English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For July 31/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
Keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offences, in
opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do
not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites
Letter to the Romans 16/07-20: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye
on those who cause dissensions and offences, in opposition to the teaching that
you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but
their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of
the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice
over you, I want you to be wise in what is good, and guileless in what is evil.
The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you.”
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on 30-31 July/2026
Erdogan the Muslim Brother is no friend of independent Lebanon.. Joseph Aoun
remains a captive of the Shiite Duo and continues to squander
opportunities/Elias Bejjani/July 30/2026
Antoine Sehnaoui Breaks the Taboo by Hosting Netanyahu: Courage Lacking in
Joseph Aoun/Elias Bejjani/July 29/2026
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
Aoun, Erdogan pledge closer cooperation, stress Lebanon’s sovereignty
Israel weighs response to Hezbollah as army warns of possible escalation: The
details
Berri receives call from Macron, urges int'l efforts for Israel's withdrawal
Berri criticizes pilot zones, says army shouldn't be put to tests
Aoun seeks Turkey’s backing to implement framework deal
Haykal says Israel hindering army efforts, urges support for institution
South Lebanon: Latest developments
Judiciary postpones hearing of ailing Salameh
'Special' dinner draws controversy in war-hit lebanon
Sehnaoui faces possible arrest at home after dining with Netanyahu
Israel's military chief visits soldiers in south Lebanon
KSA tells Trump Iran has lost leverage in Syria and Lebanon
Iraq and Lebanon: Two states caught in the same cycle
Israeli Army Says It Located Dozens of Hezbollah Weapons Hidden in Civilian
Infrastructure in Southern Lebanon
Israeli Drone Strikes Outskirts of Mansouri in Southern Lebanon
Lebanese security forces incidentally discover Hezbollah weapons cache during
raid
Lebanon’s Place in Trump’s Middle East Strategy/Taylor Issa/This Is Beirut/July
30/2026
Le Grand-Liban et les enjeux d’une géopolitique controversée /Dr. Charles
Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/30 juillet 2026
Greater Lebanon and the Stakes of a Controversial Geopolitics/Dr. Charles
Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/July 30/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on 30-31 July/2026
Pakistan says US-Iran negotiations 'ongoing' on de-escalation, Hormuz
US, Iran trade missile barrages as hopes dim for quick resolution
US issues sanctions targeting support networks for Iran’s Mahan Air
US military says no US aircraft hit in attempted Iranian attacks
Iran’s Araghchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations
Iran’s FM says Egypt security is of utmost importance, claims attack was Israeli
operation
Netanyahu Says Israel and U.S. Share Goal of Eliminating Iran’s Nuclear Program
Saudi Arabia pitches international maritime defense coalition for Red Sea
Kuwait Says Iranian Strike Hits Chinese Company Building, Kills 1
Three IRGC Members Killed in U.S. Attack in Iran’s Zanjan Province
Jordan's Army Says Shot Down 5 Iranian Missiles
Egypt Says Drone Attack Caused Fire at Damietta Port in First Such Strike Since
Regional War Began
Egypt president warns of ‘escalation’ after port strike
Trump announces agreement for disarmament of Hamas
Gaza ceasefire talks see rare progress, sources say
Yemeni probe says Houthis stand behind assassination of Al Arabiya correspondent
China tells US of 'serious concern' over latest trade restrictions
Suspected Russian missile in Poland shows Moscow 'ready to escalate': Merz
US admits error after flawed Africa map shown at aids conference
North Korea-supplied missile may have killed family: Zelenskyy
Russia extends diesel, gasoline export bans until end of January 2027
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on 30-31 July/2026
A look at Netanyahu’s White House visit/Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/July
30, 2026
Europe’s defensive future in a deteriorating strategic environment/Khaled Abou
Zahr/Arab News/July 30, 2026
Words Meant to Kill: Intended Consequences of Freedom of Speech/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/July 30, 2026
Christian Persecution in Nigeria Divides Pastors/Samuel Ben-Ur/Providence/July
30/2026
A crisis of agreements or a crisis of trust in peacemaking?/Zaid AlKami/Al
Arabia English/30 July ,2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on 30-31 July/2026
Erdogan the Muslim Brother is no friend of independent Lebanon.. Joseph
Aoun remains a captive of the Shiite Duo and continues to squander opportunities
Elias Bejjani/July 30/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156335/
President Joseph Aoun's visit to Turkey today was ill-fated, neither in its
suspicious timing nor in its superficial approaches to the Lebanese and regional
situation. In short, this visit constitutes a deliberate blindness to the
priority of liberating Lebanon from the odious Iranian occupation and the
hegemony of the Shiite Duo (Hezbollah and Amal).
As for his speech before Recep Tayyip Erdogan—known for his adoption of Muslim
Brotherhood and jihadist ideologies and his entrenched hostility toward true
peace—it completely ignored the reality of the terrorist Hezbollah and the
disguised Iranian occupation, while parroting the worn-out, monotonous record
chewed on around the clock by Nabih Berri, which sings of:
*An Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territories.
*The return of our displaced people to their villages, alongside their return to
the embrace of their state and homeland.
*Reconstruction, economic recovery, and the restoration of fragile confidence in
the state.
Securing the exclusive sovereignty of our legitimate armed forces alone, to
protect every inch of our land and *all our people within the framework of a
single state, a single army, and a single sovereign decision.
What is truly strange and deplorable is that Aoun did not dare utter the name of
"Hezbollah," completely ignoring Iran's destructive and cancerous role in the
Lebanese entity.
What is truly saddening is Joseph Aoun's sovereign and independent reality;
since his very first day at the Baabda Palace, he chose—perhaps within the
framework of grey arrangements and compromises as promoted by Hezbollah—to
surrender his neck as a hostage, remaining captive and bound to the directives,
policies, and edicts of a team of "deposit" advisers who are foreign and
alienated from everything connected to the culture of independence, freedom, and
absolute sovereignty.
Aoun apparently chose to appease the executioner at the expense of the victim,
turning a blind eye to the reality that Hezbollah and Nabih Berri hold the
levers of actual decision-making, thus remaining incapable of pulling the
republic out of the depths of collapse.
In short, it has become certain that under Joseph Aoun's presidency and the
government of advisors, the harvest of his term will be darnel, not wheat, and
the Lebanese will not experience with him any glimmer of salvation from Nabih
Berri's mini-state, nor from Hezbollah's occupation and violation of the
country... And the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Antoine Sehnaoui Breaks the Taboo by Hosting
Netanyahu: Courage Lacking in Joseph Aoun
Elias Bejjani/July 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156317/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp5pithqgrk
Bravo, and a thousand bravos to Antoine Sehnaoui, who shattered one of the
heretical and terrorist taboos imposed on the Lebanese by the merchants of the
"resistance" lie, ignorant pan-Arabists, demonic nationalists, and criminal,
jihadi political Islam.
Sehnaoui broke the taboo of meeting Israeli leaders openly and before the eyes
of the entire world by hosting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at his table in
the presence of dozens of political and media figures.
This courageous act was required of president Joseph Aoun; instead, Aoun
continues to polish the history and image of the terrorist-jihadist Hezbollah,
still justifying its existence under the pretext of the "Israeli occupation,"
despite his absolute knowledge—and that of his advisory deposits—that Hezbollah
is an Iranian military corps affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, having no connection whatsoever, near or far, to Palestine, Jerusalem, or
any other matter concerning Arabs, liberation, or resistance.
A genuine pursuit of peace and openness to realistic solutions within a changing
regional and global environment is the only way out to save Lebanon from
collapse. This stands in total contrast to the ideologies of absurd wars that
undermine the concept of national sovereignty whenever an armed faction
monopolizes the decision of war and peace.
The scum of the Party of Satan, Hezbollah utilizing lawyers such as Wassef
Harakeh, filed a lawsuit against Sehnaoui, driven by malice, hatred, stupidity,
and blind allegiance to their masters, the mullahs of Iran.
To this day, the judiciary of the Land of Cedars remains hostage to Iranian
agents and their militia intimidation, rendering worthless any ruling issued by
it—especially by the Military Tribunal, which serves as a tool in the hands of
successive occupying forces (from the Palestinian to the Syrian to the Iranian).
The free people of Lebanon are called upon to congratulate Antoine Sehnaoui on
his courage and distinguished initiative, for he defied demonic taboos and took
a bold step toward breaking the deadlock.
As for real accountability, it must target all those who cling to stupid,
backward taboos that serve neither Lebanon, nor peace, nor any principle of
freedom and openness.
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
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
Aoun, Erdogan pledge closer cooperation, stress
Lebanon’s sovereignty
LBCI/30 July/2026
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Lebanon is among the countries that
stand to benefit most from the stability Turkey is seeking in the Middle East,
stressing that Ankara will continue supporting Lebanon on various fronts.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to
its sovereignty and its efforts to restore full control over its territory.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Aoun, Erdogan said Lebanon would be
among the main beneficiaries of the stability Turkey is seeking to establish in
the region.He added that continued dialogue between Lebanon and Syria would
benefit both countries, saying Turkey would provide the necessary assistance to
help strengthen trust between them. Erdogan also said Turkey’s support for the
Lebanese armed forces would continue without interruption, adding that Ankara
wanted to participate in any force aimed at ensuring regional security and
stability, including any alternative force in Lebanon. He said Turkey was ready
to help rebuild southern Lebanon and highlighted what he described as Israeli
war crimes in Lebanon. For his part, Aoun said Lebanon was now more determined
to restore the state’s sovereignty and rebuild the country, stressing that it
remained committed to an Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory. “The
war has failed to destroy the will of the Lebanese,” Aoun said, adding that
Lebanon was determined to build a safe future for its people and that domestic
peace could only be achieved through an effective state. Aoun stressed that
internal peace depends on a strong state, effective institutions and economic
prosperity, while peace in the region and the wider world requires respect for
the sovereignty of states and the rights of peoples to self-determination. He
also stressed that Lebanon would not compromise its national dignity, surrender
to a dominant power or accept unilateral interference in its internal affairs.
Aoun said he had seen in Erdogan “a clear vision and genuine determination” to
elevate Lebanese-Turkish relations to a new level of cooperation, describing him
as a statesman who understands the region deeply and recognizes that Lebanon’s
stability is not solely a Lebanese issue but part of the stability of the entire
region. Aoun said he was confident that the visit would mark the beginning of a
new phase in Lebanese-Turkish relations based on partnership, trust and joint
action.
Israel weighs response to Hezbollah as army warns of
possible escalation: The details
LBCI/30 July/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu did not wait to return to Israel to discuss a response to
what he described as Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire. Instead, he
discussed the details of the response from Washington with the army leadership
and security agencies. Among the priority targets are underground tunnels
beneath Ali Taher hill, which Tel Aviv considers dangerous and says strengthen
Hezbollah’s capabilities, as well as tunnels beneath Beaufort Castle, which the
army has previously said it destroyed. On the ground and from Lebanese
territory, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stepped up his threats, saying the
army is awaiting a decision from the political leadership, specifically
Netanyahu, who is returning from Washington, before taking action. Speaking to
the Kfir Brigade deployed there, Zamir threatened not to withdraw from any part
of Lebanon until what he described as long-term security is guaranteed. He
called on soldiers to prepare for both defense and offense, stressing that an
attack on Ali Taher is approaching. At the same time, the army command and chief
of staff announced preparations for the possibility of a new escalation, saying
the war has not ended on the various fronts. The possibility of escalation was
further raised by U.S. Central Command chief Brad Cooper’s announcement that the
U.S. military was preparing a plan for powerful attacks on Iran that could last
for two weeks, according to Israel.
Berri receives call from Macron, urges int'l efforts for
Israel's withdrawal
Naharnet/30 July/2026
Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday received a phone call from French President
Emmanuel Macron during which they discussed the latest developments in Lebanon
and the region, as well as the developments resulting from “Israel's continued
aggression against Lebanon and its systematic destruction of dozens of occupied
southern Lebanese villages and towns,” Berri’s office said. “During the call,
President Macron affirmed France's continued support for Lebanon and its
commitment to prioritizing Lebanon's stability and sovereignty, offering support
on all levels, particularly for the army and reconstruction efforts. He also
expressed the readiness of France and other friendly nations to assist Lebanon
in overcoming this critical phase,” the statement said. Berri for his part
thanked the French president and France for their “constant support for
Lebanon,” stressing the importance of “expediting exceptional international
efforts to compel Israel to stop its war on Lebanon and withdraw from the
occupied territories up to the international border.”Berri also called for the
Lebanese Army to be deployed in the south and for residents to return to their
towns, cities and villages, in preparation for launching the reconstruction
process.
Berri criticizes pilot zones, says army shouldn't be put to
tests
Naharnet/30 July/2026
Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday hailed the Lebanese Army and said that it should
not be “put to tests” in connection with the so-called pilot zones scheme in
south Lebanon. In a statement marking Army Day, Berri said the army is the role
model of unity, identity, belonging, sacrifice and loyalty, adding that it
defends “the unified Lebanon that the Lebanese look for.”Lamenting that Israel
is “delineating the pilot zones with fire, killing and destruction,” the Speaker
said the Lebanese Army is “the army of Lebanon and the Lebanese.”“It is from
them and for them, and the focus of their hopes in protecting sovereignty,
liberating the land and its people, and preserving stability and civil peace,”
Berri added. "With you and through you we protect Lebanon, achieve its rise and
complete the liberation of its land," the Speaker went on to say.
Aoun seeks Turkey’s backing to implement framework deal
Naharnet/30 July/2026
President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that Turkey is well-positioned to advocate
for the framework agreement internationally and urge all parties to abide by its
terms, as he visited the country to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan and other officials.
