English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For June 04/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
If you belonged
to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you
John 15/18-21: “‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated
me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you
as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of
the world therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you,
“Servants are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will
persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do
all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who
sent me.”
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on 03-04 June/2026
Elias Bejjani/My audio personal analysis
with the Hebrew "Makan" radio station addressed peace between Lebanon and Israel
and Hezbollah's occupation/June 02/2026
The statement of the summit, which was falsely labeled as "spiritual," is
disgraceful, Mullah-like, and cowardly/Elias Bejjani/03 June 2026
A Spiritual Summit in Preparation... Composed, Written, Directed, Financed, and
Performed by Berri, Jumblatt, and Other Failed Figures of Power/Elias Bejjani/May
31/ 2026
Lebanon, Israel agree
ceasefire contingent on cessation of Hezbollah fire, withdrawal of its fighters
Iran FM warns any attack on Beirut will trigger ‘full-scale resumption of war’
Netanyahu Says He and Trump Share Goal to Disarm Hezbollah, Demilitarize Lebanon
No major progress achieved in Lebanese-Israeli talks
Rubio hopes for joint Israel-Lebanon statement after new round of talks
State Department says 'progress made' in Lebanon-Israel talks
Lebanese official says phased ceasefire expected from today's talks
Israel orders Tyre Christian neighborhood to expel Hezbollah or face evacuation
Israeli strikes kill 3 paramedics, wound 2 army soldiers in south Lebanon
Israel strikes Lebanon ahead of second day of critical ceasefire talks
Israel army says intercepts 2 projectiles, 'hostile aircraft' from Lebanon
Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes Near Beirut, Across Southern Lebanon
Lebanon Launches Safety Audit of Middle East Airlines Amid Pilot Groups’
Complaints
Israeli report claims that Israel may 'attack Beirut' in coming days
Aoun condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain
For the War to Stop, Hezbollah Must Be Disarmed/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This Is
Beirut/May 03/2026
Lebanon: America’s bargaining chip in its standoff with Iran/Osama
Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 03, 2026
Lebanon’s Domestic Struggle/Amr el-Shobaki/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
A Roadmap to Save the South and Lebanon/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
When Will Lebanon Return to its Natural Role?/Jamal Al-Kashki/Asharq Al-Awsat/May
03/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on 03-04 June/2026
Trump confirms he called Netanyahu 'crazy,' as he says Israel is
complicating peace talks with Iran
Trump Confirms He Called Netanyahu Crazy in Phone Call
Netanyahu’s Opponents Accuse him of Having Acquiesced to Trump on Issues of
National Security
US Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange over IRGC Links
Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to Not Have a Nuclear Weapon
Rubio says enriched uranium key issue in Iran talks, no deal yet
Iran FM says 'no tangible progress' in talks with US to end war
Khamenei Adviser Vows 'Deluge of Missiles' if New US Attack on Iran
One Killed in ‘Criminal’ Iranian Attack on Kuwait, Airport Partially Resumes
Flights
Facing Uproar, Netanyahu Announces ‘Mega-Plan’ for Israel’s Battered North
Iran Attacks on Gulf States Surpass 7,000
Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns 'Heinous' Iranian Attacks against Kuwait
Tunnels or Voiceprints: Why Israel Is Killing Qassam Leaders Faster
Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say
Iraq’s Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Says It Will Start Handing Its Weapons to the State
Iraq Moving Forward with Imposing State Monopoly over Weapons
Titles For The Latest
English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on 03-04 June/2026
From Anne Frank to anti-Jewish Sanctioning: The Netherlands' Betrayal of Israel/Wim
Kortenoeven/Gatestone Institute/June 03/2026
Baghdad... Disarmament or Control Over Arms?/Kifah Mahmood/Asharq Al-Awsat/May
03/2026
Between Excess Power and the Failure to Take a Decision/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/May
03/2026
The Saudi narrative: A nation writing its own future/Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed/Arab
News/June 03/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 03 June/2026
on 03-04 June/2026
Elias Bejjani/My audio personal analysis
with the Hebrew "Makan" radio station addressed peace between Lebanon and Israel
and Hezbollah's occupation
June 02/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155042/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAyK3MmY45U
Elias Bejjani/My audio intervention
by phone on June 01 with the Hebrew "Makan" radio station, as part of the
"Morning Tour" program, addressed the latest military developments in southern
Lebanon following the Israeli army's liberation of the Beaufort Citadel (Castle
of the High Rocks) from the terrorist and Persian Hezbollah. It also covered my
stance regarding the State of Israel, the aspirations of the majority of
Lebanese for peace with it, ending the state of absurd conflict, closing the
Lebanese arena to the impostors, hypocrites, and merchants of the so-called
"resistance," and achieving salvation from the Iranian occupation.
The statement of the summit,
which was falsely labeled as "spiritual," is disgraceful, Mullah-like, and
cowardly.
This is because it completely ignored the Iranian occupation and
chanted tunes of condemnation solely against the Israeli aggression, while
failing to address the absolute necessity of peace with Israel and putting an
end to the ongoing crime of the so-called “Resistance”. The owners of the robes
and clerical hoods have expired nationally, in faith, and in credibility.
Elias Bejjani/03 June 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155013/
At the bottom of the text of the
spiritual summit's statement, it becomes clearly evident that the owners of the
robes and clerical hoods are deeply mired in the pathology of denial, acting as
driven puppets rather than independent choice-makers. They assembled by a decree
issued by Jumblatt and Berri, and with the blessings of all the owners of local
and proxy partisan corporations—entities entirely devoid of honesty,
credibility, patriotism, and respect.
The primary instigator and convener of this theatrical and farcical summit was
the cunning, flagrant, and adversarial duo (Jumblatt and Berri), who stand as
enemies to Lebanon, the State, and the Constitution. This corrupt and corrupting
duo grew terrified of the humiliatingly low level of popular support they have
reached. Consequently, they sought to resuscitate their popularity by playing on
sectarian strings that no longer resonate with anyone except their own herds,
and the herds of the remaining owners of commercial and dictatorial political
party corporations that have grown addicted to practicing politics under the
umbrellas of various occupations.
Attached to this commentary are the text, video, Arabic, and English versions,
which I had published regarding this summit two days ago.
A Spiritual Summit in
Preparation... Composed, Written, Directed, Financed, and Performed by Berri,
Jumblatt, and Other Failed Figures of Power
Elias Bejjani/May 31/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154956/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEJujefuS4w
There is
little doubt that the sudden call for a spiritual summit did not come out of
nowhere. It was not the result of a national or religious awakening among those
in power. The timing, circumstances, and forces behind it suggest that it is
another political attempt led, directly or indirectly, by Nabih Berri and Walid
Jumblatt, who are facing an unprecedented crisis of trust within their Shiite
and Druze communities.
Many things have changed in Lebanon in recent years. The aura that surrounded
sectarian leaders and party bosses for decades has started to fade. Fear and
political glorification are no longer as strong as before. Social media and the
flow of information, documents, and facts have made corruption, political
favoritism, and dependency major topics of daily discussion, even within
communities that were once closed to criticism and accountability.
In this context, Berri and Jumblatt appear to understand the decline in their
public image. Many people blame Berri for protecting the system of corruption
and power-sharing and for aligning with Hezbollah, policies that contributed to
Lebanon’s collapse and repeated conflicts. Jumblatt, meanwhile, faces growing
criticism over his political shifts, alliances, and support for Hezbollah’s
weapons, positions that many opponents believe contradict the aspirations of the
Druze community in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
More importantly, a growing number of Lebanese, including Shiites and Druze, are
asking serious questions about the relationship between the traditional
political class and Hezbollah’s regional project, as well as the concessions
made at the expense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence. For many
observers, the call for a spiritual summit is an attempt to restore lost
political and moral legitimacy for those in power, especially Berri and Jumblatt,
or at least to reduce the growing opposition they face within their own
communities.
For this reason, it is difficult to separate this summit from political
calculations. Lebanon’s long experience with so-called “spiritual summits” does
not inspire optimism. Most of these meetings have served as religious cover for
political deals or as attempts to provide moral legitimacy to decisions already
made by political leaders. Even worse, they have often been used to justify
various forms of foreign domination and political control.
At the same time, one positive development in Lebanese political life is that
more citizens are gradually freeing themselves from blind loyalty to sectarian
leaders and party establishments. Although this awareness is still developing,
social media has helped expose many realities that were once hidden behind
political patronage and partisan loyalty.
Many members of the traditional political establishment now seem aware of the
decline in their credibility. After decades of political dominance and monopoly
over representation, difficult questions are being asked openly, and corruption,
failure, and regional dependency have become regular topics of public debate.
This brings us back to the upcoming spiritual summit. The key question is: What
have previous spiritual summits actually achieved for Lebanon? Have they ever
solved a national crisis, stopped a collapse, protected sovereignty, or
strengthened the state?
Lebanon’s experience offers little reason for optimism. Most spiritual summits
held over the past decades were closely linked to political interests. They
often served to support political compromises or provide moral cover for
decisions already taken by political forces. In many cases, religious
authorities became instruments of justification or mediators between centers of
power rather than independent moral voices.
The main problem is not the idea of dialogue among religious leaders. The real
problem is the loss of independence. When religious institutions become attached
to political leaders or influenced by them, they lose their ability to act as
independent moral and national authorities.
Over recent decades, Lebanese citizens have witnessed the collapse of the state,
widespread corruption, the strengthening of occupying forces, the paralysis of
institutions, the emigration of young people, the loss of depositors’ savings,
and the subordination of national decision-making to foreign powers. Yet strong
and consistent positions from most religious authorities have been rare.
The true religious mission is to defend justice, human dignity, freedom, and
national sovereignty. When religious platforms become tools for defending failed
policies, supporting domination projects, or accommodating powerful interests,
they lose the essence of their mission.
What Lebanese people need today is not another statement or symbolic gathering
of religious leaders. They need courageous and clear moral positions that
condemn corruption regardless of who commits it, reject foreign dependency
regardless of its source, support the state's exclusive right to bear arms, and
defend Lebanon’s sovereignty and independent national decision-making.
Unfortunately, spiritual summits in their traditional form have rarely
represented genuine religious or national renewal. Instead, they have usually
reflected existing political power balances and defended the status quo.
Therefore, any new summit will gain credibility only if it begins with an honest
review of the past and clearly affirms the independence of religious authorities
from political leaders and all external influences.
If it simply repeats the same speeches and slogans, it will be nothing more than
another media event in a country exhausted by political theater and increasingly
distrustful of its official and religious institutions.
Lebanon’s liberation from Iranian influence and from the control of party bosses
and the corrupt political class will not come through protocol summits or vague
consensus statements. It will come through the return of religious leaders to
their natural role as independent moral authorities and through the awakening of
Lebanese citizens, who must reject the worship of leaders, sects, and
personalities.
Nations are built through accountability, freedom, and dignity—not through
dependency and political glorification disguised as religion.
Lebanon, Israel agree ceasefire contingent on cessation of
Hezbollah fire, withdrawal of its fighters
Naharnet/June 03, 2026
Below is the full text of a joint statement issued by the U.S., Lebanon and
Israel after two days of talks in Washington: "The United States convened the
fourth high-level trilateral meeting between Israeli and Lebanese
representatives on June 2 and 3, 2026. As a result of the U.S. led negotiations,
Israel and Lebanon agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire. The ceasefire is
contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all
Hizbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector. The two sides agreed with the
guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in
which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to
the exclusion of all non-state actors.
These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security
agreement.
All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and
Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any
attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.
Israel and Lebanon reaffirmed that they have no hostile intent toward one
another and committed to continuing direct negotiations to build confidence,
resolve all outstanding issues, and work toward a comprehensive agreement
between the two countries.
The delegations discussed a security framework, building on discussions at the
Pentagon on May 29, aimed at sustainably ensuring the sovereignty, security and
territorial integrity of Lebanon and Israel. This includes the dismantlement of
non-state armed groups, and the prevention of their re-emergence. All parties
condemned Iran’s attacks on countries in the region, and ongoing activities that
undermine stability throughout the Middle East, whether through support for
proxies and all other acts of aggression. The United States reiterated its
ongoing support for both governments to exercise their sovereignty. It
reaffirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached directly
between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any
separate track. The United States underscored its intent to support the Lebanese
Armed Forces, with the aim of improving their capacity and enabling the
effective exercise of sovereignty throughout Lebanese territory. It emphasized
Secretary Rubio’s June 2 statement that Hizbollah is not just an enemy of Israel
and an enemy of America, but that it is an enemy of Lebanon.
Israel reaffirmed that its security and respect for its territorial integrity
can only be achieved through the disarmament of Hizbollah and the dismantlement
of its infrastructure throughout Lebanon. It emphasized the importance of direct
negotiations under the leadership of the United States to resolve all
outstanding issues and achieve durable peace and security.Lebanon reaffirmed the
necessity for mutual respect of internationally recognized borders, the urgent
need for full implementation of the cessation of hostilities, underscoring the
principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty. Lebanon
committed to enhancing the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, with U.S.
support, to assert effective control throughout the country.
The two parties agreed to reconvene the political and security tracks the
week of June 22, with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement. The
United States agreed to continue facilitating communication between the parties
in the interim."
Iran FM warns any attack on Beirut will trigger ‘full-scale
resumption of war’
AFP/June 03, 2026
TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any
attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the Middle East war,
as Israel pressed its campaign against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran
has repeatedly insisted that any deal to end the wider Middle East war — which
its ally Hezbollah joined on March 2 — must also halt the fighting in Lebanon.
“The fate of the war between Iran and the Zionists (Israel) and Americans is
inseparable from the fate of the battle in Lebanon, and these two fronts have
been intertwined since day one,” Iranian news agencies quoted Araghchi as
telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV. “Any attack on Beirut will have grave
consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war,” he continued,
adding Iran’s “armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut.”He
also insisted that for the war in Lebanon to end, Israeli forces must get out of
the country. “The end of the war in Lebanon also means the end of the
occupation. That is, the end of the war must be accompanied by the withdrawal of
the Zionist regime’s forces from the areas they have occupied,” he told the
pro-Hezbollah Lebanese broadcaster. His comments came as Israeli and Lebanese
diplomats were to hold a second day of direct talks in Washington. They are part
of a fourth round of talks since the fighting in Lebanon erupted when Hezbollah
fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
Hezbollah is sharply opposed to the direct negotiations. Speaking ahead of the
talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US broadcaster CNBC that
he and Trump shared the goal “to disarm Hezbollah and... to demilitarise
Lebanon.”
Netanyahu Says He and Trump Share Goal to Disarm Hezbollah,
Demilitarize Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he and US
President Donald Trump are aligned on the goal of disarming Hezbollah in order
to achieve peace between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah "is an Iranian proxy that
puts all the citizens of Lebanon at gunpoint and uses Lebanon as a platform to
launch terror missiles into our cities, to launch killer drones against our
civilians", Netanyahu said in an interview with US television channel CNBC.
"And so if we want to save Lebanon, if we want to get a Lebanese-Israeli peace,
as I do, we have to disarm Hezbollah and we have to demilitarize Lebanon. And I
know that this is a goal that the president and I share, and that's what we have
to do." Meanwhile, US Secretary Marco Rubio voiced hope Wednesday that the
latest round of talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon will produce a
security roadmap, despite Israel and Hezbollah's continuing hostilities. Israeli
and Lebanese envoys meeting Wednesday for the fourth round of direct talks in
the US capital "hopefully today will... produce a joint statement and an action
plan on the track for security in that country, independent from Hezbollah,"
Rubio told a congressional panel. The negotiations come days after Trump said
the two countries had pledged to de-escalate.
But Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade fire, with Hezbollah claiming
missile attacks on northern Israel Wednesday and Lebanon saying Israeli strikes
in the south killed at least nine people, including two paramedics.
No major progress achieved in Lebanese-Israeli talks
Naharnet /May 03/2026
No significant progress has been made so far in the negotiations with Israel in
Washington, Lebanese presidency sources told Al-Arabiya on Wednesday evening.
"The Lebanese delegation's insistence in the negotiations on a ceasefire first
has prevented progress on other points," the sources said. Israeli officials
meanwhile told Israel's public broadcaster that "negotiations with Lebanon will
continue but there has been no breakthrough until the moment."The Lebanese
presidency sources said Washington suggested to the Lebanese and Israeli
delegations that they discuss the idea of a "gradual Israeli withdrawal.""There
are U.S. efforts to bridge the gap in negotiations between the Lebanese and
Israeli delegations," the sources added. A U.S. State Department source
meanwhile told MTV that "the U.S. administration believes that a sustainable
solution lies in strengthening state institutions and the army by enhancing
their capabilities, training them, expanding their deployment, and enabling them
to assume greater security responsibilities across all Lebanese territory."The
source added that a joint statement will be issued after Wednesday's talks and
"will not only summarize the results of this round but will also include setting
new dates for the sixth round of negotiations, which is likely to be held in
about ten days to complete discussions on the issues.""The joint statement
expected to be issued tonight will include, for the first time, a reference to
what is known as a Pilot Zone, or experimental area, which is supposed to
constitute the first phase of implementing the new security and field
arrangements in south Lebanon," the source said. Al-Jadeed TV meanwhile said
that "the focus in the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations has shifted from a
ceasefire to a security roadmap." It also reported that "there are intensive
Saudi contacts in Washington in a bid to secure the success of the
negotiations."
