English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  June 21/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
Matthew 11/25-30/:"‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 20-21 June/2026
Celebrating Fathers Day: A Biblical Perspective on Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice/Elias Bejjani/June 21/2026
These are enemies; they are neither brothers nor friends/Elias Bejjani/June 19/2026
Netanyahu the Leader, Trump the Businessman, and the Existential Struggle for the Future of Israel and Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/June 18/2026
Lebanese Army says soldier Jamil Nahal was killed in Israeli strike on south
Netanyahu and Katz order Israeli army to halt operations in Lebanon
Israeli war on Lebanon kills over 4,000 after Friday death toll rises to 83
Hezbollah says confronted Israeli forces' 'infiltration attempt' in south
Iran threatens to quit US talks if Israel doesn't stop bombing Lebanon
Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah
Israel unleashes deadly strikes across south Lebanon despite latest truce
Tyre marks Muharram holy month after destruction from Israel-Hezbollah war
Israeli Ambassador to the US: Iran is using Hezbollah to impose its conditions… Don't be fooled
Tehran: Attacks on Lebanon Violate Memorandum of Understanding; Our Delegation Heads to Switzerland
Hezbollah MP says group has 'full right' to confront Israeli attacks
A Message from Vance to Lebanese Christians
Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike
The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Lebanon/Dr. Nassif Hitti/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Jabal Amel... When the Landmarks Become a Vanishing Trace/Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Lebanese, Int’l Contacts Contain South Lebanon Security Deterioration/Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Portrait of an Expatriate: A Lebanese-American Story/Fadi P. Deek (Author) Format: Paperback
The Importance of the Ali Al-Tahir Site in the Ongoing Fighting/Colonel Charbel Barakat/June 21/2026
Lebanese, Int’l Contacts Contain South Lebanon Security Deterioration/Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
A message from Said Ghattas, Founder of Under the Cedar Tree to the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 20-21 June/2026
US-Iran technical talks to be held Sunday in Switzerland
US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open
Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again and Says its Negotiating Team with US is Heading to Switzerland
Pakistan Minister Arrives in Iran after Switzerland Talks Postponed
Trump: No Hormuz Transit Tolls After 60-Day Period Ends
Iranian delegation arrives in Switzerland ahead of US negotiations
Led by Qalibaf: Meet the Members of the Iranian Delegation Heading to Switzerland
Vance Departs for Switzerland to Participate in Talks with Iran
Vance: Iran Talks Progressing Well, My Trip to Switzerland Soon
Iran confirms its delegation is heading to Switzerland... Pakistan: "Negotiations tomorrow"
Sharif and Munir to Lead Pakistani Delegation to Swiss Negotiations
US Central Command: Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz Continues
The Revolutionary Guard announces the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and threatens further action.
Settling Scores and Accusations: Mojtaba Khamenei's Message on the "Understanding" with America Sparks Disputes in Iran
Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured
Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strikes Kill Five
Syria’s Grand Mufti Warns Against Acts that Could Fuel Strife

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 20-21 June/2026
'Deal'?: Iran's IRGC Regime and Terror Proxies Celebrate/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/20, 2026
What Comes After the Agreement?/Nabil Amr/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
US-Iran deal shifts the mood at France’s G7/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 20, 2026
What do we want?/Prince Turki Al-Faisal/Arab News/June 20, 2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 20-21 June/2026
Celebrating Fathers Day: A Biblical Perspective on Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice
Elias Bejjani/June 21/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/130787/
Today, 21 June/2026 Canada celebrates The Fathers' Day. As we gather to celebrate the importat family event, we are reminded of the pivotal role fathers play in our lives. Fathers, both in their presence and sacrifices, mirror the divine fatherhood of God Himself. This day is not merely about showering our fathers with gifts and words of appreciation but also about reflecting on our duties and obligations towards them, as underscored by biblical teachings.
The Bible provides profound insights into the importance of honoring our fathers. Ephesians 6:2-3 commands, "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise—"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." This directive is clear: honoring our fathers is not just a noble act but a divine injunction that brings blessings.
Furthermore, Proverbs 23:22 instructs us, "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old." These verses highlight that respect and obedience to our fathers are lifelong duties. They underscore the need to appreciate the wisdom and experience that our fathers impart, recognizing their efforts and sacrifices in nurturing us.
Fathers, in many ways, emulate God the Father, who is described in Psalm 103:13: "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." Just as God’s compassion and care are boundless, so too are the efforts of our earthly fathers. They toil and labor, often in silence, to provide for us, ensuring our well-being and success.
In honoring our fathers, we acknowledge the countless sacrifices they have made. From working long hours to provide for the family to making tough decisions for our betterment, fathers constantly put their children's needs before their own. This dedication is aptly captured in the Lebanese saying, "No one is dear to my heart more than my son, but the son of my son." It speaks to the enduring love and legacy that fathers build, emphasizing the generational impact of their devotion.
However, it is disheartening to see that not all children recognize or reciprocate this dedication. Some neglect their fathers, disregarding their wisdom and contributions. To such individuals, the biblical admonition in Proverbs 30:17 serves as a stern reminder: "The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures." This vivid imagery warns of the severe consequences of disrespect and neglect towards one’s parents.
As we celebrate Fathers' Day, let us remember that honoring our fathers is not limited to a single day of festivities. It is an ongoing commitment to show respect, provide care, and express gratitude for all they do. Let us strive to embody the principles of the Bible, ensuring that our fathers feel valued and appreciated every day of their lives.
In conclusion, Fathers' Day is a powerful reminder of the immense love and sacrifices our fathers have made for us. By honoring them, we not only fulfill our biblical duties but also strengthen the bonds of family and faith. Let us cherish our fathers, acknowledging their vital role in our lives and upholding the respect and honor they rightfully deserve.

These are enemies; they are neither brothers nor friends
Elias Bejjani/June 19/2026
Egypt is against peace between Lebanon and Israel, and its ambassador is marketing to maintain Hezbollah's arsenal. The Turks, Pakistanis, Qataris, Saudis, and behind them the infidel Mullahs, are required to get off our backs, clear out of our skies, and mind the tragedies and miseries of their own peoples and the affairs of their own countries

Netanyahu the Leader, Trump the Businessman, and the Existential Struggle for the Future of Israel and Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/June 18/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155371/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVkR_3bMZsI
There are moments in history when leaders are judged not by the deals they negotiate, the headlines they generate, or the popularity they enjoy, but by their willingness to confront existential threats and defend their nations against overwhelming odds. Such moments separate statesmen from politicians and patriots from opportunists.
This is why history is likely to remember Benjamin Netanyahu far more favorably than many of his critics imagine today.
Whether one agrees with all his policies or not, Netanyahu has dedicated his political life to a singular mission: ensuring the survival and security of the Jewish state in one of the most hostile and volatile regions on earth. He has led Israel while facing threats that most Western leaders can scarcely comprehend—threats not merely to borders or interests, but to the very existence of his nation.
For decades, Israel has lived under the shadow of organizations and regimes openly committed to its destruction. Iran's rulers have repeatedly called for the elimination of the Jewish state. Hezbollah has built an enormous missile arsenal on Israel's northern border. Hamas transformed Gaza into a launching pad for terrorism. Radical Islamist movements, both Sunni and Shiite, continue to view Israel's existence as unacceptable.
Unlike most Western leaders, Netanyahu has never had the luxury of treating these threats as theoretical. They are real, immediate, and deadly.
Donald Trump, by contrast, has approached international affairs primarily as a businessman and dealmaker. His instinct is to negotiate, compromise, and pursue agreements that can be presented as victories. Such an approach may work in business. It may even work in certain diplomatic disputes. But the Middle East is not a corporate boardroom.
The region's conflicts are shaped by history, ideology, religion, and deeply rooted strategic ambitions. The forces confronting Israel are not simply seeking better terms at the negotiating table. Many are motivated by ideological visions that leave little room for compromise.
Trump's greatest weakness in dealing with the Middle East has been his tendency to view every challenge through the lens of personal diplomacy and transactional politics. His admiration for dramatic agreements often blinds him to the long-term realities faced by America's allies. In the case of Israel, this misunderstanding becomes particularly dangerous.
A leader who sleeps safely thousands of miles away from hostile borders cannot fully appreciate what it means to govern a nation whose enemies openly discuss its destruction. Netanyahu does not enjoy that luxury. Every major decision he makes is measured against one fundamental question: Will Israel survive and remain secure?
That burden has shaped his leadership and explains why he has devoted so much effort to confronting Iran and its regional network of proxies.
Among those proxies, Hezbollah stands as perhaps the most dangerous.
Contrary to the mythology promoted by its supporters, Hezbollah has never been a genuinely Lebanese national resistance movement. From its inception, it was created, financed, armed, trained, and directed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its leaders have repeatedly proclaimed their allegiance to the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih and their loyalty to Iran's Supreme Leader. They have openly presented themselves as part of a transnational revolutionary project whose command center lies in Tehran rather than Beirut.
Hezbollah's weapons were not accumulated to strengthen Lebanese sovereignty. Its military infrastructure was built to advance Iran's strategic interests throughout the region. Its wars have repeatedly devastated Lebanon while expanding Tehran's influence. Its political power has weakened Lebanese institutions, obstructed the emergence of a strong sovereign state, and reduced Lebanon's ability to act independently in matters of war and peace.
Today, Hezbollah possesses military capabilities that exceed those of the Lebanese state itself. It maintains an independent armed force, controls strategic national decisions, and exercises enormous influence over Lebanon's political life. No country can claim full sovereignty while an armed organization loyal to a foreign power operates above the authority of the state.
This reality has created an extraordinary convergence of interests between Israel and millions of Lebanese citizens.
Both have suffered from Hezbollah's dominance.
Both have paid the price for Iran's regional ambitions.
Both seek a future in which Lebanon is governed by its constitutional institutions rather than by an armed organization serving foreign interests.
For decades, many Lebanese have dreamed of restoring their country's sovereignty, rebuilding its economy, reviving its democratic institutions, and ending the cycle of wars imposed upon it by forces beyond its control. Those aspirations are not incompatible with Israel's security interests. In many respects, they are complementary.
Yet too many policymakers in Washington and European capitals continue to misunderstand this reality. They speak of stability while tolerating the existence of a heavily armed Iranian proxy controlling much of Lebanon's national life. They urge restraint upon Israel while ignoring the source of the instability itself.
The struggle against Hezbollah is not merely another regional dispute. It is part of a broader contest between sovereignty and foreign domination, between legitimate state authority and militia rule, between national independence and ideological imperialism.
Policies that restrict Israel's ability to defend itself while allowing Hezbollah to remain entrenched and heavily armed ultimately prolong the problem rather than solve it.
History will judge Netanyahu not by temporary political controversies or fashionable diplomatic narratives, but by whether he succeeded in protecting Israel against forces openly committed to its destruction. Future generations may remember him as a strategist, a patriot, and one of the most consequential defenders of the Jewish state in modern history.
Trump will undoubtedly be remembered as an American president and a remarkable political phenomenon. Yet history may also ask whether he fully understood the existential nature of the threats facing Israel and the wider Middle East, and whether his preference for agreements and grand bargains sometimes obscured realities that cannot be negotiated away.
Conclusion
The ultimate irony of the Middle East today is that Israel and the majority of the Lebanese people increasingly share the same strategic objective: ending Hezbollah's domination of Lebanon and freeing the country from Iran's grip. While diplomats continue to repeat outdated slogans about "resistance," the reality is that Hezbollah's own leaders have repeatedly declared their allegiance to Iran's Supreme Leader and to the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih. They have never hidden their identity as participants in a broader Iranian revolutionary project.
Lebanon today is not fully sovereign. Its most important national decisions—war, peace, foreign policy, and security—remain heavily influenced by an armed organization that operates outside the authority of the Lebanese state. No nation can be truly independent while a foreign-backed militia possesses greater military power than its own government.
The world must finally recognize that the struggle against Hezbollah is not merely Israel's fight. It is also the struggle of millions of Lebanese who want to reclaim their country, restore state authority, rebuild their economy, and live free from the consequences of Iran's regional ambitions. The interests of those Lebanese and the interests of Israel converge on one essential point: Hezbollah's military dominance must end.
This is why attempts to restrict Israel's ability to confront Hezbollah are strategically misguided. Lasting peace cannot be built upon the continued existence of an armed Iranian proxy that holds an entire nation hostage. A free Lebanon, a secure Israel, and a more stable Middle East all require the same outcome: the restoration of full sovereignty to the Lebanese state and the end of Hezbollah's military supremacy.
History will remember Benjamin Netanyahu as a leader who understood that reality and acted upon it. Whether the international community chooses to acknowledge it today or not, the road to a sovereign Lebanon, a secure Israel, and a more peaceful Middle East begins with confronting the forces that have prevented all three for decades.