Aoun said he thinks Turkey can support Lebanon "given its NATO membership and
strong regional ties". "We plan to discuss expanding ongoing military support
and training programs with Ankara," the President said, adding that any Turkish
aid will reinforce, rather than substitute, current U.S. and international
support. Aoun affirmed Lebanon’s commitment to the framework agreement, noting
that its success hinges on clear guarantees: a complete Israeli withdrawal
synchronized with the deployment of the Lebanese Army, a total end to
hostilities, and an effective international monitoring mechanism to ensure
Israel's compliance as well.
Haykal says Israel hindering army efforts, urges support
for institution
Naharnet/30 July/2026
Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal on Thursday stressed that the army
remains committed to fulfilling all its missions despite “the significant
challenges posed by limited resources, the magnitude of the tasks, and the
delicate circumstances.”
Lamenting that Israel is continuing its attacks and violations to “obstruct the
army's efforts,” Haykal noted that the military “continues its deployment in the
south in accordance with existing agreements and national principles, and its
efforts to ensure the safe and secure return of our people to their villages and
towns persist.”“It also remains prepared to deploy in all occupied areas from
which Israeli occupation forces withdraw,” he added, in a statement marking Army
Day. Haykal noted that the scale of the army’s missions across the country
necessitates strengthening the capabilities of the military institution and
empowering it to confront challenges. “This requires leveraging cooperation with
brotherly and friendly nations, especially since supporting the army is an
investment in the stability of Lebanon and the security of the region,” he
pointed out. Haykal also emphasized that “the military institution will remain
the guarantor of security and civil peace, and will not allow the
destabilization of the country or its dragging into strife.”
South Lebanon: Latest developments
Naharnet/30 July/2026
Israeli airstrikes targeted the southern towns of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa and al-Mansouri
on Thursday, following a night of heavy demolitions in Israeli-occupied
villages. Israeli forces detonated homes in al-Mansouri, Majdalzoun, and Bouyout
al-Siyyed, and directed heavy machine-gun fire toward Wadi al-Hujeir and Wadi
Slouqi.
Judiciary postpones hearing of ailing Salameh
Agence France Presse/30 July/2026
Lebanon's judiciary postponed a Thursday hearing for former central bank
governor Riad Salameh over alleged embezzlement after he failed to show up due
to illness, a judicial official told AFP. Salameh, who headed the central bank
from 1993 to July 2023, is accused of having amassed a fortune during his time
in the job and has faced numerous accusations including embezzlement and tax
evasion in probes in Lebanon and abroad. The 76-year-old has consistently denied
any wrongdoing and has insisted he is being made a "scapegoat" for the country's
economic collapse, which began in 2019.
He was due to appear in court Thursday in connection with a complaint filed by
new bank governor Karim Soueid over alleged embezzlement, illicit enrichment and
money laundering. The central bank previously told AFP it was the "victim of the
embezzlement of funds amounting to several hundred million euros, committed at
its expense by its former governor, Mr. Riad Salameh, with the assistance of
several individuals in his circle."A judge had directed authorities to escort
Salameh to court after he failed to appear at the hearing. Instead Salameh
decided to go voluntarily accompanied by his lawyer but "fell ill while heading
to the justice palace," the official said, and the judiciary decided to postpone
the hearing. Last month, an initial hearing was held at Salameh's home due to
his deteriorating health, with a judge presiding over his questioning. He was
arrested in September 2024 and charged with offenses including the alleged
embezzlement of $44 million from the central bank. He was released a year later
after posting record bail of over $14 million but was barred from travelling. He
has also been the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by French
authorities since May 2023. In May, the Swiss subsidiary of British bank HSBC
was formally indicted in Paris. Investigators suspect it helped Salameh embezzle
funds.
'Special' dinner draws controversy in war-hit lebanon
Associated Press/30 July/2026
A Lebanese judge issued an order Wednesday that could lead to the arrest of
prominent banker Antoun Sehnaoui if he returns to Lebanon over allegations of
collaboration with Israel and violating laws prohibiting contact with Israelis,
state media reported. The order came days after Sehnaoui dined in Washington
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj of the
Court of Cassation issued a 30-day notice directing security forces to locate
and question Sehnaoui. The banker is in the United States, but the order could
result in his detention upon his return to Lebanon. Twenty Lebanese lawyers had
filed a complaint earlier Wednesday with the public prosecutor's office in
Beirut over Sehnaoui's meeting with Netanyahu. The meeting drew controversy amid
a backdrop of war Lebanon and Israel have been holding U.S.-backed direct talks
for the first time in decades over the past three months, seeking an end to the
latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group
in southern Lebanon.Lebanon's laws prevent its citizens from having contact with
Israelis — the countries remain in a state of war since Israel was established
in 1948 — and violators could face prison terms.
The dinner in Washington
Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted a photo on X of Sehnaoui sitting at a
restaurant table with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Ravid wrote that Sehnaoui
and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner Monday in memory of the
late Sen. Lindsey Graham that was attended by Netanyahu and U.S. officials. A
Sehnaoui-linked website, This is Beirut, also reported details of what it called
the "special dinner."Sehnaoui's lawyer in Beirut did not immediately respond to
a request for comment. State-run National News Agency reported late Wednesday
that al-Hajj's decision came after the Technical Information Office determined
the photo was authentic and had not been altered, manipulated digitally or
generated using artificial intelligence.
The next legal steps
Four judicial officials said that after 30 days, the order issued by al-Hajj
will be closed and transferred to the country's Military Court for it to issue
an arrest warrant for Sehnaoui. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in
line with regulations. The complaint by the 20 lawyers said Sehnaoui committed
"the crimes of contacting and dealing with the Israeli enemy, violating the
Israel boycott law, the crime of treason and state security crimes."Two of the
Lebanese lawyers who filed the complaint told The Associated Press that the
Sehnaoui-Netanyahu meeting came as Israel's military is still carrying out
attacks on Lebanon. One of the lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, said Sehnaoui violated the
law and offended national sentiments. Bazzi said the lawyers hope the
prosecutor's office performs its duties "effectively and swiftly."A Lebanese
foreign ministry official refused to comment when contacted by the AP. Sehnaoui,
who has been mostly based in the U.S. in recent years, has several businesses in
Lebanon and abroad in sectors including banking, media and the film industry.
Like other senior bankers, Sehnaoui was harshly criticized following Lebanon's
historic economic meltdown in 2019, when most people lost access to their money.
The economic crisis was described by the World Bank as among the worst in the
world since the 1850s. Sehnaoui's meeting with the Israeli leader occurred as
some in Lebanon have called for abolishing a 1955 law that bans dealing with
Israel or having contacts with Israelis and punishes offenders with up to 10
years in jail.
Sehnaoui faces possible arrest at home after dining with
Netanyahu
Agence France Presse/30 July/2026
Lebanese judicial authorities have issued a warrant seeking the arrest of
influential businessman Antoun Sehnaoui accused of meeting Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that prosecutor
and judge Ahmad Rami had issued a 30-day wanted notice for Sehnaoui "on charges
of dealing with the Israeli enemy and violating Lebanon's boycott law against
Israel".Lebanese law criminalizes contact with Israel, despite the countries
beginning direct talks under U.S. sponsorship in April, a month after the latest
fighting erupted between Israel and Hezbollah. Axios journalist Barak Ravid had
reported that, on Monday night in Washington, Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy
Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner attended by high-profile officials including
Netanyahu. The dinner was in memory of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who
died this month. An accompanying photo showing Sehnaoui, a Lebanese Christian,
and Netanyahu at the same table sparked uproar on social media in Lebanon across
the political spectrum. The judicial official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, told AFP that Lebanese security forces had established that the photo
was authentic and had not been altered. In another image, posted on Netanyahu's
X account, Sehnaoui is visible behind the Israeli premier. The judicial official
said that several lawyers had also submitted a report demanding "the prosecution
of Sehnaoui for crimes related to dealing with Israel and communicating with
Netanyahu". The prosecutor is to examine the matter and decide whether to refer
it to the military court. Sehnaoui, who is in favor of normalizing ties with
Israel, is chairman of Lebanon's SGBL bank and involved with Lebanese media
outlets. He is also a movie producer and philanthropist. Lebanese lawyer Wassef
El-Harakeh said he had lodged a personal complaint against Sehnaoui for "dealing
with the enemy", saying the matter required a "serious, transparent judicial
investigation, free of any political, financial or clientelist immunity". In
April, at an event at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in which
Sehnaoui was recognized as a donor, Ortagus said Sehnaoui and his family "come
from generations of committed Lebanese Christian Zionists", according to footage
of the event. "I'm going to brag on him because I love him... What Antoun is
doing today is technically illegal in Lebanon," she said, in reference to
Lebanese laws banning contact with Israel.
The move stirred controversy in Lebanon at a time when Israel was pummeling the
country during its war with Hezbollah.
Israel's military chief visits soldiers in south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/30 July/2026
Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, visited soldiers
deployed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.He said the army "will not withdraw
from the security zone until long-term security is ensured". "If required, we
will deepen our operations and reach additional areas," he added, according to a
military statement.
KSA tells Trump Iran has lost leverage in Syria and Lebanon
Associated Press/30 July/2026
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman has met with U.S. President Donald
Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to two people familiar with the
matter who were not authorized to comment publicly about the private meeting.
The defense minister conveyed Wednesday the view of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman, the kingdom's de facto leader, that Iran has lost leverage in Syria and
Lebanon but is still managing to provide support to the Houthis in Yemen and
militias in Iraq, according to one of the people familiar with Prince Khalid's
talks with Trump and Vance. The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen earlier this week
said they fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, days after declaring
they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. The
fighting between the United States and Iran has recently entered a new phase as
Saudi Arabia publicly joined military escalations against Tehran-backed proxies
in Iraq.
Iraq and Lebanon: Two states caught in the same cycle
LBCI/30 July/2026
Iraq has not become like Lebanon. Not in its history, nor in its composition.
But it has moved closer to a model that Lebanese people know well: power divided
among different groups, political patronage, leaders stronger than institutions,
corruption, and weapons whose use is not always decided solely by the state.
This is how Iraq’s situation since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003
can be summed up.Since then, Iraq has moved from a highly centralized system to
one based on a balance among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Over time, a political
convention became entrenched: The prime minister is Shiite, the parliament
speaker is Sunni and the president is Kurdish. The arrangement is reminiscent of
Lebanon, where the president is Maronite, the prime minister is Sunni and the
parliament speaker is Shiite. The stated goal was to ensure the participation of
all groups, but participation turned into political patronage, much like in
Lebanon: One party gets a ministry, another political bloc gets a government
agency, while jobs and projects become part of deals among political and
sectarian forces.
Then there are the weapons.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah emerged in the 1980s and developed into a political and
military force strategically linked to Iran, outside the structure of the
Lebanese army. In Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces emerged in their current
form in 2014. They were established to fight the Islamic State group and were
later formally incorporated into Iraq’s security establishment. The two cases
are legally and historically different, but the similarity is clear: An armed
force with political and military influence and close ties to Iran raises
questions about the limits of state authority.
The same pattern is repeated in corruption and governance. Iraq is a wealthy
oil-producing country, while Lebanon has limited resources. But when
public-sector positions become political spoils and institutions turn into
spheres of influence, accountability weakens and government formation becomes a
bargaining process over positions and gains.
Then there is the U.S.-Iranian rivalry.
In Iraq, Washington toppled Saddam’s regime and remained a major security and
political player, while Tehran built extensive influence through political
parties, armed factions and its influence over governments. In Lebanon,
Washington supports the army and state institutions, while Iran’s relationship
with Hezbollah represents its most prominent instrument of influence. From
Baghdad to Beirut, the names and circumstances are different, but the crisis is
the same: When protecting diversity turns into political patronage, patronage
turns into corruption, weapons become a source of influence, and foreign powers
become partners in decision-making, the state becomes weaker than its
constituent groups. So can Iraq and Lebanon build states stronger than sectarian
affiliation, political parties, weapons and foreign influence? Or will they
remain arenas for conflicts greater than themselves?
Israeli Army Says It Located Dozens of Hezbollah Weapons
Hidden in Civilian Infrastructure in Southern Lebanon
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
The Israeli military announced Thursday that troops operating in the southern
Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun located dozens of weapons allegedly hidden
within civilian infrastructure.
According to the army, the cache included Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition
magazines, bullets, hand grenades, explosives, explosive devices, anti-tank
missiles and mortar shells.
The military added that its forces destroyed buildings it said had been used by
Hezbollah.
Israeli Drone Strikes Outskirts of Mansouri in Southern
Lebanon
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
An Israeli drone carried out an airstrike on the communal lands of Mansouri in
the Tyre district of southern Lebanon a short while ago, according to Lebanon's
National News Agency (NNA).
Lebanese security forces incidentally discover Hezbollah
weapons cache during raid
FDD's Long War Journal/July 30/2026
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2026/07/lebanese-security-forces-incidentally-discover-hezbollah-weapons-cache-during-raid.php
On July 29, Lebanese media reported that the Information Branch of the Internal
Security Forces (ISF), Lebanon’s national police and internal security services,
conducted a dawn raid on the home of a man identified as Hani Jawad in Ras al
Nabaa, a neighborhood in the Mazraa quarter of east-central Beirut. The story
was broken by MTV Lebanon, an outlet with an anti-Hezbollah orientation, at
11:24 am local time. According to the very brief MTV report, the raid occurred
“against the background of a family dispute,” without elaborating on its causes,
nature, or what specifically prompted the ISF to search Jawad’s residence.During
the raid, MTV claimed that security personnel discovered a “large quantity of
weapons” inside Jawad’s home, including detonators, explosives, and maps. MTV’s
story was headlined by a picture of an arms cache, presumably of those seized
during the operation. The image shows several rifles, other firearms or firearm
components, ammunition clips, tactical equipment, and several wrapped or
packaged cylindrical and block-like objects—which could be explosives, explosive
charges, propellant, or related components. However, the photograph does not
contain visible or identifiable official markings, evidence labels with date and
location, or other information independently establishing that the items came
from Jawad’s residence. Nor can the purported detonators, explosives, or maps be
conclusively identified from the image alone.MTV further reported that Jawad
admitted during his preliminary interrogation by Lebanese security personnel
that he belonged to Hezbollah. That afternoon, Al Arabiya subsequently quoted
unnamed “Lebanese sources” who corroborated MTV’s claims about Jawad’s
affiliation—but both outlets may ultimately be relying on the same Lebanese
security source. Al Arabiya’s reporting, however, framed the incident as “a raid
in Beirut’s Ras Al Nabaa uncovers a sabotage plot,” and added that “the weapons
were intended” for carrying out that alleged sabotage plot.Neither outlet quoted
an official statement from the ISF or another Lebanese authority, provided
independent evidence of Jawad’s Hezbollah membership, or identified his
organizational position. MTV and Al Arabiya also did not specify whether Jawad
was allegedly an armed operative, a security official, a logistics facilitator,
a political member, or simply a supporter who described himself as belonging to
the group.