Rubio hopes for joint Israel-Lebanon statement after new
round of talks
Associated Press/May 03/2026
U.S. Secretary of State said Wednesday that he hopes the latest round of
high-level political talks between Israel and Lebanon will result in a joint
statement on ending hostilities.
In testimony before lawmakers that started Wednesday shortly after the Israeli
and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. began meeting at the State Department for a
second day of negotiations, Rubio said the aim of the talks is to "produce a
joint statement and an action plan on a track for security in that country,
independent from Hezbollah, independent from nefarious influence.""What we would
like to see is a Lebanese armed forces with the strength and the capability to
disarm Hezbollah and reclaim the entirety of the country," Rubio added.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which is not participating in the
talks, has become a major sticking point in efforts to end the war in Iran.
Wednesday's discussion is the fourth between the two countries and follows a
meeting focused on security issues that was held at the Pentagon on Friday. The
negotiations come days after U.S. President Donald Trump said the two countries
had pledged to de-escalate. But Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade
fire, with Hezbollah claiming missile attacks on northern Israel Wednesday and
Lebanon saying Israeli strikes in the south killed at least nine people,
including two paramedics.
State Department says 'progress made' in Lebanon-Israel
talks
Naharnet/May 03/2026
The State Department said progress was made during the first day of talks
between Lebanon and Israel in Washington on Tuesday. "Progress continues on the
political and security tracks as we break from the failures of the past 20 years
and advance toward a comprehensive agreement aimed at restoring Lebanon’s
sovereignty and ensuring Israel's security," the State Department said, adding
that "the United States remains fully committed to facilitating these historic
negotiations."
Lebanese official says phased ceasefire expected from
today's talks
Naharnet//May 03/2026
A Lebanese official confirmed to Al-Jazeera on Wednesday that Lebanese-Israsli
discussions in the Washington round of negotiations are progressing well and
that there is "U.S. understanding of the Lebanese approach."The source added
that the Lebanese delegation is pushing for a comprehensive solution that
addresses both the Israeli withdrawal and the extension of state authority in
parallel. The Lebanese official also affirmed that "the key to a solution is a
comprehensive ceasefire, and we understand that this will take time."
The source explained that "our expectations for today's round are to develop a
framework for a comprehensive ceasefire, phased in time and geography,"
stressing that "a comprehensive ceasefire across all Lebanese territory requires
an American guarantee."
Sources meanwhile told Al-Arabiya that the atmosphere of the talks is "more
positive than yesterday despite their difficulty."A U.S. source told the TV
network that "the coming hours will be crucial for the future of the
Lebanon-Israel negotiations."
"Intensive contacts are underway with Lebanese officials to secure final
approval for a ceasefire," the source said. "The Lebanese-Israeli negotiations
are discussing a "formula for a long-term security agreement," the source added.
Israel orders Tyre Christian neighborhood to expel
Hezbollah or face evacuation
Naharnet/May 03/2026
Israel warned overnight the Christian neighborhoods in the coastal city of Tyre
that Hezbollah members are among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to
those areas in recent days because they were spared from the aerial bombardment
along the Mediterranean coast.
After the warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre
in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no
armed presence in the area.
The Israeli military urged the Christian community in Tyre to expel Hezbollah
members from their neighborhoods, warning that otherwise, it would order
evacuations and take necessary action.
Israeli strikes kill 3 paramedics, wound 2 army soldiers in
south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/May 03/2026
Two paramedics were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on the country's
south, with at least 130 emergency and health workers now killed since the
Israel-Hezbollah war began in March.A ministry statement said that "the Israeli
enemy directly targeted an ambulance belonging to the Risala Scouts
Association", which is affiliated with Hezbollah ally the Amal movement, adding
that "this resulted in the martyrdom of two paramedics and left a third with
highly critical injuries."The ministry circulated pictures of a badly damaged
ambulance, with medical masks spilling out of the vehicle and scattered on the
road. Two other paramedics were wounded Wednesday in strikes on Zrarieh that
killed one person and wounded another. A strike on Arab Salim earlier in the day
had also killed a rescuer from the Amal-affiliated Risala Scout Association, the
National News Agency said. The Lebanese army meanwhile said a strike targeted
one of its vehicles on the Deir Zahrani-Nabatieh road, wounding a soldier and an
officer. "An Israeli enemy drone targeted an army vehicle on the Deir
Zahrani-Nabatieh road, wounding an officer and a soldier," an army statement
said, decrying "the deliberate targeting of army personnel, vehicles and
positions".
Israel strikes Lebanon ahead of second day of critical
ceasefire talks
Associated Press/May 03/2026
An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a busy highway just south of Beirut,
hours before the second day of talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington
are set to take place. The strike in Khaldeh came without warning, and it was
not immediately clear if the person targeted was killed. Israel and Lebanon on
Monday reached a U.S.-brokered agreement where Israel would not strike Beirut's
southern suburbs and Hezbollah would end its attacks on northern Israel. The
agreement was made hours after Israel announced that it was going to launch
strikes across the sprawling urban neighborhoods near the Lebanese capital in
what would have been the most intense strikes since a nominal ceasefire went
into effect on April 17. The State Department said progress was made during the
first day of talks on Tuesday. Lebanon hopes to widen the scope of the ceasefire
so it becomes comprehensive across the country. Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah
immediately before it ends its operations in Lebanon and withdraws its troops
from dozens of villages and towns.Not long after the strike on Khaldeh, the
Israeli military said it intercepted what it called a hostile aircraft coming
from southern Lebanon, but did not immediately blame Hezbollah. Hezbollah has
not claimed a cross-border attack since the agreement. Israeli strikes over
southern Lebanon continued, especially in and around the battered cities of Tyre
and Nabatiyeh. Overnight, two strikes near Tyre killed four Syrians and two
Palestinians.
Israel army says intercepts 2 projectiles, 'hostile
aircraft' from Lebanon
Agence France Presse/May 03/2026
The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles that crossed into
Israeli territory from Lebanon on Wednesday, after earlier announcing the
interception of a "hostile aircraft" that had also crossed into Israel.
"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the area of Misgav Am,
the Israeli Air Force intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into
Israeli territory," the military said, referring to a community on the northern
border.
Hezbollah later claimed an attack on Israeli troops in northern Israel, likely
referring to the same incident. In a statement, Hezbollah said that "in response
to the Israeli enemy army's violation of the ceasefire", its fighters targeted
"a gathering of Israeli enemy army soldiers" in northern Israel with a rocket
barrage. Israeli officials have warned the military will strike Beirut's
southern suburbs if Hezbollah launches projectiles targeting Israeli communities
in the north, a stance they say has backing from Washington. Earlier in the day,
the Israeli army said it intercepted a "hostile aircraft" that crossed into
Israeli territory from Lebanon on Wednesday, the first such infiltration
reported by the military in more than 24 hours.
"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago regarding a hostile
aircraft infiltration in the areas of Manara and Kiryat Shmona, a suspicious
aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory was intercepted,"
the military said. Hezbollah only claimed attacks overnight into Wednesday on
Israeli troops and equipment in the southern border town of al-Bayyada.
Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes Near Beirut, Across
Southern Lebanon
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/May 03/2026
Lebanon said an Israeli strike hit a target near Beirut on Wednesday while a
medical source told AFP six people were killed as Israel pounded the country's
south. The Israeli army, meanwhile, said it intercepted a "hostile aircraft"
that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon, the first such infiltration
reported by the military in more than 24 hours. Israeli officials have warned
the military will strike Beirut's southern suburbs if Hezbollah launches
projectiles targeting Israeli communities in the north, a stance they say has
backing from Washington. Hezbollah did not immediately claim any attack on
northern Israel. Israeli and Lebanese diplomats on Wednesday are set to hold a
second day of direct talks in Washington -- the fourth such round since war
erupted on March 2. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported "the
targeting of a car on the Khaldeh road,” referring to an area at the southern
entrance to the capital. An AFP correspondent at the scene saw an ambulance in
attendance as onlookers peered at the strike site, which is on the main highway
linking Beirut with the country's south. The NNA reported strikes on around 20
locations in the country's south on Wednesday, while Israel's army warned
residents of several south Lebanon villages to evacuate ahead of attacks there.
A medical source in south Lebanon's Tyre told AFP that two Israeli strikes on
the Al-Hawsh area near the coastal city on Wednesday killed six people -- four
Syrian nationals and two Palestinians. On Tuesday, the Israeli military released
a statement alleging Hezbollah members were operating in Tyre's Christian
quarter, warning it would order people to leave should the group remain there.
The picturesque seaside district has so far been spared from Israeli army
evacuation warnings and strikes targeting the rest of Tyre city and its
surrounds.An correspondent said the situation in Tyre was relatively calm on
Wednesday morning, adding that some people who had been sleeping in cars or
tents at the edge of the Christian quarter left for other nearby parts of the
city after the Israeli military statement. Wednesday's attacks come after a
dramatic escalation in fighting and Israeli bombardment in recent days as
Israeli troops staged their deepest ground offensive into Lebanon in two
decades.
Lebanon Launches Safety Audit of Middle East Airlines Amid
Pilot Groups’ Complaints
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Lebanon's aviation regulator has launched a safety audit of Middle East Airlines
(MEA) as pilot groups raised concerns that crews were being asked to fly close
to airstrikes and penalized for reporting safety incidents, according to letters
seen by Reuters.
The audit puts scrutiny on the Beirut-based flag carrier, which has kept the
country connected through war and financial collapse even as many foreign
airlines have avoided large parts of Middle East airspace because of missile and
drone risks since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in February. MEA, which
has a fleet of around 20 planes operating in the Middle East, Europe and West
Africa, has been praised at home for continuing to fly during regional conflict
and helping to prop up a weak economy that is more dependent than ever on
tourism and remittances from expatriates. The airline said it has a strong and
proven safety record, and that any flights during military hostilities were
conducted based on risk assessments developed alongside Lebanon's government and
aviation regulator, the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA). But since
2024, multiple Israeli airstrikes have landed near Lebanon's largest airport,
raising concerns among the International Federation of Air Line Pilots'
Associations (IFALPA), a global federation of pilot unions, given the history
of civilian aircraft being shot down in or near conflict zones. The aviation
concerns have grown as Israeli strikes on Lebanon stepped up this year during
a widening conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah. "While some may think that
flying civilian aircraft and passengers in high-risk and conflict zones during
war conditions is heroic, we consider this an unconscionable risk," IFALPA
President Ron Hay wrote in a May 12 letter to Lebanon's central bank, which
holds a majority share in MEA.The central bank, known as the Banque du Liban,
referred Reuters to MEA. "The son of the chairman of MEA and the son of the
chairman of LCAA are both captains at MEA and flew throughout the period," the
airline said.
LEBANESE REGULATOR CONDUCTS SAFETY AUDIT OF MEA
LCAA head Mohammed Aziz, an air crash investigator, told IFALPA in a May 15
letter that his team would conduct an aviation safety audit on MEA and "engage
in a dialogue with MEA to discuss the concerns you stated in your letter."MEA
said oversight activity conducted by the LCAA on MEA from May 18 to June 1
confirmed the carrier's compliance with "regulatory and operational safety
requirements."Aziz told Reuters a closing meeting with the airline was held on
Monday, but the LCAA audit was still being processed, and "we were in the
process of mediating" between the pilots and MEA. One MEA pilot interviewed by
Reuters said aviators had a financial incentive to fly since per-flight
payments made up a majority of their salaries, with their base salary slashed
due to a Lebanese economic collapse that began in 2019. IFALPA, supported by
other aviator groups, flagged cases where pilots reported unintentional errors
for the purpose of improving safety, but faced punishment such as being sent for
"training", where they lose out on the per-flight payments."We know definitely
that pilots have spoken up and there have been actions taken against them," Hay
told Reuters by phone. MEA called IFALPA's allegations "unfounded" and said
training assignments were conducted in line with regulatory requirements and
"should not be misconstrued as disciplinary or retaliatory measures."
PILOTS CONTACT PARTNER AIRLINES IN US, EUROPE
The safety concerns led pilot groups to contact the SkyTeam airline network
alliance, which includes carriers like MEA, Air France and Delta Air Lines, to
raise awareness.
Dara van Langen, chair of the SkyTeam Pilots Association, said in an interview:
"If you put your passengers in the plane of a colleague airline then for sure
you want to be sure the level of safety is where you want it to be." Both the US
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) require airlines in their jurisdictions to audit foreign codeshare
partners to ensure comparable safety. Air France, which has a codeshare
agreement with MEA, said it regularly audits all codeshare partners. SkyTeam and
Delta, which has a less extensive interline agreement, said they were aware of
pilots' concerns and were monitoring the situation, adding that safety was
imperative.
MEA PAYS CIVIL AVIATION WORKERS
IFALPA said it was also concerned that MEA provided payments to LCAA workers
overseeing aviation safety. An internal spreadsheet of financial assistance for
the month of November reviewed by Reuters showed that dozens of LCAA employees
received payments from the airline, including three aviation safety workers. "If
the oversight of your airline is being (partly) paid by your airline," then "you
don't want to speak up, do you?" IFALPA's Hay said.
MEA said it had provided financial support in coordination with Lebanon's
government to ensure the country's aviation infrastructure functioned after the
financial crisis caused a currency collapse. Air traffic controllers' pay was
cut by more than 90% to less than $100 a month, it said. The carrier said its
support did not affect the LCAA's "independence, authority, or oversight
responsibilities" and auditors and the agency's leaders, including Aziz, did not
receive payments.
Israeli report claims that Israel may 'attack Beirut' in
coming days
Naharnet/May 03/2026
The estimations suggest that Israel will attack Beirut in the coming days,
Israeli officials told Israel's Channel 13 on Wednesday, after Hezbollah claimed
a rocket attack on north Israel. "If any violation occurs by Hezbollah, the
Israeli army will be able to attack throughout Lebanon, including Beirut,"
Israel's Channel 14 reported. Channel 13 meanwhile reported that Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold special security consultations on
Wednesday evening regarding the situation in Lebanon and a possible response to
Hezbollah's "violations."Earlier in the day, an Israeli drone strike killed a
Hezbollah member in Khalde near Beirut. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel
Leiter meanwhile accused Hezbollah of firing rockets at Kiryat Shmona in
northern Israel, lamenting that "this is Hezbollah's idea of a ceasefire.""It
should be remembered that Israel agreed to refrain from striking Hezbollah
command centers in Beirut on the condition that Hezbollah would stop attacking
Israeli towns and villages," Leiter reminded. "This morning's attack is yet
another blatant violation of that understanding," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he had brokered a deal that
Lebanon said would halt Israeli attacks on Beirut and Hezbollah attacks on
Israeli territory, before expanding in scope. Trump made the announcement after
berating Netanyahu in an expletive-ridden phone call, after he was infuriated by
an Israeli decision to resume the bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs. Since
then, Israel has said it has Washington's backing to strike Beirut's southern
suburbs -- a Hezbollah stronghold -- if the group targets northern Israeli
communities. The Israeli threat to bomb the southern suburbs had prompted
Hezbollah's backer Iran to suspend its talks with Washington and threaten to
strike northern Israel. The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it
intercepted a "hostile aircraft" and two projectiles that crossed into Israeli
territory from Lebanon. Hezbollah, for its part, said that "in response to the
Israeli enemy army's violation of the ceasefire", its fighters targeted soldiers
in northern Israel with a rocket barrage. A truce to halt the fighting in
Lebanon was meant to take hold on April 17, but has never been observed, with
both sides justifying their ongoing attacks by the other's alleged violations.
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati had told AFP on Tuesday that the group
would "not accept a partial ceasefire." Despite the ongoing fighting, Israeli
and Lebanese diplomats held a second day of direct talks in Washington as part
of the fourth round of direct negotiations.
Aoun condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain
Agence France Presse/May 03/2026
President Joseph Aoun condemned Wednesday Iranian attacks on "civilian targets"
in Kuwait and Bahrain. The attack on Kuwait's airport wounded at least 63 people
and killed an Indian national. Health ministry spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad said
25 ambulances were dispatched at Kuwait International Airport, adding that "63
injured individuals were received and distributed among hospitals... This
includes serious injuries... including head wounds, cerebral hemorrhages,
amputations and injuries resulting from explosions."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards later claimed the attack, saying it was in
retaliation for U.S. attacks on an Iranian oil tanker and island. "In response
to this aggression, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, which hosts
helicopters, as well as the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain,
were targeted with missiles and drones by the Guards' forces," the Guards said
in a statement on their official Telegram channel.