Lebanese Army says soldier Jamil Nahal was killed in Israeli strike on south
Agence France Presse/20 June 2026
The Lebanese Army said an Israeli strike killed one of its soldiers in Jamil Nahal the country's south on Saturday, despite a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah reached a day earlier. "An Israeli enemy strike targeted an army soldier on the Kfar Rumman-Nabatieh road, leading to his martyrdom," an army statement said, charging that "the continuation of brutal Israeli attacks aims to obstruct any solution that would allow for restoring stability in Lebanon".

Netanyahu and Katz order Israeli army to halt operations in Lebanon
Naharnet/20 June 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday ordered the Israeli army to halt its operations in Lebanon while maintaining its positions, Israeli reports said. Israel's army chief also ordered a ceasefire in Lebanon at the end of a security evaluation meeting, Israeli security sources told the Walla news portal. Israel's Channel 12 said Netanyahu and Katz's decision "came in coordination with the U.S." "The army enjoys freedom of action to eliminate threats in south Lebanon. If Hezbollah violates the ceasefire, the army will respond forcefully," Israeli security sources told Israel's public broadcaster. "The army is operating freely within the Yellow Line in Lebanon," an Israeli official said. "Instructions have been given to largely reduce acitivities in Lebanon and open fire only when there is a direct threat," a military source told Israel's Channel 13.Netanyahu meanwhile stressed that Israel will remain in southern Lebanon "for as long as necessary to defend its northern border." Netanyahu also instructed the army to respond forcefully to any Hezbollah attack and to act to remove threats against Israeli forces. "In response to Hezbollah's attacks over the past two days, the IDF (army) struck 300 terror targets and eliminated approximately 100 terrorists," Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israeli war on Lebanon kills over 4,000 after Friday death toll rises to 83
Agence France Presse/20 June 2026
Lebanon's health ministry said Saturday that Israeli attacks since March 2 when the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began had reached 4,057 dead, including 135 health and emergency workers, and 12,121 people wounded. The ministry also raised the toll in Israeli attacks on Friday from 47 to "a final toll of 83 martyrs and 141 wounded," most of them in south Lebanon but also in the country's east.

Hezbollah says confronted Israeli forces' 'infiltration attempt' in south
Agence France Presse/20 June 2026
Hezbollah on Saturday said its fighters confronted overnight Israeli forces as they tried to infiltrate towards strategic hills that overlook the southern city of Nabatieh. "Again, under the cover of the ceasefire, the enemy last night carried out an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills," the Iran-backed group said in a statement, adding that fighters ambushed the Israeli troops and "confronted them with appropriate weapons". Hezbollah "declares that while it is committed to the ceasefire, it will not be lenient in confronting any enemy attempt.... to expand its occupation," the statement added.

Iran threatens to quit US talks if Israel doesn't stop bombing Lebanon
Naharnet/20 June 2026
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is currently visiting Iran, will convey messages to Tehran regarding the nuclear negotiations, specifically relating to the thorny issue of Lebanon, sources told Al-Arabiya television. He is on a mission to persuade the Iranian delegation not to postpone their participation in the talks with the United States, the sources said. The sources added that a high-level Pakistani delegation will travel to Switzerland if Tehran agrees to participate in the negotiations. They confirmed that the main sticking point in the negotiations between Iran and the United States is Lebanon, and that the Iranian delegation has threatened to withdraw from the negotiations if Israel continues its attacks in Lebanon.

Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026
Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday, hours after the US announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran. US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon -- a key demand of Tehran's. But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home. On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did. But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country's civil defense agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area. The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road and accused Israel of undermining efforts to restore stability. Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson said calm could be achieved if Hezbollah halted what she described as hostile activity and violations of agreements, adding Israel's presence in a security zone aimed to remove threats and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, not harm civilians. The US-Iran understanding announced this week calls for an immediate, permanent end to military operations by the parties and their allies across multiple fronts, including Lebanon. Israel, which was not part of those negotiations, has opposed provisions it says could constrain its campaign in Lebanon.

Israel unleashes deadly strikes across south Lebanon despite latest truce
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Associated Press/June 20, 2026
Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday and Hezbollah maintained it had the right to respond, hours after the United States announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.A strike on the village of Barish killed four members of a family, parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in the villages of Doueir and Kfar Rumman, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in the villages of Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour.Plumes of smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon Saturday and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre. The city's residents told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days but the sounds of Israeli planes reminded them the war is not over. Many doubted a ceasefire — even if agreed on — would hold. “Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman, a Tyre resident. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon -- a key demand of Tehran's. But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home. On Friday afternoon, a U.S. official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by U.S. and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did. But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country's civil defense agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area, where an AFP photographer saw smoke rising over the city after strikes. Lebanese official media later said an Israeli strike on a village near the southern city of Sidon killed at least seven people.The strike on Qannarit killed "seven people and wounded 13 others, in a preliminary toll", the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said. An AFP journalist on the Israeli side of the border also reported multiple explosions in Lebanon, with smoke billowing behind the historic Beaufort Castle, a strategic position not far from Nabatieh that Israel captured last month.
'Right to confront
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Saturday that his group insisted "that the enemy fully and comprehensively respect the ceasefire"."The resistance has the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us, as it is the aggressor and the occupier," he added. An Israeli military official cited by public broadcaster Kan, meanwhile, similarly described Israel's approach to the truce as being "on the basis of fire being answered with fire". Lebanese authorities reported 47 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Friday, the highest toll since the U.S. and Iran struck their deal to stop the wider regional war. Hezbollah had pulled Lebanon into the conflict in early March when it fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes. A previous ceasefire meant to take effect in Lebanon in April was never honored, with both sides justifying their ongoing attacks by the other's violations. Israel and Lebanon, which have no official diplomatic ties, have held multiple rounds of U.S.-mediated direct talks in Washington, with another scheduled next week.
Meanwhile, talks that were scheduled to take place between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland to build on the preliminary deal and work towards a lasting settlement in the wider Middle East war were postponed Friday, with no new date announced. Vice President JD Vance had been expected to represent the American side, but put off his trip. Instead, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff headed to Switzerland to get the talks back on track, American media outlets reported, with fellow Trump emissary Jared Kushner also expected there. In parallel, mediator Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Iran on Saturday for meetings with officials including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had said the visit was "part of Pakistan's efforts regarding the Iran-US negotiations".
The talks in Switzerland were due to kick off a two-month period of negotiations to discuss outstanding issues not covered by the initial deal, notably Iran's nuclear program. Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed the discussions had been postponed but said it "remains ready to facilitate these talks".Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that there was "no urgency to hold the meeting", but that it was planned "in the coming days."

Tyre marks Muharram holy month after destruction from Israel-Hezbollah war
Associated Press/June 20, 2026
Wearing a yellow scarf showing her son killed fighting for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Iman Dilbani wept during a religious sermon in the battered southern city of Tyre during the Islamic holy month of Muharram. Tyre, Lebanon's fourth largest city, has been devastated by the Israel-Hezbollah war that reached a reported ceasefire Friday, with damaged buildings and structures reduced to rubble seen on almost every street following intense Israeli airstrikes. Muharram is among the holiest months for Shiite Muslims and marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century in present-day Iraq. Dilbani and hundreds more gathered Friday in a lot in the coastal city for a mourning ceremony, many wearing scarves or holding portraits of relatives killed.
Portraits of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei were placed above the podium, with the lot surrounded by red and black banners with Hussein's name. A young girl held a portrait of Khamenei as she stood next to her father, who wept while listening to the sermon. The attendees wore black as they would at a funeral. The devastating war in Lebanon makes the month of Muharram even more meaningful for its Shiite Muslims. Some residents placed banners with Hussein's name on the ruins of their homes.
The mourning over the deaths of Hussein and his companions reaches to its peak on Ashoura, the 10th day of Muharram, which millions observe worldwide. After Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel on March 2 in solidarity with its ally Iran, Israel launched massive aerial bombardments that regularly struck Beirut's southern suburbs and flattened large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon. Over one million Lebanese remain displaced, and Israeli ground forces invaded the country, controlling swaths of southern Lebanon. Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Hezbollah meanwhile fired rockets and launched drone attacks into northern Israel.
"Given what has been happening in our world today, and seeing the martyrs and the destruction, no human mind can bear all of that unless they are a believer in the teachings of Imam Hussein," said Sheikh Abdulkareem al-Rahi, one of the event's organizers. Shiite Muslims say Hussein's values teach steadfastness and the importance of fighting against injustice, no matter how difficult. "We learned from Imam Hussein's teachings the struggle and martyrdom, and to stay on his path and to offer our youth," Dilbani said. "I have three more sons, and I am willing to offer more of them if there is a need."Lebanon has been scrambling for a ceasefire, and the United States' ceasefire agreement with Iran includes ending hostilities in the tiny Mediterranean country, though the fighting has not ended. Hezbollah has maintained that it will continue fighting as long as Israel continues to strike and occupy parts of southern Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fighting Friday, although the failure of past ceasefires has left many in Lebanon skeptical. A cleric speaking through a sound system at the event slammed Hezbollah critics who say they lost the war, despite the heavy losses, comparing their situation to that of the revered imam in Karbala. Imam Hussein's teachings "are an institution, in every way, in their values and their pride," said Sheikh Ibrahim Qassir, the imam of the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr near Tyre, which was widely damaged during the war. "And that is why we are still here, and we will be victorious, and victorious, and victorious."

Israeli Ambassador to the US: Iran is using Hezbollah to impose its conditions… Don't be fooled
Nidaa Al Watan/June 20, 2026
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter wrote on his Twitter account: “Hezbollah is the one that violated the ceasefire, not Israel. The terrorists are lying. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is lying.” He added: “Iran is using its proxy to extract concessions. This is how the murderous regime in Tehran operates. Don't be fooled. Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.” He continued: “Israel seeks to live side by side with its neighbors within secure and recognized borders. Israel is committed to the ceasefire while defending itself against terrorist attacks, as any self-respecting country would.”He concluded: “More details to follow.”