Subsequent reports provided more detail on the incident. The same afternoon, the
Al Jadeed TV station, which is relatively aligned with Hezbollah’s broader
political camp, cited Lebanese Interior Ministry sources claiming that the ISF
raided the home of an individual who opened fire in the Sodeco-Ras al Nabaa area
after a family dispute. Al Jadeed reported that security personnel seized
weapons, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and other military
equipment, arrested the shooter, and were questioning him. The report, however,
did not identify the shooter, mention his affiliation, or cite an alleged
sabotage plot.A follow-up, anonymously sourced MTV report added that the family
dispute involved Jawad and his wife’s relatives and escalated into gunfire, with
a stray bullet wounding his sister-in-law. Investigators then searched his
apartment, where they allegedly found military rifles, several RPG rounds, and
maps. Authorities later traced an unusual electrical line to a nearby shop
containing numerous mobile phones and surveillance-system DVRs. MTV said
authorities were investigating the purpose of the weapons, maps, and electronic
equipment.
Al Modon, a Beirut-based Qatari-owned newspaper generally critical of Hezbollah,
reported that the suspect, identified only as “H.J.,” accidentally shot his
sister-in-law in the foot and sent her to the hospital during a quarrel with his
wife’s family. Military Court Government Commissioner Claude Ghanem reportedly
authorized the Information Branch to arrest him and search his apartment.
Officers allegedly expected to recover the handgun used in the dispute but
instead found what the outlet described as a small arms depot containing15
military rifles, 10 RPG rounds, party flags and emblems, quantities of
ready-to-use detonators, and detailed maps of Ras al Nabaa and its surroundings.
The report said investigators questioned whether the maps might relate to
targets or security routes but did not establish that interpretation as fact. Al
Modon further reported that officers traced an unusually routed electrical line
from the apartment to a tire shop less than 200 meters away. Ghanem reportedly
authorized an immediate search, which uncovered older mobile phones and several
DVR units used to record surveillance-camera footage. Unnamed security and
judicial sources suggested that the shop may have served as a technical room for
monitoring movement in the neighborhood. Authorities were reportedly examining
the devices, the weapons’ origins, the maps’ purpose, and whether others were
involved. Much remains unclear about this incident. Based on the available
information, it does not appear that the ISF raided Jawad’s home as part of an
intentional operation or seizure targeting Hezbollah. Available reports
explicitly identify the family dispute as the raid’s trigger and portray the
discovery of the arms as incidental and unexpected.
Nothing publicly available currently indicates that security forces knew Jawad
was affiliated with Hezbollah before entering the residence, had prior
intelligence about the alleged cache, or were acting pursuant to Lebanon’s
standing commitments to restrict Hezbollah’s military activities and seize its
weapons. The nature and ownership of the seized matériel also remain
undetermined.
**David Daoud is Senior Fellow at at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs.
Lebanon’s Place in Trump’s Middle East Strategy
Taylor Issa/This Is Beirut/July 30/2026
Following the White House summit between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and U.S.
President Donald Trump, Lebanon now faces pressure to turn diplomatic momentum
into action on the issues that matter most to the U.S., analysts say.
Lebanon’s Place in Trump’s Middle East Strategy
By Taylor Issa
The July 21 meeting between the two leaders came at a pivotal moment where
ensuring Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty—as well as reducing the threat
posed by Iran—have become strategic priorities for the U.S.
This is Beirut spoke with analysts about how Trump’s relationship with Aoun
could deepen U.S.-Lebanese cooperation at a moment of regional crisis.
Meanwhile, as the U.S.-Iran confrontation intensifies, the Trilateral Framework
between Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S. provides a formal diplomatic track for
addressing shared concerns.
Trump’s New Regional Partners
Aoun’s meeting with Trump was the latest the U.S. president has held with
regional leaders over the past month, with Iran a central focus. These recent
meetings signal that the U.S. is prepared to deepen support for states that take
tangible steps aligned with Washington’s objectives.
On July 14, Trump hosted at the White House Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi,
who came to office in mid-May with U.S. backing. Speaking alongside Zaidi, Trump
portrayed Iran's weakening as an opportunity for a new regional order, saying
that he and Zaidi are “going to make some tremendous music together.”
“An opponent, Iran, was a big burden on Iraq because they were a bully of the
Middle East,” Trump said. “They're not going to have that problem anymore
because Iran has been very much destabilized.”
The newly appointed Iraqi prime minister has positioned himself as a U.S. ally,
pursuing the disarmament of Iran-backed militias and an anti-corruption campaign
perceived as targeting Tehran’s influence. Trump described Zaidi as “a great
leader” whose “influence is going to spread all throughout the Middle East.”
On July 8, Trump met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who, like Zaidi, is
a new leader of a key regional state seeking closer ties with Washington.
Following their talks in Ankara, Trump announced that Syria would be removed
from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The Syrian president has sought to restore state authority and disarm militias
throughout the country. After ousting Tehran-backed Bashar al-Assad in December
2024 and taking control of Syria, Sharaa said one of his goals was “removing
Iranian militias and closing Syria to Iranian influence.”
Syria has repeatedly interdicted weapon shipments bound for Hezbollah in
Lebanon, most recently announcing a seizure of advanced weapons on July 16.
Meanwhile, Sharaa has backed U.S.-brokered negotiations with Israel aimed at
reaching a security agreement. Trump has praised Sharaa and in recent weeks
raised the possibility of Syria taking up a greater role against Hezbollah.
The Trump-Aoun meeting fits into this pattern. Aoun was invited to the White
House after backing direct diplomacy with Israel, culminating in the
U.S.-brokered Trilateral Framework to secure peaceful relations between Beirut
and Jerusalem.
For Matthew Levitt, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, the meeting between Trump and Aoun “makes all the sense in the world,
both from the American and from the Lebanese perspectives.”
Aoun’s relationship with Trump gives him the opportunity to secure Israel’s
withdrawal from Lebanon, end the conflict, and kick-start reconstruction, Levitt
told This is Beirut. Signed on June 26, the Trilateral Framework calls for
Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF) disarm Hezbollah in designated pilot zones.
Washington will not just be willing, but eager, to further the U.S.-Lebanon
relationship, Levitt said, “to the extent that the LAF and the government of
Lebanon are able and willing to follow through on what is required of them under
the framework agreement.”
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be a factor of Lebanon’s willingness and
ability to do what it needs to do,” he added.
Washington will not just be willing, but eager, to further the [U.S.-Lebanon]
relationship... It’s going to be a factor of Lebanon’s willingness and ability
to do what it needs to do.
Curbing Iran’s Influence in Lebanon
Lebanon now has the chance to show that it can fit into Trump’s regional
strategy by working toward a key U.S. goal: countering Iranian influence.
Security analyst Riad Kahwaji said the Trilateral Framework offers a “very
unique and important opportunity that must be taken and preserved by the
Lebanese state.”
The Trilateral Framework offers a very unique and important opportunity that
must be taken and preserved by the Lebanese state.
The Trilateral Framework came on the heels of the June 17 Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between the U.S. and Iran, which raised fears it was
granting Tehran a role in security arrangements in Lebanon. With the MoU now
effectively collapsed, the Trilateral Framework aimed at disarming Iran-backed
Hezbollah has remained the primary diplomatic and security track for Lebanon.
Kahwaji told This is Beirut that the Trilateral Framework is being implemented
within the context of Iran having suffered a military setback while Hezbollah’s
strength in Lebanon has diminished. Without the support of other regional
actors, such as the now-overthrown Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah’s ability to
rebuild its capabilities will be “a nearly impossible task,” he added.
While the Lebanese government has a lot of maneuvering room to curb Iran’s
influence, Kahwaji said, “there is still a lot of hesitation” to do so.
“Iran is not the main player in Lebanon anymore,” political consultant and
journalist Mowafac Harb told This is Beirut. “It is not easy for Iran to accept
this new reality,” he said.
Iran is not the main player in Lebanon anymore... It is not easy for Iran to
accept this new reality.
Harb added that the question is now how far Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam
can go in their policy to undermine Iranian influence. The Lebanese side has to
show that it can disarm militant groups, dismantle their infrastructure, and
prevent the resurgence of any non-state armed activity. Only then, he said,
reconstruction can begin.
With Hezbollah weakened, Beirut has an opportunity to reassert its sovereignty
and follow through on efforts to roll back Tehran’s influence. The Trilateral
Framework and any commitments made by Aoun to Trump in their July 21 summit will
bind the Lebanese government to follow through on its word.
After the meeting with Aoun, Trump praised the Lebanese president and issued a
directive to resume direct U.S. flights to Lebanon, suggesting that the meeting
between the two leaders was fruitful.
Lebanon’s president, for his part, told Trump that the successful implementation
of the Trilateral Framework could be part of the U.S. president’s legacy. “Your
vision is peace. Your vision is stability. My vision will start with your
vision, and together we will be able to achieve success,” Aoun said.
Le Grand-Liban et les enjeux d’une géopolitique controversée
Dr. Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/30 juillet 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156330/
La béatification du patriarche Elias Howayek relance la controverse concernant
la formation du Grand-Liban, notamment son opportunité, sa légitimité, son
originalité, son instabilité endémique, ainsi que ses relations avec les
conflits de la géopolitique moyen-orientale, qui n’a jamais pu asseoir des
équilibres stables. Bizarrement, l’État territorial n’a jamais pu s’accréditer
dans une région où les conflits ethno-politiques persistent, empêchant la
stabilisation géopolitique et le renforcement des coopérations face aux crises
de légitimité et aux faiblesses structurelles des États.
Il est difficile d’édifier un ordre politique régional suffisamment consistant
en l’absence d’une culture politique fédératrice et des paramètres de
reconnaissance communément partagés. Or il n’en est rien cent ans après
l’émergence de la communauté des États arabes, qui n’a jamais pu s’imposer comme
fédérateur ou comme médiateur effectif des conflits.
Les origines politiques du Liban moderne sont traçables et se ressourcent dans
un triple héritage historique, celui de l’Église maronite, de l’Émirat médiéval
et de la modernité politique. Les liens entre les trois variables relèvent d’un
rapport dialectique qui a structuré les diverses étapes. On a affaire à un
acteur historique qui a accompagné à des degrés divers un cheminement millénaire
d’émancipation, de réinsertion dans l’histoire et de reconstruction des
dynamiques historiques et intellectuelles qui ont permis des mutations
historiques inédites.
Le projet de l’État national n’est que l’aboutissement de ces dynamiques qui se
perdent dans le temps étendu. Paradoxalement, ce projet est l’aboutissement
d’une stratégie d’émancipation menée par une Église de tradition ascétique (Ausserweltiche
Askese, Ascèse extramondaine). Le projet d’émancipation politique n’est que
l’expression d’une conscience de soi renouvelée, du rétablissement de l’agir
historique et du début d’une nouvelle ère historique. L’État national n’est
qu’une étape dans cette stratégie d’émancipation aux reliefs multiples.
L’action du patriarche Howayek s’inscrit dans le prolongement de cette longue
durée, durant laquelle l’action ecclésiale, avec ses dimensions politiques,
économiques et culturelles, a préparé la voie à une dynamique d’émancipation
globale. Cette dynamique a été marquée par la modernisation des institutions
ecclésiales, la diversification des ministères et les défis existentiels,
redéfinissant ainsi les champs d’action d’une Église qui se fraye de nouveaux
chemins dans une modernité avançant de manière insidieuse et irréversible. C’est
cette prise de conscience qui rend compte de l’action du patriarche Howayek à
l’aube des temps modernes où les génocides et les totalitarismes impriment les
dérives et les ambiguïtés de la modernité.
L’autre source est celle de l’ère nationaliste et de l’émergence des États
territoriaux scellée par la défaite de l’empire ottoman, la fin du paradigme
impérial et du califat, la défaillance de leurs géopolitiques respectives et du
sultanisme politique et de ses registres. L’État territorial permet pour la
première fois la sortie par effraction des catégories politiques de l’islam, de
ses verrouillages statutaires et des enfermements géopolitiques qui en découlent.
Le droit à l’autonomie nationale, la possibilité de l’État de droit,
l’encadrement des droits humanitaires, l’éthos égalitaire, et la source
contractuelle et paritaire de l’autorité politique permettent le passage de ce
que Howayek avait qualifié de transition du “nationalisme religieux au
nationalisme politique”. C’est la modernité qui autorisait le passage et le
rendait possible.
La définition des frontières du nouvel État s’est inspirée de l’histoire de
l’Émirat, des enjeux politiques qui lui étaient propres. Elle a également été
influencée par les impératifs de viabilité économique imposés par les réalités
tragiques de la famine et la présence maronite sur l’ensemble du territoire.
