English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For June 10/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single
grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12/20-28/:”Among
those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see
Jesus.’Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very
truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love
their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for
eternal life .Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my
servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. ‘Now my soul is
troubled. And what should I say “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for
this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a
voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on 09-10 June/2026
Yazed Bin Farhan's Remote control and the corrupted owners of all the
Lebanese political parties/Elias Bejjani/June 08/2026
The terrorist group Hezbollah and its demented mullah masters understand only
the language of force./
Elias Bejjani/June 07/2026
Rudolf Heikal's visit to Pakistan: A huge bundle of questions and doubts/Elias
Bejjani/June 06/2026
Aoun's anti Hezbollah stances: it's all just talk/Elias Bejjani/June 05/2026
Issa says US to present written proposal to Berri
Israel will keep striking Hezbollah, retaliate against Iran if attacked: Gantz
Report: Hezbollah willing to accept deal, says final decision needs consultation
with Revolutionary Guard
Report: Hezbollah agrees to 'point-for-point' withdrawal from South Litani
Eight killed, 32 wounded in violent Israeli strikes on Tyre
Israeli army says troops kill gunman who entered Israel from Lebanon
Tyre Christian leaders urge for action after Israel's evacuation warning
Residents reel as Tyre's Christian quarter emptied out after Israeli warning
Hezbollah urges Lebanon authorities to mend ties with Iran
Berri rejects pilot zones, demands unconditional, complete, and comprehensive
ceasefire
Pakistan, Lebanon Army Chiefs Meet as Middle East Mediation Drags On
Lebanon in the eye of the storm as violence bursts in Middle East
Netanyahu and Trump are at odds as Lebanon war threatens Iran talks
Timeline of escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon
Ben-Gvir suggests arresting women and young men in Lebanon
Aoun blasts Iran intervention, says Berri trying to convince Hezbollah to disarm
Aoun: Israel's pullout enables Lebanon to extend its authority
Syria should not be America’s shortcut to Hezbollah/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya
Engliah/09 June ,2026
Fear’ of the Bad Has Led Lebanon to the Worse/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/June
09/2026
Reading Lebanon’s Reality Free of Illusions/Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al-Awsat/June
09/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on 09-10 June/2026
Waves of US Strikes on Iran in Response to Apache Downing
Trump says Iran shot down Apache in Strait of Hormuz, vows US response
Trump says US 'must' respond after Iran downs Apache helicopter
Drone Boat Rescued Two US Aviators After Their Army Helicopter Went Down Near
Hormuz Strait
Trump says in ‘final throes’ of reaching Middle East peace deal
Trump: Netanyahu Didn't Defy Me... If I Ask Him to Do Something, He Does It
Iran state media says two military personnel killed in Israeli strikes on Monday
US Energy Secretary Says Ship Traffic Through Strait of Hormuz Rising 'Very
Meaningfully'
France Bans Israeli Minister Smotrich in Coordinated Sanctions Push
Rival Palestinian Factions Discuss Gaza Disarmament
Pope Leo XIV met Bad Bunny in Madrid: Vatican
A very online Israeli army spokesman is the face of war for millions of Arabs
How Did Iran Pluck the Palestinian
Fruit?!/Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
Türkiye and Israel’s ‘War Complex’/Dr. Hassan Abou TalebAsharq Al-Awsat/June
09/2026
The Hierarchy of Acceptable Victims/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/June
09/2026
The disconnect between the real economy and price movements/Cornelia Meyer/Al
Arabiya Engliah/09 June ,2026
on 09-10 June/2026
Yazed Bin Farhan's Remote
control and the corrupted owners of all the Lebanese political parties
Elias Bejjani/June 08/2026
The greatest service Saudi Arabia can offer Lebanon and the Lebanese is to stop
funding the corrupted owners of all the Christian, Druze, and Sunni political
parties, to let Lebanon make peace with Israel,end the heresy of the two-state
solution, and also to stop Berri's posturing and sto welcoming his thug's
mouthpiece, Ali Hassan Khalil, who is being sanctioned for corruption.
The terrorist group Hezbollah and its
demented mullah masters understand only the language of force.
Elias Bejjani/June 07/2026
The demented rulers of Iran understand only
Netanyahu's language: force, humiliation, and assassinations. Trump remains
ignorant of Iran's culture of delusions, fantasies, and empty bravado.
Rudolf Heikal's visit to Pakistan: A
huge bundle of questions and doubts
Elias Bejjani/June 06/2026
Rudolf Heikal's surprise visit to
Pakistan to appease Iran and its Hezbollah terrorist gang undermines Aoun's
statements with CNN and raises many doubts and questions.
Aoun's anti Hezbollah stances:
it's all just talk
Elias Bejjani/June 05/2026
Aoun's stances are excellent, but they haven't
translated into action yet. He needs to move from words to deeds, fire his
Hezbollah advisors, purge the army of agents, issue arrest warrants for
Hezbollah leaders, and dismiss the duo's ministers... otherwise, it's all just
talk.
Issa says US to present written proposal to Berri
Naharnet
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa revealed Tuesday that Washington will
present a written paper to Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the so-called pilot
zones in south Lebanon, where the Lebanese Army would take control from Israel's
occupying forces.
"He told me that he would then accept the pilot zones," Issa said in an
interview with MTV. The ambassador also explained that
a pilot zone is different from a buffer zone. "In pilot zones, residents would
return to their villages, Israel would stop its attacks and the Lebanese Army
would provide protection and clear the area from weapons, before work moves to
another zone, until the entire south is cleaned up," Issa clarified. The issue
of pilot zones was mentioned in the recent ceasefire agreement reached between
Lebanon and Israel in Washington. Both Hezbollah and Berri have rejected that
agreement.
Israel will keep striking Hezbollah, retaliate against Iran
if attacked: Gantz
Al Arabiya English/09 June ,2026
Former Israeli defense minister, Benny Gantz, said Tuesday that Israel would
continue to “defend itself” against perceived security threats emanating from
Lebanon. In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Gantz said Israel would also
respond forcefully to any future attacks from Iran, arguing that Tehran and
Hezbollah were responsible for destabilizing the region. Gantz also accused Iran
of attempting to portray itself as Lebanon’s defender while contributing to the
country’s troubles. “Iran is trying to play itself as the defender of Lebanon,
but it’s the cause of ruining Lebanon.”Addressing Israel’s military operations
in Lebanon, Gantz said Israeli forces would continue targeting locations where
they believe Hezbollah possesses the capability to launch attacks. Gantz accused
Hezbollah of operating within civilian areas, saying the group’s tactics
complicated military operations. “Hezbollah is operating in civilian areas —
that’s the tactics, and we are sorry, but we will defend ourselves,” he said. He
also claimed that Hezbollah has military presence in Lebanese communities,
saying, “Many houses in Lebanon have a living room and then a missile room.
Israel should be ‘harsher’ in Lebanon, Gaza
Asked about the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Gantz said he had favored a tougher
military approach. “I wanted to act faster in Gaza and
harsher in Lebanon,” he said. Gantz also addressed Israeli domestic politics,
saying he trusted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite political
disagreements.“I trust Netanyahu, but I have political arguments with him,” he
said. On the future of Gaza, Gantz said Palestinians
would ultimately govern the territory but suggested that achieving a stable
political arrangement would take years.“It’s the Palestinians who will govern
Gaza, but that will take decades,” he said. Gantz stressed that Israelis could
not rely on others for their security. “No Israeli can afford not to stay secure
— we have to take care of it ourselves,” he said.
Report: Hezbollah willing to accept deal, says final
decision needs consultation with Revolutionary Guard
Naharnet
The Americans have recently conveyed a set of Israeli conditions to the Lebanese
side, which were rejected by Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah, Al-Jadeed TV
reported on Tuesday. "These conditions consisted,
firstly, of the withdrawal of approximately 2,300 Hezbollah members from the
area south of the Litani River, with their names to be specified by the Israeli
side. The two sides rejected this condition specifically, based on information
suggesting that the names included were not Hezbollah fighters, but rather
residents of villages within Hezbollah's support base and its economic and
social structure," the TV network said. The second condition stipulated that any
attack on Israel would be met with a retaliatory attack on the southern suburbs
of Beirut. The third condition granted Israel the right to carry out military
retaliation should it deem that Hezbollah had violated the agreement or exceeded
its terms. The fourth condition concerned the mechanism for implementation on
the ground. "The Israeli side proposed that the pilot
phase begin in the Zawtar area and beyond, a proposal rejected by Hezbollah,"
Al-Jadeed added. According to reports, the proposal gaining wider acceptance in
Lebanon is based on considering the entire area south of the Litani River as the
framework for the pilot zones, rather than limiting them to a specific area or
imposing a gradual approach starting from certain points. The reports also
mention subsequent phases involving the establishment of security posts
approximately two kilometers from the border, before moving to a final phase
that includes what are known as the "controlling security points." Al-Jadeed
also reported that a lengthy meeting was held Monday evening between the Amal
Movement and Hezbollah, dedicated to discussing the details of the U.S. proposal
and the conditions conveyed through Washington. According to the reports,
Hezbollah expressed its willingness to cooperate in order to reach an agreement,
but stressed that any final decision requires "consultation with the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps, in addition to arrangements related to the so-called
pilot zones." The reports add that Hezbollah wants to adopt a coordination
mechanism similar to the one used during the Pakistan process, which involves
consulting the IRGC on strategic decisions related to the Lebanese file. The
reports also said that Hezbollah had appointed a figure who accompanied the
Iranian delegation during the Pakistan negotiations to participate in following
up on this process.