For the War to Stop, Hezbollah Must Be Disarmed
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This Is Beirut/May 03/2026
The Lebanese government, which has voted three times to disarm Hezbollah since
the summer of 2025, now faces an inescapable choice. If the cabinet decides to
finish off Iran’s proxy militia, Israel will have no reason to continue its war
in Lebanon. If Beirut instead plays games of evasion and delay, Lebanon will be
razed village by village, its towns and infrastructure reduced to rubble. The
sooner leaders in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and France accept this reality,
the sooner the conflict can end and reconstruction can begin.
Israel has provided the Lebanese government with substantial leeway to save face
among its citizens, especially Shia Muslims. Recent polling reveals that 65
percent of Lebanese outside the Shia community support a bilateral peace treaty
with Jerusalem. Yet Lebanon’s president and prime minister have instead
presented framed diplomacy with Israel as a means to halt the fighting, secure
an Israeli withdrawal, and rebuild the south. With such slogans, they are
missing the point. Only negotiations focused on Hezbollah’s disarmament and
disbandment can secure an end to the conflict.
Israel has demonstrated unprecedented flexibility, going to great lengths to
simplify matters for the Lebanese state. When accused of seeking to annex
Lebanese land, Israeli leaders forcefully declared that the Jewish state has no
such intentions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed these statements,
making clear that the campaign is not about territorial expansion but
eliminating the threat Hezbollah poses to Israeli border communities.
Israeli officials have also directly addressed the Lebanese people, stressing
that Israel harbors no hostility toward them and would welcome a formal peace
treaty. The sole barrier to peace, they have repeatedly explained, is
Hezbollah’s armed status. The militia must be dismantled.
Unfortunately, these clear messages are falling on deaf ears in Beirut. Despite
Lebanese cabinet directives to dismantle Hezbollah’s military apparatus, the
country’s officials downplay or ignore this requirement entirely. They claim the
talks aim only at stopping the war and enabling reconstruction, rarely
referencing Hezbollah’s disarmament. In effect, Lebanese officials are trying to
masquerade political theater as serious diplomacy.
The unavoidable truth is that Hezbollah will be disarmed. The only question now
is how this will happen. Lebanon can achieve this goal through diplomacy and
resolve, or it can watch Israel accomplish it through military means. More war
will cast Lebanon dearly, ravaging the country’s economy, displacing its
citizens, and destroying its future prospects. Sophistry might delay this
outcome, but not avert it. Hezbollah will drink from the poison chalice.
Critically, Israel does not link Lebanon’s fate to that of the regional conflict
with Iran. Whatever the results of U.S. negotiations with Tehran, Jerusalem will
press ahead with disarming Hezbollah. For Israel, the militia poses an
existential threat comparable to those Israel faced during its 1948 War of
Independence. Hezbollah’s rockets and incursions cannot be tolerated.
Lebanon owes a paradoxical debt to Hamas for the shift in Israeli attitudes. The
October 7, 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis profoundly changed Israeli policy and
popular sentiment. Israelis will no longer accept the status quo of a dangerous
Hezbollah on their northern frontier.
After the 1982 war, many Israelis regarded their country’s involvement in
Lebanon as an 18-year mistake. An Israeli Channel 11 documentary termed it “a
war without a name,” reflecting deep skepticism about the campaign’s value.
Tolerance for further military campaigns in Lebanon was low.
That perspective has been upended since 2023. Israelis are now prepared to pay
any necessary price in blood, treasure, and time to eliminate the Hezbollah
threat once and for all. Their determination is unwavering, and their
capabilities are overwhelming.
Lebanese officials and Hezbollah must grasp this new reality. This war will not
conclude like the limited operations of 1993, 1996, or 2006, when Israel
accepted partial Hezbollah setbacks in exchange for years of quiet. Israel no
longer seeks temporary calm but insists instead on a complete and permanent
resolution.
Lebanon has two potential pathways. The easy way involves the government using
political and military pressure to force Hezbollah to surrender its weapons and
dissolve its security structures. The hard way leaves the task to the Israel
Defense Forces, which are already reshaping southern Lebanon. Hezbollah may
fancy itself resilient, but Hamas’s current woes in Gaza offers a stark lesson
in overconfidence.
There is no other way. Hezbollah must be disarmed for the war to stop. Beirut
must choose wisely and soon, or watch Lebanon pay an ever higher price.
*Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies and a columnist focusing on Lebanon and broader Arab affairs.
Lebanon: America’s bargaining chip in its standoff with
Iran
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 03, 2026
Lebanon, home to millennia of human history, is being flattened as it is being
used as a bargaining chip in the US-Iran standoff. President Donald Trump this
week halted an Israeli onslaught on the capital, Beirut, claiming that he had
managed to reinstate a ceasefire agreement between the pro-Iran Hezbollah and
Tel Aviv, under which the militant group would suspend its drone attacks on
Israel’s north in exchange for an Israeli commitment not to bomb the Lebanese
capital. This agreement does not include the Israeli bombardment of southern
Lebanon and its military takeover of large swaths of territory in the south,
which has so far displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese, many of whom have
seen their towns and villages erased from the map. From an Israeli perspective,
ceasefires are a cover for selective, one-sided military operations — the barely
holding Gaza ceasefire being a case in point. In reality, the Israeli advance
into Lebanese territory, in retaliation for Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel, goes
beyond the current diplomatic stalemate between Washington and Tehran — a
confrontation that has elevated Lebanon from battlefield to bargaining chip.
While the Trump administration believes taking Lebanon hostage and using it as a
pawn in its showdown with Iran will eventually force the Iranians to make
concessions, the Israelis have other plans. It was Hezbollah’s grave
miscalculation following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on southern Israel that
created a domino effect that sucked Lebanon into a deadly vortex. The Israeli
response was devastating. It killed the group’s top leadership, destroyed most
of its Beirut base, eroded its capacity to fire missiles into northern Israel
and carried out a major incursion into Lebanese territory, the likes of which
had not been seen since 1982.
Using Lebanon as a bargaining chip through Washington’s Israeli proxy is Trump’s
way of leveling the playing field
And even when a fragile ceasefire deal was reached following last year’s 12-day
Israeli-American strikes on Iran, the group — politically and militarily rattled
— was already preparing for another round of fighting. So, when the US and
Israel waged a surprise war on Iran in February, killing its supreme leader and
top brass, Hezbollah retaliated and reopened the Lebanese front. This gave
Israel the pretext to push further into Lebanon’s south, creating a so-called
defensive buffer from which it could launch lethal incursions, even crossing the
Litani River. In the process, Israel applied its Gaza playbook — destroying
entire villages and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. Only recently has
Washington seen an opportunity to weaponize Lebanon in its confrontation with
Iran. Tehran shocked the Trump administration by closing the Strait of Hormuz,
creating a global economic backlash. Negotiations between the two sides appeared
to favor the Iranians, much to Trump’s frustration and dismay. Using Lebanon as
a bargaining chip through Washington’s Israeli proxy is Trump’s way of leveling
the playing field: the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Lebanon. The Iranians
are well aware that Hezbollah is a valuable asset in their confrontations with
both Israel and the US. And, regrettably, Hezbollah has brazenly subordinated
Lebanon’s survival to Iran’s strategic calculus, even though it is recognized as
a political party and is represented in the Lebanese government. So, while Trump
has convinced the Israelis not to attack Beirut for now, the ceasefire he
announced does not include Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanese cities and towns, including the historic city
of Tyre, continues without pause, as do the evacuation orders. Hezbollah is
retaliating but is unable to stop the Israeli advance. Lebanon is paying the
ultimate price in this latest round of war amid regional and international
silence.
Like in Gaza, Israel has not spared mosques, churches, hospitals, schools or
residential buildings. The mass destruction of southern Lebanon is deliberate
and carries long-term consequences. Israeli officials have openly declared that
they intend to stay, that residents will not be allowed to return and that, even
if the war ends, the south will be held hostage until Hezbollah is fully
disarmed. Lebanon is paying the ultimate price in this latest round of war amid
regional and international silence.The scale is staggering: Israel launched more
than 1,840 attacks on Lebanon between March 2 and April 7, forcing about a fifth
of the country’s entire population — including 350,000 children — to flee their
homes, creating what experts describe as one of the world’s fastest-growing
displacement crises. Meanwhile, the US has forced the Lebanese government into
direct negotiations with Israel in Washington, with the final goal of signing a
peace treaty. The talks proceed while Israel destroys Lebanese cities and towns
and expands its occupation. The Lebanese government is being asked to deliver
the impossible: disarming Hezbollah. The Washington talks are not a parallel
track toward peace, they are a performance of a process designed to buy time for
facts on the ground. Israel will not withdraw from the Lebanese territory it
occupies, rendering the negotiations a theater of the absurd. Israel is in a
strong position. It has the full backing of Washington, even as it openly
declares objectives that differ sharply from those of America. Under the
far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu, it seeks territorial expansion into
both Lebanon and Syria — annexing buffer zones, entrenching military positions
and redrawing the map of the Levant. The Americans may believe that a peace
deal, if reached, would persuade Israel to withdraw. That is fantasy.
On the other hand, Hezbollah is losing sympathy even among Lebanon’s Shiite
population, who have suffered the most. The group has attacked the government
for engaging in peace talks with Israel, yet has offered no path toward national
reconciliation, disengagement from Iran or the integration of its forces into
the Lebanese army. Unless Hezbollah commits to this path, Israel will continue
destroying Lebanon, entrenching its occupation and pursuing what many now fear
is its ultimate objective: the demographic and territorial partition of Lebanon.
This is not merely a war between Israel and Hezbollah. It is the convergence of
three tragedies: American cynicism that turns a country into collateral, Israeli
territorial ambition disguised as security doctrine, and Hezbollah’s
catastrophic miscalculation that has dragged Lebanon into an existential battle
it cannot win — and did not choose.The international community’s silence is not
neutrality. It is complicity.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
X: @plato010
Lebanon’s Domestic Struggle
Amr el-Shobaki/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
The impasse of the conflict in Lebanon it will not end with a ceasefire,
guarantees that Israeli aggression will not be repeated, and the implementation
of the decision to confine arms to the state. It will also require, perhaps
primarily, addressing the issues of Hezbollah’s constituency, which has been
shaken by its repeated displacement and has at times criticized the party,
holding it partly responsible for its suffering. Even so, the greatest challenge
after the war ends will essentially concern fundamental remedies within Lebanese
institutions.
The truth is that the real bet is not that Hezbollah's base could “turn” on the
party because of the hardship of its wars, or because of the victims and
destruction inflicted on its areas. Elements of the base will continue to see
the party’s arsenal as an asset in structure, even if it accepts an end to
hegemony.
The question that must be raised after the war ends does not only cover
security. It will be, above all, a social, political, and anthropological effort
to reconsider the history of Lebanon’s sects, their role, and the nature of the
Lebanese system since the country’s independence, to “decode” the unique
phenomenon that is Hezbollah. Its experience is distinct from those of the other
sects, and its investment in militarization and armed organization, which broke
the consensus and mutual deterrence, that had been in place among Lebanon’s
components, in favor of an armed model that dominated political and military
decision-making for decades.
Hence, the question becomes: where will Hezbollah’s domestic energy go? What
will the 90 percent of party members who do not fight Israel do? Who will they
turn to after the war ends? Concern for civil peace is legitimate, as
implementing the unavoidable decision to place arms exclusively in the hands of
the state will not be easy. However, the more difficult task will be making
Hezbollah’s base more similar to the rest of Lebanon’s communities: communities
that know diversity and political disagreement, and in which no party or “duo”
represents an entire sect to a single political project alone.
It is simply astonishing the extent to which Hezbollah’s project has penetrated
segments of Lebanese society over more than a quarter of a century, and how the
party’s weapons were transformed from a force of liberation against the Israeli
occupation in 2000 into a force of domination and control, dragging the country
and its people into wars on behalf of others.The truth is that fanatic religious
and ideological projects have appeared among all sects and religions, inside and
outside Lebanon. They have always represented only part of this or that
community, and Lebanon has known Sunni extremism and Christian extremism.
However, the difference is that these groups did not succeed in taking their
communities hostage to their political or sectarian projects.
There is no doubt that the challenge to implementing the decision to confine
weapons to the state is daunting. However, the challenge of turning Hezbollah’s
base into a community resembling the rest of the Lebanese is even more daunting,
though not impossible. This does not mean that they should speak like the rest
of the Lebanese, nor that they should hold the same political positions. Rather,
it means that they should manage the healthy diversity found in all sects, they
should be convinced that weapons will bring neither status nor superiority, and
they should support state institutions so these institutions can protect
everyone.We must remember that a small country like Lebanon and all its sects
has produced great politicians, artists, and writers, as well as fighters who
resisted occupation when necessary. It also has a cross-sectarian culture based
on trade, services, and tourism, and it has produced creative figures in every
field who have competed with long-established countries in the region whose
populations are more than ten times that of Lebanon. It seems strange that this
country could be dominated by a fanatic religious project tied to Wilayat al-Faqih
and the interests of a regional state until it became “the sole voice of the
sect.”The challenge Lebanon will face after the war ends will be Hezbollah’s
project and the values it imposed on a segment of the Lebanese and its success
in persuading them that its arms are their only shield and the pillar of the
Shiite community’s status within Lebanon.
In truth, all of this can be resolved. To confront it, the country will need a
comprehensive economic, political, and cultural vision for dealing with this
situation to rehabilitate and integrate the party’s non-combatant members into
state institutions, find alternative sources of income to replace the money that
used to flow from Iran to the party and its civilian institutions, and define
the future of these ideological fighters, who have a value system different from
that found within the Lebanese army.
We believe that Lebanon is capable of overcoming these issues if there is a
shared will and if the Lebanese choose to turn toward building their country,
which wars have eroded.
A Roadmap to Save the South and Lebanon
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
In his first televised interview after the July 2006 war, Hassan Nasrallah was
asked: “If time could be turned back, would you change what happened at Khallat
Warda?” “Certainly not. We never thought that our enemy would go to war over two
soldiers,” he replied. Shocked by the devastation caused by that war, Nasrallah
famously uttered his “Had I known...”
Nasrallah’s critique of this course of action amounted to little more than an
effort to throw dust in the people’s eyes. The narratives portraying him as a
man who had made his own decisions independently of Iranian Revolutionary Guards
evaporated on the night of October 8, 2023, when he complied with the dictates
of Esmail Qaani and dragged Lebanon into the war of “support” for Gaza.
Immense human and material losses, mass displacement, and the subjection of
Lebanon, especially its South, to brutal collective punishment were the result.
Hezbollah’s defeat was akin to an annihilation: the pager disaster, the
elimination of the Jihad Council, the loss of first-tier and second-tier
commanders, and the killing of Nasrallah and his successor, Hashem Safieddine.
It thus pleaded for a ceasefire at any cost, allowing Israel to impose its
claimed “right” to violate Lebanese sovereignty in order to “defend itself
against planned or imminent attacks.”
For that reason, there was little surprise when Lebanon was dragged into a
second “support” war, this time in retaliation for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Even if it were true that the “Iranian weapons party” had been seeking to seize
an opportunity presented by the American-Israeli war against Iran, and that it
believed its contribution to the war could allow for improving the humiliating
terms of the November 27, 2024 agreement, it should have recognized the vast
disparity between the two sides, stepped back, and stood behind the Lebanese
state.
Such a course might have limited the horrors now afflicting Jabal Amel, whose
urban landscape continues to be erased after its residents were forced out. Tyre
and Nabatieh have now met the fate that had befallen Bint Jbeil.
During the Gaza support campaign, American envoy Amos Hochstein warned Lebanese
parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of catastrophic consequences and occupation, and
that withdrawing north of the Litani River would remove this threat. The
recommendations of Israel’s Alma Center, which developed the “Dahiya Doctrine,”
were publicly stated: the response to fantasies of invading the Galilee should
be the destruction of villages and cities, such as Bint Jbeil, Tyre, and
Nabatieh, while preventing the reconstitution of a social environment that could
enable future threats.
Those reassured by the capabilities of the “tunnel cities” built by Iran,
however, dismissed the warnings. Berri reportedly told Hochstein that “it would
be easier to move the Litani River to the border than to move Hezbollah north of
it.” To this day, Berri has taken no step to prevent Jabal Amel and Lebanon from
being handed to Israel on a silver platter in service of Iran.
It has become clear that behind government decisions banning Hezbollah’s
military and security activities lies a conviction that this organization led by
the IRGC seeks to revive Tehran’s “unity of arenas” strategy to serve its own
interests, with little regard for the immense transformations that followed the
catastrophe of October 7: the destruction and reoccupation of Gaza, the
uprooting of southern Lebanese communities, and the emergence of a new Syria.
It has become even clearer that this organization is “a part of the Islamic
Republic and an assault on the Lebanese state,” as the late minister Mohammad
Chatah repeatedly argued before his assassination that is blamed on Hezbollah.
That Lebanon has been dragged into three devastating wars over 20 years in
service of Iran is something that requires exposure, condemnation, and
preparation for accountability. The path toward that goal requires making Shiite
anger visible and raising voices in proportion to the magnitude of the
suffering. The role of Shiite intellectual and social elites is pivotal in this
regard. That can lead a process that halts the current trajectory of defeat and
allows Lebanon to catch its breath and imagine a different future.