Elle a également été influencée par la présence maronite sur l’ensemble du
territoire, ainsi que par les doléances des quatre nouveaux districts ajoutés
aux sphères de l’Émirat historique et les contentieux politiques qui leur
étaient associés. Néanmoins, le Patriarche réussit à bâtir une plateforme
interconfessionnelle qui s’est rendue au congrès de Versailles (1919) pour créer
l’État du Grand-Liban. Le rôle de la France était déterminant dans la mesure où
elle a promu la cause du Grand-Liban, servi de levier diplomatique et bâti les
institutions étatiques libanaises, les infrastructures publiques et économiques
et le système éducatif libanais et ses relais scolaires, universitaires et
culturels.
Autrement, le débat sur les frontières du nouvel État se poursuivait au sein du
Patriarcat entre les partisans du Grand-Liban (Boulos Njaim, Youssef al-Saouda,
Youssef al-Howayek) et leurs contradicteurs Souleimane al-Boustany (ministre
maronite au sein de l’administration impériale ottomane et traducteur de
l’Iliade) et le juriste français Robert de Caix. Ce dilemme a jalonné toutes les
étapes de l’histoire tourmentée de l’État. Celui-ci pâtissait de crises
endémiques causées par les idéologies transnationales qui remettaient en
question les États territoriaux au nom d’une légitimité idéologique qui rendait
compte des interventionnismes qui ont détruit le pays de manière répétée et à
des cadences ininterrompues.
Le projet national libanais mis en œuvre par le patriarche Howayek se
distinguait par son unicité dans un environnement gouverné par des dictatures
tribales, ethno-confessionnelles, idéologiques panarabes ou panislamiques, ou
militaires. Les élites politiques chrétiennes ont opté résolument pour l’État de
droit et pour une démocratie constitutionnelle et pluraliste. Cette option
démocratique libérale a été contestée par des totalitarismes nationalistes
arabes, syriens et islamistes, par des oligarchies de tout acabit, tant
financières que politiques. De plus, elle a été contredite par des pans de
féodalité résiduelle et par des variantes d’un totalitarisme de gauche qui se
drapait de palestinisme.
Le Liban a été délibérément anéanti par des politiques impériales qui ont usé de
ses libertés pour détruire la paix civile et réengager les politiques de
domination régionale. Le patriarche Howayek, en optant pour le Grand-Liban,
avait par voie de conséquence opté pour les libertés et les droits dont il était
garant indépendamment des choix institutionnels qui incombaient aux Libanais.
Loin de toute interférence dans l’ingénierie constitutionnelle, il avait plaidé
pour autonomiser la sphère politique et la séparation des pouvoirs. Il incombe
aux Libanais de faire le bilan du centenaire révolu et de repenser les enjeux
d’une nouvelle ère à la lumière des déboires d’un passé récent et des promesses
d’une nouvelle aube.
Le Liban est assailli par les mêmes déferlantes idéologiques réinterprétées.
Celles-ci lui ont coûté des décennies de conflits ouverts et des extrémismes
idéologiques qui ont pourfendu son indépendance nationale, ses institutions
démocratiques et remis en cause sa concorde civile, auxquelles le projet
national du patriarche Howayek devait répondre. La politique chiite part d’une
axiomatique de domination sectaire, d’un rejet frontal de l’État de droit, et
d’un totalitarisme primitif qui contredit toute forme de pluralisme.
Les Libanais ont pâti de politiques de domination qui ont valu au Liban des
décennies de conflits ouverts qui se nourrissaient d’un nihilisme sans mesure.
Ils ont fini par questionner la légitimité de cette configuration politico-juridique
et par s’interroger sur la viabilité des valeurs de liberté, de pluralisme et de
démocratie dont elle était garante. Issue d’une fin de guerre, cette
configuration de droit devrait à son tour se baser sur un nouveau rapport de
force pour se protéger et se repositionner à partir de nouveaux équilibres
géostratégiques qui puissent la sanctuariser.
Greater Lebanon and the Stakes of a Controversial Geopolitics
Dr. Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/July 30/2026
(translated from French)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156330/
The beatification of Patriarch Elias Howayek revives the
controversy surrounding the formation of Greater Lebanon—specifically its
expediency, legitimacy, originality, endemic instability, and its relationship
with the conflicts of Middle Eastern geopolitics, which has never been able to
establish stable balances. Strangely, the territorial state has never been able
to gain accreditation in a region where ethno-political conflicts persist,
preventing geopolitical stabilization and the strengthening of cooperation in
the face of crises of legitimacy and the structural weaknesses of states.
It is difficult to build a sufficiently consistent regional political order in
the absence of a unifying political culture and commonly shared parameters of
recognition. Yet, a century after the emergence of the community of Arab states,
this remains absent; it has never been able to impose itself as a unifying force
or as an effective mediator of conflicts.
The political origins of modern Lebanon are traceable and draw their resources
from a triple historical heritage: that of the Maronite Church, the medieval
Emirate, and political modernity. The links between these three variables fall
under a dialectical relationship that has structured the various stages. We are
dealing with a historical actor that has accompanied, to varying degrees, a
millennial journey of emancipation, reinsertion into history, and the
reconstruction of the historical and intellectual dynamics that have enabled
unprecedented historical mutations.
The national state project is merely the culmination of these dynamics, which
are lost in extended time. Paradoxically, this project is the outcome of an
emancipation strategy led by a Church of ascetic tradition (Ausserweltiche
Askese, otherworldly asceticism). The political emancipation project is nothing
less than the expression of a renewed self-consciousness, the restoration of
historical agency, and the beginning of a new historical era. The national state
is only a step in this multifaceted emancipation strategy.
Patriarch Howayek’s action is part of the continuation of this longue durée,
during which ecclesial action, with its political, economic, and cultural
dimensions, prepared the way for a dynamic of global emancipation. This dynamic
was marked by the modernization of ecclesial institutions, the diversification
of ministries, and existential challenges, thus redefining the fields of action
of a Church carving out new paths within a modernity advancing in an insidious
and irreversible manner. It is this awareness that accounts for Patriarch
Howayek’s action at the dawn of modern times, when genocides and totalitarisms
imprinted the drifts and ambiguities of modernity.
The other source is that of the nationalist era and the emergence of territorial
states sealed by the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the end of the imperial
paradigm and the caliphate, the failure of their respective geopolitics, and
political sultanism and its registers. For the first time, the territorial state
allowed a breakout from the political categories of Islam, its statutory locks,
and the resulting geopolitical confinements. The right to national autonomy, the
possibility of the rule of law, the safeguarding of humanitarian rights, the
egalitarian ethos, and the contractual and parity-based source of political
authority enabled the transition from what Howayek had described as the shift
from "religious nationalism to political nationalism." It was modernity that
authorized this transition and made it possible.
The definition of the borders of the new state was inspired by the history of
the Emirate and its specific political stakes. It was also influenced by the
imperatives of economic viability imposed by the tragic realities of famine and
the Maronite presence across the entire territory, as well as by the grievances
of the four new districts added to the spheres of the historical Emirate and the
political disputes associated with them. Nevertheless, the Patriarch succeeded
in building an interfaith platform that went to the Congress of Versailles
(1919) to create the State of Greater Lebanon. France’s role was decisive to the
extent that it promoted the cause of Greater Lebanon, served as a diplomatic
lever, and built Lebanese state institutions, public and economic
infrastructures, and the Lebanese educational system with its school,
university, and cultural relays.
Otherwise, the debate on the borders of the new state continued within the
Patriarchate between the partisans of Greater Lebanon (Boulos Njaim, Youssef al-Saouda,
Youssef al-Howayek) and their detractors, Souleimane al-Boustany (a Maronite
minister within the Ottoman imperial administration and translator of the Iliad)
and the French jurist Robert de Caix. This dilemma has marked all the stages of
the state's tormented history. The state suffered from endemic crises caused by
transnational ideologies that challenged territorial states in the name of an
ideological legitimacy that accounted for the interventionisms that repeatedly
and uninterruptedly destroyed the country.
The Lebanese national project implemented by Patriarch Howayek was distinguished
by its uniqueness in an environment governed by tribal, ethno-confessional,
pan-Arab or pan-Islamic ideological, or military dictatorships. Christian
political elites resolutely opted for the rule of law and for a constitutional
and pluralist democracy. This liberal democratic option was contested by Arab,
Syrian, and Islamist nationalist totalitarisms, and by oligarchies of all
stripes, both financial and political. Furthermore, it was contradicted by
remnants of feudalism and by variants of a left-wing totalitarism cloaked in
Palestinianism.
Lebanon was deliberately annihilated by imperial policies that used its freedoms
to destroy civil peace and re-engage policies of regional domination. Patriarch
Howayek, by opting for Greater Lebanon, had consequently opted for the freedoms
and rights of which it was the guarantor, independently of the institutional
choices incumbent upon the Lebanese. Far from any interference in constitutional
engineering, he had pleaded for the empowerment of the political sphere and the
separation of powers. It is incumbent upon the Lebanese to take stock of the
past centenary and rethink the stakes of a new era in light of the setbacks of
the recent past and the promises of a new dawn.
Lebanon is assailed by the same reinterpreted ideological surges. These have
cost it decades of open conflicts and ideological extremisms that have battered
its national independence, its democratic institutions, and called into question
its civil concord—to which Patriarch Howayek's national project was meant to
respond. Shiite politics starts from an axiom of sectarian domination, a frontal
rejection of the rule of law, and a primitive totalitarism that contradicts any
form of pluralism.
The Lebanese have suffered from policies of domination that have cost Lebanon
decades of open conflicts fueled by boundless nihilism. They have ended up
questioning the legitimacy of this political-legal configuration and wondering
about the viability of the values of freedom, pluralism, and democracy of which
it was the guarantor. Emerging from the end of a war, this legal configuration
should in turn be based on a new balance of power to protect itself and
reposition itself from new geostrategic balances that can sanctify it.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 30-31 July/2026
Pakistan says US-Iran negotiations 'ongoing' on de-escalation, Hormuz
Agence France Presse/July 30/2026
Mediator Pakistan confirmed on Thursday that negotiations between the United
States and Iran were "ongoing" during a flare-up in fighting across the Middle
East. "Negotiations between parties are ongoing, particularly on (the) Strait of
Hormuz and to de-escalate," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi
told reporters in Islamabad. "We are doing our utmost to bring all parties back
to the Islamabad MoU," Andrabi said, adding Pakistan was encouraging the
countries to "fully adhere to their commitments to hold technical talks" under
the agreement.
US, Iran trade missile barrages as hopes dim for quick resolution
Associated Press/July 30/2026
Jordan's air defenses shot down five missiles launched from Iran Thursday
morning, the country's state-run Petra news agency said, hours after the U.S.
military announced it had completed "a heavy wave of strikes against Iran" in
response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. No
casualties were reported from Jordan's interception of the missiles, the news
agency quoted the spokesman for the country's armed forces as saying. The U.S.
Central Command said in a social media post that for over two hours the United
States had struck "dozens" of targets belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Corps, including military command centers as well as missile and drone
facilities, and coastal surveillance and defense sites.The new strikes came
hours after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran "very hard" after it
targeted a base in Jordan that hosts U.S. troops. Iran's official IRNA news
agency said three people were killed and two were wounded in a strike on the
island of Qeshm, which lies just off the Iranian mainland in the Strait of
Hormuz.The latest barrage came after the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to
strike Iran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters
and six Iranian advisers on Wednesday. The flare-ups on multiple fronts after
several days of relative calm raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It
also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has
jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans. The fighting was
likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already
diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and
allies.
Fires reported on two natural gas vessels in Egyptian port
Elsewhere, British maritime security firm Ambrey said drone strikes ignited
fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a U.S.-owned
floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker. No injuries were reported.
Egypt's Petroleum Ministry said a fire had broken out on two vessels in
Damietta, without causing casualties. The Egyptian government said Thursday that
the fire was caused by a drone attack. Egypt, a close U.S. ally and regional
mediator, is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared
direct military action during the war. A strike by Iran or its allies, if
confirmed, would mark a significant widening of the conflict. Asked during an
Oval Office event if Iran was responsible for the strikes on the natural gas
vessels, Trump responded: "It's a little more of the same.""In the meantime,
we're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them," he
added.Kuwait says Iranian strike hits Chinese company building, kills 1 Kuwait's
defense ministry on Thursday said an Iranian strike that hit a building
belonging to a Chinese company in the country's north killed one person."The
heinous Iranian aggression targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in
the north of the country, resulting in the death of one worker and causing
severe material damage to the building," read a statement published by the
ministry.
Saudi Arabia accuses Iraq militias of targeting its oil facilities
Saudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil
facilities over the past days. An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially
denied the allegations, while another Iran-backed group — the Houthi rebels in
Yemen — said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but
related conflict. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met separately on
Wednesday with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to two people
familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly about the
private meetings. They said the Saudi decision to join the U.S. attacks against
the Iraqi militias was meant to send a message to Iran that it wouldn't tolerate
Iran or its proxies targeting the Saudi oil industry and other critical
infrastructure. At the same time, the defense minister underscored to Trump and
Vance that the Saudis want to see a de-escalation in the war and for Washington
and Tehran to return to negotiations. Before the latest eruption, mediators had
expressed optimism about bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating
table. An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in
the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian
attacks have again effectively closed.
A regional official said mediators are "still trying with both sides" to restore
calm and get the ceasefire back on track. He gave no details on whether progress
was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door
diplomacy. Attacks on Saudi oil facilities could worsen global energy crisis.
Saudi Arabia is also locked in a renewed conflict with the Houthis. The rebels
have declared a blockade of Saudi shipping that could choke off another crucial
Middle East trade route, the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Red Sea into the Gulf
of Aden.On Monday, the Houthis said they had launched drones targeting oil
facilities used to transport oil across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port city of
Yanbu, a key bypass for Saudi exports blocked by Iran's chokehold on the Strait
of Hormuz.