Tehran: Attacks on Lebanon Violate Memorandum of Understanding; Our Delegation Heads to Switzerland
South Lebanon/June 20, 2026
The Iranian Foreign Ministry escalated its rhetoric regarding the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the United States, asserting that Washington has failed to uphold one of the agreement's most crucial clauses concerning the cessation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the first clause of the MOU is paramount, stating that "the other party has reneged on its commitment to compel the Zionist entity to halt its attacks on Lebanon," and deeming the continuation of these attacks a "blatant violation of the ceasefire." It stressed that the United States is obligated to expedite the implementation of the MOU's provisions, warning that it "will face problems" if it fails to fulfill its commitments. The ministry added, "We did not sign an agreement that will remain merely ink on paper, and our approach is based on the principle of commitment for commitment." It also affirmed that other clauses of the agreement have been implemented, most notably the lifting of the naval blockade and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as stipulated in the MOU. In a related development, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that an Iranian delegation would travel to Switzerland to follow up on the implementation of the other party's commitments under the memorandum of understanding, clarifying that the trip to Geneva "does not represent the second phase of negotiations." For its part, the Iranian negotiating team confirmed that its visit to Geneva aims to "sign the memorandum of understanding in person," while media sources reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will head the Iranian delegation at the upcoming meetings. These statements come as contacts related to the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding continue, amid anticipation regarding the extent to which the parties will adhere to its provisions, particularly those concerning Lebanon and de-escalation in the region.

Hezbollah MP says group has 'full right' to confront Israeli attacks
Agence France Presse/June 20, 2026
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday said his group had the right to respond to Israeli attacks, as Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon despite a new ceasefire announced a day earlier.
"There is talk of a ceasefire. For us, what concerns us is that the enemy fully and comprehensively respects the ceasefire, and doesn't attempt to attack our country and villages or seek to occupy any new position," Fadlallah said in a statement, adding that "the resistance has the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us, as it is the aggressor and the occupier".

A Message from Vance to Lebanese Christians
Central News Agency/June 20, 2026
US Vice President Jay D. Vance addressed a message to Lebanese Christians, saying: “I say to the Christians of Lebanon: hold fast to your faith in Jesus Christ, and know that you have many friends in the US government who are working to promote peace in the region. The fundamental problem these Christians face, or the reason they are so vulnerable to violence, is the presence of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that has effectively made Lebanon its base. Sometimes Hezbollah fires on Israelis, and it is natural for Israelis to respond in self-defense. So there is a continuous state of low-intensity conflict. But the situation has improved considerably in the last few weeks thanks to the efforts of the President and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as many other officials in the administration. Sometimes peace needs time to truly take root, and that is what we are working toward. In fact, that is the goal we are pursuing in the entire region: to change the way we have conducted ourselves in the past. It is a very beautiful part of the world.”

Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike
Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026
Activists and campaign groups on Saturday paid tribute to Lebanese environmentalist Mona Khalil who died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike in the country's south, where she dedicated her life to turtle conservation for decades. A medical source had previously told AFP that Khalil, aged in her late seventies, was badly wounded in an Israeli strike on June 4 that hit her home in the village of Mansouri, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the coastal city of Tyre. She died on Friday. Julien Jreissati, program director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, said Khalil had "dedicated decades of her life to protecting the sea turtles and coastline of Mansouri". "Her loss is not only a loss for her family and community, but for the environmental movement in Lebanon and the region," he told AFP. A wide stretch of south Lebanon's coastline near Tyre, which includes some of the country's best-preserved beaches, is a nesting site for turtles, including endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles. After returning to her native Lebanon from the Netherlands more than two decades ago, Khalil set up the Orange House Project in Mansouri, a conservation project combined with ecotourism, where visitors could see turtle hatchings and take part in conservation activities. "For decades, Mona stood at the forefront of conservation efforts along the southern coast," said the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), mourning "one of Lebanon's most dedicated environmental defenders and a tireless champion of sea turtle conservation". Her efforts contributed "significantly to the protection of one of Lebanon's most important sea turtle nesting sites in Hima Qoleileh-Mansouri, a seven-kilometre stretch of sandy and rocky shoreline that hosts more than 58 endangered sea turtle nests annually", it said. Khalil inspired communities and "helped build a culture of environmental stewardship rooted in local ownership and collective responsibility", it added in a statement on Friday. Local environmental group Green Southerners on X mourned "a pioneering environmental defender" who for decades "dedicated her life to protecting endangered sea turtles and their nesting habitats". "Through the Orange House, she inspired generations of Lebanese to value and protect their natural heritage and coastal ecosystems," it added. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) had been reporting heavy strikes in the Tyre district, including raids on Mansouri, earlier this month when Khalil was wounded. The village is also located near an area where Israeli troops are operating inside south Lebanon. Khalil was among the few local residents still holding out there despite the Israel-Hezbollah war and sweeping Israeli military evacuation orders for the country's south.

The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Lebanon
Dr. Nassif Hitti/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding to halt the war and reaffirm the sixty-day ceasefire, with half of that period devoted to a transitional phase aimed at addressing outstanding, difficult, and highly complex issues, places at its center, without doubt, the nuclear file, which served as the detonator of the crisis that escalated into war.
A range of competing and contradictory settlement proposals is currently being discussed. One calls for zero uranium enrichment, with a regional joint-enrichment arrangement as an alternative. Iran rejects this option and continues to insist on its right to enrich uranium domestically up to the 3.67 percent level recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Another contentious issue concerns the future of Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent, a level that leaves Tehran only a short distance from what is commonly described as the "nuclear threshold"- 90 percent enrichment.
Questions remain over whether this stockpile should be destroyed or transferred to a friendly country, as Iran has suggested. Washington opposes the latter option, while disagreement persists over which third party, if any, could host a quantity of enriched uranium that would otherwise allow Iran to enter the nuclear club within a relatively short period. This remains a red line for the United States and, even more so, for Israel, which seeks to maintain its nuclear monopoly in the region.
Other proposals include a suspension of Iranian enrichment activities for fifteen or twenty years. All of these ideas are on the negotiating table, alongside Tehran's demand for the full and unconditional release of Iranian funds. According to Iran, such a step could open the door to a gradual normalization of US-Iran relations, particularly in the economic sphere. Ballistic missiles and the role of what Washington describes as Iran's regional "proxies" are also among the issues the United States has placed on the negotiating agenda.
The inclusion of the "Lebanese card" in the understanding, through Tehran's insistence on a ceasefire in the Lebanese theater of confrontation, both in its direct military dimension and in the broader proxy struggle for regional influence, formed a central component of the agreement, with Washington's approval. The question now is whether the United States can compel Israel to fully respect this aspect of the memorandum, which would undoubtedly help reduce tensions and perhaps succeed in ending the ongoing war, an outcome that would be beneficial for Lebanon.
It also constitutes an Iranian message about linking the various conflict tracks, though this does not necessarily mean that Iran will ultimately be able to sustain such linkage indefinitely or wield the same level of influence over the management of conflict, de-escalation, and eventual settlement.
A ceasefire is more than necessary for Lebanon, but it is not sufficient, particularly if it settles into an open-ended timeframe while any prospect of a political settlement remains blocked or absent. Such a situation could gradually evolve into an unwritten understanding- one governed by what are commonly known as rules of engagement- taking shape over time amid the severe challenges Lebanon has faced since before the war. Those conditions have worsened catastrophically during the conflict, compounded by the presence of more than one million displaced people.
Such an arrangement would amount to a de facto understanding in the absence of a genuine political solution. It would carry the risk of contained tensions and limited confrontations, both geographically and militarily, potentially confined to areas south of the Litani River.
With the cessation of hostilities, or the sixty-day truce, which may be extended, agreed upon to allow negotiations on the difficult issues outlined above to continue, and with some describing the truce as little more than a warrior's respite before the conflict is reignited, Arab and international support for Lebanon becomes more necessary than ever.
Lebanon must use the climate created by this understanding to advance what I would describe as a negotiating roadmap. Such a roadmap should begin by ensuring a complete ceasefire, rather than one applied selectively, arbitrarily, or at Israel's discretion. It should also establish a clear transitional negotiating framework based on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, the release of prisoners, and the full deployment of the Lebanese Army throughout the area up to Lebanon's internationally recognized borders.
The roadmap should reaffirm the 1949 Armistice Agreement as the governing reference framework and work to strengthen and reactivate it. As has often been emphasized, that agreement was originally drawn along Lebanon's internationally recognized borders. It should also address the formal demarcation of the frontier, given the existence of a limited number of disputed points, reportedly no more than six or seven.
As for peace, that discussion can only come after Lebanon has restored its sovereignty over the remaining occupied territories and disputed points, within the framework of its commitment to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative in all its components.

Jabal Amel... When the Landmarks Become a Vanishing Trace
Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
In waiting for the clouds to clear from the American-Iranian understanding and its terse provisions, and to see whether what is announced will differ from what has been kept secret; in waiting to identify the “relative victor” and the “relative loser,” and for the contours of a new strategic equation to emerge—one that holds that losing a battle does not necessarily mean losing the war, and that winning a war does not necessarily mean winning politically; amid all these assumptions built upon the nature of Iran’s political character and the temperament of the American president, Donald Trump... there is one reality visible to the naked eye: Jabal Amel has become a vanishing trace.
Jabal Amel, thrust into the battle of vengeance for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was transformed into a sacrificial offering laid upon the altar of negotiations; negotiations conducted through fire, in which Tel Aviv employed the full extent of its destructive capabilities, reducing the region to ruins.
The Israeli mindset, since the founding of the state, has generally suffered an aversion to anything that bears witness to a historical trace or inherited legacy in this region attesting to its original inhabitants. Its project was founded upon the formula of “a land without a people for a people without a land,” and from its inception it has sought to entrench its historical and mythological claims. When it failed to erase the facts, it turned instead to removing what disproved its narrative. This, to a great extent, is what happened in Jabal Amel.
We, the inhabitants of this East, know our enemy and the danger it poses. We need no one to teach us that, nor to lecture us on how to defend ourselves. Throughout history, the people of Jabal Amel have known its ravines best, understood its geography most intimately, and been the most capable of defending its land. Yet those very ravines were shattered in the battle of vengeance until they too became a vanishing trace. This ranks among the most devastating losses suffered by southern Lebanon, after the great hemorrhage of lives and after the loss of generations of its youth in a series of support battles that began in Syria, then Yemen, then Gaza, and ended politically at the gates of Tehran.
Stranger still in this equation is that some emerge to thank Tehran for what they regard as a ceasefire. Stranger yet are those who speak—in their gatherings, in universities and research centers, or through the media—about the South and its reconstruction, as though this region had possessed neither stature nor history before it was politically hijacked and bound to the Iranian project.
More dangerous than that are those leftists and secularists who do not even believe in Iran’s theocratic system, yet aspire to its approval or symbolic presence. They speak of reconstruction as though the matter amounted to no more than a wall demolished here or a road cut off there... as though they inhabit a land without a people, without heritage, and without history; or as though they reduce the South to calculations of concrete and material considerations. They have failed to grasp that the ruins of Jabal Amel are more than rubble; they are witnesses to a painful rupture between past and present, and to a wound inflicted upon the identity of the place as much as upon its physical fabric. The traditional houses of Jabal Amel have fallen like torn pages from the book of southern memory. It was not the buildings alone that were destroyed; with them collapsed the places that preserved people’s names, voices, rituals, and the memory of centuries of life on this land. The heritage house, the old square, and the historic quarter are not merely silent stones; they are vessels of shared memory that preserve the collective narrative and the image people hold of themselves.
When such heritage is lost, it is not only stone that is destroyed; the collective memory itself is wounded, and society’s sense of continuity and belonging is weakened. Future generations may inherit the names of villages and their stories, but they lose the tangible landmarks that once made history part of everyday lived experience. For this reason, it seems difficult for such people to understand that what Jabal Amel has lost cannot be compensated for at any price. Houses can be rebuilt, and roads can be laid anew, but the memory of place, the cultural identity, and the accumulation of centuries of history engraved in both stone and people—once broken—require far more than money and reconstruction to restore. Their repair demands a long passage of time and a deep awareness of the magnitude of what has been lost.