This is precisely why the appeal issued by notable figures from Tyre and
Nabatieh is so crucial. Born from the heart of suffering, it declared that the
mask had fallen, rejected collective suicide, and affirmed the right to a normal
life. These appeals, accompanied by hundreds of signatures from local notables
and activists, called for Tyre and Nabatieh to become open, demilitarized cities
protected by the Lebanese army and legitimate state institutions.
It is indeed a historic appeal because it is the first of its kind to emerge
over the past 41 years, since Hezbollah’s founding in 1985. It openly condemns
Hezbollah, rejects the concept of “resistance,” which it argues has become a
business enterprise, and demands that the organization leave the two cities.
In a sense, it represents the first rebellion against Hezbollah’s hegemony over
the Shiite community and it is a rejection of narratives falsely promoted under
slogans such as “We Protect and We Build” amid the confiscation of villages,
cities, and their inhabitants, which have been rendered them into shields of
Iran.
This appeal marks the beginning of a roadmap for liberating the South and saving
Lebanon, and it should be expanded nationally. Moreover, it outlines a framework
for exposing criminality and dependency and ensuring genuine accountability for
“Iran’s party in Lebanon” and its allies. It heralds a long-awaited effort to
expose and break Hezbollah’s deep alliances with the broader political system
and corruption networks that facilitated its hold over key state decisions,
thereby allowing it to impede the implementation of historic government
decisions regarding the disarmament of non-state actors.
This process requires swift action to ensure a national protection network that
serves those who are suffering - the majority of Lebanese citizens - and who are
now being asked to shoulder the burden of this rescue mission as the very
existence of the nation is being threatened. To the extent that such a process
takes shape, the country’s ordeal will be contained. It will help resolve not
only the ordeal of the Shiite community, but that of Lebanon as a whole, a
country that the “yellow party” had, even before Benjamin Netanyahu, led to
historic calamities.
When Will Lebanon Return to its Natural Role?
Jamal Al-Kashki/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
When will this story end? And why do its protagonists keep sneaking onto the
Lebanese stage? It is a story of love and resentment of the most beautiful Arab
country, the country that brought modernity to the Levant.
From writing and publishing to dictionaries and encyclopedias, from journalism,
the arts, and thought, thousands of Lebanese names could be written without
hesitation for their contribution to shaping modern Arab consciousness.
Do we begin with Gibran Khalil Gibran, Ameen Rihani, and Mikhail Naimy, and not
stop at Butrus al-Bustani, Nasif al-Yaziji, and the pioneers of the Arab
Renaissance?
And can we overlook Charles Malik, who helped draft the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, or Husayn Muruwwah and Mahdi Amel in thought and philosophy? Can
we forget the poetry of Said Akl, al-Akhtal al-Saghir, and Khalil Hawi, the
singing of Fairuz and Sabah, and the music of the Rahbani Brothers and Wadih El
Safi?
As for politics, the current generation may not know Fouad Chehab, Kamal
Jumblatt, Saeb Salam, and dozens of others.
Lebanon was never merely a small state on the Mediterranean. It has always been
a grand cultural idea, a beacon in the Arab world whose influence exceeded the
limits of geography. Everyone is enamored with Lebanon to the point of killing
it. Love can kill.
One side wants it for itself once, then takes revenge again and again, as though
Lebanon were a testing ground and an open firing range for rival powers. For a
century, storms have ravaged it from every direction, as though its unique
geography had become part of the tragedy of its ancient people.
We remember how rivers of blood flowed in the era of the butcher Jamal Pasha,
and how, throughout their modern history, the Lebanese have known oppression,
violence, and tutelage. Now they find themselves between the hammer of Israel
and the anvil of Iranian interference. Their country seems to remain an arena by
regional powers that refuse to leave until they have secured their share of the
spoils.
Has the time come to end the tragic Lebanese story? Has the time come to rid the
country of the filth of sectarianism and confessionalism, which have drained its
state and weakened society, so that the Lebanese can live their land without
being abducted by this axis or that?
The German sociologist Max Weber’s defined the state as an entity that
monopolizes arms and exercises legitimate violence. Lebanon is in urgent need of
recovering this principle, so that the state alone makes the decisions and no
center of power within the country rivals it or rises above it. Lebanon’s fate
placed it in the trap of an inflamed geography. It was among the first countries
to pay the price of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since the sudden creation of
Israel in 1948, Palestinian refugees have flown into Lebanon, and following
successive wars and Israeli invasions, Lebanon has become part of a complex
regional formula breaking its back.
At the same time, those with regional projects found in its fragile sectarian
structure an easy entry point for influence and power. Whenever the region was
struck by turmoil, Lebanon was among the first candidates to pay the price, as
though it were the weak link in a chain of interwoven conflicts. Can we say that
the lesson is over? That the war that erupted on October 7, 2023, can no longer
bear expansion into new fronts? Could this round of violence be the last episode
in a series of wars that has drained the region for decades?
The late Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, would demand “Take your hands off
Lebanon” when forces that entered under the pretext of keeping the peace turned
into hegemons.
Today, that call seems more urgent and broader: take your hands off Lebanon, and
off the rest of the Arab region’s states, for these nations can no longer bear
paying the price of others’ projects. Regional and international powers,
whatever their slogans, do not view the region as a homeland for its peoples,
and this has become clear in recent years.
Signs of a new Arab moment are appearing on the horizon, taking shape among a
number of powers in the region. Seeking is to protect Arab national security,
reinforce the concept of statehood, and avoid the sharp polarizations tearing
the region apart.
Experience has shown that building states is more worthwhile than destroying
them, that development is more enduring than wars, and that the future is not
made by militias or projects of domination, but by stable states capable of
protecting their citizens and safeguarding their interests. The question remains
suspended: when will this sad story end? When will Lebanon return to its natural
role as a beacon of culture, thought, and creativity? When will Lebanon the
arena give way to Lebanon the homeland?
Lebanon, which gave the Arabs poetry, music, thought, journalism, and a
renaissance, deserves to live, to write its next chapter by the hands of its
intelligent sons and daughters, and to return to what it has always been: a
homeland of life and a bridge of culture, not a land where killers test
themselves. I say it frankly: forget Lebanon for a little while.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 03-04 June/2026
Trump confirms he called Netanyahu 'crazy,' as he
says Israel is complicating peace talks with Iran
BEIRUT (AP) //May 03/2026
President Donald Trump in an interview released Wednesday confirmed an earlier
report that he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “crazy”
in a Monday phone call, saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s
fighting of Hezbollah in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran. But
even as the U.S. president acknowledged the tensions, he insisted that his
relationship with Netanyahu was solid and they connected, in part, because
they're both “wartime” leaders. “We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a
lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force
One.”The president's acknowledgement of the tense call with Netanyahu that
involved expletives is a sign of the growing pressure he faces to resolve the
Iran war, as higher energy prices and economic uncertainty are harming
Republicans going into midterm elections and hampering global commerce. But
Trump remained noncommittal about a timeline for settling the conflict, saying
the Strait of Hormuz might stay blocked through the Labor Day holiday on Sept.
7. He has insisted that Iran stop any efforts that could lead to a nuclear
weapon and that the strait be reopened for the shipments of oil and natural gas.
“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I
think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve
itself fairly quickly,” Trump said. The U.S. president added that Iran’s Supreme
Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his late father, is “involved” in peace
talks for ending the war. “They have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said in
the interview with “Pod Force One.”Trump said that Khamenei is not doing well
due to injuries sustained in an airstrike, but “they say he’s giving approval
because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time." Khamenei's father was
killed as part of airstrikes when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end
of March. Still, the path toward a durable ceasefire remained unclear as
hostilities continued in Lebanon. An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a
busy highway just south of Beirut, hours before the second day of talks between
Lebanon and Israel in Washington are set to take place. The strike in Khaldeh
came without warning, and it was not immediately clear if the person targeted
was killed. Israel usually says it targets members of the Hezbollah militant
group in these drone strikes. Israel and Lebanon on Monday reached a
U.S.-brokered agreement where Israel would not strike Beirut's southern suburbs
and Hezbollah would end its attacks on northern Israel. The agreement was made
hours after Israel announced that it was going to launch strikes across the
sprawling urban neighborhoods near the Lebanese capital in what would have been
the most intense strikes since a nominal ceasefire went into effect on April 17.
The State Department said progress was made during the first day of talks on
Tuesday. Lebanon hopes to widen the scope of the ceasefire so it becomes
comprehensive across the country. Israel wants to disarm Hezbollah immediately
before it ends its operations in Lebanon and withdraws its troops from dozens of
villages and towns. Not long after the strike on Khaldeh, the Israeli military
said it intercepted what it called a hostile aircraft coming from southern
Lebanon, but did not immediately blame Hezbollah. Hezbollah has not claimed a
cross-border attack since the agreement.
Israeli military warning rattles coastal city
Israeli strikes over southern Lebanon continued, especially in and around the
battered cities of Tyre and Nabatiyeh. Overnight, two strikes near Tyre killed
four Syrians and two Palestinians. Israel overnight warned the Christian
neighborhoods in the coastal city of Tyre that Hezbollah members are among them.
Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas in recent days because they
were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast. After the
warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an
effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed
presence in the area. Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon days after
the latest war was sparked on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets
towards northern Israel in solidarity with Iran. Israeli troops have pushed
deeper into Lebanon over the past week, as Hezbollah continues to claim rocket
and drone attacks. The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has
killed 3,468 people in Lebanon and displaced 1.2 million people. According to
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, at least 27 Israeli soldiers
and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. Two
civilians have also been killed in northern Israel. Among the 27 killed was a
soldier in southern Lebanon, whose death was announced late Monday by Israel’s
military. It added that seven more soldiers were wounded in the incident, three
of them severely. Hezbollah’s use of hard-to-detect fiber-optic drones has been
deadly for the Israeli military, which is struggling to respond.
Trump Confirms He Called Netanyahu Crazy in Phone Call
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
US President Donald Trump acknowledged having called Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu crazy in an expletive-filled phone exchange over fighting in
Lebanon, while the US was trying to negotiate an end to hostilities with Iran.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Trump was asked whether he had called the
longtime Israeli leader "effing crazy" and accused him of ingratitude,
paraphrasing a report by Axios. "I did," Trump told the "Pod Force One" podcast.
"I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting
with Lebanon, you know." Trump went on to say he and Netanyahu get along very
well.According to the Axios report, which cited an unidentified US official,
Trump said to Netanyahu in a call on Monday: "You're [expletive] crazy. You'd
be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you
now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."
Trump said in the interview: "At some point I said, Bibi, we got to stop this.
We got to stop it."
NETANYAHU CITES COMMON GOALS
Netanyahu, asked about the Axios report, declined to offer details of the
conversation but said his relationship with Trump had not changed. "We have
common goals. Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these
tactical disagreements," he said in an interview on CNBC on Wednesday. "He's
been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House, and he
respects me; I respect him. We always find a way to work out our differences."
Iran has said it will not agree to a deal with the United States to end the war
that Trump and Netanyahu launched in late February, unless a ceasefire also
covers Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-aligned
Hezbollah group that fired across the border in support of Tehran. Hostilities
have continued despite a US-mediated agreement announced on Monday that led
Israel to step back from attacking the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of
Beirut, and the group to halt cross-border strikes. Israeli drone strikes killed
at least six people in southern Lebanon and targeted a car just south of Beirut
on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, while Israel said it intercepted a
hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah. Trump bristled when asked if
Netanyahu "tricked" him into attacking Iran, saying his critics were "the
enemy.""I mean, I'm the one that started it," Trump said. "I started because we
can't let them have a nuclear weapon.""Now that pertains to Israel, because
they probably would have been the first one to get hit. There would be no
Israel. Tell you what, if there wasn't me, there would be no Israel right
now."Trump maintained that Israel would have been in a far worse position if he
had not abandoned a 2015 accord reached by President Barack Obama and other
world leaders with Iran, under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program
in return for the lifting of sanctions. After Trump withdrew from that deal
during his first White House term in 2018, Iran produced stockpiles of
near-weapons-grade highly enriched uranium, which Trump now demands it
relinquish. Trump's critics say Iran is now closer to making a nuclear weapon,
and it will be hard for Trump to negotiate a better deal today.
Netanyahu’s Opponents Accuse him of Having Acquiesced to
Trump on Issues of National Security
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under criticism at home after US
President Donald Trump declared Israel would halt plans to attack Iran ally
Hezbollah in Beirut, highlighting pressure the Israeli leader faces ahead of an
election polls show him losing.
Multiple reports on Monday spoke about a tense phone call between Trump and
Netanyahu after the US President demanded the Israeli PM to immediately abandon
plans to strike Beirut and avoid jeopardizing talks with Iran. Trump said on
Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks on one another,
hours after Netanyahu ordered new strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs,
prompting a warning from Iran that Israel was jeopardizing Tehran’s talks with
the US. Lebanon's government later announced a new ceasefire between Israel and
Hezbollah, under which Israel would halt strikes on southern Beirut and
Hezbollah would stop attacks on Israel. Netanyahu's challengers in elections due
by October accused the prime minister of having acquiesced to Trump on issues of
national security. “The location is different, the story is the same,” said
Naftali Bennett, a right-wing security hawk and former premier who also
criticizes Netanyahu over Hamas militants' resurgence in Gaza. “A government
that has lost control of Israeli sovereignty,” Bennett said in an X post,
according to Reuters. Bennett and his coalition partner in the upcoming
election, centrist Yair Lapid, have pressed for strikes against Hezbollah. “A
full protectorate,” Lapid said in an X post, in effect accusing Netanyahu of
allowing the US to dictate Israeli military policy as if Israel was an American
client state. Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade fire despite an April
16 US-brokered ceasefire. The latest conflict began on March 2 with Hezbollah
firing into Israel in support of Iran. Israel has since deepened its invasion of
southern Lebanon, displacing over a million people and killing more than 3,400
as it bombards areas with attacks it says are aimed at rooting out Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has not released figures on its war dead.
Also, the criticisms came while the US President lashed out at Netanyahu over
Israel's escalation in Lebanon in an expletive-laden call on Monday, two US
officials and a third source briefed on the call told Axios. Earlier on Monday,
Iran threatened to abandon the negotiations with the US over Israel's actions in
Lebanon. On the call, Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of
ingratitude, according to two of the sources. He also put the brakes on Israel’s
plan to strike Beirut. One US official said Trump told Netanyahu that following
through on his threats to bomb the Lebanese capital would further isolate Israel
around the world, Axios said. Two of the sources said the US President claimed
he'd helped keep Netanyahu out of jail — a reference to his support during
Netanyahu's corruption trial. Summarizing Trump's remarks to Netanyahu, the US
official said: “You're...crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm
saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of
this.”A second source briefed on the call said Trump was “pissed” and at one
point yelled at Netanyahu: “What the fuck are you doing?”The US official said
Trump knew Hezbollah had been shooting at Israel and that Israel needed to
defend itself, but felt in recent days that Netanyahu was escalating in a
disproportionate way. Another US official said Trump was concerned by the fact
that Israel had killed so many civilians in Lebanon, and objected to the
Israelis knocking down buildings to take out a single Hezbollah commander. Also,
Israel no longer plans to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut, an Israeli
official told Axios. Trump and Netanyahu have had several tense calls in the
past but have still coordinated closely on Iran and other issues. One official
said this was one of Trump's worst calls with Netanyahu since he returned to
office. Trump's anger appeared to be driven by the fact that Netanyahu's
decision to escalate in Lebanon was threatening to implode his negotiations with
Iran. After the call, Trump posted on Truth Social that the Iran talks were
“continuing, at a rapid pace.”The second US official claimed that, in reality,
Trump had “steamrolled” Netanyahu on the call. “Bibi said, 'OK, OK, just make
sure everything is taken care of,’” according to the official.
Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment.
US Sanctions Iran’s Largest Crypto Exchange over IRGC Links
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
The United States announced sanctions on Iran’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange
on Tuesday, accusing it of enabling the Iranian government and blacklisted state
institutions to circumvent Western sanctions. The new sanctions follow a Reuters
investigation published on May 1 which showed how Nobitex had become a central
node in a parallel financial system used to process hundreds of millions of
dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report
also revealed how Nobitex continued operating even after the government-imposed
internet shutdown, processing millions of dollars of transactions. “While
Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset
technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and
transferring wealth out of the country,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said
in a statement. The Reuters investigation showed how Nobitex is controlled by
two brothers from one of Iran’s most powerful families, with close ties to the
new supreme leader. The two are members of the Kharrazi family, one of the most
influential dynasties in the country. Corporate records show that when the
exchange started, the brothers were listed under a surname rarely used by
members of the family. The US Treasury announced Tuesday that the two brothers,
Mohammad Ali Aghamir Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Aghamir Mohammad Ali, had also
been individually sanctioned, along with the exchange’s chief executive officer,
Amir Hossein Rad. Nobitex had provided “significant support” to the Iranian
government and facilitated a “significant number” of digital transactions linked
to the IRGC and Iran’s central bank, the US Treasury said in the statement.
