, Netanyahu attended a private memorial dinner on
Monday evening in honor of the late senator Lindsey Graham, his office said. He
was also scheduled to attend the memorial service for Graham later Tuesday.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu reached a low point in April during
negotiations on the ceasefire with Iran, with Trump unleashing profanity-laced
tirades against his Israeli ally. Trump later described Netanyahu in an
interview as a “very difficult guy.”Netanyahu downplayed the exchanges as
“tactical disagreements,” saying they were aligned on the goals of the war.
On Tuesday, the leaders were expected to discuss the implementation of a
US-sponsored framework deal signed by Israel and Lebanon last month, whose
application on the ground has been challenging. The talks were also expected to
touch on Gaza, as diplomatic efforts to kickstart the devastated Palestinian
territory’s reconstruction are at a standstill. Nearly three years after the war
between Israel and Hamas broke out, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains
dire, and Israel continues to regularly target people the military says are
militants.
‘No break’ in ties
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday that
Netanyahu’s visit comes at a “critical time for the Middle East,” with Iran
continuing “to choose terrorism over negotiations” and blocking the key Strait
of Hormuz waterway. Yonatan Freeman, an international relations expert at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the primary aim of the visit is to dispel
reports of a cooling in ties between the allies. “I think that the main issue...
is to show the world, to show Iran, and also even Lebanon and others... that
there is no break or any kind of major disagreement between the United States
and Israel,” he told AFP. “There’s more in agreement between the two leaders
than disagreement.”For Freeman, any differences between Trump and Netanyahu
concern the means – timeline, intensity, immediate objectives of operations –
rather than the ends of the war. He also suggested that Trump would mainly seek
to focus on his two regional priorities, namely Iran and the expansion of the
Abraham Accords, rather than on Gaza, which he sees as less of a priority. The
Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered normalization agreements signed
during Trump’s first term, under which Israel established formal diplomatic
relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for the first time, followed
by Morocco. But other observers believe that the talks could address the
possible easing of Israel’s military presence in the region, such as in Lebanon,
Syria or Gaza.
Israel says US bombers used its bases to strike Iran
AFP/28 July ,2026
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said that American warplanes
used Israeli bases during their attacks on Iran, reiterating that his country
was prepared to retaliate if targeted. Fighting between the US and Iran has been
paused since Friday after 13 nights of US strikes on the Islamic republic, after
an April ceasefire collapsed. Israel has not taken part in the latest round of
hostilities in the war that began in late February with a wave of US-Israeli
strikes on Iran. “The fact is that, at the moment -- and this could change
within an hour -- the Iranians are firing at everything in the region except one
country: the State of Israel,” Katz told Israel’s right-wing Channel 14. “They
know that American aircraft are taking off from here to carry out strikes,” he
added. “This does not mean we know what will happen tomorrow; it means we know
what our response will be. I announced it, the Prime Minister announced it, and
we made it absolutely clear: if Israel comes under fire, we will strike back
with full force,” Katz said. US President Donald Trump on Monday voiced optimism
at the prospects for a negotiated peace deal with Iran, as the two sides held
their fire for a third consecutive day.
Iran proposes temporary Hormuz plan giving itself greater control over transit
lines
Reuters/28 July ,2026
Iran has proposed to Oman a temporary arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
under which one direction of traffic would pass through Iranian waters and part
of the opposite route would also be in Iranian waters, Deputy Foreign Minister
Kazem Gharibabadi told state television on Tuesday. Gharibabadi said Tehran
rejected an Omani proposal for an equal division of transit routes between the
two countries, saying such a plan did not address Tehran’s security concerns
until long-term regional stability is achieved. He said the Strait of Hormuz
would remain closed if Muscat rejected Iran’s proposal, adding that Tehran had
never recognized the southern route along Oman’s coast. Gharibabadi also said
Tehran had made it clear to Muscat that it no longer recognized the Traffic
Separation Scheme (TSS), arguing that this pathway roughly in the middle of the
waterway lies mostly within Omani waters and runs contrary to Iran’s need to
monitor transiting vessels after being attacked by the US and Israel in late
February. The TSS, adopted by the International Maritime Organization, is
currently unusable due to the risk of mines and has been replaced with Iran’s
northern route and Oman’s southern route. “This is for national security and not
bullying because when the TSS was for 60 years in Omani waters, we didn’t say
anything,” Gharibabadi said. The Iranian diplomat also warned that Tehran would
not allow any third country, even if invited by Oman, to de-mine the Strait of
Hormuz.
UN official alarms Security Council over rising Israeli
settler attacks in West Bank
AFP/28 July ,2026
A senior UN official expressed alarm Tuesday at the “rapidly deteriorating”
situation in the occupied West Bank, denouncing the escalation of violence,
particularly by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. “In the past week, the
escalating violence in the West Bank has resulted in civilian casualties,
displacement, damage to property, and growing insecurity across affected
communities,” Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s deputy special coordinator for the
Middle East peace process, told the Security Council. “Israeli settler attacks
against Palestinian communities, homes, places of worship and civilian
infrastructure have persisted at alarming levels,” he said. Violence has
exploded in the West Bank since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023,
with near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers and regular raids on Palestinian
villages. Last Friday, deadly clashes broke out last 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.
Overnight Sunday, Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers set fire to two
mosques in the occupied West Bank. Alakbarov urged the Israeli government “to
take immediate and effective measures to prevent settler violence, protect
Palestinian communities, and ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable.”
He also condemned Palestinian attacks against Israelis and called on
Palestinians to “unequivocally reject violence.” The “rapidly deteriorating” the
situation in the West Bank “is compounding the already alarming conditions
across the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with a wider escalation
increasingly likely unless immediate steps are taken to reverse course,” he
said.
Saudi Arabia says its forces downed drones launched by Iran-backed Iraqi groups
Al Arabiya English/28 July ,2026
Saudi Arabia said late Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and downed
several drones launched from Iraqi territory by Iran-backed militias. In a
statement carried by the Ministry of Defense, Spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki
said the drones had attempted to target oil facilities in the Kingdom’s Eastern
Province. Saudi Arabia reserves the legitimate right to defend itself and its
national capabilities and retains the right to respond, “at the appropriate time
and place,” al-Maliki said. The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry released a statement,
slamming the Iran-backed militias for their renewed attacks on energy targets in
Saudi Arabia.The attack comes ahead of the Iraqi prime minister’s reported visit
to Saudi Arabia this week, and a day after similar drone strikes targeted the
same area, prompting Riyadh to urge Baghdad to prevent Iraqi territory from
being used as a launchpad for attacks.
PM Ali al-Zaidi on Monday ordered an investigation into the first drone attack,
vowing legal action against anyone found responsible. Al-Zaidi’s office said
Iraq was examining the evidence and information provided by Saudi Arabia and
would prosecute anyone proven to have been involved in the attacks in accordance
with the findings of the investigation.
Iran war deal to have no fees, no tolls for passage through Strait of Hormuz: US
official
Reuters/29 July ,2026
There are going to be no tolls and no fees for passage through the Strait of
Hormuz in a coordination deal being discussed in relation to the waterway
restricted by the Iran war, a US official said on Tuesday. The US official said
Iran was making unreasonable demands that were rejected by Oman and the United
States.
US, UAE announce first bilateral military AI task force
Al Arabiya English/28 July ,2026
The US military on Tuesday announced an agreement with the UAE to establish the
first bilateral AI task force. The task force will focus on integrating AI
applications for intelligence support, protecting critical infrastructure, and
monitoring the regional security environment, according to the United States
Central Command (CENTCOM). “This will be a historic milestone as we work with
one of our most capable regional partners to rapidly deliver evolving AI
advancements to our warfighters,” CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said. The US-UAE
task force, named Task Force Talon Synapse, is expected to launch in the coming
weeks. Based in Abu Dhabi, the team will be made up of around 20 Americans and
Emiratis with expertise in AI, data, and cybersecurity. “Together, we and our
Emirati partners share a strong commitment to adopting AI applications that will
foster innovation at speed and scale,” Cooper said. The task force builds on
talks that started last year between Cooper and UAE National Security Advisor
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed. There was a follow-up last month during a CENTCOM
visit to the region, where they met with Emirati defense officials and industry
leaders.