The rebels said the attack was in response to a Saudi drone they said had
breached Yemen's airspace. Planet Labs satellite imagery from Monday analyzed by
The Associated Press showed damage to Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil-processing
facility. The massive facility is capable of processing approximately 7 million
barrels of crude oil per day.
US issues sanctions targeting support networks for Iran’s Mahan Air
Reuters/30 July ,2026
The United States on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions that target
global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says
transports Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel, as well as weapons
and drones.The US Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China,
India, Russia and Iran for acting as sales agents and support networks for the
US- and EU-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.
US military says no US aircraft hit in attempted Iranian
attacks
Reuters/30 July ,2026
The US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged
in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that three US F-35 jets and three other
aircraft were destroyed.
In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had
not broken through America’s blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said
was made on Iranian state media.
Iran’s Araghchi presses European counterparts over use of
bases in US operations
Reuters/30 July ,2026
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision
to allow the temporary deployment of US military aircraft at the Bezmer air
base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday. During a phone call with his
Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said Sofia’s approval
of a US request to station military aircraft at the base to support military
operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was
unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the
two countries. Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to
be used for US military operations against it that they could “face
consequences.”Araghchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister
Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing
foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran. Bulgaria’s
parliament last week approved the temporary deployment of up to eight US KC-135
tanker aircraft and up to 250 personnel at Bezmer air base despite Iranian
objections. Sofia has said no offensive weapons would be deployed and that the
move did not make Bulgaria a party to military operations.Cyprus hosts two
British sovereign military bases, including RAF Akrotiri, which was struck by an
Iranian drone in early March, a few days after Israel and the US initiated
strikes on Iran. Britain agreed early on in the war to a US request to use
British bases for defensive strikes against Iranian missiles in storage depots
or launchers. This arrangement was maintained by the new British Prime Minister
Andy Burnham in July, prompting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to warn
Britain against facilitating US military operations against Iran.
Iran’s FM says Egypt security is of utmost importance,
claims attack was Israeli operation
Al Arabiya English/31 July ,2026
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Egypt’s security is
of “utmost importance” to Tehran. “Egypt is an important friend and partner in
the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us,” Araghchi posted on
X. His comments come after a drone attack targeted vessels at Egypt’s Damietta
port, raising fears of the Iran war widening to a new front. No party has
claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian diplomat also seemed to
suggest that the attack was an Israeli operation. “We must all be vigilant
against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional
peace. The threat is clear, mutual, and fearful of Muslim solidarity.”
Netanyahu Says Israel and U.S. Share Goal of Eliminating Iran’s Nuclear Program
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News that he discussed a
range of options regarding Iran with U.S. President Donald Trump, including
pursuing a broader agreement with Tehran, maintaining the blockade of the Strait
of Hormuz, or taking military action. Netanyahu denied attempting to persuade
Trump to resume attacks on Iran, saying, “I did not try during my meeting with
President Trump to persuade him to resume attacks on Iran,” and added that “no
one dictates to President Trump what he should do.”The Israeli prime minister
said it was impossible to predict the extent to which Iran could use commerce
through the Strait of Hormuz as leverage or a weapon, adding that Trump has
three possible paths: reaching an agreement, continuing the blockade, or taking
military action.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel’s goal remains the elimination of Iran’s
nuclear program, saying this is a shared objective with the United States.
Saudi Arabia pitches international maritime defense
coalition for Red Sea
Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2026
Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced plans to establish an international maritime
defense coalition to strengthen cooperation amid heightened regional tensions
and a rise in attacks on key shipping lanes. The initiative was unveiled
following a meeting hosted by the Kingdom that brought together representatives
from 43 countries and the European Union, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said.
The ministry said the alliance would protect international shipping lanes,
freedom of navigation and global trade, particularly in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab
Strait and Gulf of Aden. Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan,
Somalia and Djibouti were among those who signed a joint statement supporting
the establishment of the coalition. The US military was represented by the head
of Marines in the Middle East, MARCENT Commander Lt. Gen. Joseph Clearfield and
the defense attache at the US Embassy in Riyadh.
Kuwait Says Iranian Strike Hits Chinese Company Building,
Kills 1
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
Kuwait's defense ministry on Thursday said an Iranian strike that hit a building
belonging to a Chinese company in the country's north killed one person. "The
heinous Iranian aggression targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in
the north of the country, resulting in the death of one worker and causing
severe material damage to the building," read a statement published by the
ministry.
Three IRGC Members Killed in U.S. Attack in Iran’s Zanjan Province
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
Three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in
an attack in Zanjan province on Thursday, Iranian state media reported.
According to the Fars news agency, the IRGC’s Zanjan provincial command
identified the deceased as Mahmoud Mollajabari, Mohammadreza Cheraghi, and Jamal
Amiri. No further details regarding the nature of the attack, the perpetrators,
or the circumstances surrounding the incident have been released.
Jordan's Army Says Shot Down 5 Iranian Missiles
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
Jordan's military said Thursday that its air defenses shot down five Iranian
missiles targeting its territory, adding the attack caused no casualties. Iran's
Revolutionary Guards later confirmed launching an attack on Jordan's Al Azraq
air base, saying they targeted U.S. aircraft there.
The military's official spokesperson said "air defenses engaged five missiles
launched from Iran targeting the Kingdom's territory early this morning,
Thursday. The missiles were detected, intercepted, and shot down according to
established defense plans," the military's statement said. In a statement,
Iran's Guards said the US "used the occupied bases in your country (Jordan) to
launch an air strike with bunker-buster bombs on two residential houses,
targeting two modest homes belonging to local residents on Qeshm Island". The
U.S. attack had killed a father, mother and a child, and wounded two other
children, according to the Guards.After a days-long lull in fighting, Iran and
the United States resumed overnight exchanges of fire, with the U.S. saying it
had carried out "heavy" strikes in Iran in retaliation for attacks on Jordan.
The pause in fighting had been aimed at reviving negotiations between the foes,
and Pakistani mediators maintained on Thursday that diplomatic efforts at
de-escalation were ongoing.
Egypt Says Drone Attack Caused Fire at Damietta Port in
First Such Strike Since Regional War Began
This is Beirut/30 July/2026
Egypt’s government said on Thursday that a preliminary investigation found a
drone attack caused the fire that damaged two gas vessels at the Port of
Damietta a day earlier, marking the first confirmed drone strike on Egyptian
territory since the outbreak of the regional conflict involving Iran, the United
States and Israel.In a statement, the Egyptian Cabinet said initial findings
determined that the incident “resulted from a drone,” adding that no group has
claimed responsibility. Authorities said investigations are continuing to
determine the circumstances surrounding the attack and to take the necessary
measures to safeguard Egypt’s national security and interests. The fire erupted
on Wednesday at the strategic Mediterranean port, damaging a floating storage
and regasification unit (FSRU) and an adjacent liquefied natural gas (LNG)
tanker. Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum said emergency response teams quickly
brought the blaze under control in coordination with firefighting and security
authorities.The ministry confirmed that no casualties or fatalities were
reported and said technical teams are continuing to assess the incident and its
consequences. Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi traveled to
Damietta immediately after the fire to oversee emergency operations, monitor the
implementation of safety procedures and coordinate the response until the
situation was fully secured. According to maritime analytics firm Kpler, the
incident disrupted operations at one of Egypt’s key LNG import terminals. The
company identified the affected vessels as the Energos Winter, a floating
storage and regasification vessel, and the GasLog Salem LNG tanker, adding that
both ships were moved offshore following the fire. UK-based maritime security
firm Ambrey had earlier reported that the Greek-owned, Bermuda-flagged LNG
tanker and the U.S.-owned-and-operated regasification vessel were struck by at
least one unidentified drone. Former Damietta Port Authority Chairman Major
General Ayman Salah told AFP that the regasification vessel had been moored
alongside the LNG tanker at the time of the incident. He noted that the
regasification process operates under extremely high pressure, meaning that any
gas leak can rapidly ignite and trigger a fire. The attack occurred as
hostilities between the United States and Iran resumed following a brief pause
intended to revive diplomatic negotiations.
Egypt president warns of ‘escalation’ after port strike
Agencies/Published: 31 July ,2026
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Thursday that the Middle East
conflict was facing a serious escalation, after a drone struck a US-owned gas
tanker in an Egyptian port. According to his spokesman, during a call to Spain’s
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, al-Sisi “stressed the need for Egypt, Spain,
Europe and the international community to work together to halt this
escalation.”Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday that Egypt
has secured alternative sources to cover its energy demands after a drone attack
on Wednesday caused damage to a gas vessel at Damietta port. Petroleum Minister
Karim Badawi said that Egypt has four Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU),
along with a fifth vessel docked in Jordan’s Aqaba port that the two countries
share. Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat said that Egypt’s electricity demand
has been at a peak level at 37-39 GW over the past 15 days, adding that the
government has enough stocks of different fuel alternatives, including over
425,000 metric tons of fuel oil at power plants alone, as well as more in
strategic storage. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack and
authorities are continuing their investigations, he added.
Trump announces agreement for disarmament of Hamas
Reuters/July 31, 2026
WASHINGTON, United States: US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced an
agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a critical step
toward a new Palestinian government in Gaza. There was no immediate statement
from Hamas on the agreement, but Trump’s announcement came after sources
familiar with the ongoing talks with mediators in Cairo told AFP that the
Palestinian Islamist movement was progressing towards a deal involving the
decommissioning of its weapons. “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC
agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in
Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote
on his Truth Social platform, saying disarmament would take place in “carefully
structured phases.”“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw,
and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian
police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and
its neighbors,” he added, also thanking mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and
Turkiye.The thorny issue of Hamas’s disarmament has been one of the key sticking
points in the advancement of the ceasefire deal that has been in place between
Israel and the group in Gaza since October. Despite the ceasefire, violence has
continued in Gaza, with Israeli strikes killing at least four people including
two children on Thursday, according to health officials.
Cairo is set to host a meeting “soon” of the Gaza truce mediators, which also
include the United States, Qatar and Turkiye, state-linked Al-Qahera News
reported early Friday in Egypt.The news outlet did not specify when the meeting
would take place, but said that it would discuss implementing the second phase
of the Gaza ceasefire plan, a roadmap for which Hamas and Palestinian factions
have agreed to. Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, the second phase of
the ceasefire was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of
Israeli forces from the territory. The plan also provides for a group of
Palestinian technocrats, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG),
to assume day-to-day governance during Gaza’s transitional phase out of
war.Earlier Thursday, a Hamas source told AFP that the group was still in the
process of making amendments to the proposal.
‘No exceptions’
Earlier, a diplomatic source told AFP: “We continue to advance the
implementation roadmap that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with
all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking
place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government.”The source,
who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly
on the matter, said there would be “no exceptions for certain weapons or certain
people. One authority, one law, one weapon”.The roadmap, the source said, would
create “a process for the elimination of all tunnels, depots of weapons and any
weapons production facilities”.“All weapons, heavy and light, will be under full
control of the NCAG in coordination with and with the support of the ISF,” the
source added, referring to the International Stabilisation Force, a fledgling
body envisaged to comprise multinational troops operating under Trump’s Board of
Peace. The source said a verification mechanism would ensure compliance by each
side. A Hamas source familiar with the talks told AFP earlier that the movement
is “awaiting the Israeli response to the amendments we recently submitted to the
mediators”.The source said the amendments concerned two articles in the roadmap
presented by the Board of Peace. Regarding the article concerning weapons, the
Hamas source said that “some points were removed, and alternatives were
proposed”.An Israeli political source told AFP that the proposed deal does not
“satisfactorily” address Israeli demands. “Israel demands the complete
disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full
demilitarization of the Strip as a precondition for any process,” the source
said. The source also said that “the issue of Gaza did not come up at all” in
the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Trump in Washington
this week.
Gaza ceasefire talks see rare progress, sources say
Reuters/30 July ,2026
Talks between mediators and Hamas leaders in Cairo on implementing a US-brokered
Gaza peace plan have made rare progress, sources close to the effort said on
Thursday, although an Israeli official said proposed terms were not
satisfactory. Earlier, Israeli strikes killed at least six Palestinians in Gaza
on Thursday, including two children, medics said. A Hamas official and a
diplomat close to the Cairo talks said discussions were “positive” and “making
progress.”The official said the progress would be tested by Israel’s response
and whether this allowed a broad accord to be reached. However, the Israeli
official, who declined to be identified, said Israel had rejected a proposal.
“Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of
weapons from Gaza and the complete demilitarization of the Strip as a
precondition for any process,” the official said. “The 15-point document in
question does not provide a satisfactory response to these demands and Israel
conveyed its objections.”Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Anna
Evstigneeva told the Security Council on Tuesday that a roadmap prepared by
Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, Nikolay Mladenov, had so far failed to
gain the support of Israel and Hamas, with the demilitarization of Gaza
remaining the main stumbling block.The diplomat close to the talks said the
negotiations were making progress toward a roadmap that would see all heavy and
light weapons in Gaza decommissioned. Hamas leaders are holding talks with
mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on the second phase of President Donald
Trump’s Gaza plan, as presented to them by his Board of Peace, which oversees
its implementation. The plan calls 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 in previous months.
Handover of weapons?
On Thursday, a Hamas official said the group was coming with a “positive and
good” response, but did not say whether the group had agreed to fully disarm – a
key sticking point in the talks over the past four months. Hamas wants Israel to
commit to ending attacks on Gaza and withdrawing its forces. Sources close to
Hamas said the group was willing to “confine and store” heavy weapons under a
Palestinian body, not hand them over to Israel. Hamas did not comment on the
matter. It is not yet clear what will happen regarding light or personal weapons
or whether the new Hamas stance will be accepted by Israel or the Board of
Peace. The diplomat involved in the talks said the roadmap under discussion in
Cairo would also see authority transferred in phases to the US-backed National
Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), under the principle of “one
authority, one law, one weapon.”