“Following the commencement of US combat operations in Iran, Nobitex played a
role in protecting and moving assets and funds out of Iran to shield regime
wealth despite internet blackouts.”Nobitex could not be reached for comment on
the sanctions, which were announced after normal business hours in Iran. In a
statement to customers Wednesday on its Telegram account, the exchange said it
had anticipated possible sanctions-related issues for years given "the unique
challenges faced by Iranian businesses operating internationally.""Accordingly,
the necessary technical and operational preparations to deal with such
circumstances have long been part of our planning," the statement said.
In an emailed statement to Reuters in April, Nobitex said it had no direct
government connections and denied assisting the state. It said that any illicit
funds moving through Nobitex did so without management approval or awareness.
The company also said that the two brothers had never used an alternative
identity or changed their identity.
Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to Not Have a Nuclear Weapon
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and
that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at some point
if things "work out"."They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear
weapon," Trump told "Pod Force One" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday,
while speaking about Iran. Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the
US on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely. ... I think
they have a lot of respect for him."Trump said he was hearing Iran's leader was
not doing too well but was giving his approval during the negotiations. He added
that he had not had "the privilege of meeting" Khamenei. "I'd like to meet him.
We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out,"
Trump said. The US president said he viewed the Iran war as a success because
the country's military had been defeated. The conflict, which began with
US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has upended the global energy market and has
proven unpopular with Americans months before November congressional
elections. "Iran's a big success," Trump said in the interview. "We'll see what
happens. We're going to, we're working on a deal, and that happens fine. If it
doesn't happen, that's OK too. We'll do it the other way." He did not specify
what that might mean, but has said in the past that the US would resume strikes.
Rubio says enriched uranium key issue in Iran talks, no
deal yet
Agence France Presse/May 03/2026
The fate of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles is at the center of talks
with Washington, and Tehran has not yet agreed to a peace deal, U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Washington insists that Iran must turn over
its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities
and re-open the Strait of Hormuz for any peace agreement to take hold. "I think
now, in some of the papers that have been exchanged back and forth, it's clearly
addressed, but we...still don't have final sign off from their system as of this
morning," Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rubio also doubled down on his assertion that the war in Iran was over, even as
Iran attacked Kuwait's airport, killing one and wounding 63 people on Wednesday,
in a significant escalation. "We're no longer conducting sustained strikes
inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over," Rubio told
the panel, asserting that the United States has scored a victory. "We define
victory as destroying their defense industrial base, significantly reducing the
number of missile launchers that they possess, significantly reducing their
stockpile of drones," Rubio said. "And we achieved all those, in addition to
destroying what they had left of an air force and wiping out their entire
conventional navy."Iran has said it needs the release of $12 billion in frozen
assets before engaging in substantive talks on its nuclear program, and
dismissed earlier comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, suggesting that its
stockpile of enriched uranium would ultimately be destroyed. The war that began
with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has engulfed the entire Middle
East, with Iran targeting U.S. allies in the region and effectively blocking the
vital oil shipping Strait of Hormuz.
Iran FM says 'no tangible progress' in talks with US to end
war
Agence France Presse/May 03/2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that lines of
communication with the United States were still open, but "no tangible progress"
has been made in negotiations to end the Middle East war. "Communications with
the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding
the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been
made in the negotiation process," the Tasnim news agency quoted him as telling
Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV. "Returning to the negotiating table is conditional on
ensuring the rights of the Iranian people, ending the war in Lebanon, and
stopping tensions in the region."
Khamenei Adviser Vows 'Deluge of Missiles' if New US Attack
on Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
The military adviser to Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday warned of more
missile and drone strikes should the United States renew its attacks on Iran.
"Every shot fired and every attack will be met with a deluge of missiles and
drones," Mohsen Rezaei posted on X, adding that "the aggressor will swiftly be
punished.”The warning followed US strikes on an Iranian tanker and on Iran's
Qeshm island, sparking retaliatory attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain. The strikes
came as semiofficial Iranian news agencies said the country had stopped
communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the US
and Israel.A regional official said Tehran wanted the truce in Lebanon enforced
before returning to talks. US President Donald Trump disputed that claim and
said negotiations were continuing.
One Killed in ‘Criminal’ Iranian Attack on Kuwait,
Airport Partially Resumes Flights
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
One person was killed in an Iranian attack targeting civilian facilities in
Kuwait, including the international airport and diplomatic missions, the foreign
ministry said on Wednesday. The statement did not specify which diplomatic
missions were damaged. Ministry of defense spokesman Brigadier General Saud
Abdulaziz Al-Atwan described the attack as "criminal Iranian aggression which
resulted in significant material damage to the building and injuries." The
strike marks an escalation for the country, which had seen relative calm since a
ceasefire in the Iran war was announced on April 8. Iran had launched a
salvo of missiles and drones at Kuwait as well as at other Gulf states. The
early morning attack on Kuwait International Airport injured several people and
forced authorities to divert flights, the state news agency reported. The
attack caused "severe damage" to the airport's Terminal 1 building, it said,
citing the General Civil Aviation Authority. Kuwait Airways said it would
reschedule its Wednesday flights. Shortly afterwards, the civil aviation
authority said the country's flagship carrier had resumed flights from Terminal
4, after evaluating damage and taking safety measures. Earlier, the US military
said two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait fell short or broke apart
mid-flight, while three missiles launched at Bahrain were intercepted by US and
Bahraini forces. A further wave of Iranian drones targeting US forces in Kuwait
failed to hit their intended targets, Central Command said in a post on X,
adding that Iranian ballistic missiles fired toward regional neighbors did not
strike their targets. In response, US forces carried out strikes on Qeshm Island
and intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
Facing Uproar, Netanyahu Announces ‘Mega-Plan’ for
Israel’s Battered North
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday allocations of 13
billion shekels (more than $4.5 billion) to secure and develop northern
communities along the Lebanon border, battered by weeks of fire from Iran-backed
Hezbollah. "The government made dramatic decisions today to strengthen the
north. We are investing more than 13 billion shekels today, in addition to the
seven billion we have already provided -- a total of 20 billion shekels going to
the communities of the north," Netanyahu said following the government's
approval of the measure. The package, dubbed a "mega-plan" by Netanyahu's
office, consists of three separate decisions. The first will see the deployment
of 1,800 new protective shelters in public spaces such as bus stops, shopping
centers and parks, as well as the renovation of around 500 existing shelters, to
shield residents from incoming rockets and drones.
The second decision allocates subsidies for the construction of safe rooms
inside homes for residents living within nine kilometers (5.6 miles) of the
Lebanon border, while the third aims to develop the area in order to attract
100,000 new residents, by improving health, transport, education and tourism
infrastructure as well as job opportunities. "People will flock to the north. I
said the same about the south," Netanyahu said, referring to areas close to Gaza
that were attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023. "Today there is very strong
demand there; there is tremendous growth and flourishing -- and that is what
will happen here as well."The government has taken flak from opposition figures
who accuse it of neglecting areas along the Lebanon border. Opposition party
leaders Yair Lapid, Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett took to X on Monday night
to point out that only three government ministers attended the cabinet meeting
to discuss the situation in the north. "The residents of the north deserve
leadership that will see them and take care of them," Eisenkot wrote on X.
Iran Attacks on Gulf States Surpass 7,000
Riyadh: Ghazi al-Harthi/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Iranian attacks on Gulf states have reached new levels since the war began, with
Kuwait emerging as one of the countries most heavily targeted in recent weeks.
The attacks have continued despite a ceasefire between Iran and the United
States, mediated by Pakistan, that has been in place since last April. According
to a tally by Asharq Al-Awsat following the two latest attacks on Kuwait, on May
28 and again on Monday, and based on official data and statements issued by Gulf
Cooperation Council states, Iranian attacks on Gulf countries from the start of
the war in February through early June 2026 totaled about 7,028. They included
around 1,716 missiles and 5,311 drones. The figures show that drones accounted
for the bulk of Iran’s attacks with more than 5,000 launched, compared with over
1,700 missiles. The pattern points to Tehran’s growing reliance in recent months
on low-cost, high-volume attacks. The attacks have persisted despite the truce.
More than 215 Iranian attacks have been recorded since the ceasefire was
announced on April 8, underscoring continued security tensions in the region.
Gulf air defenses have intercepted and destroyed most of the attacks. According
to the tally, the United Arab Emirates recorded the highest number of attacks,
with 2,846, followed by Saudi Arabia with 1,234. Kuwait was third with 1,194
attacks, reflecting the recent surge in strikes targeting the country. Qatar was
fourth with 737 attacks, followed by Bahrain with 700, while Oman recorded the
fewest with 26. The figures come after Kuwait was hit by fresh attacks in recent
days, prompting several Gulf states to condemn the strikes and declare their
solidarity with Kuwait. The continued attacks have also raised warnings that
they threaten regional stability and undermine efforts to consolidate the
ceasefire.Kuwait said on Monday that its air defenses had repelled missile and
drone attacks targeting the country, activated emergency procedures, and sounded
sirens in several areas. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry held Iran fully
responsible and said Kuwait reserved the right to take all necessary measures to
defend its security and sovereignty. The Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, said Kuwaiti
air defenses had intercepted hostile missiles and drones, as sirens sounded
across the country. It did not immediately provide further details on the
targets or the extent of any possible damage. After the attacks, the Kuwaiti
Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement condemning what it called
“sinful and repeated Iranian attacks.”It said the attacks represented “a
dangerous escalation and a direct assault on the security and stability of the
State of Kuwait,” as well as a direct threat to civilians and vital facilities.
The ministry said the attacks violated international law, the United Nations
Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions, adding that their continuation
undermined efforts to reduce tensions and contain the fallout from the
escalating regional crisis. Saudi Arabia also strongly condemned the repeated
Iranian attacks on Kuwait. In a statement, it said, “the Kingdom stresses its
categorical rejection of these attacks, which violate the sovereignty of Kuwait
in a clear breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.” It said
the violations undermined international efforts to restore security and
stability in the region. Saudi Arabia expressed solidarity with Kuwait’s
government and people and renewed its full support for all measures Kuwait takes
to preserve its sovereignty, security, and stability. GCC Secretary-General
Jassem Albudaiwi condemned the continued “hostile Iranian attacks” targeting
Kuwait, describing them as a dangerous and irresponsible escalation, a blatant
violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty and international laws and norms, and a direct
threat to regional security and stability. Albudaiwi said the continued attacks
reflected an unacceptable Iranian approach that undermined efforts to preserve
security and stability. He called on the international community and the UN
Security Council to assume their responsibilities and take a firm, deterrent
stance against violations that threaten regional and international peace and
security. The GCC secretary-general stressed that Kuwait’s security was an
integral part of the security of all GCC states. The United Arab Emirates
strongly condemned the Iranian “terrorist attacks” that targeted Kuwait with
missiles and drones. In a statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry said the attacks
were a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a threat to its security and
stability. Abu Dhabi expressed its full solidarity with Kuwait and its support
for all measures aimed at preserving Kuwait’s security and stability.
Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns 'Heinous' Iranian Attacks against Kuwait
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its
strongest condemnation of and denunciation against the repeated and heinous
Iranian attacks targeting the State of Kuwait, the Saudi Press Agency said on
Monday. “The Kingdom reiterates its categorical rejection of these assaults that
undermine the sovereignty of the State of Kuwait, constituting a clear violation
of international law and the United Nations Charter, and affirms that such
violations jeopardize international efforts aimed at restoring security and
stability in the region", the ministry said in a statement. The Kingdom also
expressed its solidarity with the State of Kuwait, both government and people,
reaffirming its full support for all measures Kuwait takes to safeguard its
sovereignty, security, stability, and its brotherly people.
Tunnels or Voiceprints: Why Israel Is Killing Qassam
Leaders Faster
Gaza/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Throughout Israel’s war on Gaza, from October 2023 until a fragile ceasefire was
announced two years later in October 2025, Israel’s pursuit of the leaders of
Hamas and its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, was neither quick nor easy.
That changed in recent weeks. A wave of faster, more concentrated assassinations
peaked on May 15 with the killing of Qassam commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad after
decades on the run. Less than two weeks later, Israel assassinated his
successor, Mohammad Odeh. The killings also reached one of the Qassam’s most
prominent commanders, Imad Islim, who was targeted alongside the commander of
the northern brigade, though the latter survived. The campaign did not stop with
commanders. It also hit prominent field operatives, most of them involved in the
October 7, 2023, attack, as well as officials responsible for military
manufacturing. The pace of the killings has raised questions inside and outside
Hamas over why Israel has been able to move so quickly. Some sources pointed to
the growth of Israeli intelligence work in Gaza. Others cited Israel’s assault
on Hamas tunnels and the security gap left by their destruction. Hamas field
sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that every assassination is investigated by
specialists seeking to trace security leads or identify specific breaches.
08 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Israeli soldiers stand guard
at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, where the Israeli military discovered a
tunnel believed to be the site of Hamas military chief Mohammad Sinwar's death
last month. (dpa) Tunnels and the decision to leave them. Four field sources
said Israel’s intensified campaign against the tunnels was among the reasons
behind the faster pace of assassinations. The campaign, they said, destroyed
“very large numbers” of tunnels during and after the war. Over two decades,
Hamas dug hundreds, by conservative estimates, if not thousands, of tunnels for
defense, attack, command and control. Some served as command sites for leaders
directing battles. The sources said Israel destroyed large numbers of tunnels
through ground operations and airstrikes, at times killing operatives,
commanders and even Israeli abductees held inside. One source said that “because
of the attacks, the leadership of the resistance decided to stop relying on
tunnels and to act in a way that would help preserve the lives of commanders and
operatives, as well as the abductees, with the aim of exchanging them for
Palestinian prisoners.”The sources said Israel launched a series of strikes on
tunnels at the start of the war in October 2023. But because the network was so
vast, Hamas decided only to leave tunnels in dangerous areas. By late March
2024, as airstrikes intensified, especially against tunnels containing
operatives and Israeli hostages, an immediate decision was made to move them
above ground. Strikes on the tunnels later grew more severe. A turning pointThe
sources said the move out of the tunnels “marked a turning point.” Tunnels were
then used mainly for movement between locations or for specific attacks. They
were no longer used except cautiously and temporarily by leaders or by prominent
field operatives as hiding places. Despite the growing danger, some Hamas and
Qassam leaders continued to use them. Hamas political bureau members Rawhi
Mushtaha and Sameh al-Sarraj were killed alongside Qassam field commanders in a
tunnel in the industrial area south of Gaza City in July 2024. The late Qassam
commander Mohammad Sinwar and Qassam commander Mohammad Shabana were also
killed, along with others, in a network of tunnels near the European Hospital in
Khan Younis in May 2025. One field source said: “Many field circumstances pushed
political and military leaders at the time to resort to the tunnels and use them
as hiding places, amid intensified Israeli pursuit of the movement’s and the
brigades’ leaders.”“The options were narrowing more and more,” they added. The
same source said Haddad was among those who frequently used tunnels to move from
place to place at the height of Israeli operations in northern Gaza. Haddad, he
said, survived more than once by remaining underground while Israel operated
above him, using tunnels to move from one area to another. But Haddad and others
did not see tunnels as reliable hiding places, the source said. For long periods
during the war and after the ceasefire, they stayed above ground, moving in
hiding by different means, without security escorts, and in ways meant to
prevent Israel from tracking them. They also communicated through different
channels. Three Hamas field sources said several leaders repeatedly used
tunnels, including Mohammad Sinwar and late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was
killed in a sudden clash with an Israeli force in October 2024.
Shrinking room to hide
Tunnel destruction was not the only factor. The four Hamas sources said Israel’s
expanded control east of the “yellow line”, which covers about 60% to 70% of
Gaza, has pushed most of the population west of the line. That has narrowed the
space for faction leaders and operatives to find safe or unmonitored locations.
The sources said most leaders and operatives of Palestinian factions are now
confined to specific areas, like hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents living
in the western parts of the strip after losing their homes and other places
assigned to them. Many stayed with their families or nearby, living in tents and
other shelters like many others, making them more exposed to Israeli tracking
and surveillance. Palestinians inspect the site of a destroyed building as smoke
billows following an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza
City, Gaza Strip, 15 May 2026. (EPA)
Spy technology and voiceprints
Field sources in Gaza give significant weight to Israeli spy technology in
explaining how Israel has reached Hamas and Qassam leaders so quickly. They
agree on the role of spy drones that heavily patrol Gaza’s skies, along with
other tools and human intelligence, including informants working with Israel.
One source said Israel has relied heavily on “the technological factor generated
by artificial intelligence,” especially through modern Israeli-made drones using
advanced cyber programs to track voiceprints, and possibly vital signs, to
locate certain leaders in specific places. The field source, who had reviewed
investigations with suspected collaborators, said the drones eavesdrop on calls
within specific, defined ranges after jamming them to isolate the voices coming
from them or their surroundings. That, they said, may indicate the presence of a
person whose voiceprint Israel has obtained through earlier phone recordings or
a previous arrest. The source said some informants working with Israel had
managed to “plant various spying devices, some containing cameras and recording
equipment, and others the size of an insect,” dropped by drones or planted by
ground forces in areas they raided during the war.