Yemen's Houthis say targeted Saudi tanker in Red Sea
LBCI/28 July ,2026
Yemen's Houthi rebels said Tuesday that they had targeted a Saudi oil tanker in
the Red Sea with ballistic missiles for allegedly violating a blockade on the
kingdom's ports announced by the group last week."The targeting of the Saudi
vessel came after it ignored warnings," a Houthi military spokesman said,
identifying the ship as the NCC Ghazal and saying it had been "forced to turn
back."AFP
Ukraine FM says he warned Iranian counterpart against
escalation, support for Russia
Reuters/28 July ,2026
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday he called his Iranian
counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, following Iran’s denunciation of a Ukrainian drone
attack on one of its ships, warned him against escalation and told him to end
all support for Russia. “I emphasized the necessity to refrain from any
escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against
Ukraine. This war is illegal and it must end,” Sybiha wrote on X of his
conversation with Araghchi. Iran confirmed the conversation had taken place.
Araghchi said on Sunday that the Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial
vessel in the Caspian Sea, which killed one sailor and injured another, “cannot
go unanswered.” In his comments, Sybiha said Ukraine’s actions were “aimed
solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and never intended to
target civilian vessels or people.”In more than four years of conflict with
Russia, Ukraine has faced barrages of Iranian-designed drones. Kyiv has, over
that time, developed technology to counter drone threats and has offered its
assistance to Middle Eastern countries facing strikes launched this year by
Tehran. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, meanwhile, wrote on X that he had
spoken to Sybiha and “discussed the challenges facing our nations, including the
threat posed by Iran.”He said he looked forward to deepening cooperation with
Ukraine.
Zelenskyy says discussed Patriot air defenses, Russia talks
in ‘good’ Trump meeting
AFP/28 July ,2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed a “good meeting” with US
counterpart Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, saying they discussed
licenses to produce Patriot air-defense interceptors and ways to revive
negotiations with Russia. Zelenskyy spent just over an hour with Trump, in talks
that came with Kyiv and Moscow intensifying long-range strikes and US-led
diplomatic efforts to end the war stalled. “Thank you for everything we do
together to protect the lives of Ukrainians and advance peace,” Zelenskyy said
afterward in a statement on X. “The President and I discussed licenses for
Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,” he
added. “We also spoke about diplomacy – it’s important that the diplomatic
process be reinvigorated.” Zelenskyy said officials from the two countries would
arrange further discussions, adding that he was grateful for Washington’s “firm
support.”Relations between Zelenskyy and Trump have warmed since the start of
the US president’s second term, with Trump suggesting earlier this month that
Ukrainian strikes inside Russia could help end the war. Ahead of the meeting, a
senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Kyiv’s priorities were fresh supplies of
anti-ballistic missiles and ways to revive diplomacy, more than four years after
Russia’s full-scale invasion. Last month was the deadliest for Ukraine civilians
since April 2022, according to the United Nations, as Russia increased its use
of difficult-to-intercept ballistic missiles. “It is crucial that Washington
approve the purchase of a package of Patriot missiles. That is super important,”
the Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy was also due to attend a memorial
ceremony for Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Ukraine supporter who
died unexpectedly this month at age 71. Zelenskyy said he had offered Trump his
condolences over Graham’s death, calling the senator “a true friend of Ukraine.”
‘Amazing job’
Since returning to power last year, Trump has ended direct deliveries of US arms
to Kyiv, instead allowing European countries to buy weapons for Ukraine.
Washington nevertheless remains a major ally, supplying intelligence and access
to the Starlink satellite system used for battleground communications. Relations
between the two leaders have recovered since their extraordinary Oval Office
confrontation in February 2025, when Trump accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude and
“gambling with World War III.”At their latest meeting in Turkey this month,
Trump praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job” and offered Kyiv licenses to
manufacture Patriot missiles. Zelenskyy spoke last week with Trump’s envoys
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about how to “reinvigorate diplomacy” after the
Middle East war pushed Ukraine talks down Washington’s agenda. Previous US
mediation efforts foundered over Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia.
Sanctions push
After the White House meeting and Graham memorial, Zelenskyy was expected to
address senators at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT), shortly before an initial procedural
vote on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill. Graham had spent more than a year
championing the measure and reached an agreement with the White House on
revisions shortly before his death. The bill has 62 Senate co-sponsors, but some
Democrats are uneasy about provisions that would expand Trump’s power to impose
tariffs on countries buying Russian energy. Supporters hope a strong bipartisan
vote will speed final passage and increase pressure on the House of
Representatives, where the legislation faces deeper divisions. Relations between
Moscow and Washington have meanwhile cooled since Trump met Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Alaska last August. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied
Monday that talks on an aerial ceasefire were underway and has warned that
increased Ukrainian attacks inside Russia will prolong the war. Ukraine has
recently stepped up strikes on Russian oil depots, refineries and shipping,
contributing to fuel shortages. Hours before Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump,
Kyiv launched hundreds of drones at Russia. Moscow, meanwhile, fired more than
100 drones at Ukraine overnight and has continued attacking the port of Odesa
and ships carrying Ukrainian agricultural exports.
New Trump admin rule to speed up deportations of asylum
seekers
AFP/28 July ,2026
The Trump administration instituted a rule change on Tuesday that could
fast-track the deportation of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers. The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the move is intended to help reduce
the backlog of pending asylum cases in the system. Under the new rule some
asylum applications will be referred directly to Justice Department immigration
judges without a prior interview by an asylum officer with US Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS). The current system “essentially allows an alien to
get a second chance at asylum,” DHS said. “This rule will shorten the total time
that it takes asylum officers and Immigration Judges to adjudicate asylum
applications.”Up to 444,724, or 31 percent, of the 1.43 million asylum backlog
cases may be impacted, it said. “For far too long the asylum system has been
exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of
protection,” USCIS director Joseph Edlow said in a statement. “America’s asylum
system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution,” Edlow
said. “This rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely
adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a
loophole.”DHS general counsel James Percival said the new rule will “improve
efficiency and fulfill” Republican President Donald Trump’s pledge to crack down
on illegal immigration. Trump campaigned for the White House on a promise to
expel millions of undocumented migrants and has taken a number of actions since
returning to the White House aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing
border crossings.
Iran Hangs Two Anti-Government Protesters in Public
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Iran's judiciary on Tuesday announced the hanging of two men over charges
relating to anti-government protests that peaked in January, with media
reporting it took place in a public square.
"The death sentences of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amir-Hossein Safari were carried out
this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said. Mehr news agency
meanwhile reported that the hanging took place in "a square in the city of
Malekshahr" in the central Isfahan province, with people present. The two were
found guilty of "attacking police officers with machetes and knives, tying them
to road signs, pulling them on the ground, dousing them with gasoline, and
setting them on fire" on January 8, Mizan said. It added that they had faced
charges of "moharebeh (waging war against God) by drawing weapons and creating
fear and terror" and "corruption on earth for committing acts that severely
disrupted public order and security in the country", among others. In late
December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living
rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on
January 8 and 9. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths,
attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States
and Israel, while rights groups based abroad maintain that security forces fired
on protesters. US President Donald Trump had threatened at the time to intervene
militarily in Iran, before the US and Israel launched a joint attack on the
country on February 28, triggering the Middle East war. Since then, arrests and
executions have multiplied in the country, linked to both the conflict and the
protests. On July 19, two other men were hanged over similar charges in Isfahan
province. According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most
executions of any country, after China.