Report: Hezbollah agrees to 'point-for-point' withdrawal
from South Litani
Naharnet
Hezbollah does not object to withdrawing its fighters from the area south of the
Litani River according to a "point for point" principle, which means that Israel
should also pull out its forces in tandem, sources said. "The Lebanese
parliament speaker informed the U.S. ambassador of the Shiite Duo's readiness
for a comprehensive ceasefire," the sources told Al-Arabiya. "The security
arrangements can be implemented immediately upon the establishment of a
ceasefire in Lebanon," the sources said. "The speaker of the Lebanese parliament
insists on a comprehensive ceasefire before launching any executive action on
the ground," the sources added. "The atmosphere in Washington supports the
completion of understandings between Lebanon and Israel during the next phase,"
the sources went on to say. A U.S. source meanwhile told Al-Arabiya that
Washington encourages "the path of strengthening the capabilities of the
Lebanese Army as part of the security understandings."
Report: Israel decides any rocket on north will be met with
automatic attack on Dahieh
Naharnet
Israel's security cabinet has decided that any Hezbollah rocket on Israel will
be met with an attack on Beirut's southern suburbs without the need for prior
political approval, Israel's Channel 14 reported on Tuesday. An Israeli official
meanwhile told Yedioth Ahronoth that the army has been ordered to maintain the
"equation" Israel has come up with in the face of Hezbollah -- any attack on
north Israel will be met with an attack on Dahieh. Iran launched missiles at
Israel on Sunday in response to Israel's recent bombing of Beirut's southern
suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Iran warned it would resume attacks on Israel if the latter kept striking
Lebanon. Iran and Israel halted the fresh hostilities
on Monday after three exchanges of strikes.
Eight killed, 32 wounded in violent Israeli strikes on Tyre
Agence France Presse
An Israeli airstrike on the southern city of Tyre before an Israeli military
warning on Tuesday killed at least eight people and wounded 32 others. The
state-run National News Agency (NNA) had reported the strike not long before
Israel's military issued an evacuation warning for the entire city and
surrounding areas ahead of strikes there. The Israeli army ordered Tuesday
residents of the historic city of Tyre and its suburbs, including the city's
Christian neighborhood, to evacuate ahead of more strikes. "Urgent warning to
the residents of the city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, and the
camps and surrounding neighborhoods," read a message posted on X by the Israeli
military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee."For your safety, we ask you
to immediately evacuate your homes... and move north of the Zahrani River."The
Christian quarter has so far been spared in the destructive airstrikes on the
port city. Israeli strikes and shelling also targeted Tuesday several towns and
villages in south Lebanon including Kawthariyet al-Rez, Baraashit, al-Mansouri,
Shaitiyeh, Insarieh, al-Khardali, Srifa, Harees, Burj Qalaway, and Msayleh.
Hezbollah, for its part, said it targeted with salvos of rockets Israeli troops
who were trying to advance from the southern border town of al-Bayyada toward
the village of Bouyout al-Siyyad. The group later targeted troops in Zawtar
al-Sharqiya. Israeli troops were advancing Tuesday from Khiam toward Debbine,
media reports said, after they withdrew from the village last week.
Israeli army says troops kill gunman who entered Israel
from Lebanon
Agence France Presse
The Israeli army on Tuesday said its forces killed a gunman who had managed to
infiltrate Israeli territory from Lebanon and opened fire on its troops. "A
short while ago, an initial report was received regarding a shooting toward IDF
(Israeli army) soldiers operating in the Ramim Ridge area," the army said,
referring to a mountainous area stretching between Israel and Lebanon. "The
soldiers returned fire and eliminated a terrorist in the area. No IDF injuries
were reported," the army said, confirming to AFP that the gunman had managed to
enter Israel. The Israeli army radio meanwhile said that the slain militant was
wearing Hezbollah military fatigues.
Tyre Christian leaders urge for action after Israel's evacuation warning
Associated Press
Christian religious leaders from the southern port city of Tyre called on the
international community and Lebanese officials on Tuesday to act quickly to
prevent Israel from attacking the Christian district of the city, as airstrikes
on nearby neighborhoods killed eight people and wounded dozens of others. The
Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning for the port city, including
the Christian quarter, which has been spared so far. The statement by the
Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre
for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox
metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the
archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre. The warning from
Israel's military prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district
along the Mediterranean coast, while members of the Civil Defense evacuated
older people to safer areas, the state-run National News Agency said. Cars
packed with mattresses, luggage and household belongings stretched for
kilometers along Lebanon's coastal highway, as residents fled Tyre following the
latest Israeli warning. Traffic ground to a halt as families crammed whatever
they could into vehicles, with carpets protruding from rooftops, and trunks were
left partially open to accommodate furniture and personal belongings. "After the
warnings in Tyre, we left. We picked up and left," said Ali Bahar, who was
traveling with his wife and three children in a car loaded with possessions.
"Where should we go? There is nowhere to go," Bahar said. "We will end up in the
streets. We are heading to Sidon."
Nearby, Hussein Darwish sat in the gridlock after packing his vehicle with what
he could carry. "We left to be reassured and safe," he
said. An Israeli airstrike Tuesday in another neighborhood in Tyre killed eight
people and wounded 32 others, according to the Health Ministry.
The three Christian leaders called on the international community and
Lebanese leaders to "take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter
of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies."The Israeli warning to Tyre came
after Israel and Iran traded fire following Israel's targeting of Hezbollah in
Beirut on Sunday, triggering heightened tensions in the Middle East and fears
that the conflict could spread further. Over the past few weeks, Israel's
airstrikes have caused wide destruction in Tyre, the fourth-largest city in the
country. Considered one of the oldest metropolises of the world, Tyre has
several archaeological sites, some of them submerged. The city was officially
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. "The old city is not merely a
residential area," the clergy said in their statement. "It is the historical and
human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families,
children, and the elderly." They said that the old quarter also holds a rich
cultural, religious and civilizational heritage dating back centuries.
"Any targeting or destruction of this neighborhood would constitute a
humanitarian and national catastrophe with irreversible consequences," they
warned. Kfoury said that the ongoing conflict isn't only a war on Hezbollah.
"The war is against all of Lebanon, not just one particular group within
Lebanon," he said. "They are destroying Lebanon. Period," Kfoury said about the
ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah fired
rockets at northern Israel, two days after the U.S. and Iran began attacking
Iran on Feb. 28. He said that the fighting should stop because it's a
"destructive war." Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre
that Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to
those areas over the past two weeks, because they were spared from the aerial
bombardment along the Mediterranean coast. After last week's 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.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee,
posted on X that as the military warned days ago that Hezbollah members were
working inside the Christian district, the Israeli military "will have to act
against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon."
Adraee said that any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes "may be
subject to targeting."The latest Israel-Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed around
3,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million.
Residents reel as Tyre's Christian quarter emptied out after Israeli warning
Agence France Presse
The Christian quarter in south Lebanon's Tyre, the last pocket of the coastal
city spared from Israeli threats, was emptied out on Tuesday after an
unprecedented warning for the city's residents. "We've packed our things, and
we're leaving," resident Elias Barbour told AFP. "What have we done wrong? What
are we supposed to do?" he added, saying that he would go to his sister's home
in Beirut "for a few days to see what happens". Behind him, fishing boats lay
moored along the narrow docks of the historical neighbourhood, while traditional
restaurants and cafes were closed.
This district of Tyre's Old City -- usually filled with visitors wandering its
colourful narrow streets and sunbathing at the nearby beach during summer -- was
nearly deserted. It had served as a shelter for thousands of displaced people
from border villages during the latest round of fighting between Israel and
Hezbollah. One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, and one of the
south's largest, Tyre is home to UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins. Israel has
heavily bombarded the city since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war
on March 2. But Tuesday was the first time the Israeli army explicitly told
residents of the Christian-majority neighbourhood to leave.
After the Israeli warning, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency
reported Israeli airstrikes on the city. A strike on Tyre before the warning
killed eight people, according to Lebanon's health ministry. The Israeli
military had previously issued repeated evacuation warnings for most of the
Shia-majority city, also home to multiple Palestinian refugee camps, including
after an April 17 ceasefire that was meant to stop the fighting.
'Liars' -
"The neighbourhood is empty, some people are packing their belongings to leave,
and others have already left... and only a few people remain," municipal council
member Walid al-Tawil said. Most people left for Sidon
or Beirut, he added. Some residents, not knowing where to go, stayed in their
cars, parked by the beach, according to an AFP correspondent. In Sidon, around
30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Tyre, another correspondent saw people
arriving in the city, many with mattresses and other belongings tied to their
cars. "Today they threatened the Christian quarter... we were scared and fled,"
said Ahmed Haidar after setting up his tent in Sidon. "They threatened all of
Tyre, there is no safety there anymore." Last week, Israel's military alleged
that Hezbollah members were operating in the Christian quarter and said it would
warn people to leave if the group remained there. Israeli attacks have killed
more than 3,600 people in Lebanon since March 2 and displaced more than a
million, according to Lebanese authorities."I'm going to Sidon," said Mohammad
Mustafa, another Tyre resident, as he and his daughter rode a motorcycle out of
the city."It's a lie when they say Hezbollah is here... This is a lie to scare
people. They're liars," he added. "I don't want to go. This is my home, my soul.
We're fishermen. Where else would we go?"
Hezbollah urges Lebanon authorities to mend ties with Iran
Agence France Presse
Hezbollah on Tuesday urged Lebanese authorities to mend their relationship with
the group's backer Iran and benefit from Tehran's support, days after Iran
struck Israel in response to bombardment on south Beirut. Last week Lebanon's
president and prime minister issued pointed calls for Tehran to stop interfering
in their country's affairs, after Hezbollah rejected a conditional ceasefire
with Israel. "We call on the Lebanese authorities to
seize the opportunity available and correct their official relationship with the
Islamic republic in a way that serves the interest of both states," a Hezbollah
statement said. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with
rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in
U.S.-Israeli strikes. Iran insists a halt to the wider Middle East conflict must
include a ceasefire in Lebanon. Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in
response to Israel bombing Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Iran warned it would resume attacks on Israel if the latter kept striking
Lebanon. Iran and Israel, which fired back, on Monday halted the fresh
hostilities. Hezbollah said Iran's attack on Israel "in defense of our Lebanese
people is a message of the Islamic republic's commitment, morally, politically
and on the ground, towards Lebanon". It urged Lebanese authorities to "use this
Iranian support to achieve our national objectives, particularly in light of the
formation of a new regional umbrella that has emerged from the Islamabad
negotiations". Hezbollah rejects recent direct talks between the Israeli and
Lebanese authorities, mediated by Washington. Pakistan
has been mediating between the United States and Iran to end the regional
conflict. On Tuesday, the heads of the Pakistani and
Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation as they met in Pakistan.