One field source said, “Many informants were arrested and executed. A small
number were from inside Hamas and the Qassam themselves, while most were from
outside it.”They said: “A person from outside Hamas was arrested after it became
clear that he was linked to Haddad’s assassination, after he was spotted at the
assassination site and at another location where Haddad had also been
present.”Two sources confirmed the suspect was being interrogated. “The detainee
confessed that he had been tracking Haddad on instructions from an Israeli
intelligence officer, who was giving him specific locations where Haddad’s
family was present,” said one of the sources. At the height of the war in Gaza,
Palestinians were executed by members of Palestinian factions after being
arrested at Israeli attack sites. The Qassam described the proceedings against
them as “revolutionary courts.”They included one person from inside Hamas and
another from outside it. Both were accused of “providing information that led to
reaching Qassam commander Mohammad Deif, who was assassinated in July 2024.”
Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Israeli strikes killed three Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, health
officials said, and the Palestinian group Hamas said an end to such attacks was
crucial to further talks on safeguarding a US-brokered ceasefire. Medics said
one Palestinian was killed in an airstrike near the Mughraqa area in the central
Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it had struck a person acting suspiciously
near forces operating in an Israeli-controlled area to remove the threat. A
separate Israeli airstrike killed two brothers - Saqer and Moamen Khalil Abu
Karim - in the courtyard of a house in the nearby Maghazi refugee camp,
medics said.
Israel's military did not immediately comment on the incident. The ceasefire
brokered by US President Donald Trump has failed to halt Israeli attacks in
Gaza, and left Israel in control of over half the enclave following the conflict
that began with Hamas attacks on southern Israel in October 2023. Indirect
talks on implementing the second phase of the deal, which includes the group's
disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals, are deadlocked. Sources close to the
talks said further negotiations had been expected this week in Egypt, but Hamas
denied it had sent delegates to Cairo. A Hamas official told Reuters on
Wednesday the group has been in daily contact with mediators and underlined the
need for Israeli attacks in Gaza to stop. "Israel has so far rejected ending
its attacks, it continues to restrict aid and goods coming into Gaza and expand
its occupation, in stark violation of the ceasefire agreement," the official
said.
Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting imminent attacks. It also says it
allows aid and goods to flow into Gaza. Some 930 Palestinians have been killed
in Israeli strikes since the truce began, according to figures from Gaza health
officials that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Four Israeli
soldiers have been killed by fighters during the same period, Israel's military
has said.
Iraq’s Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Says It Will Start Handing Its
Weapons to the State
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
One of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed armed groups said Tuesday it would begin
putting its weapons under government control, a major step in the new
government’s effort to bring armed factions that have long operated on their own
under state command.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq said it had formed a committee to oversee the move, including
an inventory of its fighters, weapons and equipment, and to coordinate with the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The group cast the decision as a
response to calls by Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority and the Iran-aligned
Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in parliament that dominates Iraqi
politics. The war in the Middle East has exposed the fragility of Iraq’s state
institutions and their limited ability to restrain these groups. A parallel
confrontation between Washington and the factions has deepened the crisis, with
factions acting as an extension of Iran’s regional campaign and escalating
attacks on US assets in Iraq before a tenuous ceasefire deal was reached in
April. The first significant move came a week ago, when the influential Shiite
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said his Saraya al-Salam faction would split from his
political movement and integrate into state institutions. Under pressure from
Washington, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has been working to assert state
authority over weapons.Zaidi, a 40-year-old banker sworn in last month has made
a state monopoly on arms a centerpiece of his program. The Trump administration
has warned against any government influenced by Iran-linked factions and tied
defense cooperation and funding to efforts to curb them. Many Iran-backed
factions are funded through the Iraqi state budget and embedded within the
security apparatus, although not under the government's control. This has drawn
criticism from the United States and other countries that have borne the brunt
of their attacks and say Baghdad has failed to take a tougher stance. Several
armed factions aligned with Iraq’s Coordination Framework have taken a different
stance on efforts to bring weapons under state control. Two important groups,
Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, have rejected disarmament, tying the
issue to Iraq’s sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops. Kataib Hezbollah
welcomed moves by other factions to place weapons under state authority but said
its own armed activity will continue as part of what it describes as “resistance
work." In a recent statement attributed to its Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, the group
said it would offer coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces rather
than surrendering arms. The PMF, a state-backed umbrella of armed groups, was
formed in 2014 to fight the ISIS group. Many of its groups still keep their own
command and ties to Iran.
Iraq Moving Forward with Imposing State Monopoly over
Weapons
Baghdad: Fadhel al-Nashmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
Iraq is stepping up its measures to impose state monopoly over weapons with some
Shiite armed factions declaring that they were dismantling their military wings
that have for years operated outside the control of the armed forces even though
they are part of the official Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). On Monday, the
ruling Shiite Coordination Framework tasked Prime Minister and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ali al-Zaidi with taking the necessary
measures and decisions to “preserve the country’s supreme interests”. It backed
efforts to “impose state monopoly over arms and disengage the PMF from
political, partisan and societal frameworks.” The Coordination Framework is a
coalition of Shiite parties and armed factions with varying ties to Iran. Zaidi
attended Monday’s meeting that also said that the decision of war and peace “is
a sovereign one that is exclusively controlled by the people of Iraq through
their constitutional institutions represented by the government and elected
parliament.”The statement was an implicit rejection of some factions’
involvement in the US-Israeli war on Iran, on Tehran’s side, after they carried
out attacks without first referring to the government. It slammed such attacks
as “illegal and unconstitutional.”Moreover, the statement said the PMF is an
“official security institution that is bound to the constitution and laws and
orders of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”US Embassy Chargé
d'Affaires Joshua Harris welcomed the Framework’s statement, saying it was a
step forward in consolidating independence and sovereignty for a promising
future for Iraq. Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji met with
Harris on Tuesday, saying: “We underscored the importance of supporting the
government’s efforts to ensure that arms remain exclusively under state
authority.”“We also welcomed the Coordination Framework’s position on this issue
and its contribution to strengthening stability, reinforcing state authority,
and upholding the rule of law,” he added in a post on X. “We reaffirmed Iraq’s
steadfast commitment to peaceful approaches in addressing crises and conflicts,
in accordance with international law and diplomatic norms, in a manner that
promotes regional and international peace and stability,” he stressed. An
official source in the Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that disengaging the PMF
from political and social frameworks aims to the steer it away from the “control
of political leaderships and therefore, prevent it from being dismantled or
restructured.” It explained that American demands for the disarmament of
factions also target the PMF seeing as most of the armed groups operate within
it. So, the Framework’s statement on Tuesday may have been a preemptive step
against demands for the PMF’s restructuring.
Two factions to disarm
In a related development, the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of Iraq’s most powerful
Iran-backed armed groups, announced on Tuesday that it would begin putting its
weapons under government control. Asaib Ahl al-Haq said it had formed a
committee to oversee the move, including an inventory of its fighters, weapons
and equipment, and to coordinate with the commander-in-chief of the armed
forces. The group cast the decision as a response to calls by Iraq’s top Shiite
religious authority and the Framework. The Kataib Imam Ali faction also said on
Tuesday that it was disengaging from the PMF and taking steps to limit weapons
to the state. In a statement, it said the move complies with the demand of the
Framework and stems from its “national responsibility” and aims to “bolster
national unity.”In contrast, the Ashab al-Kahf group, which is part of the
so-called “Islamic Resistance”, rejected on Tuesday calls for the disarmament of
factions. “Claims that the higher religious authority backs these efforts are
baseless,” it charged. The Kataib Hezbollah and Nujaba movement continue to
reject calls to lay down their weapons. Meanwhile, leader of the Hikma Movement
Ammar al-Hakim said the factions are waiting until September to take a
“decisive” step on disarmament.September is the deadline for anti-ISIS
international forces to withdraw from Iraq in line with an agreement reached
with former PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani last year. Observers have said that the
disarmament process still lacks clarity, explaining that the leaders of these
groups are taking the decisions while the official authorities are not playing a
clear role in overseeing that they are being implemented. Questions also remain
about the size of their arsenal and whether they will indeed turn them over to
the government authorities. Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji and
US Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Joshua Harris meet on Tuesday. (Al-Araji on X)
Different views
Expert on Shiite groups Ibrahim al-Abadi said it was unlikely that the armed
groups will comply with the Framework’s demand to disarm. In remarks to Asharq
Al-Awsat, he said the factions that possess weapons are divided over the state
monopoly over weapons.
One group believes that it has no interest in keeping the weapons as the cost
has become too high given the US sanctions and the ensuing economic, financial
and political losses it will incur, he explained. This group believes that it
has succeeded in “employing the ideology of weapons to achieve its financial and
political ambitions. Its goals now do not sustain the ability to maintain the
weapons, which are seen as an obstacle to reaching higher positions in
power.”“So, it believes that it is in its best interest to lay down some of the
weapons and turn its partisan members into employees that can run their
financial empire. This group now tries to curry favor with the Americans,
sending them messages and seeking to end the enmity with the US,” he revealed.
“The second group is fearful of the future and wants to keep the weapons as a
bargaining chip to keep positions and gains reaped throughout the years they
used these weapons to acquire these gains,” he continued. “So, this group
refuses to lay down its arms. However, it will not be able to withstand internal
and foreign pressure, and it is weighing the high risks of such a
confrontation,” al-Abadi said. The third group openly declares its allegiance to
the Iranian project and doesn’t even discuss disarmament. It believes that the
American project is targeting the resistance forces in the region,” he remarked.
“It is using religious, political and ideological excuses to justify its
defiance of the state’s decision to impose monopoly over arms,” he added.
on 03-04 June/2026
From Anne Frank to anti-Jewish Sanctioning: The
Netherlands' Betrayal of Israel
Wim Kortenoeven/Gatestone Institute/June 03/2026
What was once known as the "Country of Anne Frank," a nation that had learned
from its own role in the Holocaust... and quietly delivered critical military
aid during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, now leads the charge at the EU in Brussels
to punish the Jewish state for the apparent crime of Jewish survival....
The Jetten government coalition... has now also taken the lead in pushing
sanctions against Israel....
The Dutch pro-Israel parties -- Geert Wilders' PVV, BBB, JA21, ChristenUnie, and
the Christian-Zionist SGP -- were deliberately excluded from the governing
coalition.
The Jetten minority government therefore governs on parliamentary life support
from the very parties that despise Israel.
The Dutch betrayal mirrors a broader European sickness. Mass immigration from
Muslim countries has imported a virulent strain of antisemitism that now crosses
all political boundaries. Politicians realize only the electoral ramifications:
Jewish populations are dwindling and Muslim populations are exploding.
Post-Holocaust guilt, once a brake on Jew-hatred, has been inverted: many of the
descendants of the perpetrators and bystanders now project their unresolved
shame onto the surviving Jews and their state. The "oppressed" Palestinian has
replaced the oppressed Jew as the object of European moral narcissism. The
Europeans, who never forgave the Jews for Auschwitz, are finally free of guilt.
Europe, which cannot, or does not wish to, protect its own Jewish communities
from daily harassment and assault, now presumes to dictate to Jews where they
may and may not live in the Land of Israel.
The hypocrisy and moral rot are bottomless. It was Europeans who exiled the Jews
from their heritage and cradle of civilization. It was Europeans who subjected
"their" Jews to more than a millennium of discrimination, expulsions, mass
deportations, and pogroms, culminating in the Holocaust. It was Europeans as
well, who, at the Evian Conference of 1938, refused to open their doors to Jews
fleeing Hitler. It was the British who issued the 1939 White Paper without a
single protest from the other European democracies, and thereby slamming shut
the gates of Palestine as a place of refuge as the extermination of the Jews
began. It was Europeans (Polish, British, and Dutch) who devised the "Madagascar
Plan" to deport Europe's Jews to a remote and uninhabitable island where they
would surely perish.
Yet the Jews do not forget where they came from. Jews have lived in the Land of
Israel continuously for millennia; and many of the descendants who had been
forcibly dispersed, returned.
It is precisely this return that triggers such fury. Dutch authorities and many
Dutch politicians now eagerly repeat the modern blood libel of "settler
violence," -- all while ignoring the unrelenting terrorism committed by Arabs
against the Jews of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and the rest of the Land of
Israel for more than a century until today.
Established and thriving Jewish cities, towns, neighborhoods, and infrastructure
exist in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, and the Golan. These "facts on the ground"
will most certainly remain in the future and likely grow into a home for
hundreds of thousands of Jews now planning to leave a Europe that is collapsing
as we speak. Israel will celebrate its restoration in the Land of Israel long
after the Netherlands will have been destroyed by the Muslim and African
invasions it invited in, and the remnants of what was once a great and moral
country have returned to their natural state: a swamp.
[T]he Netherlands -- governed by a conspicuously childless political elite that
includes Prime Minister Rob Jetten and Deputy Prime Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD)
-- stumbles along... effectively outsourcing its survival to a mass immigration
that has apparently not come to Europe just for economic opportunity but to
transform it fundamentally into its own image.
The Jews have returned home. The Dutch, it appears, are determined to leave
theirs up for grabs. History will record the result.
The Dutch government coalition under Prime Minister Rob Jetten leads the charge
at the EU in Brussels to punish the Jewish state for the apparent crime of
Jewish survival and has taken the lead in pushing sanctions against Israel. The
pro-Israel parties -- Geert Wilders' PVV, BBB, JA21, ChristenUnie, and the
Christian-Zionist SGP -- were deliberately excluded from the governing
coalition. The Jetten minority government therefore governs on parliamentary
life support from the very parties that despise Israel. Pictured: Wilders
addresses the Netherlands House of Representatives in The Hague on July 3, 2024.
(Photo by Robin van Lonkhuijsen/ANP//AFP via Getty Images)
The Dutch government's descent into open hostility toward Israel has recently
accelerated further under the minority coalition of Rob Jetten that was sworn in
on February 23, 2026. What was once known as the "Country of Anne Frank," a
nation that had learned from its own role in the Holocaust[1], that faithfully
represented Israel's and Jewish interests in the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1990,
and quietly delivered critical military aid during the 1973 Yom Kippur War[2],
now leads the charge at the EU in Brussels to punish the Jewish state for the
apparent crime of Jewish survival and sovereignty in the Jewish homeland.
This is not policy. This is pathology.
The Jetten government coalition (consisting of the left-leaning liberal and
anti-religious Democrats of D66, the Christian Democratic CDA, and the
center-right conservative-liberal VVD) has now also taken the lead in pushing
sanctions against Israel within the EU-Israel Association Agreement framework.
It has championed measures targeting so-called "violent settlers" and their
"excessive violence," parroting a narrative that a devastating June 2025 report
"False Flags & Real Agendas: 'Settler Violence' — A Modern Blood Libel", by the
Israeli group Regavim, dismantles as a fabricated, foreign-funded smear.
This harebrained Dutch obsession with Israel reeks of dark motivations,
especially considering that the Netherlands is drowning in an escalating
immigration crisis that is fueling civil unrest. In the first quarter of 2026
alone, asylum applications surged by 33% year-on-year, with Palestinian Arabs
forming the single largest group at around 1,100 first-time claims, the top
nationality for asylum in January and February 2026. This influx comes on top of
already strained housing, welfare systems, and social cohesion, amid repeated
anti-migration protests that have turned violent in places all over the
Netherlands.
Not having been entirely successful on the EU track in punishing the Jewish
state, however, the Jetten government recently announced unilateral Dutch
sanctions: a trade ban on products from Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria,
East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The Jetten government stated:
"The expansion of illegal settlements and excessive violence by settlers are
causing an ever-deteriorating situation, in which a two-state solution is moving
further and further out of reach." [...] "We want to prevent Dutch society from
contributing, through our economic activities, to an unlawful occupation and the
maintenance of illegal settlements."
The decision can best be read as "Kauft nicht bei Juden" ("Do not buy from
Jews"), and its small print formally even prohibits Dutch passport holders
living in Israel from trading with Jews that live in the wrong place --
according to the Dutch government, that is.[3]
This "political sentiment" has rapidly built up since the violent collapse of
the already existing "two-state solution" on October 7, 2023, with hatred of the
Jewish state and everything that it stands for metastasizing to almost every
sector of Dutch society, even uniting ideological arch-enemies. Israeli
Ambassador to the Netherlands Zvi Vapni recently captured that moment on X: "A
dangerous coalition formed in the Dutch parliament yesterday between the radical
left and the antisemitic extreme right to pass motions against Israel. No moral
qualms whatsoever! Shameful!".
The mask is off.
The ultimate logic of this position is to expel Jews. The Dutch government, by
labeling every Jewish city, town, and village beyond the 1949 armistice lines
"illegal," is demanding that more than 900,000 Jews be forced out of Judea and
Samaria -- the cradle of Jewish civilization, where Abraham walked, David ruled,
and the prophets spoke -- the Golan Heights, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the
adjacent Jewish neighborhoods, and additionally the high ground that protects
Israel's densely populated coastal plain from being attacked by long-time
bellicose neighbors to its east.