Saudi Arabia Says It Intercepted and Destroyed Drones Launched from Iraqi
Territory
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones on Monday that had
been launched from Iraqi territory.Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, the official
spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Defense, said the drones intercepted and
destroyed over the past several hours had attempted to target oil facilities in
the Eastern Province and the Riyadh region. Al-Maliki said the "terrorist
attacks originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by Iranian-backed
terrorist militias," stressing Saudi Arabia's "inherent right to defend itself
and its national assets, while reserving the right to respond at the appropriate
time and place."Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned "in the
strongest terms" the drone attacks launched by Iran-backed militias from inside
Iraqi territory. The ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom's commitment to protecting
its security and sovereignty and asserted its right to respond to the sources of
the attacks and deter those responsible. The ministry also called on the Iraqi
government to take all necessary measures to prevent its territory from being
used as a launching point for attacks against Saudi Arabia, saying such steps
are essential to preserving regional security and preventing similar attacks
from recurring.
Gulf, Arab States Condemn Attempted Drone Attack against Saudi Arabia
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
have strongly condemned on Tuesday the attempted terrorist drone attack
targeting oil facilities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and the Riyadh
region. The attack was launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by
Iran-backed terrorist militias, the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in
a statement. The attack is a “flagrant violation of international law and the
Charter of the United Nations, a blatant challenge to United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2817, a threat to regional security, stability and energy
supplies, and a systematic attempt to undermine de-escalation efforts.” The
ministry underscored Bahrain's “full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its full
support for the measures it takes to protect its sovereignty, security and
stability and defend its territory and civilian and vital facilities, in
accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, international
law and the Joint Defense Agreement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).” It
reiterated Bahrain's support “for any response Saudi Arabia decides to take
against those responsible for the attack, based on the deep-rooted and
longstanding ties between the two countries and peoples.” It stressed that the
security and stability of Saudi Arabia “are an integral part of the national
security of Bahrain, and that any threat to them undermines the security of the
entire region and the interests of its peoples.” It commended the efficiency and
vigilance of the Saudi air defenses in detecting, intercepting and destroying
the drones before they reached their targets, preventing any damage and
safeguarding civilians and national assets. Bahrain highlighted Saudi Arabia's
“longstanding support for Iraq, describing the launch of the attacks from Iraqi
territory as particularly reprehensible and placing greater responsibility on
the Iraqi government to prevent such attacks.” The ministry stressed the GCC's
call for the implementation of the Iraqi government's decision to restrict
weapons to state control within the announced timeframe. It called for “all
necessary and decisive measures to prevent Iraqi territory from being used as a
launchpad for attacks against countries in the region and to stop Iran-backed
armed factions and militias from continuing their attacks.” It urged Iran to
“cease supporting those militias and immediately end its hostile approach.” The
ministry reiterated Bahrain's call on the international community, particularly
the UN Security Council, to fulfil its responsibilities and enforce its previous
resolutions, foremost Resolution 2817, by adopting an urgent resolution
demanding an end to the unjustified terrorist attacks carried out by Iran and
its proxies against the region, and holding them fully legally and financially
accountable under international law and relevant international resolutions. The
Palestinian presidency and the foreign ministries of Pakistan, Syria, Oman,
Qatar and the UAE issued similar statements condemning the provocative attacks
and reaffirming solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Analysts: Houthis’ Future Tied to Iran’s Fate, Solution Begins With Restoring
the State
Riyadh: Abdulhadi Habtor/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Political analysts have linked the future of Yemen’s Houthi movement to the fate
of the Iranian regime and the trajectory of the wider regional confrontation,
following the latest escalation affecting security in the Red Sea and freedom of
international navigation. They argue that Tehran views the Yemeni front as one
of its key pressure tools in response to mounting military and economic
pressure. Although the Houthis appear prepared to escalate as far as Tehran
wishes, serving as a bargaining chip in Iran’s negotiations with Washington,
analysts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the equation is different this time. They
pointed to the increased readiness of Yemen’s government forces, along with
stronger cohesion and a more unified military command, developments that could
significantly influence any future confrontation. At
the same time, they stressed that Riyadh remains determined to avoid being drawn
into a broad or direct confrontation with Tehran, while making clear that this
does not imply tolerance of any threat to Saudi national security or compromise
its legitimate right to self-defense.
Coordinated Fronts
Dr. Abdulaziz bin Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center in Jeddah, said
Iran’s confrontation strategy is based on the principle of the "unity of the
fronts," whereby multiple geographically dispersed battlefronts operate under
centralized decision-making by the leadership of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC). Bin Sager told Asharq Al-Awsat that "none of Iran’s external
proxies can act outside the comprehensive strategy set by the Revolutionary
Guard," adding that the Houthi movement forms a central component of this
regional network and does not make strategic decisions independently of Iranian
directives. He added that the Houthis’ recent
moves, including their challenge to what they describe as a blockade and their
adoption of the slogan "blockade for blockade," would not, in his assessment,
have occurred without direct orders from senior Iranian leadership and active
support from Tehran. Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani had earlier
said that the simultaneous mobilization of the Houthis and Iranian-backed
militias in Iraq demonstrates that they operate under a single command
structure, with one operations room and one objective. He said the coordinated
actions reflect an Iranian strategy aimed at shifting threats from the Strait of
Hormuz to the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, targeting international shipping
and global energy supplies through coordinated action by Tehran’s regional
proxies. Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba also said that the Houthis are
attempting to replicate Iran’s model in the Strait of Hormuz by applying it to
the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Bin Sager argued that Iran is under severe pressure
from U.S. military operations as well as financial and economic sanctions, and
believes that opening new conflict fronts could help distract Washington’s
attention.
"Iran turned to the Yemeni front after failing to activate the Lebanese and
Iraqi fronts in a meaningful way," he said, adding that Tehran approaches its
relationship with Riyadh through two parallel tracks: maintaining cordial
relations while simultaneously using conflict and confrontation as instruments
of pressure and leverage.
Limits of National Security
Regarding Saudi Arabia’s position, the Gulf Research Center chairman said Riyadh
remains committed to maintaining dialogue with Iran and avoiding a broad or
direct confrontation, "but only so long as Saudi national security is not
threatened." He expected the Kingdom to preserve the gains achieved through the
Beijing agreement while safeguarding its national security interests and
maintaining its right to defend itself against any external aggression. Turning
to Yemen’s future, Bin Sager said that "the best solution for Yemen lies in
ending Houthi control and restoring the state's stability and unity," noting
that the Houthis’ future has become closely tied to the future of the Iranian
regime. He added that it remains too early to predict developments in Yemen
independently of events unfolding inside Iran and the broader course of regional
tensions.
An Organic Connection
Marwan Noman, a researcher at the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies, said the
Yemeni government and political elites have warned since the Houthis launched
their rebellion against the state in 2004 that the group was linked to Iran’s
regional project, and that it has received growing financial, military,
logistical, and media support, particularly since 2011. Noman told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the events following October 7, 2023, clearly demonstrated that the group
has been acting in accordance with Iranian directives and political will,
serving the interests of the regime in Tehran. He said the latest escalation in
the Red Sea and against Saudi Arabia fits squarely within that pattern and was
not unexpected, noting that it was preceded by statements from Iranian officials
regarding Tehran’s ability to threaten maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Bab
al-Mandab through its Houthi proxy in Yemen. Noman, who previously served as
Yemen’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said these
developments once again confirm that the Houthis are "an Iranian tool used to
destabilize the region and advance Tehran’s agenda and objectives at the expense
of Yemen, its people, and neighboring countries." He added that Houthi
operations have contributed to the militarization of the Red Sea, prompting
several countries to deploy naval vessels and warships across the Red Sea, the
Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
A Negotiating Card
Noman predicted that the Houthis would continue escalating to the extent desired
by Tehran, with the aim of using the group as leverage in negotiations with the
United States while easing pressure on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. The
Washington Center for Yemeni Studies researcher noted that the Houthis have
repeatedly resorted to military escalation to divert attention from domestic
obligations and responsibilities toward people living under their control. He
added that the group also exploits such escalation to boost recruitment and
mobilization while attempting to extract concessions from the Arab coalition and
the Yemeni government. Nevertheless, Noman believes
"the situation is different this time," citing the increased readiness of
Yemen’s government forces to respond to any military escalation, as well as what
he described as their growing unity and stronger command cohesion.