Berri rejects pilot zones, demands unconditional, complete,
and comprehensive ceasefire
Naharnet
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri only supports a complete and comprehensive
ceasefire by land, sea, and air without any conditions, he told the WHYZ media
platform.After a ceasefire is reached, Hezbollah and Israel can withdraw in
parallel from the area south of the Litani river, he said. Israel and Lebanon
have agreed to implement a ceasefire that would require Hezbollah to stop
firing, withdraw from near the border, and see Lebanon's military deploy in new
"pilot zones" in the area. Berri met Monday with U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa,
who told journalists after the meeting that residents will return to these pilot
zones, the Lebanese army will deploy, Israel will halt its strikes, and
reconstruction will begin. Berri rejected the pilot zone framework, stating that
he will only accept Israel's withdrawal, the deployment of the Lebanese army,
and the return of the displaced residents to their homes and villages. He said
there is a list of 2,300 Hezbollah members demanded to withdraw from south
Lebanon. "The Lebanese state has accepted but I don't. They are the people of
the land and the sons of the South, and no one can uproot them from it," he
said.
Pakistan, Lebanon Army Chiefs Meet as Middle East
Mediation Drags On
Asharq Al Awsat/June 09/2026
The heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation
on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan with peace talks over the Middle East war
dragging on.Pakistan has been mediating between the United States and Iran to
end the months-long conflict, with Tehran insisting that any deal should include
Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah, reported AFP.
Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday to meet his powerful
Pakistani counterpart Asim Munir, with a Lebanon-based source telling AFP the
visit was linked to the broader peace talks. The two military commanders
discussed "matters of mutual interest, (the) evolving regional security
environment, defense cooperation and prospects for enhancing bilateral military
relations", a statement from the media wing of the Pakistani military said on
Tuesday. Munir "underscored (the) Pakistan Army's
commitment to expanding defense collaboration with the Lebanese Armed Forces,"
it said, after Haykal received a guard of honor ahead of the meeting in the city
of Rawalpindi. Conflict in Lebanon has become a centerpiece of weeks of
stop-start efforts to bring a formal end to the war. Armed hostilities flared
further during Haykal's visit, though both Iran and Israel indicated on Monday
that they had halted the fighting. US President Donald Trump, who has expressed
frustration at the slow progress of peace talks, said on Tuesday that
negotiators were in the "final throes" of reaching a deal.Lebanon was drawn into
the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2 to avenge
the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader.
Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion
that have killed nearly 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not
stopped despite an ongoing truce.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said a US-Iranian agreement to end
the war was "about to be achieved" when fresh fighting between Iran and Israel
erupted on Sunday. Even after an April 17 ceasefire
agreement began, the Israeli military announced a so-called Yellow Line inside
Lebanese territory about a dozen kilometers from its northern border where its
ground troops are fighting with Hezbollah, who have fired rockets at Israel.
Lebanon in the eye of the storm as violence bursts in
Middle East
Associated Press
The tenuous ceasefire in the Middle East has held up, sometimes barely, despite
being shaken by repeated flare-ups over the past two months. But it is now
coming the closest yet to blowing apart and sending the region back into
full-scale war — and the detonator is Lebanon. Israeli strikes against Hezbollah
militants in Beirut over the weekend brought retaliation from their key sponsor,
Iran, which launched its first attacks against Israel since the ceasefire was
reached April 7. Israel responded with strikes on targets throughout Iran, while
Iran's proxies in Yemen and Iraq threatened to widen the war. The U.S. and other
mediators rushed to prevent the fighting from spiraling out of control. Even if
quiet is reimposed, the dynamics that led to the burst of violence are still in
place. Israel and the U.S. remain locked in a standoff
with Iran and Hezbollah to shape the future regional order, with each side
convinced it is acting from a position of strength. U.S. President Donald Trump
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both facing key elections, have
diverging interests. Israel is heading into its first
national elections since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered
the region's wars. Netanyahu is under pressure to project strength after
repeatedly vowing to destroy Hezbollah. Despite repeated wars and rounds of
fighting, Israel has not been able to definitively end Hezbollah fire into
northern Israel. Netanyahu is also wary of appearing subservient to Trump, amid
criticism in Israel that deference to the U.S. is preventing the country from
reaching its war goals. Trump has pushed Netanyahu not to allow fighting in
Lebanon to derail U.S. efforts to broker regionwide peace, and told the
Financial Times that he, not Netanyahu, is the one to "call the shots." So even
as Israel has entered direct negotiations with Lebanon's government and reached
several ceasefire agreements with it over the past weeks, Netanyahu has pressed
ahead with operations in southern Lebanon, seizing a large part of the territory
and pushing further north of Lebanon's Litani River. It has continued raids in
the south it says target Hezbollah's rocket and drone arsenals. Netanyahu wanted
a show of power after Hezbollah targeted northern Israel with rocket fire on
Sunday — a step Israeli officials have warned would trigger Israeli strikes on
Beirut.
Hezbollah has rejected the ceasefires agreed to by Israel and the Lebanese
government and said it will not cease fighting so long as Israel continues its
strikes and its forces remain in southern Lebanon. The militant group has
continued attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon as well as volleys into
northern Israel. Iran largely left Hezbollah to fend for itself during much of
an earlier 2024 war. After that war, Hezbollah stopped its missile fire into
Israel — though Israel continued regular strikes on what it called Hezbollah
targets in Lebanon. But when Israel joined the U.S. in attacking Iran on Feb.
28, Hezbollah launched strikes on northern Israel in support of its ally and in
response to 15 months of unreciprocated strikes. Iran's retaliation against
Israel over the Beirut strikes signaled its willingness to risk renewed war in
the region for the sake of its interests in Lebanon and its most important
regional ally.
Hezbollah is coming under increasing pressure as Israeli troops push north of
the Litani, edging closer to the city of Nabatiyeh, a regional hub where
Hezbollah enjoys wide support. The group also faces increased friction with the
Lebanese government, where the prime minister and president have denounced
Hezbollah for renewing fighting with Israel. Hezbollah has been resisting
surrendering its weapons, something Lebanese leaders have pledged will happen.
The group has said it would only discuss giving up its arsenal as part of a
larger governmental "defense strategy," perhaps one that would see Hezbollah
incorporated into the Lebanese military. Iran's lashing out at Israel for the
sake of Hezbollah carries major risks. If full-scale war erupts again, Iran
would face new damage to its economy as well as attacks on its military and
senior leadership.
But Iran's leaders have sought to project confidence that the Islamic Republic
and its economy can withstand the blow. They have repeatedly risked the
ceasefire falling apart over the past two months as they have stuck to a tough
line in negotiations with the U.S. Iran is betting that its mass disruption of
traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gives it strength to resist the United
States and Israel imposing their objectives in negotiations – and that Trump's
reluctance to dive back into war will ensure the U.S. restrains Israel. Iran has
insisted that Lebanon be part of any regional resolution, and it wants to
prevent a pattern where Israel can strike targets in Lebanon and Iran without
facing a response.
The United States and Israel coordinated the strikes on Iran that kicked off the
war. But public disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu have lately spilled
into view. The war is shaping up as a risk for Trump's
Republican Party, with midterm elections in November. Trump has said the
elections — and worries about the economy — don't factor into his decisions
about the war. But his party and advisers likely are wary of the potential
damage with voters from a raging conflict that drives up the price of gas and
other goods. The president also does not want to be seen by voters as having
dragged the United States into another costly Middle East quagmire.Much like in
Lebanon, the U.S. and Israel are increasingly striking a different tone on Iran.
In negotiations, the U.S. has had as its top priorities a resolution of
Iran's nuclear program and the free passage of shipping through the Strait of
Hormuz. Israel, long concerned about Iran's nuclear program, also sees a
historic opportunity to degrade Iran's ballistic missile arsenal and its support
for armed groups across the region. Despite all the talks, there is little sign
of Iran being prepared to make concessions on its enriched material and the
future of its nuclear program.
Gulf Arab states are eager to end the conflict as quickly as possible. Before
the April ceasefire halted most of the fighting, Iranian airstrikes damaged
infrastructure across the region. Airports, desalination plants, aluminum
smelters and oil facilities were all targeted. A return to wider war would
expose those targets to more attacks. An Iranian drone strike on Kuwait's
airport last week was a reminder of the threat. At the same time, Iran's hold on
the Strait of Hormuz has hit oil and gas exports for those Gulf nations that
rely on sending tankers through the chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the
Arabian Sea. U.S.-aligned Gulf states have long hosted American naval, air and
military bases because they see the partnership as protection against Iran. Yet
when war broke out, they still found themselves vulnerable to attacks, testing
their faith in an alliance that was supposed to guarantee security. The Gulf
states have little to gain from a longer war and much to lose if instability
becomes the region's new normal.