Let that sink in.
Jerusalem was already the political and spiritual capital of the Jewish people
for a thousand years when the territory that would become the Netherlands was
still a swamp inhabited by nomadic and illiterate semi-Neanderthals. The current
Dutch arrogance is not merely political, it is civilizational and existential --
and it reflects what is manifest in most of Europe.
The Netherlands' increasingly hostile government policy did not emerge in a
vacuum. It rests on a parliamentary majority that is now structurally
anti-Israel. The left -- made up of the Socialist Party, Pro (the GreenLeft-Labor
merger), the Animal Party, the pro-EU party Volt, and the Muslim Denk party --
has since October 7, 2023 never missed an opportunity to relentlessly peddle the
false accusation that the Jewish state is an "apartheid state" involved in "mass
murder", "deliberate starvation", "genocide" and even "infanticide". This is
Goebbels' tactic of 'repeat a lie until it becomes ambient noise', updated for
the Dutch Parliament (and many Dutch media as willing accomplices). On the right
of the political spectrum, the ever-more-fascist and antisemitic Forum voor
Democratie (FVD) has boarded the same demonization train. In April 2026, as
Ambassador Vapni noted, this unholy alliance passed motions against Israel with
no moral hesitation.
The Dutch pro-Israel parties -- Geert Wilders' PVV, BBB, JA21, ChristenUnie, and
the Christian-Zionist SGP -- were deliberately excluded from the governing
coalition.[4]
The Jetten minority government therefore governs on parliamentary life support
from the very parties that despise Israel.[5]
The VVD, once nominally pro-Israel, has proven itself an amoral, cynical power
broker willing to sacrifice the Jewish state for coalition arithmetic. The
result is guaranteed: an anti-Israel parliamentary majority that rubber-stamps
the government's agenda.
The D66 party, largest in Parliament and the true engine of this government, has
long specialized in Israel-hatred dressed as "human rights." Its prominent
figures have moved seamlessly between parliament, government ministries and
anti-Israel NGOs. Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, now Minister of Foreign Trade and
Development Cooperation, exemplifies the type: a polished former diplomat who
served at the Dutch Representative Office at the PLO/PA in Ramallah, long-time
D66 foreign affairs spokesman, and relentless advocate who treats the Jewish
state's right to defend itself and to exist in its ancestral heartland as
negotiable at best. He has repeatedly pushed for recognition of a Palestinian
state -- never mind that it would be committed to Israel's destruction --
settlement import bans, sanctions-style pressure on Israel, and criticism of its
military operations, while downplaying or ignoring Hamas's role and the
"diversion" of aid".
On May 28, 2026, Sjoerdsma had this to say on X:
"It was good to meet the Palestinian Representative @ammarhijazi1 today. We
spoke about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the increasing
settler violence and expansions of illegal settlements in the West Bank. I
outlined the Dutch humanitarian commitment in Gaza and the ban on trade in goods
originating from the illegal Israeli settlements. The Netherlands values its
good relationship with the Palestinian Authority and I look forward to
continuing it."
And: I outlined the Dutch humanitarian commitment in Gaza and the ban on trade
in goods originating from the illegal Israeli settlements. The Netherlands
values its good relationship with the Palestinian Authority and I look forward
to continuing it. 2/2
Regavim sent him this reply:
"What a pity you had no time left to discuss the thousands of PA-funded acts of
terror against Israelis, the barbarous sexual violence committed by the PA's
brothers in Gaza or the Pa's incessant violations of international law that the
EU and the Dutch government support."
Other D66 politicians have, for years, populated the same ecosystem of malicious
lawfare and delegitimization. One of the most prominent is a former government
minister and former UN diplomat, Sigrid Kaag, a staunch anti-Israel activist
with intimate ties to the Palestinian cause. Married to Anis al-Qaq, a
Palestinian Arab who served as a deputy minister under Yasser Arafat, the couple
wed in Jerusalem in 1993, and have been photographed with the terrorist leader
as a family. Already in a 1996 interview, Kaag branded Benjamin Netanyahu a
racist and Israeli settlers as "illegal colonists on confiscated land" -- never
mind that the land was repeatedly promised to the Jews not only by biblical
covenants, but also, in modern times, by the Balfour Declaration (1917), the San
Remo Resolution (1920), and the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922).
At the UN, as Gaza Humanitarian Coordinator and later Middle East Peace Process
chief, Sigrid Kaag relentlessly condemned Israel, demanded open aid flows to
Hamas, portrayed the Gaza crisis as Israel's deliberate creation, and pushed
hard for Palestinian statehood -- cementing her role as a key figure in the
international delegitimization and lawfare campaign against the Jewish state.
The CDA's trajectory is even more grotesque. As a party that still claims a
Christian identity, it has abandoned any recognition of the moral and biblical
rights of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. Former CDA Minister of
Justice and Prime Minister Dries van Agt, who committed suicide in 2024, spent
his later years building "The Rights Forum," a vehicle for Israel-hatred that
attracted other former CDA bigshots to its board. Van Agt's earlier record --
including his attempts to shield Adolf Eichmann's local henchmen from justice in
the Netherlands and his repeated antisemitic slurs -- casts a long shadow over
any claim of Christian conscience.
The VVD's collapse into expediency completes the picture. A party that once
understood the strategic and moral case for Israel has apparently decided that
throwing the Jewish state under the bus is a small price for remaining in power.
The Dutch betrayal mirrors a broader European sickness. Mass immigration from
Muslim countries has imported a virulent strain of antisemitism that now crosses
all political boundaries. Politicians realize only the electoral ramifications:
Jewish populations are dwindling and Muslim populations are exploding.
Post-Holocaust guilt, once a brake on Jew-hatred, has been inverted: many of the
descendants of the perpetrators and bystanders now project their unresolved
shame onto the surviving Jews and their state. The "oppressed" Palestinian has
replaced the oppressed Jew as the object of European moral narcissism. The
Europeans, who never forgave the Jews for Auschwitz, are finally free of guilt.
The European Union's recent sanctions against Israeli organizations and
individuals under the banner of "settler violence" -- including the targeting of
Regavim itself, the very NGO that exposed the data fraud behind the narrative --
represent the same moral inversion. As one observer put it, Europe is
sanctioning the critic of its own documented acts.
Europe, which cannot, or does not wish to, protect its own Jewish communities
from daily harassment and assault, now presumes to dictate to Jews where they
may and may not live in the Land of Israel.
The hypocrisy and moral rot are bottomless. It was Europeans who exiled the Jews
from their heritage and cradle of civilization. It was Europeans who subjected
"their" Jews to more than a millennium of discrimination, expulsions, mass
deportations, and pogroms, culminating in the Holocaust. It was Europeans as
well, who, at the Evian Conference of 1938, refused to open their doors to Jews
fleeing Hitler. It was the British who issued the 1939 White Paper without a
single protest from the other European democracies, and thereby slamming shut
the gates of Palestine as a place of refuge as the extermination of the Jews
began. It was Europeans (Polish, British, and Dutch) who devised the "Madagascar
Plan" to deport Europe's Jews to a remote and uninhabitable island where they
would surely perish.
After the Holocaust, when the surviving Jews -- against all odds -- returned en
masse to rebuild their ancestral state, the same Europeans, now sanctimoniously
lecturing the Jewish state about "international law," moved to ban them from the
very territories that are central to Jewish history, identity and heritage. This
campaign of exclusion is reinforced by semantic warfare. The territorial names
"Palestine" (an invention of the Roman Empire designed to erase Judea) and "West
Bank" (a Jordanian invention following its illegal occupation in 1948 of Judea,
Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem) are still deliberate tools to sever the Jewish
people from their origin and undermine their claim to their ancestral homeland.
Yet the Jews do not forget where they came from. Jews have lived in the Land of
Israel continuously for millennia, and many of the descendants who had been
forcibly dispersed, returned.
It is precisely this return that triggers such fury. Dutch authorities and many
Dutch politicians now eagerly repeat the modern blood libel of "settler
violence," -- all while ignoring the unrelenting terrorism committed by Arabs
against the Jews of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and the rest of the Land of
Israel for more than a century until today.
Even as their own policies and rhetoric actively fuel incitement and violence
against the Jews in the Netherlands, they continue to delegitimize the Jews in
Judea and Samaria. Jews were chased in the streets of Amsterdam, Jewish students
experience exclusion, bullying and intimidation at Dutch universities, Jewish
schools and synagogues have been repeatedly attacked, even with explosives.
Mayors of major Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Utrecht have taken to
commemorating the "Naqba" with the passion of weeping crocodiles, shamelessly
trampling the historical record of the Arab-Israeli conflict and placing the
blame for everything but climate change squarely on the Jews. But the very
authorities who piously claim to fight antisemitism are in reality among its
chief enablers, fueling and participating in the very campaign that produces it.
Amanda Kluveld, a non-Jewish professor in Holocaust studies at the University of
Maastricht, wrote:
"Words are offered, but protection is withheld. Definitions are endlessly
debated, but violence goes unanswered. Jews are once again left vulnerable,
isolated, and demonized -- this time in the heart of a democratic Europe that
claims to have learned from its past."
Kluveld is a frequent target of threats, institutional intimidation and concrete
violence, because of her brave, consistent, but lonely pro-Israeli and
pro-Jewish positioning.
So, we arrive at the final, cynical logic of the current Dutch Israel policy.
The government of the country of Anne Frank effectively insists on the expulsion
of every last Jew from the heartland of Israel. So will the Dutch authorities
one day come to arrest, disown, and deport the Jews of Israel's heartland the
way they arrested, disowned, and deported the Jews of Amsterdam and elsewhere in
the Netherlands during the Holocaust?[6] Of course not. The (Israeli) Jews have
an army now.
Established and thriving Jewish cities, towns, neighborhoods, and infrastructure
exist in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, and the Golan. These "facts on the ground"
will most certainly remain in the future and likely grow into a home for
hundreds of thousands of Jews now planning to leave a Europe that is collapsing
as we speak. Israel will celebrate its restoration in the Land of Israel long
after the Netherlands will have been destroyed by the Muslim and African
invasions it invited in, and the remnants of what was once a great and moral
country have returned to their natural state: a swamp.
It is the height of irony that the Jewish people of Israel maintain the
developed world's highest fertility rate of nearly 3.0 children per woman,
thereby securing their demographic future, while the Netherlands -- governed by
a conspicuously childless political elite that includes Prime Minister Rob
Jetten and Deputy Prime Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD) -- stumbles along at a
catastrophic 1.4, effectively outsourcing its survival to a mass immigration
that has apparently not come to Europe just for economic opportunity but to
transform it fundamentally into its own image.
The Jews have returned home. The Dutch, it appears, are determined to leave
theirs up for grabs. History will record the result.
Wim Kortenoeven, a political scientist, is a former member of the Dutch
Parliament.
[1] Approximately 102,000 to 104,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust,
out of a pre-war Jewish population of about 140,000 (roughly 73-75%). Dutch
authorities and civil institutions showed a high degree of cooperation with the
Nazi occupiers during the Holocaust, contributing significantly to the high
death toll among Dutch Jews (around 102,000-104,000 out of ~140,000, or
~73-75%).
[2] This was unilaterally and secretly initiated by Minister of Defense Henk
Vredeling (a former resistance fighter), who later said that he had once
witnessed the Jews being taken away and that he could not let that happen again.
[3] "The decision concerns measures relating to the trade in goods originating
from unlawful settlements in the territories occupied by Israel (the Palestinian
territories and the Syrian Golan Heights). The decision includes both a customs
measure (import ban), various market supervision measures (purchase ban, sales
ban, and the prohibition on providing intermediary trade services), as well as a
prohibition on circumventing these bans. The measures apply to every natural or
legal person located in the Netherlands (including the public bodies of Bonaire,
Sint Eustatius and Saba) and to all Dutch natural or legal persons outside the
Netherlands."
[4] As of late May 2026, in the Dutch House of Representatives (150 seats
total), the pro-Israel caucus consists of the PVV with 19 seats,
Groep-Markuszower (led by Gidi Markuszower, which split from the PVV in January
2026) with 7 seats, BBB with 3 seats, JA21 with 9 seats, ChristenUnie (CU) with
3 seats, SGP with 3 seats and Mona Keijzer with one seat, for a combined total
of 45 seats. The Pensioner Party 50+ with 2 seats is not counted here, but is
not per se anti-Israel.
[5] As of late May 2026, in the Dutch House of Representatives (150 seats
total), the anti-Israel caucus consists of the Party for the Animals (PvdD) with
3 seats, the Socialist Party (SP) with 3 seats, GL-PvdA (the GreenLeft–Labor
merger, often referred to as Pro) with 20 seats, the Muslim DENK party with 3
seats, Pro-EU party Volt with one seat, and the fascist Forum for Democracy (FVD)
with 7 seats, for a combined total of 37 seats.
[6] Dutch police played a major role in arrests, roundups, and guarding Jews.
They assisted the Nazis in deportations to transit and detention camps like
Westerbork and Amersfoort. While not all police officers were enthusiastic, many
complied, and some received bounties for capturing hidden Jews. The Henneicke
Column (Dutch bounty hunters) alone delivered thousands.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Baghdad... Disarmament or Control Over Arms?
Kifah Mahmood/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
A new narrative that deserves careful scrutiny is seeping into the debate over
weapons in Iraq. The discussion is no longer about “disarming” the non-state
actors that fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) but
rather about “controlling” these weapons and “placing them under the authority
of the state.”
The fundamental distinctions between the two concepts should not be overlooked:
disarmament implies dismantlement and termination, whereas control implies
containment and repurposing. Strikingly, this shift in terminology is reportedly
known to the United States. It is part of the framework of an “undeclared truce”
that has prevailed since April 8 grounded in a simple principle: “Don’t threaten
us, and we won’t attack you.”
The obvious question is: why would Washington, which has long championed the
slogan of ending the “militias”, accept a formula that leaves the weapons intact
and merely formalizes their link to the state?
The most persuasive answer, though it remains speculative, is that Washington
seeks not so much to dismantle these forces as to domesticate them. A dismantled
faction creates a vacuum that could be filled by groups that are even more
radical and less controllable. A contained faction, as it is gradually
integrated into a new security institution linked to the Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces, can be monitored and engaged with.
This would not represent a defeat for the factions in the traditional sense. It
would recalibrate their position within the framework of the Iraqi state and
perhaps the broader regional equation. The broader context lends this hypothesis
credibility. According to officials within the Coordination Framework, indirect
talks between Baghdad and three or four armed factions are proceeding in two
stages: first, a halt in attacks, and this has already been achieved; second,
restricting weapons, not confiscating them. These officials insist that the
decision is “purely Iraqi” and not the result of external pressure.
Yet, the very fact that foreign pressure is being denied proves that is a key
element. If this were truly Iraq’s sovereign decision, there would be no need to
make repeated assurances of its independence.
Washington publicly warned against allowing factions that had continued to
launch attacks to join the new government. It also intervened openly to veto the
nomination of Nouri al-Maliki before the premiership was ultimately entrusted to
Ali al-Zaidi. When outside powers are drawing red lines around government
formation, it is hard to imagine that the question of arms, the most critical
issue of all, has been left entirely to domestic hands.
Yet, the most intriguing picture is neither in Washington nor in Baghdad, but in
Tehran. These factions emerged and evolved as regional proxies of Tehran, and
they reportedly carried out hundreds of attacks in support of Iran during the 40
days of the most recent war. The lingering question, then, is this: what if this
arm is no longer treated as an untouchable strategic asset, but as a negotiable
card?
Here, a harsh but apt metaphor comes to mind: sacrifice at the altar of uranium.
Iran is now engaged in difficult negotiations with Washington. We have seen
consistent reporting on a framework based on extending a 60-day truce and
reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an Iranian pledge, "in
principle," to relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Tehran, for
its part, has been quick to deny any firm commitment to surrender this
stockpile.
Whatever the truth may be, the nuclear program is no longer merely a technical
issue. It has become something akin to the soul of the regime, the central
pillar of its survival, the source of its bargaining power and strategic
resilience.
With the nuclear question imbued with this sanctity, everything else becomes
expendable. In this cold calculation, the Iraqi factions may be among the first
offerings, not through outright abandonment but through a form of containment
that reassures Washington while allowing Tehran to save face. No explicit
dissolution, no public surrender, but rather a slow absorption into Iraqi state
institutions that strips them of their function as offensive instruments and
turns them into managed entities.
In this way, Tehran lays its sacrifice on the altar: giving up what appears to
be its most valuable in the hope of receiving American flexibility on uranium
enrichment.
Ultimately, however, this remains a speculative hypothesis rather than an
established fact.
It is entirely possible that current developments reflect an Iraqi decision born
of the Shiite community's exhaustion with bearing the costs of unchecked arms
and of the emerging Zaidi government's desire to reassert the state's authority
and legitimacy. Others will argue that Tehran does not, in fact, exercise
decisive control over every faction, and that some groups may resist absorption
and defy their patron.