EU Condemns Iran 'Aggression' against French Diplomats
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
The European Union on Tuesday condemned an "aggression" this month by Iranian
security services against two French diplomats in Tehran. "The EU unequivocally
condemns the aggression against two diplomats of the Embassy of France in Tehran
perpetrated by Iranian security forces on July 19," the EU's foreign policy
chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement, AFP reported. "Such acts constitute a
blatant violation of the Vienna Conventions and jeopardise the very conduct of
diplomatic relations."France said the two diplomats suffered "an extremely
serious act of intimidation" by Iranian security services, with one of them
physically abused. Both were "detained for several hours without reason,
interrogated, and one of them was physically abused" before they were able to
return to the embassy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a July
20 statement. Iran's foreign ministry on Monday said it had summoned the French
ambassador to protest the conduct of the diplomats. A ministry spokesman said
the diplomats had "interfered in Iran's internal affairs under the pretext of
engaging with civil society".
Jordan Army Says It Downed Drone in Eastern Desert
Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
The Jordanian army on Tuesday said it downed a drone in the eastern desert near
Iraq, without specifying its origin. "As part of its monitoring and surveillance
system, the Royal Jordanian Air Force dealt with a drone that violated Jordanian
airspace in the early hours of Tuesday morning," the military said in a
statement. It added that "the drone was successfully shot down in the eastern
desert within the kingdom's territory".The statement did not specify the source
of the drone. Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a
drone near the Jordanian border that did not enter Israeli airspace, adding that
it was still determining from where it was launched.
Jordan has been repeatedly targeted since war resumed between Iran and the
United States earlier this month. On Monday, the Israeli army announced that it
had intercepted two drones near the border with Jordan, while the Jordanian army
confirmed it had downed them. Two US service members
were killed this month as a result of Iranian strikes on Jordan.
Tensions Rise between Locals, Israeli Forces in Syria’s Yarmouk Basin
Damascus: Muwafaq Mohammed/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Tensions are mounting between the locals and Israeli forces in the Yarmouk Basin
region in the western countryside of Daraa, southern Syria. On Monday, residents
responded to incursions by the Israeli army by re-closing roads to its patrols,
and distributed leaflets, in response to Israeli ones, warning the military
against entering their lands. They declared that they "will defend their land
with all the strength they possess," read one leaflet. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat,
local sources described the situation in the region as a "ticking time bomb"
that could explode at any moment. A local source in the village of Maariyah told
Asharq Al-Awsat that an Israeli military incursion took place on Monday morning.
It advanced from its base on Al-Jazeera Hill toward the village, stationed
itself on the road connecting the village to the base, and opened the road
leading to the village of Al-Ardah after residents had blocked it. Israeli
troops also searched several homes in the area. Speaking on condition of
anonymity, the source said that after the troops left the area, the residents
again blocked the road with rocks to prevent a new incursion.The residents had
done this before with Israeli forces reopening the blocked roads and the locals
again closing it.The locals distributed leaflets in areas where Israel has been
carrying out patrols, warning its forces against entering their regions. They
stressed that they are the owners of the land and that they will defend it with
all their might. Israeli jets had thrown leaflets on Sunday warning the locals
against obstructing its troop incursions. Israeli forces have made repeated
incursions into the region over the past months. They often carry out search
operations, detain people and then withdraw from the area. The local source
noted, however, that now, the forces are destroying infrastructure. On Sunday, a
military unit damaged a power plant in Maariyah, taking it out of service and
cutting power to several homes. It also damaged solar panels used for the main
water well. On the possibility of a clash erupting between the locals and the
troops, the source said it was unlikely because the residents are unarmed and
can only attack the forces with rocks. The incursions
have greatly impacted living conditions. The source revealed that obtaining
water has become an arduous task and some people have resorted to freelance work
because they are afraid of heading out the agricultural fields. Many are now out
of work.Following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in late December
2024, Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes on military targets in Syria. Its
forces carried out incursions beyond the buffer zone, reaching villages in the
western countryside of Damascus, where it announced its intention to establish a
demilitarized zone. Since the 1967 war, Israel has occupied parts of the Golan
Heights, which it annexed in 1981 - a move not recognized by the international
community, with the exception of the United States. During a meeting with Syrian
President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres
reaffirmed the United Nations' commitment to "Syria's sovereignty, independence,
unity, and territorial integrity," expressing "grave concern over Israeli
violations" of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
Oman presents Iran with Gulf-backed plan for
voluntary fees to use Hormuz
Timour Azhari and Parisa Hafezi/DUBAI, July 28 (Reuters)
Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait
of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, a Gulf source and a
Western diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday. The plan could serve as a basis to end
the disruption to trade through the strait caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on
Iran. President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing
campaign over the weekend in his latest strategic U-turn, said there were "good
talks" under way with Iran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations
deliver. Iran denies seeking to resume talks with the United States.
Washington launched its renewed bombing campaign earlier this month to
break Iran's grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of global oil and
liquefied natural gas flowed before the war. Iran
effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the United States
and Israel attacked on February 28. A deal last month between the United States
and Iran partially reopened it, but the agreement collapsed in early July after
Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve. Iran has said it wants
to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and
charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the
status quo prior to the war, when ships were able to pass freely with no
payments, and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal.
Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees
would be voluntary, the Gulf source and Western diplomat briefed on the matter
told Reuters. The system would be analogous to one in
place on Asia's Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask
ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental
protection and search-and-rescue operations. The
Western diplomat compared it to a voluntary carbon tax for flights, where anyone
buying a plane ticket can choose to tick a box if they want to pay to offset
their emissions. The Gulf source said that as of
Monday evening there had been no formal response from Iran to the proposal.
Omani officials met Iranians in Tehran over the weekend.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi discussed the Strait of Hormuz
with his Omani and Saudi counterparts on Monday and stressed the need for
regional cooperation, an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said.
TRUMP WARNS OF MORE STRIKES
Trump called off his latest campaign of air strikes after receiving advice from
military commanders that the strategy had run its course. The 13 nights of
renewed U.S. bombing killed scores in Iran and destroyed bridges and tunnels
across the south as well as military targets. Iran had
responded with attacks on U.S. bases in neighbouring countries that killed four
service members, and strikes on civil infrastructure in Gulf states that it said
were in response to U.S. strikes on civilian targets. Iran has said it would
hold fire as long as Washington does. But drone attacks were reported in Jordan,
Saudi Arabia and northern Iran on Monday, and Jordan reported another drone
being downed on Tuesday. Speaking on Monday, Trump
expressed optimism for a deal to end the five-month conflict, while warning that
U.S. strikes would resume if negotiations failed to deliver.
"I think there's a good chance that something could happen, and if it
does, good, if it doesn't, we go back to doing what we were doing two days
ago."Iran says it has not sought any new negotiations with the United States,
which it accuses of violating the agreement reached last month on a framework
for talks to end the war. The U.S. president is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday. Although Israel was
involved in the initial bombing campaign, it has not been part of subsequent
peace talks, and recent relations between the two leaders have been strained.
Trump has had to rein in the Israeli leader from attacking targets in
Lebanon to try to weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, complicating peace
talks with Tehran. The end of the U.S. bombing
campaign over the weekend sent oil prices tumbling by around 8% on Monday, and
the fall continued on Tuesday. Brent crude futures were down more than 2.5% at
around $86 a barrel by mid-morning on Tuesday. Washington and Tehran reached an
agreement in June on a framework for talks meant to take place by the end of
August to resolve major issues such as Iran's nuclear programme. But they have
disputed the meaning of the memorandum's language about the strait, with
Washington insisting it requires Tehran to allow free travel, while Iran says it
grants it the authority to supervise transit.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on 28-29 July/2026
The US military must RACE to rebuild its supply of munitions
Bradley Bowman and RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery/New York Post/July
28, 2026
The United States produces the most technologically advanced weapons in the
world, but that’s not enough to deter and win future conflicts.