Netanyahu and Trump are at odds as Lebanon war threatens
Iran talks
Associated Press
Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President
Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war
in lockstep, want different things. Trump had publicly
warned Israel not to strike Beirut. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by
firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April
ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks
of high-stakes negotiations. The fighting has since died down, but the
differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. That's because Trump,
whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war
and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire
in Lebanon is key to any deal. Netanyahu, who also
faces elections this year, is under pressure to stop Hezbollah's attacks and
prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies. He also needs to
manage relations with Israel's most important ally without appearing to kowtow
to it. Political considerations push in opposite directions. When the United
States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the allies appeared shoulder to
shoulder. Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic's
military, eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and topple its
government. Trump announced the death of Iran's supreme leader in the opening
barrage and urged Iranians to "take back" their country. But it soon became
clear that while Trump was seeking a quick win — like the one he secured in
Venezuela — Netanyahu wanted to vanquish Iran and its allies, even if it
required an extended conflict. As Iran withstood weeks of heavy strikes and kept
the Strait of Hormuz closed, Americans and Israelis grew increasingly frustrated
— but for different reasons.
In the U.S., the price of gas and other goods soared as even some erstwhile
supporters accused Trump of breaking a campaign promise and plunging the U.S.
into another Mideast quagmire. He has pushed back against those critics as
rising anger threatens Republicans in November's congressional elections. In
Israel, anger grew over Netanyahu's failure to secure a lasting victory in the
wars sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which happened on his watch. More
than two years on, Hamas still rules part of Gaza, Hezbollah still fires rockets
and Iran's government and nuclear program remain intact, despite heavy losses.
Israel's bombardment of Lebanon strains relations
The collision course runs through Lebanon, where fighting still rages between
Israel and Hezbollah despite ceasefire announcements. Iran wants Lebanon
included in any wider regional truce, a demand Trump seems to have accepted in
order to get a deal. Iran has threatened to attack Israel again if it keeps
striking Lebanon. Israel is determined to keep the theaters separate and
continue its campaign in Lebanon, where it has occupied large swaths of the
south, until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated. The tensions spilled
into the open last week, when Trump acknowledged holding a tense call with
Netanyahu about Lebanon. He admitted to using expletives and calling the Israeli
leader "crazy," saying he'd grown frustrated that Israel's war on Hezbollah
threatened the Iran talks. In a series of interviews, Trump made clear that he
was not happy about Israel's Sunday strike in Beirut, which came without warning
and hit a residential building, killing two people and wounding 20, according to
Lebanese authorities. He then urged restraint from Israel after Iran launched
its first barrage of missiles later that day. "I call all the shots," not
Netanyahu, Trump told the Financial Times. Hours
later, Israel bombed Iran. Officials downplay differences.
Trump had initially urged restraint in order to calm markets and keep
negotiations from falling apart, according to a person familiar with the
U.S.-Israel deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the
sensitive conversations. Israeli officials made the counterargument that the
U.S. would not tolerate attacks without a swift response. The person added that
it was also understood by both sides that not responding to the Iranian strikes
would put Netanyahu in a difficult position politically.
Netanyahu has downplayed any perceived differences.
After the latest strikes, he told reporters in Hebrew that "Israel has a
full right to self-defense, and we are exercising it to the extent necessary."
"I say this to you, just as I say this, with appreciation and respect, in my
good conversations with my friend, President Trump," he added.
It's unclear if there will be lasting damage
It's not the first time that Trump has been publicly at odds with Netanyahu
about a military operation. In March, less than three
weeks into the conflict, Trump was riled by Netanyahu's decision to attack a
critical Iranian gas field, which prompted Iran to retaliate against energy
infrastructure in the Gulf.
"I told him, 'Don't do that,'" Trump said at the time. "We get along great. It's
coordinated, but on occasion he'll do something."While Trump publicly disagreed
with the decision, two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized
to comment publicly said the U.S. was made aware of Israel's plans ahead of the
attack.It's unclear whether the latest dispute will cause lasting damage.
"It's not so uncommon for the U.S.-Israel relationship to have these
kinds of tensions. What's so different right now is how publicly it's playing
out," said Michael Singh, managing director at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy. He noted that Trump has had similar public spats with other heads
of state, including close allies. Eytan Gilboa, an
expert on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel's Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities,
said he doubted the rift seriously threatened the alliance. He said Netanyahu
had been careful not to push things too far. "If there was a big threat, like if
Israel were to continue the war in Iran and drag the U.S. into it, that would
have been a different situation," he said. "But that is not happening."He noted,
though, that there are still "basic disagreements between Netanyahu and Trump on
Iran, Lebanon and Gaza" that remain unanswered.
Timeline of escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon
Associated Press
The Middle East is bracing for war again. Iran fired missiles at Israel late
Sunday in the first such bombardment in the two months since a ceasefire. Israel
launched airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran in response.
The truce in the Iran war that was reached in April has not spread to Lebanon,
where Israel has been battling Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. Israel says
it is defending its northern communities that face Hezbollah drone and rocket
fire.
Iran sees Israel's ground invasion, with thousands of troops, and airstrikes in
Lebanon as a ceasefire violation. It insists that any deal with the United
States must end the fighting there. Israel disagrees.
Here's a timeline of key events.
Feb. 28
The United States and Israel attack Iran. War begins.
March 2
Hezbollah enters the war by firing rockets at Israel. Israel retaliates.
April 7
A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war is announced, with talks to continue. Israel
is not included in negotiations.
April 8
Israel bombards Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing over 300 people in a
10-minute attack.
April 14
Lebanon and Israel hold their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in
Washington.
April 17
A fragile ceasefire is announced between Israel and Lebanon, but Hezbollah plays
no part. Fighting soon resumes from both sides.
May 31
Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon makes its deepest incursion in over a
quarter-century as Hezbollah continues to pound northern Israel and Israeli
soldiers in southern Lebanon with drones and missiles.
June 1
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to strike Beirut if
Hezbollah attacks against Israel don't stop. U.S. President Donald Trump says
Israel and Hezbollah agree to calm the fighting.
June 3
Israel and Lebanon say they agree to renew the fragile ceasefire and create
security zones that exclude Hezbollah.
June 4
Hezbollah's leader rejects the ceasefire agreement and demands that Israel
withdraw from Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Israel continue firing at each other.
June 5
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says "there will be no calm in the
region " if Israel doesn't withdraw from Lebanon. The fighting since March 2 had
killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon. Almost 30 Israeli soldiers and a
defense contractor were killed in or around southern Lebanon, and two civilians
were killed in northern Israel.
June 7
Hezbollah continues firing at Israel. Israel strikes Beirut's southern suburbs.
Iran fires at Israel.
June 8
Israel launches airstrikes in the early morning targeting central and western
Iran in response to Iranian missile fire. By evening Israel and Iran both appear
to have backed down. Netanyahu threatens to resume strikes if Iran launches any
more missiles, and says Israel will continue operating against Hezbollah.
Ben-Gvir suggests arresting women and young men in Lebanon
Naharnet
Israel's extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for
escalating measures against Lebanon, proposing the occupation of territory and
"the arrest of women and young men," during a meeting of the security cabinet on
Monday evening. According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Ben-Gvir presented a
series of measures during the meeting, which he said were aimed at responding to
Hezbollah attacks. The newspaper quoted him as saying: "Let's start thinking
outside the box about them – occupying territory and killing many militants, and
also arresting their women and young men and taking them to terrorist prisons.
This is what hurts them the most."
Aoun blasts Iran intervention, says Berri trying to convince Hezbollah to disarm
Naharnet
On Tuesday, President Joseph Aoun shared a segment of his recent CNN interview
on social media, issuing a sharp warning to Iran against interfering in
Lebanon's internal affairs. Aoun said in the clip that Lebanon seeks good
relations with Iran "based on mutual respect not interference."
"The people of Lebanon are being killed, their houses are being destroyed to
serve your interests not the interests of our county. You are destroying the
country for the sake of your own interests," he said. Aoun said the Washington
talks aim to end the Israeli aggression and not to reach a peace deal. "It is a
security agreement, not a peace deal. As far as peace is concerned, we are part
of the Arab initiative and we are committed to it," he clarified. Aoun said the
Shiites in Lebanon are "fed up" but that the state must offer them an
alternative and prove that it can protect them. "If (then) Hezbollah doesn't
agree (to disarm), it will be held accountable before its own people," he said,
arguing that Hezbollah was formed to liberate south Lebanon as a result of the
1982 Israeli invasion amid a total collapse of the state. "Strong government
institutions can overshadow non-state actors," and vise-versa, he said. "We need
to strengthen the state and to end the state of hostilities in order to remove
the root causes of the existence of Hezbollah's weapons."Aoun said Hezbollah
liberated south Lebanon in 2000 but made major strategic mistakes after Israel's
withdrawal.
"I hate war," he said. "I've been wounded twice and I still carry shrapnel. I've
seen the hardship of the war, I don't want my children and the Lebanese people
to live this hardship." The CNN anchor added that Aoun still suffers from
hearing damage sustained during close-range combat earlier in his military
career. Aoun said he is coordinating with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally. "We are in harmony and
we are united behind ending this war", he said, adding that Berri's situation is
very delicate. "Berri is from the south and is seeing the south being destroyed.
He's a man of state and he wants to end this war by peaceful means. As the sole
representative of the Shiites, he has a job to do but we need to understand how
sensitive his situation is. He can play a major role and he is doing it. He's
trying to convince Hezbollah to disarm for the best interest of the Shiites and
the country."
Aoun: Israel's pullout enables Lebanon to extend its authority
Naharnet
The Israeli army's withdrawal from south Lebanon would enable the Lebanese state
to "extend its authority, end armed appearances and eliminate any justification
for the persistence of weapons other than those of legitimate authorities and
their armed forces," President Joseph Aoun said on Tuesday.
Aoun also stressed the importance of "adopting a political, military, economic
and social approach for the issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the aim of
preserving political, security and social stability in the country."
Syria should not be America’s shortcut to Hezbollah
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya Engliah/09 June ,2026
There are bad ideas in Middle East policy, and then there are ideas so reckless
that they manage to revive every historical trauma at once. The suggestion that
Syria could somehow be recruited into a military role against Hezbollah in
Lebanon belongs firmly in the second category.
At first glance, it may sound clever in Washington: Syria knows the terrain,
understands the militias, and has long experience with Lebanon’s security file.