The plan includes the elimination of tunnels, arms stockpiles and weapons
production facilities, the diplomat said, adding that by the end of the process
there would be no remaining militant infrastructure in Gaza.The diplomat
described the roadmap as being based on reciprocal steps rather than trust. So
far, the reality on the ground in Gaza remains far from this roadmap. The
Israeli military has continued to expand its military occupation of Gaza, with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Israel intends to expand the area
under its control to 70 percent of the enclave. It remains unclear how many
forces would be available to deploy with the planned International Stabilization
Force, and whether Israeli troops would withdraw from the enclave.In Cairo, two
Egyptian sources said Hamas had agreed to several contentious points, including
the handover of weapons, but had requested changes regarding the definition of
the infrastructure to be dismantled, adding more talks were underway. The Board
of Peace declined immediate comment on the Cairo talks. The truce halted
full-scale fighting but has not ended near-daily Israeli strikes. Health
officials said separate Israeli strikes had killed at least two children, a
woman and three men in Gaza on Thursday. The Israeli military said it struck
Hamas militants in the enclave. The latest deaths add to a toll of more than
1,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, killed by Israeli attacks since the
ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza health officials. Four Israeli soldiers
have been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire.Hamas does not usually
disclose its losses.
Yemeni probe says Houthis stand behind assassination of
Al Arabiya correspondent
Al Arabiya English/30 July ,2026
A Yemeni probe into the assassination of Al Arabiya correspondent Mohammed Aydah
in Mukalla has found that the Houthis have planned, funded and implemented the
operation. Security sources said a Houthi official called Amjad Khaled helped
train a cell accused of killing Aydah. According to Yemeni authorities, Khaled
is also involved in several assassinations in areas liberated from the Houthis.
Aydah was killed in June when an explosive device detonated in his vehicle in
the city of Mukalla, in Hadramout governorate.
China tells US of 'serious concern' over latest trade restrictions
LBCI/30 July ,2026
China's top trade official told his counterparts from the United States in a
call on Thursday Beijing had "serious concern" over Washington's latest trade
restrictions affecting it, according to state media.In a video call between
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent along
with U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, "the Chinese side expressed
serious concern over recent U.S. economic and trade restrictions against China,"
state news agency Xinhua reported. AFP
Suspected Russian missile in Poland shows Moscow 'ready to
escalate': Merz
LBCI/30 July ,2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday in a post on X that a suspected
Russian missile which crashed in eastern Poland showed "Russia's recklessness
and readiness to escalate".Earlier Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
said fragments of the missile, which crashed overnight near the city of Lublin,
"point to a Russian Kh-101 missile".AFP
US admits error after flawed Africa map shown at aids conference
AFP/30 July ,2026
The US State Department acknowledged “an unfortunate error” on Thursday after an
inaccurate map of Africa was displayed at an AIDS conference in Brazil earlier
this week. “We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation
it caused for attendees, including our African partners,” a State Department
spokesperson said. A slideshow presented by the US delegation at a major
international conference on AIDS earlier this week had six African countries
incorrectly located. Nigeria, for example, was shown as a landlocked country in
the center of the continent, while Mozambique was placed in the Horn of Africa
and Cote d’Ivoire in southern Africa. Conference participants revealed the
error, first reported by Reuters, in social media posts. The State Department
said a member of the team on the ground had hastily modified the slideshow just
before the presentation on US global health assistance. Despite the error, the
United States hailed “substantive and constructive” discussions at the
conference. The 26th International AIDS Conference opened Monday in Rio de
Janeiro after the United States drastically reduced its international aid budget
following Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year. Despite the
massive cuts, the United States still accounts for 74 percent of public funding
devoted to combating HIV worldwide, according to a UNAIDS report published for
the Rio conference.
North Korea-supplied missile may have killed family:
Zelenskyy
AFP, Kyiv/30 July ,2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that a missile that killed
at least six members of the same family in the latest Russian strikes may have
been supplied by Pyongyang.“Of course, there will still be examinations,
everything will be checked, but as of now, it’s North Korean ballistic
weaponry,” he said in his evening address.
Russia extends diesel, gasoline export bans until end of
January 2027
Reuters/30 July ,2026
The Russian government extended its bans on export of diesel and gasoline until
January 31, 2027, it said in a statement on Thursday.Russia initially introduced
the ban on diesel from July 8 to July 31 as part of a broader package of
measures to support the domestic fuel market after repeated Ukrainian drone
attacks on oil refineries triggered fuel shortages and price spikes. Moscow had
already imposed restrictions on exports of gasoline and jet fuel. On Thursday,
the government said it was temporarily banning the export of gasoline, diesel,
marine fuel and gas oils in order to maintain stability on the domestic market.
From September 1, however, producers’ exports will be exempt from the
restrictions on diesel, marine fuel and gas oils. Some fuel exports will still
take place under intergovernmental agreements and in the form of humanitarian
aid, the statement said. The government said it had also adopted a temporary
procedure until November 1 to ensure that farmers, who are now in the harvest
season, get the volumes of fuel that they need. A further resolution aims to
ensure a stable supply of motor fuel for state and local institutions, it said.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on 30-31 July/2026
A look at Netanyahu’s White House
visit
Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/July 30, 2026
LONDON: Commentators from the US to Israel have speculated whether Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit this week to the White House revealed cracks
in the relationship between an American president looking for an exit ramp from
the Iran conflict and an Israeli prime minister hoping to cling to office by
keeping it going. Contrary to US President Donald Trump’s usual “ringmaster”
approach to Oval Office diplomacy, his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, on the
five-month anniversary of the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, was held
behind closed doors.Afterward, Trump had nothing specific to say about the
meeting, Netanyahu’s eighth with him since the start of his second term, posting
on social media only that it was “very good” and that “many important subjects
were discussed.”Netanyahu’s comments were equally generic. He had had “an
excellent meeting with President Trump … a conversation of full partnership, of
mutual support, with an understanding of the shared goal to ensure that Iran
will not have nuclear weapons, and also other goals.”Back home, the Israeli
media had a different take. Haaretz summed up the meeting in four words:
“Trump’s irritation, Netanyahu’s desperation.” However, the lackluster response,
as reported by analysts and media, should not be misconstrued as “degradation of
relationship,” former US intelligence officer Norman Roule told Arab News.“Prime
Minister Netanyahu’s visits generally include a ceremonial reaffirmation of the
alliance, and that was absent from this trip,” he said. “But that should not be
interpreted as any degradation of the relationship.”The meeting, he added,
“would also have provided an opportunity to discuss the challenge of Hezbollah
in Lebanon and how to make further progress to resolve the long-standing
Israeli-Lebanon crisis.“The US administration has made good progress on this
issue, bringing Israel and Lebanon to direct talks, arranging the first
withdrawals of Israeli troops from Lebanon, and assurances from Beirut that it
will disarm Hezbollah.
“The US has also prevented Iran from becoming a part of the Lebanese talks, and
Beirut has formally asked Iran to stay out of its affairs. All of this is
positive, but the issue in this meeting was likely how to build on this
progress.”Haaretz, however, argued that the visit reflected a more strained
dynamic. Trump, it said, “was not eager to see Netanyahu,” and had reluctantly
agreed to do so “only after Netanyahu decided to attend the funeral of
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.”Graham, who died suddenly on July 11, was one of
Israel’s strongest advocates in Washington.The visit, in Haaretz’s view, “was
critical for Netanyahu for both strategic (his hope of influencing moves in
Iran) and for campaign purposes (by emphasizing his personal relationship with
Trump).”Ahead of the meeting, Trump had reacted irritably to a report in the New
York Post that Netanyahu was preparing to hand him an Israeli intelligence
briefing on Pickaxe Mountain, an underground Iranian nuclear facility. “I don’t
need Bibi to tell me that,” Trump told Fox News. “Bibi is telling me that
because he wants me to stay involved.”Netanyahu’s team scrambled to make amends.
An Israeli official anonymously told AP that during the meeting “Netanyahu made
it clear to Trump and his Cabinet that if Iran were to attack Israel, they would
respond, but that beyond that, they would trust the judgment of the president
regarding next steps.”Haaretz — no friend of Netanyahu’s government — concluded
that “it seems that the US president has no intention of taking orders from
someone who got him embroiled in a prolonged entanglement in the Gulf.”
A little over five hours after Netanyahu left the White House, US Central
Command reported that “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched
multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US
forces based in the Middle East.”
The target was a US base in Jordan. “All Iranian missiles were successfully
intercepted,” CENTCOM said, adding: “US forces remain vigilant and at a high
state of readiness.”“The optics of the strikes coinciding with Netanyahu’s visit
are unmistakable, and they could be read as a sign of Tehran’s coercive
signalling,” said Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow on the Middle East,
North Africa and Turkiye at the London-based Royal United Services
Institute.“Iran is trying to re-establish credible deterrence and establish new
ground truths that will incentivise the US to back down from the war rather than
achieve a mere pause.
“Meanwhile, there are reports of Pakistani and Qatari backchannels possibly
hammering out a new ceasefire deal. We are in the midst of a very opaque
information environment.”
The Iranian strikes on Jordan, hours after the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, “show
that Iran’s military capacity remains,” said Roule. “But while Netanyahu was in
Washington, they didn’t strike Israel, and what isn’t happening is usually more
important in the Iran dynamic than what is happening.”It was the following
evening before CENTCOM responded, unleashing “a heavy wave of strikes against
Iran,” aimed at “military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal
surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities.”The strikes, it
added, “aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to
American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries.”One of
those Gulf countries is Saudi Arabia, which has endured its share of unprovoked
drone and missile attacks from Iran since Feb. 28.
Lebanese soldiers patrol at the entrance to Zawtar al-Gharbiya on July 22, 2026.
(AFP)
Starting on Sunday, the Kingdom was the target of a renewed series of assaults
over several days from Iranian proxy groups in Iraq, which launched multiple
drone attacks targeting oil facilities in its Eastern Province. The response was
swift and surgical. On Wednesday, the Saudi Defense Ministry said that, in
coordination with US CENTCOM, it had carried out attacks against Iran-backed
groups in Iraq. It was not seeking escalation, it added, but would respond to
any “aggression.”The Iranian strikes on Jordan, hours after the Trump-Netanyahu
meeting, “allow Iran to demonstrate defiance, attack US partners, and show that
Iran will continue to use its military to bring pressure on Washington and the
region to make concessions on Iran’s demand to control the Strait (of Hormuz)
and other issues,” said Roule.“But it is notable that Iran did not strike Israel
and indeed has not attacked Israel directly since early June.”
Furthermore, “Iran has also held back on strikes against Saudi Arabia, relying
instead on proxies in Iraq and Yemen. “The Kingdom has responded forcefully to
these attacks, demonstrating that while it is interested in a diplomatic
solution to the ongoing crisis, it will protect its people from all
aggressors.”The “very public Saudi military role was one of the more significant
developments in the past few days,” said Ozcelik. “Saudi Arabia has supported US
regional security operations before, but openly participating in strikes against
Iran-aligned targets in Iraq represents a more direct and visible posture. “It
suggests that Riyadh may be moving beyond protecting its own territory and
infrastructure toward imposing costs on the networks attacking it.”The Kingdom
is tackling a three-pronged problem: Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz,
the Houthis’ copycat activity in the Red Sea, and now Iran-backed attacks from
Iraq.
“Riyadh’s participation may therefore be intended as a deterrent signal: attacks
on Saudi territory or economic infrastructure will no longer necessarily be
answered only defensively or confined to the Yemeni theater.”Iran, she added, is
walking a precariously narrow tightrope.
“Iran’s targeting of a US military facility in Jordan follows an established
rationale. The IRGC presents attacks on US military assets as retaliation
against Washington while trying to distinguish them from indiscriminate attacks
on Gulf civilian targets.
“This may be intended as a calibrated choice of target, but it is not risk-free
or necessarily below the threshold for a forceful US response, particularly if
American personnel are killed. “The more dangerous threshold would be sustained
Iranian attacks on civilian, dual-use or critical economic infrastructure in
Gulf states. “That could transform the conflict from a US-Iran military exchange
into a wider confrontation in which Gulf governments demand or directly
participate in stronger military action against Iran.”
Europe’s defensive future in a deteriorating strategic
environment
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 30, 2026
The strategic environment in Europe has been deteriorating over the past 10
years at a pace that should prompt a strong military and defense repositioning.
The war in Ukraine, increased tensions with Russia and the proliferation of
hybrid threats are the primary concerns. Yet these are not the only challenges;
tensions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East persist, as well as the risks
weighing on critical infrastructure and supply chains. This has caused a
rethinking and reboot of European resilience and sovereignty at a time when the
US is demanding more commitment from its European partners in the transatlantic
alliance. Yet, in this context of urgency to upgrade and strengthen defense
capabilities, the two pillars of Europe’s construction, France and Germany, have
been facing a multitude of disagreements, and sometimes conflicts, over the way
to achieve the much-needed strategic autonomy and industrial military
cooperation that has become a priority for European states.
One of the main causes of industrial and strategic discord between the two
countries in the defense sector, which has intensified in recent years, has been
the Future Combat Air System. This highlighted the difficulties that exist in
the convergence of regional sovereignty with national interest. It is also a
symbol of diverging ambitions.
Obviously, when it comes to defense, this translates to the company level. Here,
the contention between Dassault Aviation and Airbus over leadership,
intellectual property and workshare was very clear. Yet, beyond this, the very
goals they sought to achieve were also different.
Indeed, while this project was a big and ambitious, the countries had differing
operational requirements. Without going into the details, France, for example,
needed an aircraft that was both carrier-capable and nuclear-capable, whereas
Germany did not.
In June 2026, unfortunately, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich
Merz acknowledged the failure to reach an agreement, ending the fighter aircraft
component of FCAS while trying to retain its combat cloud element. As they say,
the devil is in the details.