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are demonstrating once again that the
quantity of munitions matters at least as much as their quality. Years of
insufficient defense budgets severely eroded the US defense industry’s capacity
and left our military with arsenals that are dangerously small and insufficient
to address growing threats. Thankfully, the Pentagon now recognizes this reality
and is attempting to quickly procure large quantities of less expensive
munitions. The question is whether Congress will provide timely and sufficient
appropriations this year to meet the urgent need for an adequate supply of
munitions for America’s men and women in uniform. Consider: Per a report in
April, the military fired over 1,000 ship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk
cruise missiles since the war with Iran started in February. For perspective,
Pentagon documents indicate it bought only 38 of these missiles in Fiscal Year
2025. Similarly, US forces expended over 1,100 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff
Missile-Extended Range cruise missiles with only roughly 1,500 remaining in
Pentagon stocks at the end of April, according to another report. Those numbers
are sobering, especially considering that America’s authoritarian adversaries
are engaged in broad, increasingly consequential cooperation, as we detail with
our colleague Elaine Dezenski in our new book, “Axis of Aggressors: Countering
the Cooperation of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.”
Last year, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine warned Congress that
“China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are pursuing unprecedented levels of
cooperation.” He reiterated those concerns Tuesday to the Senate Appropriations
Committee. If America lacks sufficient munitions for a conflict of a few months
against Iran, why do we think we are prepared for a war that could last much
longer against China?
So, what’s to be done?
The United States must prioritize speed and scale, aiming for production and
delivery of the largest quantity of low-cost munitions as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, the Pentagon is not sitting on its hands. It’s attempting to
transform the weapons-procurement process by focusing on industry-driven
solutions, multiple vendors, greater competition, multiyear procurements that
create sustained demand and private investment, flexible contracting and
incentives that reward companies that deliver large quantities of low-cost,
effective munitions quickly. This month, the Pentagon announced framework
agreements with Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 to quickly produce a new family of
low-cost, air-launched cruise missiles that can precisely strike targets at long
distances and that often fly close to the ground to make detection more
difficult.
The five-year plan calls for 28,000 missiles, with production ramping up from
1,000 missiles next year to more than five times that by 2028. While each
missile brings different capabilities, some may cost less than 10% or 20% of the
price of the Tomahawk.
Similarly, the Pentagon signed a framework agreement with Castelion to
manufacture its Blackbeard hypersonic strike missile at a minimum of 500 units
per year. The military is seeking funding for more than 12,000 over five years,
estimated at less than $300,000 each at full-scale production. The engineering
approach with these missiles borrows directly from SpaceX: design for mass
production and continuous iteration from the start. That philosophy — producing
national-security hardware at commercial speed — is the kind of cultural shift
the defense-acquisition system has resisted for decades.
What ties all these initiatives together is a hard-won recognition that the mix
of high- and low-cost munitions has been dangerously out of balance. The wars in
Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrate that an inventory of expensive
long-range precision weapons cannot sustain a modern high-intensity conflict
without a deep magazine of affordable, mass-producible munitions.Congress
deserves credit for legislation last year authorizing multiyear procurement for
the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles program and low-cost hypersonic strike
systems.
But that will mean little if Congress does not appropriate the necessary
funding, and soon.Members of Congress are right to ask questions about the
administration’s plans for the war against Iran. But delaying or even slashing
desperately needed defense appropriations for munitions will only penalize our
service members. Most important, getting the munitions-cost ratio right —
smaller quantities of sophisticated but expensive munitions and larger
quantities of affordable ones — is a vital policy challenge.
Indeed, it’s no exaggeration to say such a calculation will play a major role in
determining how many of our fighters return home from the next war.
Bradley Bowman and Rear Adm. (Ret.) Mark Montgomery are senior directors at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where they lead the Air and Missile
Defense Program.
A 'Respected' Medical Journal's War Against Doctors
Gerald M. Steinberg/Gatestone Institute/July 28, 2026
[T]he pro-Hamas lobby is circulating a mass petition calling for the expulsion
of the Israeli Medical Association from the World Medical Association. The
petition – which blames the Israeli doctors for alleged bias and omits any
mention of Hamas' war crimes – was amplified in June by once-respected UK
medical journal The Lancet, clearly crossing the line between professional
medical publication and blatant propaganda. Far from providing medical evidence
or reflecting professional ethics, the petition, as echoed by The Lancet,
recycles political slogans and ancient blood libels, accusing Israel of
"genocide" and the destruction of Gaza's health system. Of course, there is no
mention of the overwhelming evidence of Hamas's systematic militarization of
hospitals and other civilian medical facilities – all actual war crimes. In
promoting this campaign, The Lancet copied the accusations of fringe activist
NGOs including the People's Health Movement (PHM), Doctors for Gaza (Artsen voor
Gaza), and the "Health Advisory Council" of the so-called Jewish Voice for
Peace. Even a cursory review makes clear that the petition touted by this
ostensible medical journal is not remotely about medical ethics.
By parroting these NGOs and violating fundamental requirements for a scientific
journal, The Lancet does not make even a minimal attempt to examine their
credibility and embrace of terror. Unsurprisingly, this isn't the first time
journal editor Richard Horton has used The Lancet to publish anti-Israel
propaganda. From 2001 to 2014, a majority of the publication's output regarding
Israeli and Palestinian issues – 58.3% of its 264 items – took the form of
political commentary rather than medical research.
The Lancet dismisses any mention of Hamas' responsibility for Gaza's medical
plight as mere Israeli claims, despite extensive documentation.
Additionally, neither this medical journal nor the NGOs leading the petition
have ever asked any other civilian medical associations to condemn their home
states' military operations. The list includes Russia, China, Iran, Turkey,
Sudan, and other actual violators of human rights and international law.
With Horton and The Lancet again at the forefront of a hate directed at Israeli
doctors, and under the thin facade of scientific publishing, an effective
response is necessary that will get the attention of the journal's Dutch
publisher, Elsevier. The pro-Hamas lobby is circulating a mass petition calling
for the expulsion of the Israeli Medical Association from the World Medical
Association. The petition – which blames the Israeli doctors for alleged bias
and omits any mention of Hamas' war crimes – was amplified in June by
once-respected UK medical journal The Lancet, clearly crossing the line between
professional medical publication and blatant propaganda. Among the many
orchestrated campaigns to demonize Israel, the targeting of Israeli doctors and
medical professionals under the false flag of "human rights" is one of the most
transparently cynical. Specifically, the pro-Hamas lobby is circulating a mass
petition calling for the expulsion of the Israeli Medical Association from the
World Medical Association.
The petition – which blames the Israeli doctors for alleged bias and omits any
mention of Hamas' war crimes – was amplified in June by once-respected UK
medical journal The Lancet, clearly crossing the line between professional
medical publication and blatant propaganda.
Far from providing medical evidence or reflecting professional ethics, the
petition, as echoed by The Lancet, recycles political slogans and ancient blood
libels, accusing Israel of "genocide" and the destruction of Gaza's health
system. Of course, there is no mention of the overwhelming evidence of Hamas's
systematic militarization of hospitals and other civilian medical facilities –
all actual war crimes.
In promoting this campaign, The Lancet copied the accusations of fringe activist
NGOs including the People's Health Movement (PHM), Doctors for Gaza (Artsen voor
Gaza), and the "Health Advisory Council" of the so-called Jewish Voice for
Peace. Even a cursory review makes clear that the petition touted by this
ostensible medical journal is not remotely about medical ethics. Instead, it's
one more part of the heinous effort to isolate and delegitimize Israeli
institutions in the wake of Hamas's October 7 massacre. In essence, this is
another front of Hamas's war against the people and institutions of the Jewish
state.