Lebanese, Int’l Contacts Contain South Lebanon Security Deterioration
Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Lebanese and regional contacts contained a sharp deterioration in Lebanon’s security situation after a major military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, and threats by Tel Aviv to escalate further.
Lebanese sources said Israel was seeking to undermine the ceasefire agreement, pressure Lebanese negotiators ahead of a fifth round of talks with Lebanon in Washington, and secure gains on the ground. Reuters quoted a US official as saying Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire starting at 4 p.m. local time, after a major escalation that killed 47 Lebanese, including children and civilians, and four Israeli soldiers in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli air force carried out more than 150 strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon. “Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a ceasefire,” the US official said, adding that US and Qatari negotiators reached the agreement with help from Iran. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,” the official said. Israel and Hezbollah both said they were ready to respect the ceasefire and respond to violations.
Lebanese and international contacts
The security deterioration triggered a flurry of regional, international and local contacts. Official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun “began a series of international contacts in the morning with influential countries to lower the escalation, prevent further deterioration and ensure commitment to the ceasefire.” The contacts focused mainly on the United States and Qatar. Aoun also condemned “the continuing Israeli escalation.”“What we are witnessing today in the south and the Bekaa, with the expansion of Israeli attacks and further killing and destruction, is a dangerous and condemnable escalation, especially as it has affected dozens of innocent people, including women and children,” Aoun said. He said the escalation “effectively targets all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war, especially after the latest developments between the US and Iran.”“But this will not prevent work to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible. This is what I instructed the Lebanese negotiating delegation to pursue in the next round in Washington,” he said.“There can be no leniency on this issue because a comprehensive ceasefire is the entry point for discussing other issues, most importantly the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the army and the return of prisoners.” On the international level, Hezbollah parliamentary bloc member MP Hassan Fadlallah said Iran had informed the group that negotiations with the United States could not continue without the implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire. Fadlallah urged the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue. He said Washington was responsible for ensuring Israel stops its attacks and implements the terms of the agreement.Geographic expansion and pressure on Lebanon. The sudden deterioration appeared to signal an Israeli attempt to bypass the agreement that took effect last Monday. Sources in the Shi’ite duo told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel was “pressuring to strike the agreement directly and target it.” They said Tel Aviv was also trying to pressure the Lebanese negotiator before the fifth round of direct negotiations with Israel opens in Washington next Tuesday. The talks are due to run for three days.
The sources said Israel was trying to “seize additional cards with which to pressure Lebanon.”They cited “an Israeli desire for geographic expansion after its failure to achieve a major expansion during 110 days of war.” The area where Israel made significant advances in the first weeks of the war, they said, was the same area Hezbollah evacuated and where it committed to restricting weapons to the Lebanese state. But attempts to expand beyond that area “met fierce resistance that slowed the push,” the sources said. The source said a fourth reason was “an internal crisis linked to the rising far-right mood in Israel,” adding that “military failure is driving it to target civilians in Lebanon.”
Ceasefire before any arrangements
Lebanese observers say Israel’s failure to abide by the ceasefire agreement is not driven only by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sense of being “sidelined” after the agreement was signed.
They say Israel is also trying to reach an agreement with the Lebanese state in exchange for withdrawal from occupied territory, and to begin disarming Hezbollah in exchange for halting the escalation. Hezbollah rejects this. The group is relying on US-Iranian understandings and continues to criticize the Lebanese state’s negotiating track. Still, Lebanese authorities are proceeding with the sessions scheduled to begin Tuesday. Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the instructions to the negotiating delegation are clear: demand a full and comprehensive ceasefire before discussing any other arrangements.The sources said Beirut “is holding to its demands.”
Singling out Lebanon
Hezbollah, however, rejects the direct negotiating track. Sources following Hezbollah’s escalation against the track said the group “believes there is an overlap of interests between Tel Aviv and the state within the framework of the track on which the state is relying to achieve withdrawal and a ceasefire.” The sources said Hezbollah believes the direct negotiating track rests on the view that Israel is uncomfortable with US performance in the agreement with Iran, while Lebanon is uncomfortable with Iran’s performance. They said Hezbollah had “sensed that Lebanon was being singled out” through the US statement issued after the first negotiating session. This, they said, was reinforced in the declaration of intent paper in the fourth round, which appeared to show bias toward Israel in the negotiations. Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said: “The authorities agreed to a joint statement with the Americans and Israelis containing language to the effect that Hezbollah is a common enemy of Israel, America and Lebanon. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while the Lebanese delegation did not utter a word. No Lebanese official in power objected to this language. Therefore, what is required from them is a position clarifying whether they agree with this language or not.”He called on Lebanese officials “to bridge the gap they created with the resistance and its public, and to bridge the gap they created with the Islamic Republic of Iran, for Lebanon’s interest and not for Iran’s interest.”

كتاب جديد للمغترب اللبناني الأميركي فادي ديك/Fadi P. Deek: Portrait of an Expatriate: A Lebanese-American Story
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155419/
Portrait of an Expatriate: A Lebanese-American Story
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“I was born in a land rich in culture, family, and tradition yet marked by strife and recurring conflict throughout its long history. During my youth, our country was engulfed in civil war and suffered under prolonged occupation. These were difficult and volatile times. There were days filled with uncertainty, years shadowed by instability. Yet even amid insecurities, our home was grounded in faith, love, and encouragement.”
So begins Fadi P. Deek’s remarkable memoir, Portrait of an Expatriate: A Lebanese-American Story. The author describes his childhood in Byblos, the modern-day city of Jbeil—swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, skiing in the hills of Mount Lebanon, secure in the love of his father, mother, and four brothers. This world begins to unravel with the emergence of foreign armed groups on Lebanese soil, eventually leading to a devastating civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990. Deek leaves his beloved home midway through the war to complete his higher education in the United States. Now, more than four decades later, he offers a personal history, a reminiscence of the world he left behind and the story of the life he created in America with his wife, Maura, as he pursued a career as a scholar and academic leader. He concludes with a heartfelt letter to his young grandchildren, offering them a message of hope as they begin their own journeys.The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 20-21 June/2026

The Importance of the Ali Al-Tahir Site in the Ongoing Fighting
Colonel Charbel Barakat/June 21/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155427/
For more than a week, and particularly after the completion of actual, full control over the Beaufort Castle (Qala’at al-Shaqif) and its surroundings, clashes have been centering around the Nabi Tahir or “Ali Al-Tahir” ridge. This ridge is located to the east of the city of Nabatieh, the capital of Jabal Amel and the center of the first Shia governorate, which Sayyid Musa al-Sadr worked to establish by separating the districts of Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Hasbaya, and Marjayoun from the South Governorate to form the sixth governorate, while the South Governorate retained the remaining districts: Tyre, Jezzine, and Sidon (Zahrani). This ridge remained under the control of the South Lebanon Army until the year 2000, when the Government of Israel decided to withdraw completely and unconditionally from Lebanon. This allowed Hezbollah, prompted by the Syrian occupation, to seize control of the entire area, claiming to have liberated it from the Israelis.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) planned to turn South Lebanon into an advanced base on Israel’s border, enabling it to confront Israel whenever necessary. Since controlling Middle Eastern countries requires preparation for a confrontation with Israel should it attempt to step out of line, the Lebanese State and its army were prevented from controlling the South on one hand, and the United Nations forces were kept from knowing what was actually happening on the ground in terms of fortification, trench building, and weapon storage on the other. Meanwhile, citizens were mobilized and led to believe that Hezbollah was doing all of this to defend them and prevent their displacement from their homes.
Working in areas close to the border was not easy despite the presence of international forces. However, it was accomplished by turning a blind eye at times and through intimidation at others, particularly by infiltrating elements and officers of the Lebanese Army, who served as the legitimate cover to restrict the freedom of international forces in the region. However, working outside the deployment zones of international forces becomes easier, where heavy excavation machinery can be used without any need for concealment. Hence, work on the Ali Al-Tahir ridge was easier, even though it was conducted in a manner that did not attract attention. The mountain was excavated, and inside it, military equipment depots, rocket and drone launch sites, command and control rooms, and quarters to accommodate fighters with all their needs were built. These were constructed at depths that secure their protection even from aerial bombardment. Consequently, the Israeli Army took a lot of time to study the terrain, the tunnel entrances and exits, and especially the pre-arranged ambush locations and those that provide surveillance and combat capabilities—particularly since those stationed inside these sites do not need to resupply or exit for a long time, granting them the capacity to endure and resist.
Yesterday, an advanced reconnaissance unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was hit by a concentrated improvised explosive device (IED), which led to the wounding of soldiers and the killing of a number of them, including a commander. Thus, there arose a necessity to push further toward controlling the site and completing the encirclement of most entrances to prevent those inside from escaping alive. Some observers state that the operation to control the transit openings was fully completed today, and that closing in and destroying the trenches over the
heads of those inside has become a matter of mere hours. As a result, the Iranians moved to prevent the full takeover and perhaps the eradication of everyone inside.
The Americans, who have apparently reached an understanding with the Iranians regarding stopping the ongoing war in the Gulf, were scheduled to meet today in Switzerland with an Iranian delegation to begin studying certain points related to the agreement. It is said that the Iranian delegation was late to arrive, leading some to fear that what is happening in Lebanon is connected to this. However, Israel’s position on this matter is well-known; even if it participates with the United States in its operations against Iran, it does not wish to link what is happening in Lebanon to the Iranian issue, even if the Iranians insist on doing so. What happens in Lebanon directly impacts Israel’s security, and no government can waive its right to prevent aggression on northern Israel from Lebanon. This is especially true since the site we are referring to, “Ali Al-Tahir,” is no more than six kilometers as the crow flies from the Metula settlement. It poses a permanent threat that Israel will not tolerate leaving without a complete cleanup, the destruction of all facilities prepared within it, and preventing it from returning to its previous state.
It remains that the city of Nabatieh—which is, as we mentioned, the capital of Jabal Amel, the center of the governorate, and naturally one of the most important southern cities economically and administratively—is located directly beneath the aforementioned ridge. The IDF may maintain forces there even after destroying the facilities; consequently, movement inside Nabatieh will be under the close surveillance of those forces. Will the Israeli forces enter the city after finishing with the Ali Al-Tahir ridge? Or will the Lebanese State offer to clear the city of militants, warehouses, and other military equipment using its own forces, in an attempt to initiate what have been called “pilot zones,” making Nabatieh the first of them? Or will the State not dare to do so before the Israeli forces enter, clean the city, and finish destroying the facilities, after which the Lebanese State proposes the idea of taking it over as a pilot point?
What matters in all that is happening is the stance of Sheikh Naim Qassem and his crumbling party, which was calling for victory yesterday and asking residents to return to their homes. Will anyone from his group remain alive in the Nabatieh area to hand over weapons and equipment to the Israelis or the Lebanese Army as a gesture of good faith and a prelude to a solution that could be adopted in the remaining Lebanese regions to spare them destruction, ruin, and an increased death toll? Or will the State, which is negotiating in Washington, be emboldened after Nabatieh is cleared to present itself as a solution for the rest of the regions? Or will the clearing of the entirety of Lebanon only be achieved at the hands of the IDF, and what will the price be then?