The failure of FCAS has other consequences, as systems and projects are always
linked in the field of defense. As a result, the Main Ground Combat System,
originally conceived as the land-based counterpart to the air program, has been
undermined. Because of the erosion of trust, some commentators argue that even
this project could be split into two separate tank programs, rather than
pursuing the original goal of delivering a single European platform.
At a time when the world is watching developments on the Ukraine front, we see
low-cost drones and projectiles destroying multimillion-dollar traditional
military equipment. This illustrates another risk of the tensions between France
and Germany: The focus on big industrial programs and competition between the
companies involved does is not conducive to the needed innovation and changes on
the battlefield that have been noticed even by amateurs.
It is worth remembering that in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War,
Germany was banned from having any armed forces. The Allied powers imposed a
full demilitarization to prevent the resurgence of German military power. Only
in 1955, mainly because of the Cold War, was the Federal Republic of Germany
allowed to establish the Bundeswehr, which was integrated into NATO and placed
under strict constitutional constraints.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Berlin launched a major
rearmament program marked by the creation of a €100 billion ($114 billion)
special fund to modernize its armed forces.Germany’s large-scale rearmament has
created a broader industrial rivalry with France. As Berlin works to catch up
and develop its industrial base, this has been seen and interpreted as a
“Germany First” approach.
The German defense budget is projected to exceed €180 billion by 2030 —
about double the predicted level in France — and obviously this spending is
expected to benefit German defense companies such as Rheinmetall, Diehl and
Hensoldt.
This is increasing the pressure on France’s leading defense companies, including
Dassault Aviation, Thales and Naval Group, and pushing Paris to strengthen
domestic procurement amid increasing industrial competition and tensions over
market share in Europe and elsewhere.
Another important point of contention is that Berlin continues to procure major
US and Israeli defense systems, particularly through the German-led European Sky
Shield Initiative, rather than the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air-defense system.
This highlights the issue of what is called “ITAR contamination.” In short, this
means that if a system incorporates any US military-controlled technology, the
entire product becomes legally restricted through strict US weapon-export laws
under International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Many small and medium-sized enterprises in France are therefore reluctant to
collaborate with German, and also Polish, counterparts because defense equipment
produced by those countries often incorporates components of US origin that are
subject to ITAR. Because France ranks as the world’s second-largest arms
exporter, this can undermine its market share through potential export
restrictions.
This rift has even spilled into domestic politics. Germany’s foreign minister
has described France’s defense efforts as “insufficient” and called on Paris to
reduce its social spending and increase military investment, while France has
criticized Berlin for adopting an opportunistic and pragmatic approach that
weakens European sovereignty.
These are not the only sources of tension. One might say that the conflicts of
interest go beyond purely technical military disagreements and reflect diverging
visions of what European sovereignty really means.
France remains committed to strategic autonomy and the protection of its
national defense champions. Germany is clearly determined to build the largest
conventional military force on the continent, prioritizing capability and scale
over the geographical origin of its defense suppliers. It is a goal set and
scheduled, so the procurement of equipment from outside Europe is not an issue
for Berlin.
This reliance on US technologies within parts of the German defense industry
contrasts sharply with France’s ambition to preserve an independent industrial
base. It also comes at a time when the German automotive industry is facing a
severe crisis. The surge in military spending is therefore seen as a lifeline
for German industry, and has effectively sparked a pivot toward defense
manufacturing; some companies are leveraging their mass-production capabilities
to scale up the assembly of military drones and interceptors.
Truth be told, this massive German military buildup is reshaping the traditional
balance of European construction. In the postwar era, France has long held the
military advantage while Germany maintained economic dominance. Paris now
foresees potential industrial decline and increasing competition from Germany in
global defense export markets. It accuses Berlin of selective cooperation, as
the Germans seek mutualization of French nuclear deterrence yet focus on
supporting their own industrial champions. This is true but can you blame them?
There is little doubt that defense is an important industry and its stakeholders
are looking to preserve their share and even grow with the expected increased
military spending. Despite rearmament efforts, Russia produces more military
equipment than all of Europe combined, by a significant margin. Therefore the
long-term solution, which unfortunately is urgently needed, is to build a
stronger European defense framework, potentially with the ultimate goal of a
European army. Existing tensions run the risk of obliterating innovation, rather
than growing the global industrial base. In this context, the pooling of
resources and integration of capabilities is the only way to answer growing
strategic challenges.
It starts with agreement on what European sovereignty and autonomy really means.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused
investment platform. He is the CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
Words Meant to Kill: Intended Consequences of Freedom of
Speech
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/July 30, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22760/words-meant-to-kill
"Oh Allah, destroy the criminal Zionists and those that support them. Count them
one by one, kill them to the very last one, and do not spare a single one of
them." — Chicago-Area Imam Zayd Mohammad, MEMRI, July 3, 2026.
Mosques in the United States also distribute manuals... which authorize violent
jihad, slavery, and the killing of apostates and non-Muslims.
"These manuals describe in detail for Muslims to carry out physical (fighting)
Jihad, Child marriages (authorized), Slavery (authorized), the beating of women
(authorized), killing of non-Muslims and even Muslims who are not Sharia
compliant, informing Muslims to never take as friends Christians and Jews,
killing of Apostates of Islam (authorized anywhere in the world), and the
describing the objective of Islam which is to establish an Islamic Ummah
(nation) worldwide and under Sharia law." — Jihad Watch, July 17, 2026.
Experts and films cited by Jihad Watch warn of "cultural jihad," a strategy to
use the laws and rights of Western countries to undermine their societies and
establish an Islamic Caliphate.
Westerners who are willing to accept such inflammatory rhetoric in the name of
"freedom of speech" may be beginning to realize that some words are meant to
kill.
In the Middle East, thousands of Israelis have been murdered or wounded as a
direct result of such rhetoric. Palestinians, like the imams in the United
States, have long been spreading lies and libels against Israel and Jews.
It is worth noting that the Palestinian Authority, which is often described as
Israel's "peace partner," is funded by several Western countries, especially the
European Union. This means that those Western countries continue to provide
financial assistance to a Palestinian government that openly glorifies and
rewards terrorists who murder Jews as part of what is known as the
"Pay-for-Slay" program.
Nearly three years after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, the
PA continues to employ one of the most dangerous forms of incitement: the
totally false claim that Jews are "storming" or "violently invading" the Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem.
This description is demonstrably a lie. Jewish visitors do not enter the Al-Aqsa
Mosque itself. They tour the Temple Mount compound, outdoors, peacefully under
police supervision, and do not enter any mosque.
The Islamic Waqf, which administers the compound, has never imposed a blanket
prohibition on non-Muslim visits. Jews should be able to go there.
The October 7 massacre was not launched because of any attack on the Al-Aqsa
Mosque. It was launched because Hamas exploited a false narrative that
Palestinian leaders have been cultivating since the 1920s — literally for over a
hundred years.
Instead of preparing Palestinians for coexistence, mutual recognition and peace,
the PA continues to prepare them for perpetual conflict...
If the international community is actually serious about reforming the
Palestinian Authority, it must demand not only financial accountability but also
an immediate end to official incitement against Israel and Jews.
The United States and other Western countries also need to pay attention to what
is being said by their politicians and in their mosques. Many immigrants to the
West seem determined to recreate in their new homes the Islamic societies they
walked out on.
"We salute every drop of blood spilled for the sake of Jerusalem. This blood is
clean, pure blood, shed for the sake of Allah... The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours. They are all ours, and they [Jews] have
no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We shall not allow them to do
so..." — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (Image source: MEMRI)
Muslim imams in the United States continue to teach jihadist ideology and
Islamic supremacism, promote anti-Western sentiments and antisemitism, and
incite violence against non-Muslims.
"The Fourth of July has nothing to do with us," Islamic scholar Hamaad El-Ameen
declared in a Friday sermon on July 3, 2026 at the Islamic Center of
Chattanooga, Tennessee. "That is not a declaration of independence for us. Our
allegiance is to Allah."
He was addressing members of his community who were considering spending the
250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence barbequing with their
families.
"Oh Allah, destroy the criminal Zionists and those that support them,"
Chicago-area Imam Zayd Mohammad prayed on the same day. "Count them one by one,
kill them to the very last one, and do not spare a single one of them."
A week later, also in a Friday sermon, Michigan Shiite scholar Hassan Qazwini,
founder of the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, Michigan,
praised Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as "the leader of the Islamic
Revolution" and "the martyred imam." Qazwini said that the millions of mourners
who attended Khamenei's funeral in Iran and Iraq sent a clear message that they
honor leaders who sacrifice themselves for Islam and for dignity.
"I would like to mention that last week witnessed a great and historic funeral
in Iran and Iraq – the funeral of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the
martyred imam, who was martyred and whose blood was spilled while defending his
land, his honor, and that of the Islamic nation, as well as his religion."
Mosques in the United States also distribute manuals such as Reliance of the
Traveler and Sahih Bukhari, which authorize violent jihad, slavery, and killing
apostates and non-Muslims. According to Jihad Watch:
"These manuals describe in detail for Muslims to carry out physical (fighting)
Jihad, Child marriages (authorized), Slavery (authorized), the beating of women
(authorized), killing of non-Muslims and even Muslims who are not Sharia
compliant, informing Muslims to never take as friends Christians and Jews,
killing of Apostates of Islam (authorized anywhere in the world), and the
describing the objective of Islam which is to establish an Islamic Ummah
(nation) worldwide and under Sharia law."
One imam informed Dave Gaubatz, a retired U.S. federal agent, counter-terrorism
expert and Arabic linguist:
"[T]here has not been another 911 such attack in America because Islam is
winning and at this point another large scale attack would set their movement
back 25 years. When a large scale attack is required to further subdue Americans
it will then be carried out. The plans are already in place. The Islamic leaders
know there will be small scale terrorist attacks such as with Fort Hood, Texas,
the Boston Bombings and others that will put fear into the hearts of the
American people and its government. Islamic leaders realize the liberal leaders
and politicians will label these attacks as 'Lone Wolf" attacks and disassociate
them from mainstream Islam".
Experts and films cited by Jihad Watch warn of "cultural jihad," a strategy to
use the laws and rights of Western countries to undermine their societies and
establish an Islamic Caliphate.
Westerners who are willing to accept such inflammatory rhetoric in the name of
"freedom of speech" may be beginning to realize that some words are meant to
kill.
In the Middle East, thousands of Israelis have been murdered or wounded as a
direct result of such rhetoric. Palestinians, like the imams in the United
States, have long been spreading lies and libels against Israel and Jews. Most
of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incitement is coming from the Palestinian
Authority (PA), which was established in 1994 in accordance with the Oslo Accord
signed the previous year between Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO).
It is worth noting that the Palestinian Authority, which is often described as
Israel's "peace partner," is funded by several Western countries, especially the
European Union. This means that those Western countries continue to provide
financial assistance to a Palestinian government that openly glorifies and
rewards terrorists who murder Jews as part of what is known as the
"Pay-for-Slay" program.
Nearly three years after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, the
PA continues to employ one of the most dangerous forms of incitement: the
totally false claim that Jews are "storming" or "violently invading" the Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem.
This rhetoric is inflammatory, irresponsible, and potentially lethal.
Whenever Jews visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, official PA media and leaders
describe the visits as "violent incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
This description is demonstrably a lie. Jewish visitors do not enter the Al-Aqsa
Mosque itself. They tour the Temple Mount compound, outdoors, peacefully under
police supervision, and do not enter any mosque.
Equally misleading is the PA's routine characterization of all Jewish visitors
as "extremist settlers." Such language deliberately portrays every Jew visiting
Judaism's holiest site as a dangerous religious fanatic bent on provoking
Muslims. Many of the visitors, however, are ordinary Israelis or tourists
exercising their legal right to visit one of the holiest places in Judaism.
The Temple Mount is sacred not only to Muslims but also to Jews. It is the site
of the First and Second Jewish Temples and has occupied a central place in
Jewish history and faith for more than three thousand years. Jews resumed
visiting the site since Israel reunited Jerusalem in 1967. The Islamic Waqf,
which administers the compound, has never imposed a blanket prohibition on
non-Muslim visits. Jews should be able to go there.
Those visits were temporarily suspended only after the outbreak of the Second
Intifada in 2000. That uprising itself serves as a tragic reminder of the deadly
consequences of Palestinian incitement. The Second Intifada erupted after
then-Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. The
Palestinian leadership immediately portrayed his visit as an assault on Islam
and falsely claimed that Israel intended to seize or destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The violence that followed became known as the "Al-Aqsa Intifada." Hundreds of
Israelis and Palestinians lost their lives.
Yet, despite years of bloodshed, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, deliberately constructed on
the site of the two destroyed Jewish temples, has remained exactly where it has
stood since it was built. It was never attacked, destroyed, or "desecrated." The
accusations proved entirely fabricated.
The Palestinian leadership, nevertheless, continues to recycle the same shopworn
libel under the slogan that "Al-Aqsa is in danger."
The latest statements issued by the Palestinian Authority show that nothing has
changed. After the recent visit to the Temple Mount by Jewish visitors, the
office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas condemned what it called the "storming of
the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards." The presidency described the visits as a
"flagrant violation" of the historical and legal status quo and accused Israel
of pursuing "a systematic policy aimed at imposing new realities on the ground"
and attempting to divide the compound "temporally and spatially."
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Abbas's senior adviser on religious affairs and the PA's
Supreme Sharia Judge, escalated the rhetoric even further. He warned that
Israeli actions at the Temple Mount "would push the entire region toward further
tension and explosion, fueling the flames of religious war and threatening
regional and international security and stability."
The PA's "Jerusalem Governorate" likewise claimed that the Jewish visits
represented "the most dangerous escalation" in months and wrongly accused Israel
of seeking to impose sovereignty over the compound. Meanwhile, he promoted the
fairy tale of the non-existent construction of a Jewish Temple in place of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque — an exact reversal, in fact, of what the Muslims had done.