By parroting these NGOs and violating fundamental requirements for a scientific
journal, The Lancet does not make even a minimal attempt to examine their
credibility and embrace of terror. For example, PHM's newly-appointed global
coordinator, Aziz Rhali, publicly celebrated October 7 as "Victory Day," and
participated in mob violence supporting "Palestinian resistance" immediately
afterward. He has also expressed support for Hezbollah, and its late leader,
arch-terrorist Hassan Nasrallah.
Unsurprisingly, this isn't the first time journal editor Richard Horton has used
The Lancet to publish anti-Israel propaganda. From 2001 to 2014, a majority of
the publication's output regarding Israeli and Palestinian issues – 58.3% of its
264 items – took the form of political commentary rather than medical research.
This culminated in the 2014 publication of a notorious "Open Letter for the
People of Gaza," a propaganda screed whose hate-filled co-authors (doctors) had
emailed colleagues a message entitled "CNN Goldman Sachs & the Zio Matrix" that
promoted a video featuring white supremacist Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke
among other antisemitic materials.
After calls for Horton's removal gained high visibility, he embarked on an
Israel apology tour and vowed change. He even published a special edition on
Israeli medical advances. But following Hamas' October 7 atrocities, he
regressed to his old poisonous ways, culminating in last month's NGO-led boycott
petition. The articles repeating accusations of "war crimes" including
"genocide" have no legal or factual basis, and were obviously fabricated to
divert attention from Hamas's mass slaughter. Doing its part in this theater of
the absurd, The Lancet dismisses any mention of Hamas's responsibility for
Gaza's medical plight as mere Israeli claims, despite extensive documentation.
Additionally, neither this medical journal nor the NGOs leading the petition
have ever asked any other civilian medical associations to condemn their home
states' military operations. The list includes Russia, China, Iran, Turkey,
Sudan, and other actual violators of human rights and international law. The
petition's premise is thus a glaring double standard. The consequences of this
trajectory extend well beyond Israel. As politics increasingly overtakes
scientific institutions, physicians and researchers are pressured to conform to
ideological and immoral litmus tests unrelated to medicine. As a result,
academic journals, professional associations, and humanitarian organizations
risk becoming seen by serious medical professionals as simply another form of
mass manipulation. With Horton and The Lancet again at the forefront of a hate
directed at Israeli doctors, and under the thin facade of scientific publishing,
an effective response is necessary that will get the attention of the journal's
Dutch publisher, Elsevier. At its core, The Lancet is a business like any other,
and when readers stop reading, subscribers pull their subscriptions, top
researchers stop submitting articles, and advertisers go elsewhere, the
leadership change will follow. *Prof. Gerald Steinberg is founder and president
of the NGO Monitor research institute, and professor emeritus of political
science at Bar Ilan University.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22749/lancet-israeli-medical-association
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
US Treasury sanctions Turkish Hamas financiers as Erdogan
presses for F-35s
Sinan Ciddi and Tyler Stapleton/FDD's Long War Journal/July 28/2026
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2026/07/analysis-us-treasury-sanctions-turkish-hamas-financiers-as-erdogan-presses-for-f-35s.php
On July 23, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
designated a Turkey-based Hamas money exchange alongside a senior Muslim
Brotherhood official. Treasury said that the exchange, El-Kahira for General
Trading, transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hamas, while its owner
and shareholders separately laundered funds for organized-crime networks,
including the Swedish network Foxtrot. In the same action, OFAC also designated
Mahmoud al Abyari, the UK-based secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s
General Secretariat, in part for helping raise funds for Filistin Vakfi and
Hayat Yolu — two Turkey-based charities that Treasury had already blocked for
supporting Hamas. Treasury said that these latest measures build on sanctions
imposed in January and March.
In March, FDD’s Long War Journal reported that OFAC designated three Turkish
charities: Ghazi Destek Dernegi, Hayat Yolu, and the Palestinian White Hands
Assistance and Solidarity Association, for channeling money to Hamas-controlled
organizations in Gaza, with Hayat Yolu doubling as a financing hub for the
Muslim Brotherhood. That action followed Treasury’s 2024 designation of Jihad
Yaghmour, Hamas’s Turkey representative, who liaises with parliamentarians close
to Erdogan and helps arrange meetings between Hamas leaders and AKP officials.
Three rounds of sanctions in under two years point to the same conclusion:
Turkish territory keeps supplying Hamas with fundraising channels and political
access that Ankara has not shut down. That record complicates Turkey’s most
coveted defense request. A US State Department letter to Congress dated July 22,
2026, and obtained by the Greek daily Kathimerini, reaffirmed that Ankara cannot
rejoin the F-35 program under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through
Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and Section 1245 of the FY2020 NDAA until it permanently
gives up its Russian S-400 system. But the letter doesn’t stop at the S-400. In
the same document, the State Department acknowledges continued US concern over
Turkey’s relationship with Hamas, even while crediting Ankara for using its
contacts with the group’s political leadership to help secure the first phase of
the Gaza ceasefire.
The relationship between Turkey and Hamas goes beyond financing. On July 21,
Hamas announced that Ibrahim Kalin, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence
Organization (MIT), had personally congratulated Khalil al Hayya on his election
as Hamas’s new leader, affirming what the Gaza terrorist group’s statement
called “Turkey’s support for the Palestinian people.” Kalin is the same official
who hosted Hamas’s political bureau in Istanbul in March 2026. A sitting
intelligence chief publicly congratulating the newly elected leader of a
US-designated terrorist organization is not a diplomatic courtesy, but a
validation of Hamas’s leadership succession by Turkey’s premier security and
intelligence institution.
None of this sits comfortably next to Ankara’s request for F-35s and F-110
engines to power its indigenous fifth-generation Kaan fighter jet, a push that
Turkish officials have continued even as the S-400 dispute remains unresolved. A
NATO ally whose intelligence chief congratulates Hamas’s leadership, whose banks
and charities keep surfacing on OFAC’s sanctions list, and whose own conduct is
flagged by the US State Department as an active counterterrorism concern is
asking Washington to hand over some of the most sensitive combat aircraft and
propulsion technology in the US arsenal.
The US Congress has taken several steps to hold Turkey accountable for its
sponsorship of Hamas. In the latest version of the National Defense
Authorization bill, both the House and Senate attempted to move amendments that
would punish Turkey for not addressing its support of the terror group. In the
House, a bipartisan provision would have required the State Department to report
on whether Turkey was harboring Hamas within its territory and providing the
terror group access to financial institutions or military aid. In the Senate, a
proposed amendment would link Turkey’s support for Hamas with any potential sale
of the F-35 aircraft. The provision would require the State Department and the
Treasury Department to certify that Turkey is no longer providing support to
foreign terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, before a sale of the F-35 could
be approved. Both legislative bodies have indicated that they plan to continue
offering bills that would limit weapons sales to Turkey over the next year. The
latest round of sanctions from the Treasury Department against Hamas financiers
in Turkey raises questions about Turkey’s ability and willingness to combat
terrorism financing in its banking sector. As evidence continues to mount that
Hamas members receive funding and sanctuary in Turkey, international regulators
may step in. In October, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will meet to
host a plenary session in Paris. In 2021, Turkey was placed on the FATF “grey
list” due to deficiencies in managing money laundering and terrorist financing
risks. Because of the repeated Hamas financing cases and enforcement actions by
the US Treasury Department in 2026, Turkey may be forced to have its financial
institutions placed under further monitoring by FATF until it improves its track
record on terrorism financing.
Turkey faces a stark choice: act against Hamas terrorists and facilitators in
its country or continue to face roadblocks to trade and military sales. The US
Treasury has been clear that it will act against any target facilitating the
actions of Hamas, and Congress has demonstrated a resolve to hold Turkey
accountable.
**Sinan Ciddi is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD). Tyler Stapleton is director of congressional relations at FDD
Action. Follow them on X: @Ty_D_Stapleton and @SinanCiddi.