But this is exactly the problem. Syria’s “experience” in Lebanon is not a
neutral asset. It is a history of domination, coercion, intelligence networks,
assassinations, occupation, and the systematic weakening of the Lebanese state.
To present Damascus as a possible partner in fixing Lebanon is not strategic
thinking. It is Orientalist improvisation dressed up as realism.
This is where the role of Tom Barrack, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to
Syria and Iraq, must be examined carefully. Barrack appears to be promoting a
view of the region in which borders are flexible, sovereignty is negotiable, and
Lebanon is once again treated as an arena to be managed by stronger neighbors.
His approach seems to assume that Syria, by virtue of geography and history, has
a natural right to interfere in Lebanon’s security future. That logic is not
new. It is the same logic that justified decades of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon
under Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad. It is also the same logic that many
Lebanese paid for with their lives.
The irony is that such a proposal would not weaken Hezbollah politically. It
could strengthen its narrative. For years, Hezbollah and Iran have claimed that
their weapons exist to defend Lebanon from external threats, foreign
conspiracies, Israel, and “takfiri” forces. If a Syrian force, especially one
associated with Ahmed al-Sharaa’s past, were to enter Lebanon under American
blessing and in coordination, direct or indirect, with Israeli military
pressure, Hezbollah would receive the greatest propaganda gift imaginable. It
would no longer need to justify its arsenal through abstraction. It would point
to a Syrian incursion and say: this is why we kept our weapons.
That is the fatal flaw in Barrack’s thinking. He may imagine that Syria can be
used as a tool to pressure Hezbollah. In reality, such a move would transform
Hezbollah’s weapons from an illegal militia arsenal into what many frightened
Lebanese might perceive as a shield against foreign intervention. Even those of
us who strongly oppose Hezbollah, Iranian domination, and the destruction of
Lebanese sovereignty cannot accept replacing one occupation with another.
Lebanon today suffers from the consequences of Iranian occupation through
Hezbollah’s military and political grip. But the answer to one occupation cannot
be to invite a Syrian one. A Syrian military role inside Lebanon, even if
presented as temporary, technical, or security-driven, would cross a red line.
No serious Lebanese state can accept it. No Lebanese official who claims to
defend sovereignty can remain silent before it.
There is a major difference between Syria securing its own territory and Syria
entering Lebanon. If Damascus wants to prevent Iranian-backed militias from
moving along the Syrian-Lebanese border, that is its responsibility. If it wants
to control its side of the frontier, stop smuggling, and prevent the use of
Syrian territory as a corridor for armed groups, no Lebanese patriot should
object. That would be border security. But joining a wider campaign against
Hezbollah inside Lebanon is something else entirely. That would be intervention.
And intervention would ignite the very conflict Washington claims it wants to
contain.
The proposal is also unwise for Syria itself. Al-Sharaa’s government has immense
internal priorities: rebuilding institutions, managing relations with the Kurds,
calming sectarian tensions, addressing the Druze file, restoring basic services,
and convincing Arab states that Syria can become stable again. Why would
Damascus risk all of that by entering Lebanon’s most explosive conflict? Why
would it jeopardize its emerging relationship with Beirut by becoming a military
instrument in a war that could easily expand beyond anyone’s control?
Nor is it likely that Arab states investing politically or economically in
Syria’s rehabilitation would welcome such adventurism. Saudi Arabia, the UAE,
Jordan, and others have an interest in stability, reconstruction, and containing
chaos. They do not have an interest in seeing Syria dragged back into Lebanon
through the back door. That would not rehabilitate Damascus. It would revive the
worst memories of Syrian power in Lebanon.
Most dangerously, this kind of thinking could sabotage diplomatic efforts
already underway. If Lebanon is being encouraged to negotiate security
arrangements, reduce tensions, and eventually address the question of war and
peace, how can those efforts survive while Washington entertains the idea of a
Syrian role in a military campaign on Lebanese soil? You cannot ask Lebanon to
act like a sovereign state in negotiations while treating it as a battlefield in
policy planning.
The United States should be careful. If President Trump’s comments reflect
Barrack’s influence more than a coherent American strategy, then Secretary Marco
Rubio and the formal institutions of American diplomacy must correct the course.
Lebanon does not need another mandate, another tutor, or another regional army
deciding its future. It needs the restoration of state authority, the
disarmament of all militias through a Lebanese framework, and international
support that strengthens sovereignty rather than bypassing it.
The road to weakening Hezbollah does not pass through Syrian boots in Lebanon.
It passes through rebuilding the Lebanese state, protecting its institutions,
supporting its army, and refusing to legitimize any foreign armed role on its
territory – Iranian, Syrian, Israeli, or otherwise.
Barrack’s suggestion is not bold. It is dangerous. It is not creative diplomacy.
It is a return to old colonial habits: drawing maps in Washington, assigning
roles to regional actors, and assuming that smaller countries must absorb the
consequences.
Lebanon has already lived through that experiment. It should not be forced to
live through it again.
Fear’ of the Bad Has Led Lebanon to the Worse
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
The new era, symbolized by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam,
arrived with an agenda unlike anything Lebanon has known for more than a quarter
of a century. The era of the catastrophic “people, army, and resistance” trilogy
has ended. The Iranian regime, through its local proxy, forcibly dragging
Lebanon into the Gaza “support war” has drawn the contours of this agenda: the
legitimate authorities must monopolize “violence,” thereby restoring its status
as the sole reference point, and with it restoring the state capable of
protecting its people and its land.
The “Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities” between the Israeli enemy and
Hezbollah carried, in its preamble, the features of this agenda, which is based
on disarming all illegitimate weapons throughout Lebanon and restricting arms to
six legitimate bodies: the army, the Internal Security Forces, General Security,
State Security, customs, and municipal police. For the record, the presidential
oath address was defined by this very objective, and it was then enshrined in
the government’s ministerial statement. It is on this statement’s basis, the
government gained confidence, even from the “Shiite duo” that is represented in
the cabinet and parliament.
It goes without saying that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was the negotiating
party, and Naim Qassem approved this.
The Lebanese president said that 2025 is the year of ridding the country of
illegitimate arms and ending the era of turning Lebanon into an open arena
serving the interests of others. However, developments generated fearmongering
about civil war, as Hezbollah disavowed the agreement, refused to hand over its
weapons to the army, and threatened strife. Accounts began to emerge about its
rebuilding of its capabilities, its “overcoming” of the Israeli breaches in its
ranks, and its readiness to confront Israel “at the appropriate time.”
Lebanon does not have the luxury of time amid the criminal displacement of
hundreds of thousands of southerners, the transformation of buildings into
ashes, and Israel’s threat to establish a security belt that would guarantee
what it calls “forward defense.” Despite their historic decision to restrict
weapons to the state on August 5, the authorities delayed using the power of
legitimacy against illegitimate forces and forces of foreign interference. They
were late in discovering the influx of members of the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps members into Lebanon, which was facilitated by the decision of the
Najib Mikati government to allow Iranians to enter without a prior visa.
They also dragged their feet in implementing their decisions on
disarmament, in fulfillment of the Taif Agreement, the constitution, and the
ministerial statement. No normal state can accept a parallel military force -
and bear in mind, Hezbollah is an integral part of Iran’s military and security
apparatus. This means that its existence is a clear assault on the Lebanese
state, as the late minister Mohammad Chatah put it.
For months, the defeated faction frightened the authorities from taking its
weapons. For a time, a state of terror arose at the mere thought of using the
power and arms of legitimacy. This fearmongering about the bad led the country
to worse when the IRGC dragged Lebanon into Iran’s “support war” on March 2.
Then came the decisions banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities,
and the decisions to expel Iranian advisers, some of whom were found to possess
forged Lebanese passports.
After “Black Wednesday” on April 8, came the decisions to make Beirut a safe
city free of illegitimate weapons. A “disarmed Beirut” was supposed to be the
most important card in the hands of Lebanese negotiators when US President
Donald Trump initiated Lebanese-Israeli negotiations with American partnership.
But hesitation in its implementation took precedence over everything else.
Disregarding smear campaigns and accusations of treason, slander, the
negotiations - despite the catastrophe inflicted on Lebanon, and on the south in
particular - managed to neutralize Beirut, infrastructure, and the southern
suburbs. It became clear that the “tripartite statement,” since it is a
translation of the “catastrophe of the two support wars” that the “party of
Iranian weapons” denies and refuses to acknowledge, was the best agreement
possible. It affirms the United States’ support for Lebanon’s territorial
integrity. This will undermine Israel’s pursuit of perpetual occupation in the
south.
Meanwhile, the move toward “pilot zones” that expand successively and from which
the Israeli enemy would withdraw so that the army could take over and “clean” of
the weapons and infrastructure of the “Lebanese Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corp,” was rejected by the IRGC and then by Naim Qassem. This rejection is a
rejection of the return of the state to exercising authority, thereby restoring
its role and responsibility as the exclusive decider of security and sovereign
questions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in crisis, but he was rescued by
Qassem’s rejection of the ceasefire, giving Israel the pretexts to maintain its
destructive approach, move the “yellow line” toward the western Bekaa, and begin
to encircle the cities of Nabatieh and Tyre. This comes after the two cities
issued an appeal to make them open cities and restrict weapons to the state.
This is the clearest rejection yet by Shiite elites of the nonsense espoused the
“party of Iranian weapons,” and a condemnation of its claims of “resistance,”
while the Israeli enemy exterminates land and people, and bulldozing reaches all
urban areas to sever people’s connection to their land.
Hezbollah, acting on behalf of its operators, wants a ceasefire to be announced
in Islamabad; in other words, it wants a deal that perpetuates its illegitimate
weapons, leaving Lebanon between hammer and anvil: Israeli occupation of
Lebanon's land, and Iranian confiscation of Lebanon's decision-making. It is an
approach that brings together forces harmed by the rise of the national state
project. They are betting on the IRGC hindering Lebanon’s path toward a safe
future, complete sovereignty, and an end to the era of impunity. But whatever
the obstacles - and they are real and serious - the old order has changed.