Lebanese, Int’l Contacts Contain South Lebanon Security Deterioration
Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Lebanese and regional contacts contained a sharp deterioration in Lebanon’s security situation after a major military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, and threats by Tel Aviv to escalate further. Lebanese sources said Israel was seeking to undermine the ceasefire agreement, pressure Lebanese negotiators ahead of a fifth round of talks with Lebanon in Washington, and secure gains on the ground.Reuters quoted a US official as saying Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire starting at 4 p.m. local time, after a major escalation that killed 47 Lebanese, including children and civilians, and four Israeli soldiers in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli air force carried out more than 150 strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon. “Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a ceasefire,” the US official said, adding that US and Qatari negotiators reached the agreement with help from Iran. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,” the official said.Israel and Hezbollah both said they were ready to respect the ceasefire and respond to violations.
Lebanese and international contacts
The security deterioration triggered a flurry of regional, international and local contacts.
Official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun “began a series of international contacts in the morning with influential countries to lower the escalation, prevent further deterioration and ensure commitment to the ceasefire.” The contacts focused mainly on the United States and Qatar. Aoun also condemned “the continuing Israeli escalation.”“What we are witnessing today in the south and the Bekaa, with the expansion of Israeli attacks and further killing and destruction, is a dangerous and condemnable escalation, especially as it has affected dozens of innocent people, including women and children,” Aoun said. He said the escalation “effectively targets all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war, especially after the latest developments between the US and Iran.”“But this will not prevent work to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible. This is what I instructed the Lebanese negotiating delegation to pursue in the next round in Washington,” he said. “There can be no leniency on this issue because a comprehensive ceasefire is the entry point for discussing other issues, most importantly the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the army and the return of prisoners.”On the international level, Hezbollah parliamentary bloc member MP Hassan Fadlallah said Iran had informed the group that negotiations with the United States could not continue without the implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire. Fadlallah urged the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue. He said Washington was responsible for ensuring Israel stops its attacks and implements the terms of the agreement.
Geographic expansion and pressure on Lebanon
The sudden deterioration appeared to signal an Israeli attempt to bypass the agreement that took effect last Monday. Sources in the Shi’ite duo told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel was “pressuring to strike the agreement directly and target it.” They said Tel Aviv was also trying to pressure the Lebanese negotiator before the fifth round of direct negotiations with Israel opens in Washington next Tuesday. The talks are due to run for three days. The sources said Israel was trying to “seize additional cards with which to pressure Lebanon.”
They cited “an Israeli desire for geographic expansion after its failure to achieve a major expansion during 110 days of war.” The area where Israel made significant advances in the first weeks of the war, they said, was the same area Hezbollah evacuated and where it committed to restricting weapons to the Lebanese state. But attempts to expand beyond that area “met fierce resistance that slowed the push,” the sources said. The source said a fourth reason was “an internal crisis linked to the rising far-right mood in Israel,” adding that “military failure is driving it to target civilians in Lebanon.”
Ceasefire before any arrangements
Lebanese observers say Israel’s failure to abide by the ceasefire agreement is not driven only by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sense of being “sidelined” after the agreement was signed. They say Israel is also trying to reach an agreement with the Lebanese state in exchange for withdrawal from occupied territory, and to begin disarming Hezbollah in exchange for halting the escalation. Hezbollah rejects this. The group is relying on US-Iranian understandings and continues to criticize the Lebanese state’s negotiating track. Still, Lebanese authorities are proceeding with the sessions scheduled to begin Tuesday. Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the instructions to the negotiating delegation are clear: demand a full and comprehensive ceasefire before discussing any other arrangements. The sources said Beirut “is holding to its demands.”
Singling out Lebanon
Hezbollah, however, rejects the direct negotiating track. Sources following Hezbollah’s escalation against the track said the group “believes there is an overlap of interests between Tel Aviv and the state within the framework of the track on which the state is relying to achieve withdrawal and a ceasefire.”The sources said Hezbollah believes the direct negotiating track rests on the view that Israel is uncomfortable with US performance in the agreement with Iran, while Lebanon is uncomfortable with Iran’s performance. They said Hezbollah had “sensed that Lebanon was being singled out” through the US statement issued after the first negotiating session. This, they said, was reinforced in the declaration of intent paper in the fourth round, which appeared to show bias toward Israel in the negotiations. Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said: “The authorities agreed to a joint statement with the Americans and Israelis containing language to the effect that Hezbollah is a common enemy of Israel, America and Lebanon. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while the Lebanese delegation did not utter a word. No Lebanese official in power objected to this language. Therefore, what is required from them is a position clarifying whether they agree with this language or not.” He called on Lebanese officials “to bridge the gap they created with the resistance and its public, and to bridge the gap they created with the Islamic Republic of Iran, for Lebanon’s interest and not for Iran’s interest.”

A message from Said Ghattas, Founder of Under the Cedar Tree to the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/06/155435/
June 21/2026
To those who speak of supporting the Christians of Lebanon, we say: our presence in this land for 1,600 years is the result of our faith in Jesus Christ and our unwavering attachment to our homeland. Our faith has sustained us through every trial and remains the source of our perseverance and victories.
Consider the example of Christ Himself. Though He chose twelve disciples to stand beside Him, one betrayed Him, another denied Him, and the rest abandoned Him on the Way of the Cross. In His hour of suffering, only Simon of Cyrene stepped forward to help carry the burden.
History teaches us that words of friendship are not enough. True solidarity is measured by actions, especially in moments of hardship. Those who remain silent, turn away, or abandon suffering peoples when they need support most cannot claim to stand with them.
The Christians of Lebanon do not place their trust in political promises or passing alliances. Our trust is in God, in our faith, and in our steadfast commitment to this land. We have endured for centuries because we rely first on these foundations, and we will continue to endure by them.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 20-21 June/2026
US-Iran technical talks to be held Sunday in Switzerland
Agence France Presse/June 20, 2026
Pakistan said technical talks to implement the U.S.-Iran deal to end the Middle East war would be held in Switzerland on Sunday. "As a follow-up to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, technical-level talks will be held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, adding Pakistani and Qatari mediators would participate in the discussions with U.S. and Iranian representatives.

US Forces Monitoring Strait of Hormuz to Ensure it Stays Open
Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026
The US military on Saturday denied Iran's claims that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the critical waterway remained open and that US forces were monitoring the situation to ensure that ⁠continued. "Iran does not ⁠control the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told Reuters. "Traffic ⁠continues to flow, and US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case." Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut earlier on Saturday and warned ⁠ships ⁠not to approach the waterway, casting new doubt on the future of a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran meant to pave the way for in-depth peace talks.

Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again and Says its Negotiating Team with US is Heading to Switzerland
Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026
Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States on Saturday, angered by Israel's continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again and announcing that while its negotiators are going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there.First, Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing Israeli attacks and US “bad faith” and “its clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The statement on state television warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”Minutes later, the state broadcaster said the country’s negotiating team was heading to Switzerland, a trip that was originally planned for Friday but was canceled. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, Bagahei, however, signaled that little might happen until Iran feels the US is living up to the deal. “This trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” he said, adding that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments, including an end to fighting in Lebanon, are upheld. “If any part of these understandings, any part of these commitments, is not implemented, then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized,” Bagahei said. Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week. Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill at least 16 Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatened an interim agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East. Seven people remained trapped under the rubble after the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there. The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations. The army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including rocket-launching positions and Hezbollah command centers. On Friday, Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities. On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times on Friday night. A statement issued by the group's military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops. Plumes of smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre on Saturday. Residents there told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days but the sounds of Israeli planes reminded them the war is not over.Many doubted a ceasefire — even if agreed on — would hold.“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman, a Tyre resident.

Pakistan Minister Arrives in Iran after Switzerland Talks Postponed
Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026 AD ـ 05 Muharram 1448 AH
Pakistan's interior minister arrived in Iran on Saturday after planned talks between Iran and the United States in Switzerland were postponed, Iranian media reported.
Tehran and Washington were due to hold talks in Switzerland on Friday, after signing a memorandum of understanding ending the war in the Middle East, but the latest negotiations have been postponed with no new date announced. Iranian media including Tasnim news agency said Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi landed on Saturday in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had earlier told ISNA news agency that "Pakistan's interior minister will arrive in Iran at noon today, Saturday, as part of Pakistan's efforts regarding the Iran-US negotiations." Naqvi is expected meet his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni, as well as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for talks during the visit, according to Baqaei. Pakistan has been a key mediator between Tehran and Washington, with Qatar also joining the efforts in the run-up to the deal announced this week. Iran on Thursday announced it signed a deal with the United States to end the hostilities, with the aim of holding further negotiations on a broader deal that would include Iran's long contested nuclear program.

Trump: No Hormuz Transit Tolls After 60-Day Period Ends
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net // June 20, 2026
US President Donald Trump confirmed that ships will not face any transit fees through the Strait of Hormuz after the 60-day period stipulated in the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding, denying recent speculation about imposing fees on shipping in the strategic waterway. Trump, who was spending the weekend at Camp David, emphasized that the preliminary agreement to end the war with Iran stipulates exempting travelers from transit fees in this vital waterway for 60 days. He then stated, "No fees will be imposed after the 60-day period, unless the United States imposes them for its own benefit, in the event that the agreement is not finalized," according to the Associated Press. Trump explained that the funds would be allocated to "services provided as a sponsor to Middle Eastern countries for the purpose of reimbursing past, present, and future costs." Trump's remarks come after differing interpretations of some clauses in the memorandum of understanding sparked controversy regarding the future management of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly following reports and indications from Iranian officials about the possibility of discussing new arrangements related to maritime services and ship passage at a later stage. The memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran stipulated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to international navigation during the first 60 days of the agreement, guaranteeing freedom of passage and the absence of any fees for commercial vessels during that period. Earlier, Iranian officials spoke of future discussions concerning the management of the waterway and related services, raising questions about the possibility of imposing transit fees after the transition period. However, Trump's recent statements appeared to be an attempt to settle the debate and reaffirm the continued freedom of navigation in one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints for oil and gas transport. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most sensitive waterways globally, as a significant portion of oil and gas exports from the Gulf region to international markets pass through it. The US president's remarks come at a time when maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is witnessing a notable recovery following its reopening and the return of commercial vessels and oil tankers to normal use after recent understandings between Washington and Tehran. Investors and energy markets are closely watching any developments concerning the future of the strait, given its direct impact on oil prices and global supply chains, while the United States seeks to reassure markets that freedom of navigation will remain guaranteed in the coming period.

Iranian delegation arrives in Switzerland ahead of US negotiations
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net // June 20, 2026
The Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland in preparation for participating in the anticipated technical negotiations with the United States, which begin Sunday in the Bürgenstock resort. These negotiations aim to transform the recent memorandum of understanding between the two sides into a more detailed agreement on nuclear, economic, and security issues. The Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously confirmed the delegation's departure for Switzerland. Sources told Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that the negotiating team, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had arrived. The team includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Pourd, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, and Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, the delegation will discuss mechanisms for implementing US commitments and identify the practical steps required from Washington in the coming phase. Baghaei emphasized that Iran has fulfilled its obligations, stressing that Tehran expects the US to implement its commitments, including working to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which Iran considers part of the existing understandings. He added that "failure to implement commitments will jeopardize the understanding," affirming that his country's policy is based on the principle of "commitment for commitment," and that Iran "has not signed commitments that will not be fulfilled." The Iranian delegation's arrival follows the arrival in Switzerland of US envoy Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner, while US Vice President J.D. Vance departed Washington for the negotiating venue to participate in the anticipated meetings. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that technical negotiations would begin on Sunday with delegations from the United States, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar. The Pakistani Prime Minister's office confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir would join the talks. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had previously visited Tehran and met with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, conveying messages of encouragement to proceed with the negotiations and avoid any delays. This round of talks represents the first real test of the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran, amid international anticipation to see whether it will succeed in addressing the disputes concerning Iran's nuclear program, sanctions, and regional security arrangements within the 60-day negotiating period.