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2026/07/analysis-us-treasury-sanctions-turkish-hamas-financiers-as-erdogan-presses-for-f-35s.php
Read in FDD's Long War Journal
The Middle East Moves Toward a Multifront Maritime War
Bridget Toomey and Behnam Ben Taleblu/FDD-Policy Brief/July 28/2026
Yemen’s Houthis have brought the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait into the
conflict between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran — blocking
millions more barrels of oil from easily reaching the global market. On July 22,
the Iran-backed Yemeni terror group claimed drone and missile attacks on two
Saudi vessels transiting the Red Sea, enforcing a maritime blockade of the
kingdom. Saudi Arabia confirmed one of the ships was set ablaze and responded by
striking sites in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled west coast. The Houthis then
attacked oil infrastructure on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
To support Houthi aggression in the Red Sea, the Islamic Republic reopened
direct flights between Tehran and Sanaa in early July. On July 3, Iran sent a
plane to retrieve the Houthi delegation that attended Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei’s multiday funeral — the first flight between the two capitals in
roughly a decade. The delegation’s July 13 return flight carried Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advisors and weapons, according to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has maintained an air blockade of Houthi territory to deny Tehran
direct access to arm its proxy. As Iran explores new avenues to expand the
conflict with the United States, it is increasingly looking to the Houthis.
Tehran Has Been Preparing for Two Different Maritime Conflicts
In the summer of 2018, the late IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani said
“the Red Sea, which was once safe, is no longer safe for the presence of
Americans.” The speech followed several Iranian declarations threatening oil
exports and even the closing of the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. exit
from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Iran sought maximum economic impact by
threatening maritime trade in two critical waterways.
Prior to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea during the war in Gaza that began October
7, 2023, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz carried around 30 percent of the
global oil supply. While Red Sea shipping declined following the Houthi
campaign, the closure of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, forced a
resurgence of oil transport through the Red Sea. In June, roughly 7 percent of
global oil supply transited the waterway, which amounted to 7.4 million barrels
per day (bpd) up from 4.2 million bpd in 2025.
In 2025, the United States conducted Operation Rough Rider, an air campaign
against the Houthis that struck more than 1,000 targets to restore freedom of
navigation in the Red Sea. Subsequent attacks by the Houthis on Israel, Saudi
Arabia, and commercial shipping demonstrate it was not a lasting victory.
Houthis Rely on Iranian Weapons
Despite the various arms embargoes against the group, Iran has been able to
provide the Houthis with weapons since 2015, according to the U.S. Defense
Intelligence Agency, if not earlier. These transfers also took place following
the UN-brokered truce in 2022 which effectively ended fighting between the group
and Saudi Arabia. A Reuters source said that aboard the July 13 flight were
“components related to short- and medium-range missiles and drones.” Much of
the Houthi long-range firepower comes from near carbon copies of Iranian
surface-to-surface missiles or anti-ship platforms. These even include
single-stage solid-fuel ballistic missiles that Tehran and the Houthis claim are
hypersonic, as well as medium-range ballistic missiles. The Houthis are the only
non-state actors on the planet with these capabilities.
U.S. Doesn’t Need To Go It Alone in the Red Sea
Preventing Houthi resupply must be an American and global priority. President
Donald Trump hoped to obtain international participation in American efforts to
secure Hormuz. News of a U.S.-UK-led international conference on protecting
maritime trade through the strait is a necessary but insufficient step forward.
The United States should lead a re-tasking of the Combined Maritime Forces — an
international coalition that counters non-state bad actors on the high seas — to
prioritize weapons interdiction. The European Union should also enhance its
missions in the region and prioritize stopping the flow of weapons to the
Houthis.
When it comes to emerging air supply routes, Washington can support requests
from the internationally recognized government of Yemen that Riyadh target
Houthi-controlled airstrips.
***Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), where she focuses on Iranian proxy groups.
**Behnam Ben Taleblu is senior director of FDD’s Iran Program and a senior
fellow. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE.
Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. Follow Bridget on X @BridgetKToomey and
Behnam @therealBehnamBT. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research
institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Oil Is the Key
Hussein Shobokshi/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
The Suez Canal was the Middle East's great flashpoint until the eight-year war
between Iraq and Iran. After that, the map of the conflict changed. The prize
became the Gulf's oil, and it has remained the prize ever since. The shift was
gradual, unfolding from the 1950s to the present. Its logic remained consistent:
nine times out of ten, oil was the underlying cause.
When Suez Was the Prize
The Suez Canal was the artery of world trade before oil was found in enormous
quantities, and the Middle East mattered above all for its position astride it.
Thirty percent of global trade passed through the canal. When Egypt nationalized
it in 1956, Britain, France, and Israel went to war to keep control of that
passage. The wars of 1967 and 1973, again between Egypt and Israel, were fought
over the same ground: Sinai and the canal. The stakes, in short, were geographic
and commercial.
The Shift to the Gulf
Then a new factor overturned the balance entirely: oil.
1973: Oil becomes a weapon. After the October War, the Arab states turned oil
into an instrument of policy, and the world understood for the first time that
the Gulf could move the global economy. 1980–1988: The first Gulf war. The
Iran–Iraq war was driven, most visibly, by the fight over the Shatt al-Arab and
the oilfields beyond it. 1990–1991: The invasion of Kuwait. Iraq's aim was to
seize a fifth of the world's oil reserves and erase its own debts. That was the
logic of the invasion. 2003: The invasion of Iraq. The United States went in on
the stated grounds of destroying Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but the
strategic prize was Iraqi oil- and the fall of Saddam Hussein. Since 2011, the
pattern has been proxy war: Yemen, Syria, the Gulf itself, each conflict tied to
pipelines, the Strait of Hormuz, and the price of oil. So why does everything
come back to oil? Three things have made the Gulf the center of gravity. The
reserves. The Gulf states hold 48 percent of the world's proven oil reserves and
the largest gas reserves on earth. Suez is still the route; the Gulf is the
storehouse. The Strait of Hormuz. Some 21 million barrels pass through it every
day (20% of the world's supply). Whoever controls Hormuz has a hand on the
global price, and Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman all sit
on its shores. The dollar and influence. Since the petrodollar arrangement took
hold after 1974, oil has been priced in US dollars alone. That single fact binds
Gulf security to the health of the entire global economy. The contest, in other
words, has moved from controlling the route (Suez) to controlling the source:
the oilfields and the Strait of Hormuz. As long as oil remains the lifeblood of
the world economy, the Gulf will remain the hinge on which global stability
turns. Oil is still the key and the Gulf is the door.
Syria Poised for a Major Role
Fayez Sara/Asharq Al Awsat/July 28/2026
Syria's foreign relations may be in better shape today than at any point in
decades. It has shown in its dealings with its neighbors, and in a shared push
by nearly every state in the region, except Israel, toward a future of
cooperation rather than the old inheritance of meddling, plotting, and
grievances that has for so long defined how these countries treat one another.
The Assad family, which ruled Syria from 1970 to 2024, bears the greatest share
of the blame, nowhere more than in three arenas: Lebanon, the Palestinians, and
Iraq.
Israel stands alone in resisting the effort to build something more cooperative.
Its opposition flows first from the nature of the Israeli state itself, and it
has been sharpened by the rise of the hardliners around Benjamin Netanyahu.
Driven by a mix of ideology and political calculations, he has escalated
Israel's longstanding aggression, now invoking the war against Iran and its
militias as fresh justification. The result is a set of policies squarely at
odds with the mood taking shape around Syria and across the region - a mood that
wants to move from an age of conflict toward one of cooperation, or at least to
say so out loud. Under the new government, Syria has begun to chart a different
course. It has turned hostility into friendship with Türkiye - the northern
neighbor the Assad regime treated as an enemy, even as Ankara kept trying to
open a new track with Damascus. It has refused to be baited by the militias; it
has gone further still, declaring that it wants peaceful, mutually beneficial
relations with Iraq.