Reading Lebanon’s Reality Free of Illusions
Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
Anyone familiar with the Lebanese question understood that Iran’s Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC) and the “party of the axis” in Lebanon would both reject the
latest Lebanese-Israeli-American joint statement and describe it in the ugliest
terms.
Behind the thick dust that has enveloped Lebanon’s immensely complex issues for
more than 40 years, obscuring vision with a vast mass of slogans and positions,
one must grasp the essence and purpose of the “party of the axis” established in
1982 by the Khomeinist revolution in the “Land of the Cedars”.
There is a degree of contempt for reason and disdain for memory in contemporary
Lebanon, and a degree of cunning, camouflage, and manipulation that is hard to
bear. The overwhelming prioritization of petty interests and base personal aims
over the national interest among the vast majority of Lebanon’s political and
financial class fully explains the abyss into which this country has descended
and settled.
For decades, Lebanon was like a slowly sinking ship, while the greater part of
those in charge of it strove to plunder its contents with unmatched speed,
eagerness, and skill, without mercy or remorse.
And there was the “party of the axis.”
Yet this party was not truly a new phenomenon. Since the emergence of the
Lebanese entity 165 years ago until today, its trajectory can only be understood
through one equation: the constant struggle between the Lebanese project and the
regional project in Lebanon. The Lebanese project has remained the same over
time. The regional project, meanwhile, moved from the Ottoman to the Faisalite
Syrian, to the Baathist unionist, to the Syrian nationalist, to the
Nasserist-Arafatist, to the Assadist Syrian, and finally to the Iranian
Khomeinist project under the banner of Velayet e-faqih.
Before Israel’s establishment in 1948, regionalist projects in Lebanon raised
the banner of unity against the Lebanist tendency. Since Israel’s establishment,
the dominant slogan has been the liberation of Palestine starting from southern
Lebanon.
The uncompromising struggle remained the same: an uncompromising struggle
between regional projects and the state representing the Lebanese project, and
it paints the same picture of the impossibility of reconciling the “party of the
axis” with the Lebanese state.
What distinguished the Assadist Baath Party and the Iranian “party of the axis”
from earlier regional projects was that they managed to dominate the Lebanese
state and its institutions for years, leading each of them to believe that they
had definitively laid their hand on this state. Who expected the Syrian regime
to collapse and withdraw from Lebanon in that way in 2005? Who expected the
“party of the axis” to now enter into this open conflict with the Lebanese
state, whose leadership has decided to disarm it, outlawed its armed
organization, declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, then settled
the matter that no one negotiates on Lebanon’s behalf except itself, and then
entered into direct political and military negotiations with Israel under
American sponsorship, culminating in the latest joint statement?
Despite the change in circumstances and conditions, this is the same elusive
Lebanon. It is indomitable by virtue of its geographical and historical,
political, social, cultural, and spiritual pluralism; by virtue of its
deep-rooted and unique civilizational and everyday achievements in the Levant;
by virtue of its broad and distinguished human presence overseas; and by virtue
of its permanent place at the heart of modernity and the world. These are
invisible but highly important sources of strength, which those who possess only
the one-sided power of arms fail to see or grasp, and which they are unable to
control.
What comes next? There is no glimmer of hope for convergence between the Iranian
leadership in Tehran and the “party of the axis” in Lebanon, on the one hand,
and the government carrying the Lebanese project, on the other. The party and
the state are two absolutely irreconcilable entities.
What the party wants from the state is one of two things: either complete
domination or paralysis. In the party’s eyes, no shift is of any significance
unless it strengthens Iranian influence in Lebanon. Even the unconditional
Israeli withdrawal in 2000 mattered to the party only because in its eyes, this
handed the south not to the Lebanese state, but to the axis, militarily and
politically. And if the state is able now or tomorrow to achieve the dream of a
full Israeli withdrawal from the south, reconstruction, and economic revival,
the party will be completely rejected if they lead to entrenching the presence
of this state, rather than the axis, in the south.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 09-10 June/2026
Waves of US Strikes on Iran in Response to Apache Downing
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 10, 2026
The confrontation between the United States and Iran entered a new phase of
escalation after Iranian media reported hearing successive explosions in several
areas in the south of the country early Wednesday morning. This coincided with a
US official confirming the start of a "third wave" of US airstrikes on Iranian
targets in response to Iran's downing of a US helicopter. US Central Command (CENTCOM)
later announced the end of the military operation it launched in response to the
downing of the US Apache helicopter. In a statement, it said its forces had
completed the strikes, which were carried out at the direction of President
Donald Trump as part of what it described as "self-defense." CENTCOM confirmed
that the operation was in response to the attack that targeted the US helicopter
the previous day, and that "our strikes targeted Iranian ground stations and
radars near the Strait of Hormuz." Iranian media outlets, citing local sources,
reported hearing several explosions in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan
province, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz. The Mehr News Agency reported a
new explosion in the coastal area of Sirik, indicating that the US airstrikes
targeted water infrastructure in Sirik. The agency also reported explosions in
Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, located at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Local reports indicated that successive explosions continued to be heard in the
area, as well as in the Ahvaz region.
A Third Wave
Simultaneously, Axios quoted a US official as saying that a third wave of US
airstrikes against Iran had already begun. This is the latest development since
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had carried out what it described as
"defensive" strikes in response to the downing of a US Apache helicopter over
the Strait of Hormuz. Signs of an escalation in operations began to emerge when
Iranian media reported hearing explosions in Hormozgan province earlier on
Tuesday evening. Iranian television later confirmed that Qeshm Island had been
attacked and that six explosions had been heard there. Iranian television also
reported that the Sirik area had been hit by a projectile, while subsequent
reports indicated renewed strikes in several coastal areas, including Jask,
Qeshm, and Sirik.
Although official media had previously reported a return to calm on the southern
coast, the new explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm suggest an expansion
of military operations and a continuation of US strikes in the region.
Washington confirmed that its strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems and
radars around the Strait of Hormuz. US officials described the operation as a
"warning" to Tehran, while simultaneously asserting that the attacks would not
affect the ongoing negotiations between the two countries. Iran, for its part,
emphasized that it would not leave the attacks unanswered. Foreign Minister
Abbas Araqchi stated that his country "will not let any attack go unanswered,"
adding that the United States had chosen to test Iran's resolve despite what he
described as the losses it had suffered on the battlefield. Araqchi also
addressed a direct message to US forces, saying, "Leave our region if you want
to be safe." Hours later, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced
attacks targeting US bases in the region, marking the first official declaration
of an Iranian military response. Reuters reported that the IRGC had attacked the
US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones in retaliation for the US attacks on
southern Iran. The Tasnim news agency also reported that Iranian forces had
destroyed a US drone in Bushehr province.
Developments Awaited
As the US strikes entered a new phase and explosions continued in southern Iran,
attention turned to the nature of the potential Iranian response, amid fears of
a wider confrontation in the Gulf region. Despite US officials' assurances that
negotiations with Tehran were still ongoing and that the chances of reaching an
agreement remained high, the rapidly evolving situation on the ground presents
the diplomatic process with one of its most difficult tests since talks between
the two sides began.
Trump says Iran shot down
Apache in Strait of Hormuz, vows US response
Al Arabiya English/09 June ,2026
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran had shot down an Apache
helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, which the US military said had crashed on
Monday night. “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night
the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while
patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social
platform. He said the two pilots involved were safe and uninjured.
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he
added. In response, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said foreign forces
in proximity to Iranian territory were at “constant risk on account of their own
human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” asking
them to leave. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them (foreign forces) to
leave,” he said in a post on X.
“We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too.”
Trump says US 'must' respond after Iran downs Apache
helicopter
Agence France Presse
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a U.S. military helicopter was
shot down by Iran and that the United States "must" respond. The Apache
helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot
down by Iran during the Middle East war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter
plane in April. The downing of the helicopter and the prospect of a U.S.
response pose the latest in a series of threats to a shaky ceasefire that has
been in place since April 8, as the United States and Iran struggle to negotiate
an end to the war. In a statement, Trump said he had been informed "that last
night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters
while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz." While the crew members were
uninjured, "the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," the
U.S. president said.
The Apache is an attack helicopter with a crew of two that is armed with a 30mm
chain gun and can carry various other weapons including Hellfire missiles. U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle
East, said earlier that two Apache crew members "were rescued by American forces
after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.""The Soldiers were
safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,"
CENTCOM said in a post on X, while the command's spokesperson said a naval
surface drone helped rescue the downed helicopter's crew. The United States has
lost a number of aircraft during the war against Iran, which began with a
US-Israeli attack on February 28. The U.S F-15 shot down in April was hit by a
shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile, with its two-person crew ejecting and
landing in different areas inside Iran. They were rescued in a major, high-risk
U.S. operation, during which an A-10 ground attack aircraft was damaged by
Iranian fire to the extent that its pilot determined that the aircraft could not
land and ultimately ejected after flying back to friendly territory.
In March, a U.S. KC‑135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western
Iraq, killing all six crew members. The U.S. military said the incident was not
caused by hostile fire.And earlier in the war, Kuwaiti forces mistakenly downed
three American F-15E fighters, but all six crew members were able to eject.