Led by Qalibaf: Meet the Members of the Iranian Delegation Heading to Switzerland
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
Following the Iranian Foreign Ministry's official announcement of its delegation's departure for Switzerland, sources revealed to Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath the composition of Tehran's delegation participating in the technical negotiations for the US-Iranian understanding. According to the sources, the delegation includes Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, head of the negotiating team; Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi; Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council; Abdolnasser Hemmati, Governor of the Central Bank; Hamid Pourd, Deputy Oil Minister; Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister; and Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. The Fars News Agency also quoted a source close to the negotiating team as saying that Qalibaf and Araqchi would participate in the delegation's trip scheduled to depart this afternoon for Switzerland. The source added that specialized committees would accompany the Iranian team, as was the case in previous rounds of negotiations, while Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati would head the economic committee. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson had previously announced that the negotiating team would depart for Switzerland this afternoon to participate in technical talks on the US-Iranian understanding. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry, for its part, announced in a statement that the technical negotiations on the US-Iranian understanding would begin in Switzerland tomorrow, Sunday. It also indicated that delegations from the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar would participate in these talks.
Meanwhile, sources told Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir would join the negotiators in Switzerland tomorrow, Sunday. These statements came after Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose country is playing a mediating role between the US and Iran, met earlier today with Iraqi in Tehran, carrying messages of encouragement not to postpone the talks with the American side. This also came amidst a positive atmosphere, as described by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who confirmed that envoys Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner had already arrived in Switzerland, and hinted at the possibility of his own travel there soon. It is worth noting that the previous round of negotiations between Iran and the United States was held last April in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Vance Departs for Switzerland to Participate in Talks with Iran
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
US Vice President J.D. Vance departed Washington, D.C., for Switzerland to participate in the anticipated technical talks between the United States and Iran, as confirmed by his spokesperson. An Al Arabiya correspondent reported that Vance was en route to the negotiating venue. The visit comes hours after Vance affirmed that the talks with Tehran were "progressing well" and that the US administration intends to give the diplomatic track a full opportunity to reach broader understandings on the outstanding issues between the two sides. Vance had previously stated to Fox News that US envoy Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner had already arrived in Switzerland to participate in the technical talks, indicating that meetings with the Iranian delegation were possible at any time. Before departing for Switzerland, Vice President J.D. Vance expressed optimism about the possibility of achieving progress during the upcoming talks, emphasizing that his visit might last "only a day or two," depending on the course of the negotiations and the outcomes of the technical meetings. He also explained that Washington hopes to make progress on two parallel tracks: the first concerning the Iranian nuclear issue, and the second related to consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon and preventing the collapse of the understandings reached in recent days.
Vance stressed that the US administration will work to prevent any new escalation on the Lebanese scene, noting that Washington seeks to prevent Israel from carrying out new attacks that could undermine the ongoing diplomatic efforts. At the same time, he called on Hezbollah to adhere to the ceasefire and halt attacks against Israel, considering that the success of the political process requires all parties to commit to reducing tensions and preventing a return to military confrontations. The Swiss city of Burgenstock is hosting the first round of technical negotiations since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, which established an initial framework for de-escalation and the start of a 60-day dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program, sanctions, and security issues. The Iranian delegation includes prominent figures, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, along with officials from the Supreme National Security Council, the Central Bank, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Oil. Pakistan and Qatar are also participating in the talks as key mediators who have played a role in bridging the gap between the two sides over the past few months. Vance's participation is seen as an indication of the importance the Trump administration attaches to the current negotiations, especially since the Vice President has led a significant portion of the political communications related to the understanding with Iran in recent days. Vance affirmed that Washington is confident in its ability to maintain the ceasefire and prevent the collapse of the current understandings, emphasizing that the success of the negotiations requires meticulous diplomatic coordination among the various parties. The upcoming talks represent a crucial test for the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding, given the continued disagreements over certain nuclear and economic issues, and international anticipation regarding whether the parties will succeed in transforming the initial agreement into a more comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

Vance: Iran Talks Progressing Well, My Trip to Switzerland Soon
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
US Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed that envoys Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner are on the ground in Switzerland to participate in the anticipated technical talks with the Iranians. In remarks to Fox News on Saturday, Vance added that talks with the Iranian side could take place as early as Sunday, noting that the negotiations are progressing well. He also stated that Washington is confident in its ability to maintain the ceasefire, emphasizing that the US administration will give the negotiations with Iran a chance. Vance anticipated traveling to Switzerland within the next two days, adding, "But as you know, it requires careful coordination and diplomatic protocols." This came as Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, according to Iranian state news agencies. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that Tehran's delegation would travel to Switzerland soon. Meanwhile, Al Arabiya/Al Hadath sources reported that Araqchi would travel to Switzerland that evening, accompanied by the Pakistani Interior Minister. For its part, the Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier today that diplomats from all sides are continuing their efforts in Bürgenstock to facilitate negotiations. In a statement, it said, "Diplomats from various countries currently present are continuing their efforts to establish dialogue." It also clarified that it could not provide any information about those present at the resort or the discussions, citing confidentiality reasons. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about resolving all outstanding issues with Iran within 60 days, again brandishing the military option if a final agreement is not reached. It is worth noting that the talks, which were scheduled for Friday to solidify understanding and continue efforts to reach a lasting settlement, were previously postponed, but Vance later suggested a new date.

Iran confirms its delegation is heading to Switzerland... Pakistan: "Negotiations tomorrow"
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
With the arrival of the US delegation, headed by Special Envoy Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner, at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, the Iranian Foreign Ministry officially announced that its delegation would also be heading to Switzerland. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that the Iranian delegation would demand that the United States fulfill its commitments and specify how it intends to do so. He added, "We have adhered to our commitments, and the United States is obligated to compel Israel to cease its attacks on Lebanon," according to the Fars News Agency. He warned that "failure to fulfill commitments will jeopardize the understanding." He also stressed that "the other side must take the necessary measures as soon as possible." He continued, "If the other side refuses to fulfill its commitments, Iran will respond with the necessary measures." He emphasized that Tehran has not signed any commitment that will not be implemented, and its approach is clear: "commitment for commitment." The delegation includes Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, head of the negotiating team; Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi; Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council; Abdolnasser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank; Hamid Pourd, deputy oil minister; Kazem Gharibabadi, deputy foreign minister; and Esmail Baghaei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman. As reported by Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath sources, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir will join the negotiators in Switzerland on Sunday. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that technical negotiations for a US-Iranian understanding will begin in Switzerland on Sunday. It also indicated that delegations from the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar will participate in these talks. These statements came after Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose country is playing a mediating role between the US and Iran, met earlier today with Iraqi in Tehran, carrying messages of encouragement not to postpone the talks with the US side. This also came amidst a positive atmosphere, as described by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who confirmed that Wittkopf and Kushner had already arrived in Switzerland and hinted at the possibility of his own trip there soon. Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon. However, a US military official commented, "We have not seen any movements indicating a closure of the strait." Since last Thursday, Israel has intensified its airstrikes on southern Lebanon. A new ceasefire agreement was announced on Friday afternoon, but it quickly collapsed. Israeli aircraft resumed bombing dozens of Lebanese towns in the south and the Bekaa Valley, accusing Hezbollah of violating the agreement. Hezbollah, in turn, blamed Israel. The first clause of the memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States on Wednesday night stipulated a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. However, several Israeli ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu's government criticized the memorandum, asserting that it was not binding on Tel Aviv. Netanyahu reiterated that his forces would not withdraw from what he called the "security zone" in southern Lebanon, which extends approximately 10 kilometers along the Lebanese border. The US-Iranian memorandum, however, stipulated respect for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, implicitly calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the area.

Sharif and Munir to Lead Pakistani Delegation to Swiss Negotiations
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
The Pakistani Prime Minister's office announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir will participate in the technical talks on the US-Iranian understanding, scheduled to be held tomorrow at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland. This high-level Pakistani participation comes in light of Islamabad's role over the past months in bridging the gap between Washington and Tehran, culminating in the memorandum of understanding that paved the way for more detailed negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program and issues related to sanctions and regional security. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's office, Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir will participate in the technical meetings that bring together delegations from the United States and Iran, along with regional and international mediators, as reported by Reuters. The Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously confirmed that its delegation, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had departed for Switzerland to participate in the talks. The delegation also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Pourd, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, and Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei. US envoy Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner also arrived in Switzerland, while the arrival date of US Vice President J.D. Vance remains uncertain after his trip was postponed for logistical reasons. The upcoming talks represent the first round of technical discussions since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran, which stipulated a cessation of hostilities and the commencement of a 60-day negotiation process to address nuclear, economic, and security issues. Tehran affirmed that it would enter the negotiations based on the principle of "commitment for commitment," emphasizing the necessity for the United States to fulfill its obligations. Washington, however, believes that the next phase will test Iran's willingness to take practical steps regarding its nuclear program. The participation of Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir reflects the importance of the Pakistani role in this process, especially since Islamabad was one of the most prominent mediators who contributed to creating the political and diplomatic conditions that paved the way for understanding between the two sides.

US Central Command: Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz Continues
Riyadh - Al Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
The US Central Command confirmed on Saturday that navigation in the Strait of Hormuz continues, noting that Iran does not control the strategic waterway. A spokesperson for the command told Al Arabiya English that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is still ongoing and that US forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this continues. CENTCOM also stated in a post on its X platform that commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz increased today, as US forces continue their operations in the region to support freedom of navigation, reaffirming their commitment to ensuring compliance with all provisions of the agreement with Iran. It explained that safe passage through the international waterway is available and unimpeded, noting that 55 commercial vessels carrying large quantities of goods and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets transited the strait. It added, "US forces continue their presence and vigilance to ensure compliance with and implementation of all provisions of the agreement with Iran, and to ensure that it remains fully in effect." The US military statement came after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, which had been open to vessels since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US late Wednesday. The Iranian Supreme Military Command announced in a statement on Saturday that the strait would be closed to shipping in response to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, according to the Mehr News Agency. The statement added that the closure was due to alleged US and Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The Revolutionary Guard threatened that this closure was a "first step," warning of further measures if "the aggression continues." Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Saturday that he was confident the ceasefire stipulated in the 14-point Washington agreement with Tehran would hold and that he saw no evidence of the Strait of Hormuz being closed.

The Revolutionary Guard announces the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and threatens further action.
Riyadh - Al-Arabiya.net/June 20, 2026
As Israeli airstrikes escalate in southern Lebanon, the Revolutionary Guard announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic, after it had been open to ships since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States last Wednesday night. The "Supreme Joint Military Command of Iran" announced in a statement on Saturday that the strait would be closed to shipping in response to the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, according to the Mehr News Agency. It added that the closure came "due to alleged American and Israeli violations of the ceasefire memorandum of understanding," which stipulates a cessation of hostilities and war on all fronts, including Lebanon. The Revolutionary Guard threatened that this closure was "a first step," warning of further measures if "the aggression continues." This move coincided with US Vice President J.D. Vance's remarks about a positive atmosphere surrounding the talks with Iran. In an interview with Fox News, Vance stated that US envoy Steve Wittkopf and Jared Kushner were in Switzerland preparing to meet with the Iranian delegation. He also indicated the possibility of his own travel to Bern soon, with the potential for talks with the Iranian delegation on Sunday. When asked about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Vance said, "There is no evidence of the strategic waterway being closed so far." A US military official echoed this, saying, "We have not seen any movements indicating the closure of the Strait of Hormuz." The Revolutionary Guard's decision coincided with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi's anticipated departure for Switzerland later that day, following his earlier meeting with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose country has been acting as a mediator between Tehran and Washington for months. The Iranian Foreign Ministry officially announced that its delegation would be traveling to Switzerland. Tehran had warned the previous day against continued Israeli escalation in Lebanon, asserting that its delegation would not travel to Lucerne until it received confirmation of the implementation of the terms of the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding, which stipulated a ceasefire on all fronts. Talks between the US and Iran, scheduled to begin Friday at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, were unexpectedly postponed. The White House announced Thursday night that Vance had canceled his trip to Switzerland for "logistical" reasons.