All of these outcomes remain plausible, and none should be discounted in favor
of a single narrative. Taken together, the indicators - the shift in terminology
from disarmament to control, the quiet truce with the Americans, Washington's
role involvement in the formation of Iraq’s government, and the fact that this
is all happening during a decisive moment in nuclear negotiations - form a
thread that is hard to ignore.
What appears to be happening behind the scenes is a reshuffling of the cards:
Washington is containing the proxies rather than breaking them; Tehran is
bargaining rather than defending them; and Iraq, as has so often been the case
in its modern history, remains the arena on which others draw their maps.
Between Excess Power and the Failure to Take a Decision
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 03/2026
States’ objectives are not always the problem in major conflicts. Often, the
problem is they enter the confrontation fighting with different objectives. That
is precisely why the relationship between the United States and Iran, for years,
has been trapped in a vicious cycle of escalation, negotiation, sanctions, and
mutual threats without ever reaching a decisive conclusion. Washington and
Tehran are not actually fighting the same battle, though they are speaking the
language.
Since President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018, it has
been clear that his concerns do not stop at uranium enrichment levels or the
centrifuges. He also has a political and personal goal. Trump built much of his
narrative on Iran around his claim that Barack Obama’s agreement with Iran was
“the worst deal in history.” Accordingly, his objective is not simply to
constrain Iran’s nuclear program, as he is intent on proving that he can get a
“better” and tougher deal and that he was the president who forced Tehran to
make more concessions.
This helps explain the apparent contradictions of American policy toward Iran.
Unprecedented economic pressure, repeated military threats, and direct
assassinations have been accompanied by open channels for negotiation and talk
of the possibility of a grand bargain. It is as though Washington has yet to
determine whether it wants to change the behavior of the Iranian regime or
change the regime itself, and whether the problem is limited to the nuclear
program or extends to ballistic missiles Iran’s regional influence and its web
of proxies.
Israel remains a crucial factor in determining the trajectory of escalation. It
views Iran’s transformation into either a nuclear state or a dominant regional
power as an existential threat. Accordingly, it cannot stop at containment and
has pursued a strategy of attrition and preemptive strikes while continuously
pressuring Washington to go further, eventually leading it to war.
Iran has managed to adapt to a way conventional regimes would not. It does not
treat sanctions or pressure as temporary crises but as a permanent feature of
the system. While they weaken the country, these sanctions have also engendered
a regime with experience in managing pressure that has integrated isolation into
its survival framework. Since the 1979 Revolution, the regime has been built
around the concept of “long-term endurance,” with sanctions leveraged to
mobilize domestic support. Sanctions have not led to its collapse; instead, they
have reshaped its economy, security apparatus, and even its political discourse,
with the nuclear program rendered an element of a philosophy of survival rather
than merely a military project.
Does Iran actually seek to acquire a nuclear bomb? Here, the picture becomes
more complex. Tehran’s goal may not be to manufacture a nuclear weapon in so
much as it is to become a “threshold nuclear state,” a country with the
capability and technology needed to build a bomb within a short period without
officially declaring itself a nuclear power. This provides two strategic
advantages: effective deterrence while avoiding the costs of becoming an openly
nuclear state.
Acquiring the bomb could trigger a full-scale military confrontation or a broad
regional arms race. Remaining on the threshold, by contrast, allows for
strategic ambiguity, forcing Iran’s adversaries to approach it as a power that
cannot easily be ignored or attacked. For Tehran, the ability to build a bomb
may be more important than the bomb itself.
This may explain why Iran endures despite all the strikes and losses it has
suffered. Discussions of its military and economic losses should be considered,
but its adversaries’ problem is that, despite their overwhelming superiority,
they have failed to translate those losses into total defeat. Tehran has lost
facilities, commanders, and influence, but it has succeeded in preserving the
core of the regime and ensuring its continuity.
At the same time, Iran’s project has not expanded because of its capacities
alone, but also because of the mistakes of its opponents. The American invasion
of Iraq, the Syrian war, Arab divisions, and Washington’s oscillation between
war and negotiation all created vacuums that Iranian influence filled. Even
Israel, despite its immense military superiority, fell into the trap of
excessive force. The prolonged wars and widespread destruction in Gaza and later
in southern Lebanon transformed military campaigns from instruments of
deterrence into fuel for the narrative of “resistance.” Scenes of war and
devastation reinforced the political and psychological environment in which the
Iranian regime and its proxies operate. Thus the paradox: Iran today appears
weakened, but it is more convinced than ever that its enemies cannot break it.
The dilemma in the American-Iranian conflict is that America has overwhelming
might but lacks clarity of purpose, while Iran is more consistent in its
adherence to “steadfastness.” As a result, the conflict continues without a
decisive conclusion. Washington, despite its immense tools, has failed to impose
a final settlement because it lacks a clear regional vision. Iran, meanwhile,
has been unable to transform its capacity to absorb losses and wear down its
opponents and achieve victory.
The region may have entered a new era in which all actors are capable of
preventing their own defeat but incapable of producing a decisive victory. The
age of decisive wars may be giving way to an age in which conflicts are
constantly managed but never resolved.
The Saudi narrative: A nation writing its own future
Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed/Arab News/June 03/2026
In an era dominated by global storytelling, many observers wonder why the Saudi
narrative remains largely absent from the international media, academic research
and strategic publications, despite the Kingdom’s unprecedented transformations
under Vision 2030.
Part of the answer lies in external perspectives. International and regional
media outlets often view the Middle East through a less-than-friendly lens,
focusing on traditional stereotypes or negative aspects, while overlooking the
profound social and economic changes unfolding on the ground. Similarly, much
academic research and many scholarly books tend to frame the region through
Western-centric benchmarks, such as liberal democracy and political
participation models that fail to fully capture local realities. As a result,
objective books on Saudi Arabia represent less than 0.1 percent of the hundreds
of thousands of scientific publications released annually worldwide.
Moreover, prevailing media coverage frequently leans toward either celebratory
exaggeration or simplistic descriptions, often far removed from rigorous
academic analysis or balanced viewpoints. Writing authentic scholarly work
demands years of patience, persistence and meticulous research — qualities that
make crafting a cohesive and globally resonant Saudi narrative both a
significant challenge and a national imperative.
This reality leads us to a deeper examination of “narrative warfare” — a
defining feature of contemporary international relations, the Kingdom’s role
within it and effective strategies to counter opposing narratives.
Vision 2030 is not about reinventing Saudi Arabia, but rather about restoring
its natural place in the world. What is a narrative? A narrative is an organized
story that interprets events, connects the past, present and future, and gives
coherent meaning to actions and policies. It is not merely an objective
recounting of facts but a selective, deliberate interpretation that justifies
directions, shapes public perceptions and guides individual and collective
behavior.
In international politics, it is known as a “strategic narrative” and has become
a central tool in “narrative wars.” Neuroscience research, including the work of
Paul Zak, shows that the human brain responds more powerfully to stories than to
data and statistics. Well-crafted narratives trigger the hormone oxytocin,
enhancing trust, commitment and empathy — making these stories and
interpretations among the most potent instruments of soft power today.
Narrative warfare is the modern competition among nations and major powers to
control the interpretation of events and shape global and domestic public
opinion. In the age of social media and artificial intelligence, it often
precedes or parallels military and economic conflicts.
Major powers promote their own narratives: the US champions “the rules-based
international order,” China promotes “peaceful rise and a community of shared
future for mankind,” and Russia emphasizes “defending national security against
Western expansion.” For Saudi Arabia, opposing narratives frequently portray the
Kingdom as traditional or oil-dependent, ignoring its comprehensive
developmental transformation.
The Saudi narrative is not a temporary media campaign — it is a comprehensive
national strategy. In this environment, the Kingdom is engaged in a dual
narrative battle: a defensive effort to dismantle outdated stereotypes and a
proactive offensive centered on comprehensive reform, responsible openness and
regional stability. Since its launch in 2016 under the leadership of Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Vision 2030 has offered a comprehensive national
narrative that answers four fundamental questions: Where did we come from? A
rich Islamic heritage and a history of unification that forged national identity
and pride. Where are we now? In a bold phase of economic and social
transformation, focusing on economic diversification, youth empowerment and
women’s participation. Where are we going? Toward a diversified, thriving
economy, a vibrant society and an ambitious nation contributing to global
solutions in energy, technology and tourism. Why are we doing this? To ensure
the prosperity of future generations and to assume a well-deserved leading role
regionally and globally. The crown prince has said that Vision 2030 is not about
reinventing Saudi Arabia, but rather about restoring its natural place in the
world as an ambitious, moderate and forward-looking nation. This narrative has
transformed Vision 2030 from a mere development plan into a compelling story of
hope, pride and ambition, generating massive domestic momentum and widespread
support among citizens.
The success of the national narrative depends on its adaptation at the
institutional level. Leading Saudi organizations have developed their own
institutional narratives that align with the national vision. These are
characterized by six key traits: simplicity, connection to reality, balance
between pride and honesty, clarity of individual roles, consistency across
levels, and adaptability over time. The Saudi narrative has extended beyond
borders through several smart and impactful applications. First, public
diplomacy and tourism. Opening the country to international visitors and
developing megaprojects such as Neom, AlUla and Qiddiya present a modern Saudi
story that blends authenticity with innovation.
Second, sports diplomacy. Attracting global football stars, hosting major
tournaments and securing the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup have created
powerful cultural bridges and emotional connections with millions worldwide.
Third, international mediation. Successful mediation efforts, including the
Iran-Arab rapprochement and initiatives in Yemen and Sudan, reinforce the image
of Saudi Arabia as a force for regional and global stability. Fourth, culture
and media. Initiatives like Riyadh Season and the Ministry of Culture’s programs
offer a rich and diverse civilizational narrative that appeals to global
audiences. The Saudi narrative faces counternarratives that rely on stereotypes
or accusations such as “sportswashing.” These can be effectively addressed
through: transparency and credibility by acknowledging challenges while
highlighting measurable progress; proactive storytelling consistently sharing
authentic human stories; rapid and organized response units to counter
misinformation promptly; international partnerships with neutral research
centers and influencers; digital diplomacy that produces high-quality content in
multiple languages; and continuous impact measurement to refine strategies.
To strengthen the Saudi narrative, the Kingdom must rely primarily on its own
citizens. As Joseph Nye, the father of soft power, has stated, the most powerful
weapon is not the one that destroys but the one that builds understanding. The
story a nation talks about itself will ultimately define its place in the world.
Key recommendations include: One, establishing a National Academy for Strategic
Narratives and Public Diplomacy to train young Saudis in storytelling, media
analysis and multilingual content creation.
Two, empowering youths and creatives as official ambassadors through dedicated
programs in digital media, film and cultural production. Three, promoting
national academic research by encouraging Saudi universities to produce
English-language books and studies on the Saudi experience, supported by grants
and awards. Four, fostering internal partnerships between government and the
private sector to create a unified narrative strategy centered on real citizen
success stories. Five, investing in authentic content such as documentaries,
podcasts and books led by Saudi writers and creators. Six, creating a National
Narrative Observatory to measure international impact and continuously improve
strategies using local expertise.
Despite notable advances in soft power indices, greater alignment between words
and actions is essential, along with a sustainable international communication
strategy driven by innovation and national talent. The Saudi narrative is not a
temporary media campaign — it is a comprehensive national strategy. Amid the
ongoing wars, the Kingdom has a historic opportunity to author its own bright
chapter as a leading civilization, economic powerhouse and diplomatic force. The
question every leader must ask is: “What is the story we are living — and what
story do we want the world to talk about?”When Saudis themselves lead the
crafting and elevation of this narrative with sincerity, coherence and
excellence, it will evolve from mere words into a genuine soft power that
propels the Kingdom toward its rightful place as a global center of development
and civilization.
**Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed is an adjunct professor at the University of
Arizona’s College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences, in the
Department of Biosystems Engineering. He is the author of “Saudi Arabia’s
Transformation: Uncertainty and Sustainability” (Routledge, 2026). X: @TurkiFRasheed
on 03 June/2026
Gad Saad
I have been overwhelmed by the number of people that have come up
to me on the streets of Montreal to wish me well as we prepare for our move to
the United States. They also expressed deep regret and consternation at the
unfolding realities in Montreal. The most heartbreaking feature of this is that
it was all self-inflicted by a society and a government drowning in
ill-conceived policies (rooted in parasitic suicidal empathy). Ideas have
consequences.
Fox News
BREAKING: At least one person has been killed and more than 60 have been wounded
after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Kuwait and Bahrain
overnight.
CENTCOM says an additional wave of drones attempting to attack U.S. forces in
Kuwait were downed and that no American personnel or assets were harmed. The
escalation comes as the Trump administration continues nuclear talks with Iran,
while maintaining that sanctions relief will depend on Tehran agreeing to strict
limits on its nuclear program,
Hiba Nasr
https://x.com/i/status/2061854595442184364
@SecRubio : Israel and Lebanon can do a peace deal tomorrow. Israel has no
territorial claims in Lebanon . Hezbollah is the impediment. There is no
Hezbollah without Iran.
Rubio: What we would like to see is a Lebanese armed forces with the strength
and the capability to disarm Hezbollah and reclaim the entirety of the country
on the, you know, every, the country should only have one armed forces.
It shouldn't have an armed political party, which is what Hezbollah is.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
So far, the only available option to disarm Hezbollah is for the IDF to enter
Beirut’s southern suburb and dismantle the Iranian proxy. Lebanon is stuck at
“disarming Hezbollah through dialogue only” because between an imagined Lebanese
civil war to disarm the militia and a devastating Hezbollah war with Israel,
Lebanon chooses “national dialogue,” which is not on the menu, and therefore
Israel will have to do the job itself. Khaval. Will Lebanon ever take agency and
practice sovereignty, whatever the cost, as sovereignty should be?
makram rabah
Diplomacy may spare Lebanon temporarily. It may delay a strike, prevent a wider
war, or create space for negotiations. But diplomacy cannot substitute for
sovereignty. A country cannot live forever on emergency phone calls between
foreign leaders. A state cannot depend on Washington to stop Israel while
Hezbollah continues to decide when Lebanon enters war.
Israel-Alma
In recent days, reports have been published claiming that the IDF directly
struck Jabal Amel Hospital, located in the El-Buss neighborhood (البص) in the
city of Tyre. However, these reports are, to say the least, inaccurate and do
not reflect the reality of the incident.
On June 1, 2026, footage began circulating from inside the hospital corridors,
showing damage caused as a result of an IDF strike. However, the airstrike was
not directed at the hospital itself, but rather at a target located in close
proximity to the hospital.
The extensive documentation indicates that the damage sustained by the hospital
was indirect and resulted from the blast wave generated by the strike, rather
than from a direct hit on the building. The footage clearly shows that the
hospital structure remained intact, was not directly targeted, and was not
destroyed as a result of the strike. This stands in contrast to reports
published by various media outlets, including Western media.
It is important to note that several days prior to the strike, on May 28, 2026,
the IDF Arabic-language spokesperson issued an urgent evacuation warning to
residents of the city of Tyre and the surrounding camps and neighborhoods, in
accordance with international law. The warning was accompanied by a map
identifying the areas designated for evacuation. One of the neighborhoods
explicitly included in the warning was El-Buss, where Jabal Amel Hospital is
located. Residents of the area received a clear and advance warning regarding
the need to evacuate the area, including the El-Buss neighborhood where the
hospital is located. Despite this, some members of the population remained in
the area, thereby exposing themselves to risk. It should also be noted that
following the IDF evacuation warning, medical teams and ambulances were observed
evacuating from some of the areas included in the warning zone.
Hezbollah systematically operates from within civilian environments and conducts
military activity both near and inside sensitive civilian infrastructure,
including hospitals, schools, and similar facilities. At times, Hezbollah also
prevents or hinders the evacuation of civilians from areas adjacent to its
military assets. This conduct assists the organization both in protecting its
assets and in advancing its propaganda narrative in cases where civilian
surroundings and infrastructure are affected as a result of Hezbollah's own
activities.
Hassan Ahmadian حسن احمدیان
Having forced a retreat on Israel and the United States in Lebanon, Iran now
moves to manage two battles that Washington itself initiated: 1. The Blockade:
Any violation of Iranian ships will be met with an equal or harsher response.
The goal is to prevent the imposition of a
Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر
https://x.com/i/status/2062172219007009169
Colossally stupid take from Trump. As if Israel wants to be fighting Hezbollah
in Lebanon. If the UN + US had done their job and enforced intl law according to
UNSC res. 1559 and 1701, Hezbollah would not exist south of the Litani, and
would be disarmed!
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Kuwait showing more spine than Saudi Arabia, Qatar, expelling two Iranian
diplomats to protest Iranian attacks with 13 ballistic missiles, 17 explosive
drones on Kuwait.
Kuwait is hoping its gradual diplomatic escalation will make Iran reasonable.
That will never happen.
Open Source Intel
Israel Ambassador to the U.S.:
It should be remembered that Israel agreed to refrain from striking Hezbollah
command centers in Beirut on the condition that Hezbollah would stop attacking
Israeli towns and villages. This morning's attack [on Kiryat Shmona] is yet
another blatant violation of that understanding.