Drone Boat Rescued Two US Aviators After Their Army
Helicopter Went Down Near Hormuz Strait
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
A drone boat rescued the crew of a US Army attack helicopter that crashed early
Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that Iran has
effectively closed during the war, a US military official said. A 24-foot
unmanned boat located the two aviators and brought them to shore after they
spent about two hours in the water, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US
Central Command. Military officials have not said what caused the Apache
helicopter to go down. A military news release on the incident said it was under
investigation. The crash occurred with the Middle East still reeling after Iran
and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the
straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday
the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air defense
units. Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has
shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made
many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn
the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as
Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the
Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. US President Donald Trump acknowledged the crash
while speaking to journalists at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New
York after watching the NBA Finals on Monday night. “The pilots are fine. Yeah,”
Trump said. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the
pilots are fine.” The crash happened about 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday off the
coast of Oman while the helicopter was on a patrol, the US military's Central
Command said. AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American
military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers,
seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by
the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones. The New York Times first
reported on the crash.
Trump insists an Iran deal is coming
Trump also expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.
“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days," Trump said.
But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In
the two months since the US and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has
repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.
“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the
president said. “If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want,
and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left
whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”
He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be
killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.” Mediators, led predominantly by
Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However,
both Iran and the US have taken hard-line positions.
The US wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which
is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened
during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief
from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final
agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump. Before Trump’s comments on
negotiations, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Monday
that Trump’s remarks so far on a possible deal “contradicted the agreed-upon
sections," showing that the US is "neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”
The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian
priority as well. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to
Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim
Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-US talks. Haykal's visit comes as
Lebanon's government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains
unable to disarm the group. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking
Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon's government
should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.
Trump says in ‘final throes’ of reaching Middle East peace
deal
AFP/09 June ,2026
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that negotiators were in the “final
throes” of talks for a peace deal in the Middle East, after Iran and Israel
halted fresh hostilities that threatened to reignite the months-long war. Trump
has repeatedly said that a peace agreement with Tehran is imminent, but
diplomacy has stalled and the two sides have traded fire despite a ceasefire in
place since April 8. Iran and Israel “were going back
and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we’re in the final
throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” the US leader told reporters on
his return from an NBA Finals game.Asked whether it would be matter of days or
weeks, he said it would take “two or three days.”Tehran has repeatedly stated
any deal should include Lebanon -- where Israel has been pressing its war with
Iran-backed Hezbollah -- and fired missiles at Israel on Sunday.
That prompted Israeli retaliation, despite US pressure for restraint. Iran fired
another salvo before announcing it was ceasing military action, and hours later
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the “fire on that front
is contained.”Tehran said on Monday it would attack again if Israel persisted
with its strikes in Lebanon, while Netanyahu warned in turn that should Iran
“make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full
force.”Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted that the campaign
in Lebanon would carry on regardless and said Israel would strike the
Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut in retaliation for each attack on
northern Israel by the militant group. Trump, who has reportedly grown
increasingly exasperated with Netanyahu, had earlier urged both sides to stop
“shooting” and said that “final negotiations” towards peace would proceed
“subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”The Israeli premier,
though, said in a televised statement he had told Trump that “Israel has a full
right to self-defense, and we are exercising it as required.”According to Axios,
Israel was preparing for a major wave of strikes on Iran before Trump personally
called Netanyahu and urged him to stop. “I said,
‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,’” Trump told
Axios. US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on
Monday that while the United States and Israel shared interests, their positions
did not always align. “The Israelis and the United States, we have a lot of
shared interests,” Vance said. “But we also have some situations where our
interests diverge.”
Deadly strikes in Lebanon
Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military,
while Israel struck military sites in the Islamic Republic. No casualties were
reported in either Iran or Israel following the exchange.
But violence continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli strikes killed
at least 14 people on Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The
Israeli military said projectiles had been launched towards troops operating in
southern Lebanon, with some intercepted and another landing near soldiers
without causing casualties. It later said a “suspicious aerial target” from
Yemen had also been intercepted.
Calm in Tehran
Despite fears of renewed conflict, Tehran appeared relatively calm on Monday,
with the city’s cafe terraces crowded. Traffic was lighter than usual for a
weekday and queues formed at petrol stations. Maryam,
41, an accountant, described “a sense of uncertainty and confusion.”“You don’t
know if there’s going to be a war, nor do you know if the peace agreement will
last,” she said.In Israel’s Tel Aviv, meanwhile, residents again headed to
shelters as sirens sounded. “I hope it will be short, but you can never know,”
said Jonathan Ariel, 30. “Last time we thought it would be short and then it was
a month,” he said. Iranian media reported early Tuesday that Tehran’s
international airport -- closed during the missile exchanges -- had reopened,
allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land. The conflict
has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington
has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Oil prices were down Tuesday after
spiking more than five percent early the previous day, before paring their
gains.
Still ‘at the negotiating table’
The exchange of fire between Iran and Israel came at a critical moment for
diplomatic efforts to end the conflict involving mediator Pakistan. Iranian
foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei warned at a press conference in Tehran
on Monday that diplomacy was continuing but could be affected by the fighting.
As he was speaking at the foreign ministry, a huge explosion shook the building,
followed by repeated explosions believed to be from air defence systems, an AFP
reporter said. Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi
visited Tehran to deliver what he said was a “special letter” to Iran’s supreme
leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Iranian state television.
He has since returned to Pakistan, an official Pakistani source said on
Monday.Iranian President Masoud Pezehskian posted on X that Tehran was still “at
the negotiating table.”
Trump: Netanyahu Didn't Defy Me... If I Ask Him to Do
Something, He Does It
Washington/Middle East/June 9, 2026
US President Donald Trump denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
had defied his directives regarding the recent strikes targeting Iran, asserting
that the missiles had already been launched when he spoke with him by phone,
urging him not to retaliate against the Iranian strikes. In a brief phone
interview with the BBC on Monday, Trump responded to a question about whether he
believed Netanyahu had defied him by launching the strikes on Iran on Sunday,
saying that the Israeli prime minister had not disobeyed his orders, explaining
that the strikes were already underway before the call. He added, "If I ask him
to do something, he does it."Iran and Israel halted their escalating war on
Monday after their first direct exchange of strikes since the April ceasefire,
as the US president intensified his efforts to prevent the confrontation from
spiraling into a wider war that could jeopardize the ongoing negotiations. Iran
launched three waves of missiles, which Israel said it intercepted completely.
The Israeli military then bombed military targets, air defense installations,
and a petrochemical complex in southwestern Iran. In an interview published by
the Axios news website on Monday, Trump said he had warned Netanyahu that he
might find himself fighting alone if he resumed war with Iran.
Later, Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching an
agreement with Iran, despite acknowledging that the attack "doesn't help" the
negotiations. Trump also asserted that Netanyahu "will have no choice" but to
accept any understanding reached between Washington and Tehran. Israel's
ambassador to the United States, Yehiel Leiter, denied reports that Trump had
pressured Netanyahu, telling Fox News that their discussions were cooperative
and accusing journalists of exaggerating a misleading narrative. He added, "They
have a deep friendship that spans nearly 40 years. Sometimes even close friends
disagree, and tensions can rise in the room and during conversations."
Iran state media says two military personnel killed in
Israeli strikes on Monday
Al Arabiya English/09 June ,2026
Iranian state television on Tuesday said at least two members of the army’s air
defense force were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier in the Middle East
war’s latest exchange of fire, which both sides said they have halted. “These
esteemed martyrs of the Army Air Defense Force attained martyrdom while carrying
out their mission of defending the country’s skies during yesterday’s (Monday)
aggression by the Zionist regime,” state television said. Israel and Iran
exchanged attacks on Monday for the first time since a ceasefire in the Middle
East war took effect two months ago, despite US President Donald Trump calling
for restraint. Both countries said later on Monday that they were halting
attacks. Iran and Israel “were going back and forth and now they both agreed
through me to stop and we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very
good deal,” Trump told reporters on his return from an NBA Finals game early
Tuesday.With AFP
US Energy Secretary Says Ship Traffic Through Strait of
Hormuz Rising 'Very Meaningfully'
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic through the
Strait of Hormuz is rising "very meaningfully" as the conflict with Iran
continues. "I would say rising very meaningfully," Wright said when asked how
ship traffic is flowing through the Strait compared to a week or two ago.
Wright made the remarks during an Atlantic Council conference and added that
it would take many months to get back to normal flows of energy once the war is
over. Vessel movements on the strait have been largely blocked since US and
Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, interrupting around 20% of global
oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. But some vessels have since begun
transiting the narrow waterway bordering Iran, often with transponders turned
off and under cover of darkness. Disruptions to normal flows have triggered a
surge in global energy prices, upending economies around the world and creating
a political vulnerability for US President Donald Trump and his Republican party
ahead of midterm elections in November. Washington has been pressing for a peace
deal with Tehran that would include a full reopening of the strait.
France Bans Israeli Minister Smotrich in Coordinated
Sanctions Push
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
France Tuesday banned Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from
entering the country, the French foreign minister said, as part of coordinated
sanctions with other countries over settler violence against Palestinians.
France's sanctions were in coordination with Britain, Canada, Australia, Norway
and New Zealand targeting "those responsible for the escalation of settlement
activity and violence in the West Bank", French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel
Barrot said on X. He said Smotrich "actively promotes
the annexation of the West Bank, which he openly claims, the creation of new
settlements in the West Bank, the re-colonization of Gaza, the economic collapse
of the Palestinian Authority and its harmful consequences for the Palestinian
population". "This is a policy that the overwhelming
majority of the international community, firmly committed to the two-state
solution, cannot accept," Barrot wrote on X. Smotrich is the second member of
the Israeli government to be forbidden from entering France in recent months,
after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was barred on May 23 for
mocking activists detained by Israeli soldiers from a Gaza-bound flotilla
carrying aid for the Palestinian territory. France also banned four leaders of
settler organizations and 21 violent settlers.
'Scant accountability' -
Norway said it would adopt the same sanctions as those announced by the European
Union on May 28, as well as impose an entry ban targeting "20 violent settlers",
without naming them.Along with sanctions against "networks financing and
enabling settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank", the United
Kingdom also urged British businesses and citizens to refrain from conducting
financial activities in Israeli settlements deemed illegal under international
law. "We believe that violent settler groups should
not be profiting from the land that they have seized from Palestinians," Foreign
Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament.The Israeli "government has condemned
some settler violence, but that rings hollow when there is scant
accountability", she added.Israel's foreign ministry quickly condemned the
sanctions as "disgraceful"."The real essence of these steps is the attempt to
impose a political stance regarding the right of Jews to settle in the Land of
Israel and concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- camouflaged as
measures against violence," ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said.