Settling Scores and Accusations: Mojtaba Khamenei's Message on the "Understanding" with America Sparks Disputes in Iran
Janoubia/June 20, 2026
The message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei regarding the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington did not resolve the disputes within the Iranian regime's camp. Instead, it unleashed a new wave of political score-settling and mutual accusations. A segment of the hardline faction called for support of the final decision, while another group demanded that those who supported the negotiations bear responsibility and provide answers regarding the outcomes of this process. In his message, the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, stated that, although he had "a different opinion in principle," he authorized proceeding with the memorandum of understanding due to the pledge made by the country's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the members of the Supreme National Security Council to assume responsibility for this path. This brief statement led to two different interpretations within the regime's camp. One group focused on the phrase “I gave permission for this,” interpreting it as evidence of the Supreme Leader’s final endorsement of the course of action. Another group interpreted the phrase “I had a different opinion” as indicating his initial opposition to the agreement. Meanwhile, some critics argue that Mojtaba Khamenei, like his late father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, granted permission for the decision but simultaneously distanced himself from the outset from any potential repercussions. According to these critics, his assertion that he had “a different opinion” but allowed the agreement to proceed after Pezeshkian’s pledge leaves the door open for the government, the Supreme National Security Council, and the negotiating team to bear responsibility for any future failure of the memorandum of understanding. Morteza Kazemian, a member of the editorial board of Iran International, stated that Khamenei’s message reflects a reluctant acceptance of the negotiations within the inner circle of power, but simultaneously shifts responsibility for the agreement to the government and the Supreme National Security Council. As Ali Shirazi and Kamyar Behrang, both members of the editorial board of Iran International, stated, Mojtaba Khamenei, like his father after the previous nuclear agreement (the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), distanced himself from responsibility for the decision.
Shirazi explained that the responsibility was placed on Pezeshkian and the Supreme National Security Council, while Behrang emphasized that Khamenei, through his ambiguous statements, assumed no responsibility while simultaneously maintaining the existing divisions within the regime.
Commenting on the letter attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei regarding the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, journalist and political analyst Jamshid Barzegar said, “One of the most significant political legacies left by Ali Khamenei within the structure of the Islamic Republic is the method of managing responsibility; that is, being the one who plays the decisive role while simultaneously avoiding taking responsibility.”
A letter that sparked two conflicting narratives within the regime:
Mohammad Manan Raisi, Mohsen Maghsoudi, and Morteza Mahmoudi, all hardline figures, cited Mojtaba Khamenei's letter, arguing that opponents of the negotiations had warned from the outset against trusting the United States, and that supporters of this path must now answer for their actions and results. Esmail Ramazani, a preacher close to the regime, called for a "movement to return to the Supreme Leader's opinion," stating that after Mojtaba Khamenei announced his differing view, regime supporters should demand a reversal of the agreement. He suggested halting the 60-day negotiation process "somehow" to avoid repeating the experience of the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, distrusting negotiations. In his response to Mojtaba Khamenei's initial letter regarding the memorandum of understanding with the United States, Ramazani asserted that since the "Deputy of the Imam Mahdi" had declared his opinion different, the people should demand the launch of a "movement to return to the Supreme Leader's opinion." He added, addressing his audience, that the 60 percent he claimed supported the Supreme Leader's positions should mobilize to demand a reversal of this course. For his part, Mohammad Zaimzadeh, editor-in-chief of the Iranian newspaper Farhikhtegan, wrote that "the Supreme Leader's opinion was not to accept the text of the agreement," but he respected the collective opinion and allowed the agreement to proceed on the condition that the specified conditions were met. He added that the responsibility for implementing the agreement and improving the economic situation lies with the government, and that the Supreme Leader should not be given a "blank check" for this understanding. Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of the Iranian parliament's presiding board, considered Mojtaba Khamenei's message to demonstrate his complete oversight of the decision-making process, but stressed that the government and the Supreme National Security Council are required to assume responsibility for implementing the specified conditions and not allow a repeat of the nuclear agreement experience. The shift in the positions of Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, also attracted attention. Following a message from Mojtaba Khamenei, he called for maintaining unity, despite having previously described the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as “costly and a loss,” and stating that the United States would achieve a “complete victory” through it.
The Beginning of the Conflict Over Responsibility
Hossein Ali Shahriari, Ali Khazrian, and Ebrahim Rezaei, members of the Iranian parliament, also criticized the way the agreement was being pursued. Their criticisms ranged from objecting to the marginalization of parliament and warning against repeating the experience of the nuclear agreement, to rejecting any concessions on the nuclear issue or allowing the return of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, described the MOU as “unbalanced,” stating that all red lines had been disregarded. He warned that any IAEA inspection of nuclear facilities would violate the law suspending cooperation with the agency, emphasizing that parliament would oppose it. Rezaei had previously demanded that the Supreme Leader not bear the political cost of justifying the agreement. In contrast, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Parliament Speaker and head of the negotiating delegation Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian all expressed their support for the current course of action. However, they simultaneously emphasized their distrust of the United States, their readiness to respond should the commitments be violated, and the necessity of strict adherence to the stipulated conditions. Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed the importance of preserving the "gains of the initial understanding," indicating that Iran must remain vigilant against any potential breach of commitments by the other party. Asadollah Badamchian, head of the Central Council of the Islamic Coalition Party, defended the very idea of ​​negotiation, stating that negotiation is not treason, but rather that every war ultimately leads to negotiation. Currently, two parallel narratives have emerged within the Iranian power structure: one affirming support for the final decision, and the other relying on the phrase "I had a different opinion" to hold the government and the Supreme National Security Council responsible for any potential repercussions of the memorandum of understanding. This duality indicates that the declared unity within the Iranian regime's camp remains fragile and temporary.

Russian Attacks on Ukraine Leave Several People Dead and Injured
Asharq Al Awsat/20 June 2026
Russian forces struck the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with glide bombs on Saturday, killing ⁠four people and injuring ⁠six, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov ⁠said on Telegram. Fedorov said there had been nine strikes in the city. He said residents could ⁠well ⁠be trapped in the rubble of damaged buildings. Russian bombs also struck an apartment building on Saturday in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing at least one person and wounding nine, including a 6-year-old child, authorities said. A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. He said that the bombs slammed into the low-rise building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours. The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that at least nine people were wounded, five of whom were hospitalized. Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving the car, Syniehubov said. Later on Saturday, Russia again launched guided bombs at Ukraine, striking the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, according to local administration head Oleh Hryhorov. The attacks killed a male civilian and damaged at least 20 private houses, Hryhorov reported on Telegram. Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations. Meanwhile, Russian air defenses repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said that there was no damage to the refinery and staff members were evacuated.

Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strikes Kill Five
Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed five people, including four members of the same family, in the latest violence to rock the Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire. Israel and Hamas trade near-daily accusations of truce violations and the Gaza Strip remains gripped by bloodshed as progress on permanently ending the war remains stalled. An overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City killed four members of the al-Safadi family, including the husband, wife and their two daughters, said the civil defense agency, a rescue service that operates under Hamas authority. AFP quoted it as saying that the strike also injured 12 others. Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of four members of the al-Safadi family, including two children. The hospital also said it had received another body following a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in the north of Gaza City. When asked by AFP about the two incidents, the Israeli military did not offer an immediate response. At least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period. Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.