By repeatedly using expressions such as "storming," "aggression," "attacks,"
"extremist settlers," and warnings about alleged Israeli plans to divide or
seize the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian Authority continues to promote one of
the oldest and most dangerous conspiracy theories: that Jews are plotting to
destroy Islam's holy sites.
Such accusations repeatedly lead to bloodshed. Presumably that is why they keep
being used.
In September 2015, Abbas declared:
"We salute every drop of blood spilled for the sake of Jerusalem. This blood is
clean, pure blood, shed for the sake of Allah... The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours. They are all ours, and they [Jews] have
no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We shall not allow them to do
so..."Within days, Palestinians launched a wave of stabbing attacks against
Israelis that became known as the "Knife Intifada." Dozens of Israelis were
murdered or wounded. The attacks were carried out by Palestinians convinced they
were defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Unfortunately, most often the international
community, the media and so-called human rights groups appear to believe it too.
This is just one example of how words are used to kill. When political and
religious leaders tell their people that their holy places are under attack,
many conclude that they have a religious obligation to defend them through
violence.
The Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group elevated the same false narrative into the
principal pretext for the October 7, 2023 massacre. Significantly, Hamas named
its assault "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," making clear that it sought to portray
the massacre as a response to fictitious Israeli threats against the holy sites
of Islam. Announcing the operation on October 7, the late Hamas military
commander Mohammed Deif announced that the invasion was launched in response to
what he described as Israel's repeated "storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" and its
alleged "destruction." of the holy site. He called on the broader Arab and
Islamic world to rise to defend the mosque under a wholly fabricated pretext.
In subsequent statements, Hamas, in similar words, repeated the Palestinian
Authority's claims that the massacre was launched because of what it called
Israel's efforts to "Judaize Jerusalem," divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and
facilitate repeated "settler incursions" into the compound.
The difference was that Hamas translated those accusations into mass murder. The
October 7 massacre was not launched because of any attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It was launched because Hamas exploited a false narrative that Palestinian
leaders have been cultivating since the 1920s — literally for over a hundred
years. If it works, why change it?
The mosque stood untouched before October 7, 2023, and it stands untouched
today.
Instead of preparing Palestinians for coexistence, mutual recognition and peace,
the PA continues to prepare them for perpetual conflict by portraying Jews as
enemies of Islam and presenting visits to Judaism's holiest site as an assault
on Muslim faith.
This should wake up the international community. Western governments often speak
of reforming the Palestinian Authority by strengthening institutions, promoting
transparency, and combating financial and administrative corruption. These are
worthwhile objectives. Institutional reform alone, however, will not bring
peace. The words need to change. The narrative needs to change. The incitement
must stop.
If the international community is actually serious about reforming the
Palestinian Authority, it must demand not only financial accountability but also
an immediate end to official incitement against Israel and Jews.
The United States and other Western countries also need to pay attention to what
is being said by their politicians and in their mosques. Many immigrants to the
West seem determined to recreate in their new homes the Islamic societies they
walked out on.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made
possible through the generous donation of a couple who wish to remain anonymous.
Gatestone is most grateful.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Christian Persecution in Nigeria Divides Pastors
Samuel Ben-Ur/Providence/July 30/2026
Last October, the Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, regional chairman of the Church of
Christ in Nations denomination in Nigeria’s Plateau State, stood in front of a
mass grave in Rachas, Nigeria, and begged those close to President Donald Trump
to “please, tell Trump to save our lives in Nigeria!” Rev. Dachomo was burying
his own congregants who, he claimed, had been murdered by members of the Fulani
ethnic group, a majority Muslim group whose militant factions have menaced
Nigeria’s Middle Belt for years.
U.S. Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) highlighted Rev. Dachomo’s case in a November 2025
Congressional hearing. Rev. Dachomo later warned the Nigerian military that
these same Fulani terrorists had threatened his life. The army denounced this
claim as “propaganda” and local reporting alleges Abuja pressured Meta to take
his social media pages down, which it did.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, facing a fundamental stability crisis caused by
jihadist and Fulani terror groups, has a vested interest in downplaying the
level of Christian persecution in his country, particularly the Middle Belt.
Abuja’s inability to protect its own citizens makes his administration look weak
as it attempts to court America for security and economic assistance.
President Tinubu’s inability to stop Fulani-linked terror groups would again be
apparent on July 12, when Fulani gunmen slaughtered nine of Rev. Dachomo’s
relatives, including a two-month-old infant, reportedly demanding they produce
the “father” of the family before opening fire. Days later, Rev. Dachomo
received another message threatening to kill him and the rest of his
congregants. Rev. Dachomo responded by saying, “They may kill the messenger, but
they cannot kill the message.”
Somewhat surprisingly, Nigeria’s clergy are divided over the pervasiveness of
Christian persecution. While pastors in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where Fulani
groups are most active, are more likely to use the language of persecution and
genocide, those in northern and southern Nigeria are more likely to attribute
the strife to interethnic conflict or economic instability.
The reason? Put simply, there are three Nigerias: the North, the Middle Belt,
and the South.
Christians comprise a substantial majority in the South, a minority in the
North, and about half of the Middle Belt. Stark differences in political
structure, stability, and demographics across the three areas can largely
explain the pastoral divide.
Christians in the 19 northern states, 12 of which are governed by Islamic law,
face persecution that is more bureaucratic and systemic than violent. There are
attacks, but fewer than in the Middle Belt. Instead, northern Christian leaders
have described discrimination, destroyed churches, draconian blasphemy laws,
along with a pervasive feeling of vulnerability.
Perhaps no religious leader in the enormous country better exemplifies this
divide than Catholic Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah in Nigeria’s northern Sokoto
State. Bishop Kukah spent years criticizing Nigerian governments and
supportedWashington designating his nation a Country of Particular Concern for
religious freedom in 2020 under its former president, Muhammadu Buhari. Aid to
the Church in Need, a Catholic pontifical foundation, published its Religious
Freedom in the World 2025 report in October of last year. At the Vatican launch
for the report,Bishop Kukah argued that Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of
Particular Concern would damage initiatives pursued by the current government,
led by President Bola Tinubu.
Bishop Kukah also denied that genocide was occurring in the country. Raising the
ire of Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere, he also said that “If we were
dealing with outright persecution of Christians on grounds of identity, both
myself and my small flock would not exist.” A short time later, he clarified
that he believed the Tinubu government seemed willing to listen, that American
sanctions against Nigeria would undermine dialogue, and that Nigerian Christians
indeed faced persecution.
In the southern city of Lagos, Pastor Wale Adefarasin offers a similar view. In
November of 2025, he argued: “What is happening in Nigeria does not amount to
genocide against Christians… there have been killings in southern Kaduna,
killings on the Plateau, there have been riots… It’s nothing new. It doesn’t
amount to genocide. The way the West are talking about it, it’s as if a
Christian steps on the street, his head will be blown off.”
In Lagos, urban pastors can be easily insulated from the woes of their rural
coreligionists. Pastor Adefarasin’s church, the Guiding Light Assembly, often
leaves crises in the Middle Belt and north unmentioned. While some Middle Belt
pastors charge those who share Adefarasin’s views with abandoning the persecuted
out of financial and political self-interest, this accusation misses the core of
the divide: the pastors of the north and south live in a different Nigeria from
Dachomo.
Even though different Christian leaders offer conflicting interpretations of the
challenges Nigerian Christians face, none of them is entirely wrong. Adefarasin
and Kukah are not being deceptive when they downplay persecution in Nigeria:
their congregations just experience less of it. Their mistake lies in speaking
for the whole of Nigeria instead of their own spheres.
For Washington to efficiently and accurately address the central node of
Christian persecution in Nigeria, it should listen to those in closest proximity
to the violence. The epicenter of anti-Christian violence in Nigeria is the
Middle Belt and the primary perpetrators are Fulani terrorists. Pastors who have
had to bury dozens of members of their own flocks offer a more accurate
on-the-ground account than those in other parts of Nigeria.
In the United States, the mayor of New York City and the governor of Iowa would
not be expected to proffer guidance on the problems facing each other’s
constituents, and the same logic applies to pastors from different parts of
Nigeria.
Washington should encourage these pastors to turn their eyes towards the Middle
Belt. Nigerian pastors who repeat the Tinubu administration’s talking points
muddy a fundamental truth: there is widespread Christian persecution in Nigeria.
Detractors of the excellent work the Trump administration is doing to foster the
free exercise of religion often cite pastors like Kukah and Adefarasin to
explain away the fundamental religious element in Nigeria’s nonstate violence.
The Trump administration can begin diplomatically by holding a summit for church
leaders in Nigeria where they can share their differing experiences, helping to
bridge regional divides. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
has conducted excellent research on religious persecution across Nigeria.
Briefing certain religious leaders on this research could help them to
contextualize their thinking. When Nigeria’s clergy are united, the U.S. will be
far more effective at working with Nigerians to combat Christian persecution.
**Samuel Ben-Ur is a research analyst focusing on Christian persecution at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracy. Prior to joining FDD, he interned at the
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), an Israeli cybersecurity
startup, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He graduated from Tufts
University with a B.A. in history and political science, where he founded the
Tufts Tribune, a campus newspaper focused on free speech and politically
balanced reporting.
https://providencemag.com/2026/07/christian-persecution-in-nigeria-divides-pastors/
Read in Providence
A crisis of agreements or a crisis of trust in peacemaking?
Zaid AlKami/Al Arabia English/30 July ,2026
The Middle East continues to suffer from seemingly endless problems. Yet the
region’s predicament is not a shortage of agreements, but a shortage of trust.
Over the past several decades, the region has witnessed dozens of agreements and
hundreds of rounds of negotiations, but most collapsed before the ink used to
write them had even dried. The reason is that such agreements did not endure
because of the strength of their written provisions, but because the parties
failed to uphold them.
Despite the many agreements signed and declarations of goodwill made across the
region, two figures stand out for repeatedly failing to honor the commitments
they signed: Benjamin Netanyahu and the late Ali Khamenei. The Iranian supreme
leader was killed in the joint US-Israeli strike last February, but his
successors appear to be continuing to employ the same approach and tactics.
History offers clearer answers than political statements. When Netanyahu became
prime minister in 1996, he inherited the Oslo Accords, which he had opposed from
the outset, and quickly slowed their implementation. Former US President Bill
Clinton then moved to revive the agreement following a period of stagnation,
leading Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat to sign the Hebron Protocol in January 1997.
Netanyahu, however, soon adopted a unilateral interpretation of the provision
concerning “specified military locations,” allowing Israel to determine what
constituted a military site and thereby avoid implementing the agreement.
After 20 months of deadlock, Netanyahu and Arafat again stood together at the
White House in October 1998 to sign the Wye River Memorandum under Clinton’s
sponsorship. Yet from the agreement’s earliest days, a report by the US
Congressional Research Service warned that it faced serious risks. The political
process effectively came to an end in early 1999 after Netanyahu obstructed the
memorandum’s implementation.
In 2009, Netanyahu announced in his Bar-Ilan speech that he accepted, in
principle, the establishment of a Palestinian state following pressure from the
United States. He also agreed to freeze settlement construction. However, the
freeze was riddled with loopholes. It excluded East Jerusalem and allowed
construction to continue on projects that had already been approved, making it
appear more like a commitment on paper than a genuine change in conduct on the
ground. Today, the same pattern is being repeated in Gaza. Following the
ceasefire and hostage-release agreements reached after the events of October 7,
2023, the settlement became little more than a temporary truce, leaving Gaza’s
residents without any real prospect of resolving the crisis.
On the Iranian side, Khamenei’s record regarding agreements is no less
revealing. Since the establishment of the Iranian Revolution, Tehran has worked
to destabilize the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, eventually leading to the
severing of relations between Riyadh and Tehran. By the end of 1997, relations
showed signs of improvement, accompanied by reciprocal visits, followed by the
signing of a security agreement in 2001. Yet the agreement remained nothing more
than ink on paper. After signing it, Iran hosted senior al-Qaeda figures,
including Saif al-Adel, who led the organization during its terrorist campaign
against Saudi Arabia beginning in 2003. Tehran also supported the Houthi group
in Yemen, which has targeted Saudi Arabia since 2009, in addition to backing
armed militias in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. Amid the unrest of 2011, Tehran moved
quickly to provide armed groups with weapons and funding to target the security
of several Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.
In January 2016, Saudi-Iranian relations were severed after Iranian protesters
stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.
Even the 2023 Beijing Agreement, which restored diplomatic relations between
Riyadh and Tehran, failed to halt this pattern. Following the US-Israeli attack
on Tehran at the beginning of this year, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states were
targeted by thousands of missiles and drones, despite not being parties to the
war. This week, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that it had destroyed
several drones launched from Iraqi territory by Iran-backed Iraqi militias. The
drones targeted oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, prompting
Riyadh, in coordination with Washington, to carry out joint strikes against
militia positions inside Iraq. This constitutes a legitimate exercise of the
right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
The irony is that Netanyahu himself has urged the international community not to
trust any Iranian commitments. He argues that past experience requires strict
oversight of any future agreement. This is a legitimate demand that cannot
reasonably be challenged, because trust in international relations is built on
an accumulated record of conduct, not on intentions.
But the same principle must apply to everyone. If history is the standard by
which trust is measured, then the record of any political leader must form part
of the assessment of any agreement they sign. Building trust, therefore, cannot
be achieved through political statements or the resumption of diplomatic
relations alone. It requires a change in conduct on the ground, and that has yet
to happen. The question remains whether Ali Khamenei’s successors will continue
along the same path, or whether there will be a genuine change in behavior. The
clearest reality in the Middle East today is not the absence of agreements, but
the absence of trust in those who sign them.
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 30 July/2026