- Banned ministers -
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich had already been banned by the five other countries in
June last year, over accusations of inciting violence against Palestinians,
particularly in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli
government at the time condemned the sanctions as "scandalous". Other countries
have also banned the ministers, including Spain, Slovenia and most recently
Ireland. Firebrand Ben-Gvir became a minister in 2022,
after an alliance with the far-right Religious Zionist party of Smotrich came
third in legislative elections. Together, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich form a
cornerstone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition
government. Since the war in Gaza broke out in October
2023 with Palestinian group Hamas's attack on Israel, near-daily violence has
also rocked the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,080 Palestinians
since then, including both fighters and civilians, according to an AFP tally
based on Palestinian health ministry data.Official Israeli figures show that at
least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian
attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period. A United
Nations-mandated inquiry on Tuesday said Palestinian civilians are caught
between "mass atrocities" of Israeli forces, settlers and the brutal rule of
Hamas in war-torn Gaza.
Rival Palestinian Factions Discuss Gaza Disarmament
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 09/2026
Members of Palestinian factions including Hamas agreed in principle for Gaza's
armed groups to hand over parts of their arsenals to a yet-to-be-created, ad hoc
Palestinian entity during talks in Cairo, Palestinian sources told AFP on
Tuesday. Such a proposal has almost no chance of being accepted by Israel, which
demands a complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, starting with Palestinian
movement Hamas. Several of those who attended the Cairo talks that began on
Saturday expressed hope the proposal would break a months-long deadlock on
negotiations over Gaza's future. The talks are being attended by most major
factions, including Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad, but not the Fatah party
that dominates the Palestinian Authority. On Tuesday,
the factions discussed the details of the weapons handover to a new entity with
representation from various Palestinian political currents, according to a
source close to negotiations. They rejected the idea
of a full disarmament, as demanded by Israel, several sources who asked for
anonymity said."Egypt and the mediators are working to formulate a new,
acceptable formula that takes into account the factions' agreement," one of the
participants told AFP.
Another Palestinian taking part in the talks told AFP that Egyptian and Qatari
mediators welcomed this approach. "Hamas is linking the weapons question to a
full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and to Gaza's reconstruction," one Palestinian
political official said. Senior Hamas official Taher
al-Nunu told AFP that recent days had brought "significant progress", adding
that the factions aimed to implement US President Donald Trump's peace plan for
Gaza. Israeli strikes have continued at an almost
daily pace despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025 after two years of
war, under Trump's phased peace plan. Hamas and Israel blame each other for the
current impasse, each accusing the other almost daily of violating the
ceasefire. Hamas accuses Israel of failing to honor
its commitments, particularly on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, while
Israel insists on the complete disarmament of the movement before any further
implementation of the plan. Hamas has repeatedly stated that it is not opposed
to handing over some of its arsenal, but only as part of a Palestinian political
process. Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal also suggested a weapons "freeze" or
"storage", which Israel rejected.
Pope Leo XIV met Bad Bunny in Madrid: Vatican
AFP/09 June ,2026: 07:44 PM GST
Pope Leo XIV held a surprise meeting with Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny at
Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium on Monday, the Vatican said on Tuesday.“Yes... I
confirm it. He (Bad Bunny) was with his family and some other people,” and Leo
“greeted them briefly before leaving the stadium,” Vatican spokesman Matteo
Bruni told reporters.
A very online Israeli army spokesman is the face of war for
millions of Arabs
Associated Press
For more than two years, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza and Lebanon
have lived in dread of Avichay Adraee's next social media post. Israel's
Arabic-language military spokesman has been the animated face of its campaigns
and the main source of warnings ahead of strikes and major offensives. That has
made him one of the most recognizable Israelis in the Arab world and a focus of
fury as well as some fascination. In social media videos shared to his 2.5
million followers across platforms, the colonel appears in military fatigues,
gesticulating as he delivers official statements and mocks Israel's enemies,
often using satire or pop culture references, all in fluent Arabic.
In the wars sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, his social media
accounts have carried warnings for civilians to leave — sometimes at a moment's
notice — areas shaded in red on maps of Gaza and Lebanon. Millions have paid
heed, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in squalid tent camps. Adraee,
who is retiring this year, takes pride in his work. Asked to respond to the fact
that many associate him with death and displacement, he said he has helped Arabs
to better understand Israel's military operations. "Because of these evacuation
orders, many millions were saved," he told The Associated Press. "There's no
other army in the world that acts this way."
The 'face of evil' for many Palestinians and Lebanese
Israel's offensive in Gaza killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and
displaced most of the population of some 2 million, often multiple times, before
a fragile ceasefire took hold in October. Its latest war with the Iran-backed
Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed some 3,500 people and displaced over 1.2
million. Both campaigns have drawn allegations of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, which Israel has adamantly denied, often through spokespeople like
Adraee. The grim warnings also have made him something of a celebrity. In
Lebanon, a look-alike delivery driver posts satirical videos and pranks
unsuspecting residents, showing the fear Adraee inspires.
"Avichay Adraee is the face of evil, to me and to the people of Gaza,"
said Ayman Ahmad, a resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza who has been
displaced twice during the war. Few people in Gaza had heard of Adraee before
the war, he said, but now everyone closely monitors his social media
accounts."Once we see a new post from him, we know that a disaster is about to
happen," he said.
Adraee's family has deep roots in the region
Adraee, 43, grew up in the mixed Jewish and Arab city of Haifa in northern
Israel. His father's family is part of the Jewish community that lived in the
area for generations before Israel's establishment in 1948. His mother's family
came to Israel from Iraq, among hundreds of thousands of Jews from centuries-old
communities across the Middle East who emigrated to Israel to escape violence
and persecution. Adraee said he loved watching Egyptian soap operas on Israeli
television as a kid and that studying Arabic was "love at first sight." He
picked up some Arabic at home before studying the language in school and during
a stint in military intelligence. "My ability to speak and absorb Arabic is
connected to my roots," he said. "My grandmother and father were very proud when
they saw me on TV speaking in Arabic."
From talking head to social media influencer
Adraee became the military's first Arabic-language spokesperson in 2005, doing
interviews with TV outlets, including regular appearances on the increasingly
influential Al Jazeera. He said 2011 marked a turning point with the rise of
social media, which was used to great effect during the Arab Spring uprisings
that year. "People know me, we've been through so many wars," he said. "But the
revolution of social networks in 2011 allowed us to lean on the persona of
Avichay."Adraee wants his videos to go viral, leaning on the casual nature of
social media to get his message across.
The military's claim to have found Hamas infrastructure under a luxury hotel in
Gaza made little impact, but Adraee said his satirical video of a Hamas leader
leaving a Trip Advisor review for the tunnels was widely shared. He has sent
birthday messages to singers and holiday greetings to Arab influencers, even
exchanging public messages with Lebanese journalists who work for
Hezbollah-linked outlets. "We want people to be exposed to the really important
and serious messages, the information we're trying to convince them of, but if
you want them to remember you, you have to be more creative," he said, adding
that social media allowed him to "talk directly to the people, above the heads
of the government."
A race to draw attention to war narratives
Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of
Economics who was born in Lebanon, said Adraee's posts are "dreaded and feared
because they really carry life and death implications for hundreds of thousands
of people." Still, "you have some people basically who are fascinated by his
personality because he's now almost an official influencer for Israel," he said,
adding that Israel's military has spokespeople in several languages, but only
Adraee is famous enough to be known by his first name. Gerges said it's part of
a wider trend in which official spokespeople try to make their messages go
viral. The Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida was widely known for delivering fiery
statements, sometimes cut with footage of attacks or Israeli hostages, before he
was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas and Hezbollah have released videos
showing their attacks, cut with music and graphics. Supporters of Iran's
government have released AI-generated music videos with Lego characters mocking
U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has released its own videos
celebrating strikes on Iran, featuring video game screenshots and movie clips.
Accusations of incitement after the killing of journalists
It's not unusual for military spokespeople to have adversarial, if professional,
relations with reporters. But Adraee has been accused of justifying the killing
of some journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists says there is a
"repeated pattern" in which Adraee "publicly labels Palestinian and Lebanese
journalists as militants or terrorists — often without presenting verifiable
evidence — before or after they are killed in Israeli strikes." After a strike
in March killed three journalists in Lebanon, Adraee's account published a photo
of one of them, Ali Shoeib, in military fatigues. The image was later determined
to be computer generated. Adraee said it was a mistake not to label the photo as
"illustrative," but insisted Shoeib was a known Hezbollah operative who spied on
Israeli positions while working as a reporter for a Hezbollah-linked outlet.
Adraee presented no evidence he was involved in fighting. Israel says it does
not target journalists.At least 207 journalists have been killed in Gaza and 16
in Lebanon since 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Someone you can reach on Instagram
After 20 years in the role, Adraee is retiring and will be replaced by Lt. Col.
Ella Waweya, the military's highest-ranking Muslim woman. Last month, Adraee
received one of the strangest messages of his long career. A teenager in a
Beirut suburb reached out on Instagram and told Adraee that her school was
hiding weapons. Israel regularly bombs buildings it says are used by militants,
so the message prompted panic, vehement denials by school officials and a search
by the Lebanese military, which turned up nothing. It was later revealed the
girl was playing a joke with a friend and likely wanted to avoid going to class.
Adraee chalked up the whole situation as a win. "The
fact that the (Israeli military) spokesperson is someone you can write to on
Instagram, that's the whole story," he said.
on 09-10 June/2026
on 09 June/2026