The approach to Lebanon has been much the same. Lebanese governments once looked
the other way while Hezbollah and other groups intervened and committed crimes
in Syria during the years of the uprising. Even so, Damascus has moved to
resolve a number of outstanding issues, among them the fate of Lebanese
detainees held in Syria, while insisting publicly that it will not interfere in
Lebanon's affairs and wants sound official relations built on common interest.
The Syrian foreign minister's recent visit to Beirut, where he met a wide range
of Lebanese leaders and public figures, captured the substance of that new
policy. Taken together, these are real shifts in how Damascus treats its
neighbors, and they have been reinforced from outside. Regional and
international efforts have brightened the prospects both for Syria's recovery
and for a new Syrian role in the region. Saudi Arabia has led the way. Its
initiatives helped soften Western positions, above all Washington's, whose
backing has been decisive in clearing a path for Syria to return as an active
presence in the eastern Mediterranean. That has become especially clear since
sanctions were lifted and Syria began normalizing relations with its neighbors
and the wider world and considerable ground has already been covered on both
fronts.
All of this - the change in Syrian policy, the practical and administrative
steps that go with it, and the parallel moves made regionally and
internationally - is bound to reshape Syria's standing on two levels. The first
is bilateral: Syria's ties with other states, especially those on its borders.
These relationships matter not only for the two parties to each of them, but
because they knit together countries that share the same neighborhood - better
transport links between Syria and Lebanon, water-sharing arrangements with
Türkiye, comparable understandings with Iraq.
The second level is larger, reaching well beyond the eastern Mediterranean: gas
and oil pipelines, rail connections, supply routes for goods, networks for
moving people. Projects like these have become essential to the region in the
aftermath of the US-Israeli war against Iran. Between the demands of its
immediate neighbors and these wider needs, Syria now finds itself well placed,
with a major role to play today and in the years ahead. None of it, though, will
come without a serious, practical response from the Syrian state and Syrian
society and, before that, from preparation: building the right institutions and
structures, and cooperating openly in every direction and at every level. Above
all, it will mean readying Syrians themselves to take up a role this large.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on 28 July/2026
Nadim Koteich
Patriarch Hoayek is beatified at the moment the refuge model has reached its
breaking point. He founded Greater Lebanon from a simple question: how do we
build a homeland that protects all its communities? Since 1967, the Lebanese
answered in the opposite direction — each community built its own refuge outside
the state: independent weapons, independent funding, a "strong president" in a
weak palace, and a consensus mechanism reinvented to block accountability. They
tried every refuge and every one went bankrupt. Beatification doesn't change
nations by ritual alone. It succeeds when Hoayek's legacy becomes a source of
discomfort to the country that produced him, not a tool for its glorification.
For this to work, it must not be a celebration of the Lebanon he created, but a
reckoning with the Lebanon we made after him. See less
Mossad Commentary
KATZ BAITS IRAN: U.S. WARPLANES ARE TAKING OFF FROM ISRAEL
Defense Minister Israel Katz says Iran knows American aircraft and refueling
planes are launching from Israeli bases to carry out strikes inside Iran. “The
Iranians have been firing at everything—apart from one country: the State of
Israel,” Katz told Channel 14.
“They know American aircraft are taking off from here, and refuelers are taking
off from here, to strike. There is deterrence.”
Barak Ravid
Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are expected to hold talks in Rome
next week on expanding the redeployment process of the IDF in southern Lebanon
and discussing disputes regarding the land border between the countries, a
senior U.S. State Department official told me.
The next round of talks, between Israel and Lebanon, led by the United
States, will take place in Rome between August 4 and 6.
A senior U.S. State Department official said there is "significant momentum" in
the Israeli-Lebanese track, following the successful launch of the first pilot
zone in southern Lebanon and the meeting last week between Lebanese President
Joseph Aoun and President Trump.
"In Rome, the professional working teams will focus on advancing the full
implementation of the framework agreement. This includes expanding the pilot
zone process, resolving all remaining open border issues, and working on a
comprehensive peace and security agreement," the senior State Department
official in Washington said.
According to the senior U.S. State Department official, the first pilot
zone in southern Lebanon, which is currently being implemented, "presents an
opportunity to achieve real progress on the ground, by restoring the Lebanese
state's authority through the verifiable disarmament of terrorist organizations,
and building the necessary trust for the next stages."
"The experience gained from the first pilot zones will help us refine the
implementation of the model, so that it can be gradually expanded," the senior
U.S. State Department official said.
The U.S. official added that the trilateral framework agreement is the
only way to achieve sustainable peace between Israel and Lebanon. "Its full
implementation is a clear interest of both countries, and the Trump
administration is committed to its success," he said.
Daniel Cohen
https://x.com/DanielCohenTV/status/2082012677791212005/video/1
Bibi has landed in Washington, D.C. for his 8h meeting with President Trump and
to attend Lindsey Graham’s funeral. No matter what comes of this visit, one
thing remains unchanged—
As Christians, we’re called to stand with Israel. To “comfort my people,” “the
lost sheep of Israel.” The Bible makes it clear that a day is coming when the
nations will turn against Jerusalem—but until then, and even then, God’s
promises to Israel remain.
Our support isn’t based on who the Prime Minister is. It’s rooted in Scripture
and in God’s unchanging covenant.
Pray for wisdom for Trump and Netanyahu, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and
pray that the lost will come to know Jesus—the Prince of Peace.
Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו
I am heading out now to a meeting with our friend, President Donald Trump—this
is our eighth meeting since he was elected to his second term, more than with
any other international leader. This is a great honor, and it is also a great
responsibility. In our meeting, we will discuss all the issues on the table,
with Iran at the forefront. Our goal is clear: to safeguard Israel's security,
strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us. I am embarking
on this mission out of a deep commitment to ensure the security, strength, and
future of the State of Israel.
During the visit, I will also pay my last respects to a true friend of mine and
of the State of Israel, Senator Lindsey Graham—one of Israel's greatest friends
of all time. I am certain that in doing so, I represent the feelings of all
Israeli citizens. With God's help, we will do and we will succeed! 🇮🇱
باراك رافيد
@BarakRavid
حضر رئيس الوزراء نتنياهو وزوجته سارة نتنياهو مأدبة عشاء في واشنطن مساء أمس،
أُقيمت على شرف السيناتور ليندسي غراهام. وكان من بين المُضيفين رجل الأعمال
اللبناني أنطون سهناوي، والمبعوثة الأمريكية السابقة إلى لبنان مورغان أورتاغوس.
يُعد سهناوي اليوم أحد أبرز الشخصيات اللبنانية الداعمة لاتفاقية السلام مع
إسرائيل، ويشارك في سلسلة من الأنشطة لتقريب وجهات النظر بين اللبنانيين
والإسرائيليين.
أُقيمت الفعالية، التي استمرت نحو ثلاث ساعات في مطعم بوربون ستيك بفندق فور
سيزونز، بحضور نحو عشرين سيناتورًا من الحزبين الجمهوري والديمقراطي، بالإضافة إلى
عدد من مستشاري الرئيس ترامب.
Barak Ravid
@BarakRavid
ראש הממשלה נתניהו ושרה נתניהו השתתפו אמש בארוחת ערב לזכרו של הסנאטור לינדזי
גראהם בוושינגטון. המארחים היה איש העסקים הלבנוני אנטון סחנאווי ושליחת ארה"ב
ללבנון לשעבר מורגן אורטגוס
סחנאווי הוא היום אחד האישים הלבנונים שמובילים את התמיכה בהסכם שלום עם ישראל
ומעורב בשורה של פעילויות לקירוב בין לבנונים לישראליםבאירוע שנמשך כשלוש שעות
במסעדת Bourbon Steak במלון ארבע העונות השתתפו כ-20 סנאטורים רפובליקנים ודמוקרטים
וכמה מיועציו של הנשיא טראמפ