Syria’s Grand Mufti Warns Against Acts that Could Fuel Strife
Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
Syria’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Osama al-Rifai has called for calm after days of protests demanding the prosecution of supporters of the former regime, warning citizens against “undisciplined actions that could open the door to strife,” the official Syrian news agency SANA reported.
Rifai said Friday that accountability for criminals must be left to the state and its relevant agencies. He said demands for justice and for holding those involved in violations to account were “a legitimate right,” but must be pursued through the state and the law, not through unorganized individual or collective action. “What the Syrian people endured over 60 years of injustice and suffering because of the practices of the defunct regime and its loyalists requires wise conduct today, far from strife,” SANA quoted him as saying. He said the responsibility for applying the law and holding suspects accountable rests with the relevant state institutions, urging people to trust judicial and official procedures rather than resorting to individual acts that could have dangerous repercussions for social security. AFP reported that dozens of Syrians joined a protest overnight Tuesday into Wednesday in which shops and cars were vandalized in a Damascus neighborhood. Protesters demanded that loyalists of the former rule be held to account, part of wider mobilizations that began in several areas and prompted the authorities to warn against turning to “revenge.”Neighborhoods seen as supportive of the former regime in several areas, including Aleppo and Idlib, have seen similar protests in recent days. Demonstrators called for the trial of those they described as “shabiha” and “remnants of the regime,” terms used for loyalists of the ousted president, Bashar al-Assad. Residents said the protests included attacks on private property, fueling tensions and fears of acts outside the law as the authorities work to launch a transitional justice process after years of war, AFP reported. Videos on social media showed dozens of people moving through the Mezzeh 86 neighborhood, which had a mostly Alawite population. Shops and cars were attacked and chants were directed against residents. A similar demonstration took place outside the nearby Great Mezzeh Mosque, demanding the expulsion of “shabiha,” before security forces deployed to control the situation and asked residents to stay in their homes. The Ash al-Warwar neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus, which also has a mostly Alawite population, saw a similar protest on Monday night, an AFP photographer reported.
Leaflets have spread in several provinces in recent days, giving loyalists of the former rule the choice between leaving the country or staying in their homes “awaiting accountability.”The first such protest began last week in Kafr Aweed in rural Idlib, in the northwest of the country. The protests came despite the authorities starting trials of former security and military officials from the previous rule, and announcing the arrest of about 6,000 people, including soldiers, officers and loyalists linked to the former rule. The authorities are trying to contain the protests, which have raised concerns among rights advocates. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said last week, while receiving a delegation from Damascus, that “it is important that transitional justice not be used as a pretext for revenge or as a tool for domination,” warning that otherwise “we would be confronting one injustice with another.”
Arrests over the 2020 strike on Jabal al-Duwaila camp
In a related development, SANA said internal security units in Idlib province arrested Issa Ghannam and Fadi Maarouf on suspicion of leaking the coordinates of an opposition camp in Jabal al-Duwaila in the city of Kafr Takharim, Idlib province, in 2020. The agency quoted the Interior Ministry as saying investigations showed that “Fadi Maarouf, known as Abu Jahl, sent the site’s coordinates to Issa Ghannam, who in turn transferred them to Brigadier General Abdulrahman Najm, head of the State Security branch under the defunct regime. The camp was then hit by direct air strikes during a meeting of its members, causing more than 100 deaths and injuries.”The Interior Ministry statement did not say which faction the targeted camp belonged to or who carried out the strike.
Reports at the time said Russian warplanes bombed a parade by fighters at a Faylaq al-Sham camp, affiliated with the National Front for Liberation, in al-Duwaila in the Kafr Takharim area near the Turkish border, on Oct. 26, 2020, causing dozens of deaths and injuries.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 20-21 June/2026
'Deal'?: Iran's IRGC Regime and Terror Proxies Celebrate
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/20, 2026
The regime, its proxies and terror groups are celebrating, elated to have defeated the efforts of the "Great Satan" to force accommodations.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on June 17 by US President Donald J. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- extends a ceasefire for 60 days; removes the US blockade; reopens the Strait of Hormuz to shipping; allows Iran to resume oil exports and keep its enriched uranium; and promises Iran $300 billion for reconstruction and investment -- who cares from whom -- and negotiations for everything else.
The MOU also includes Lebanon, a sovereign country that has nothing to do with Iran. The MOU is a deal to talk about a deal. No wonder Iran's regime is celebrating.... That was the US response to blackmail and terrorism. Just as the US was winning, it once again chose to lose.
"Iran's new rational leader" is calling for "the liberation of Jerusalem." The regime is a system rooted in anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and hostility toward its own people -- and Trump is allowing it not only to remain in place, but to dig its hooks in even deeper.
Iran's regime has repeatedly shown that it cannot be trusted with any deal.... The regime will remain staunchly anti-American, anti-Semitic, and hostile to the Iranian people. It continues to label the United States and Israel as its enemies. Its core ideology has not shifted one bit -- and the probability of it shifting must be close to zero.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on June 17 by US President Donald J. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- extends a ceasefire for 60 days; removes the US blockade; reopens the Strait of Hormuz to shipping; allows Iran to resume oil exports and keep its enriched uranium; and promises Iran $300 billion for reconstruction and investment -- who cares from whom -- and negotiations for everything else. As the Trump Administration undoubtedly knows, the Iranian regime cannot be trusted with any agreement. Time and again, Iran's regime has signed or verbally committed to deals — on nuclear issues, regional de-escalation, or economic promises — only to pursue its own agenda in secret. Whether enriching uranium covertly, supporting terrorist proxies, or advancing its ideological goals, the regime says or signs whatever is necessary to secure relief, then goes about doing whatever it wants. Its pattern of deceit and evading commitments is by now legendary. The regime, its proxies and terror groups are celebrating, elated to have defeated the efforts of the "Great Satan" to force accommodations.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on June 17 by US President Donald J. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian -- extends a ceasefire for 60 days; removes the US blockade; reopens the Strait of Hormuz to shipping; allows Iran to resume oil exports and keep its enriched uranium; and promises Iran $300 billion for reconstruction and investment -- who cares from whom -- and negotiations for everything else.
The MOU also includes Lebanon, a sovereign country that has nothing to do with Iran. The MOU is a deal to talk about a deal. No wonder Iran's regime is celebrating. They get their uranium, indefinite delays, hundreds of billions of dollars and a path to recovery to "export the revolution" and terrorize the world again the minute Trump leaves office. Trump had Iran's brutal military dictatorship on its knees; he just awarded it a long, rich life. That was the US response to blackmail and terrorism. Just as the US was winning, it once again chose to lose.
It is not exactly a secret what Iran's regime will do with its billions, the lifted pressure and the breathing room Trump is giving it. The regime has not fundamentally changed. "Iran's new rational leader" is calling for "the liberation of Jerusalem." The regime is a system rooted in anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and hostility toward its own people -- and Trump is allowing it not only to remain in place, but to dig its hooks in even deeper. Executions of dissidents continue inside Iran. Even basic symbolic gestures of normalization with the United States — such as direct handshakes or commitments to open embassies— are absent. The regime has not provided one signal that it plans to shift away from confrontation.
Iran still continues to affirm its support for the so-called "axis of resistance." It will continue to support groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, providing funding, weapons, and guidance.
With new revenues arriving, the regime will likely focus on replenishing and rearming its military capabilities. Ballistic missiles, attack drones, and related weapons systems damaged during the recent war will be restored and expanded. Drone development will receive further investment as a superior asymmetric tool to project the regime's power.
A substantial portion of the increased income will almost certainly flow to Iran's proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. They have been instrumental in extending Iranian influence and avoiding direct costs to Tehran while pressuring adversaries such as Israel.
Most critically, the regime has bought itself valuable time. The 60-day window, with possibilities for extension, fits a familiar pattern of delays and negotiations designed to outlast pressure. From Tehran's perspective, survival through the current U.S. administration offers a path to a more accommodating international environment. The regime believes it has won. It remained undefeated by a major power. The message to terrorists is to keep going: it works.
Emboldened by its resilience and survival, the regime will demand from shipping companies "fees" for passing through the Strait of Hormuz, possibly triggering the end of freedom of the seas worldwide. When Iran is charging "fees," why shouldn't everyone else? The regime must feel it has learned a powerful lesson: it can engage in provocative actions, extract concessions through pressure, get away with violations, and still remain firmly in power. It could pressure Gulf states into concessions or financial arrangements, leveraging fears of disruption from even limited drone or missile activity.
Long-term, the regime's ideological drive still points toward vengeance against the United States and Israel, and escalating aggression against other perceived enemies once the constraints ease up. Nuclear weapons development will covertly resume as the regime calculates that no future American president will match the current level of resolve. By demonstrating that defiance yields rewards, the regime reinforces its own playbook of tactical patience and incremental aggression.
This outlook demands clear-eyed realism. Verifiable actions are essential: the regime must completely surrender its enriched uranium stockpile, completely dismantle its nuclear program, stop production of ballistic missiles, and totally sever support for terrorist proxies. Without ironclad enforcement mechanisms beyond three years, lifting pressure simply funds the same dangerous playbook that has destabilized the region for nearly 50 years.
Iran's regime has repeatedly shown that it cannot be trusted with any deal. It uses every agreement to rearm, empower itself, and prepare to attack even harder. The regime will remain staunchly anti-American, anti-Semitic, and hostile to the Iranian people. It continues to label the United States and Israel as its enemies. Its core ideology has not shifted one bit -- and the probability of it shifting must be close to zero.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
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© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

What Comes After the Agreement?
Nabil Amr/Asharq Al Awsat/June 20/2026
The main fighting between the United States and Iran has come to a halt. In line with the logic of negotiations, the occasional controlled skirmish continued to occur, reflecting both sides' shared determination to avoid a return to war, each for its own reasons.
The signing ceremony, conducted remotely between Paris and Tehran at the presidential level, marks only the first step on what is expected to be a long and arduous journey. The agreement itself did little more than identify the broad issues at stake, leaving their resolution to negotiations that are expected to be difficult. According to observers of the US-Iran confrontation, they are likely to prove even more challenging than the negotiations held during the Obama era, which produced the agreement later scrapped by Trump.
The most significant factor weighing negatively on the negotiating process is Israel's re-entry into a track from which it had effectively been excluded. It has returned through the Lebanese and Gazan arenas, which Israel regards as ideal platforms from which to shape the day after the signing.
In Lebanon, Israel is complicating the Trump administration's efforts to advance its policy objectives by refusing to bring military operations there to a definitive end or to withdraw without the disarmament of Hezbollah- a goal jointly shared and openly agreed upon by Washington and Tel Aviv. For Iran, which fought relentlessly to link Hezbollah's future to the broader Iranian settlement, Israel's refusal to do so means Tehran has no intention of burning the Hezbollah card. Having invested heavily in it to strengthen its position in negotiations with the United States, Iran still considers that card useful and intends to keep it in play until negotiations produce the comprehensive closure of all outstanding files, as Tehran hopes they ultimately will.
Gaza, however, occupies a far more important place in Israel's calculations than Lebanon. Although security concerns remain the most frequently cited justification for Israel's war there, Israeli strategic thinking views Gaza as an inseparable part of the existential conflict it believes it is still fighting on multiple fronts. Indeed, Gaza stands at the center of those conflicts.
Nor can any discussion of Gaza be separated from what Israel is doing in the West Bank. Despite their geographical separation, the two territories have effectively been merged into a single conflict. Israel threatens to occupy Gaza in its entirety after having established near-total control over its geography and demography through military force and siege. At the same time, it continues to signal the possible annexation of the West Bank. If formal and public annexation remains restrained by concerns over international- even American- reactions, Israel is nevertheless deepening its direct and indirect control there while intensifying economic pressure. The result would be the gradual elimination of the Palestinian Authority's recognized political role by stripping it of the limited tools it still possesses to govern its land and people, thereby disqualifying it from participating in any future political settlement, whatever form that settlement may take. Lebanon and Palestine have thus become the two hostages that provide Israel with a gateway into the US-Iran negotiating track and with leverage that it is rapidly expanding on the ground. Israel is taking advantage of a world preoccupied with resolving the Iranian question and eliminating its direct impact on energy security, energy prices, and vital trade routes. As global attention remains fixed on that issue, Israel continues to tighten its grip on these two hostages, having little else left with which to influence the Iranian equation.
The dilemma created by this hostage dynamic, and by Israel's investment in it, lies in the absence of an international framework grounded in either the text or the spirit of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803. The first lines of that resolution were written in Gaza. It served as the foundation for the World Peace Council chaired by Trump, to which Israel was effectively compelled to submit. Yet Israel's persistent push for war against Iran ultimately altered the landscape, making it seem as though the winds of that conflict had swept away all promises of a lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
Now that the agreement has been signed and negotiations are underway, the United States- still the dominant force in the theaters of war, though far less so in the architecture of peace, is expected to move beyond celebrating what it has achieved with Iran. It must instead adopt a more realistic assessment and a more precise understanding of what the Middle East genuinely requires. The world's nations are virtually unanimous in recognizing the necessity of stability in the region through the extinguishing of its wars. They are equally united in viewing the United States as indispensable to that effort. The striking irony is that the one actor standing apart from this rare international consensus is America's closest ally, which continues to treat the Middle East's most explosive issues as little more than hostages to be exploited for greater leverage and expanded influence.

US-Iran deal shifts the mood at France’s G7
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/June 20, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron this week hosted the G7 summit of leaders from North America, Europe, and Japan. Yet it was the Iran crisis that framed the big event. The new memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US has been widely criticized since its release — not only by politicians, but also by business leaders. For instance, some in the shipping industry are concerned that toll-free access to the Strait of Hormuz may be in jeopardy in the coming months. Problematic as the deal may prove to be, there were nonetheless sighs of relief from Macron, fellow European leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi when US President Donald Trump announced the deal. This is because the vague 14-point framework, which has been called a memorandum of misunderstanding by some, helped shift the diplomatic mood music in Evian.
Before the meeting, G7 leaders had feared that Trump’s frustration might boil over with them at the summit. The US president still perceives a big lack of support from these allies for the US during the Iran war. In addition to the agreement breakthrough, Macron also skillfully handled Trump at the event. This included closely chaperoning him, including hosting a private, post-summit dinner at the Palace of Versailles to help ensure the US president did not leave the event early, as he had done at several G7 summits in the past, including last year in Canada. Macron also delayed the start of the forum to last Monday so that Trump could celebrate his 80th birthday weekend in Washington.
This double development set the stage for a more positive, productive event than had been widely expected only a few weeks ago. One example is the critical minerals agenda in which the G7 agreed to enhance cooperation to reduce their reliance on China. A new G7 Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance will be created. This initiative builds on a similar one that was formed at the Canadian summit last year.
There are growing fears about future navigation of the strait.
This new G7 alliance will work more closely on stockpiling. It will also launch a new platform which will engage with the IEA Critical Mineral Security Programme and the OECD, to provide analytical and data-driven assessments of market developments and supply chain vulnerabilities, facilitate information-sharing, conduct emergency exercises and monitor progress in financing, diversification, and transparency commitments.
The headline goal by 2030 is to reduce dependence on any one supplier for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60 percent by 2030. In the longer term, an ultimate goal of 50 percent will be realized “as soon as possible.”
There was also a positive discussion on the future of AI with 11 CEOs such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Meta’s Alex Wang. Discussions here included potential creation of a “trusted partners” scheme granting access for G7 allies to advanced US AI models.
Of course, despite all this, G7 relationships with Trump remain fragile. Tensions could easily re-emerge in a big way as soon as next month’s NATO summit in Turkiye. This was shown on Thursday, the day after the G7 ended when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of the presence of US forces in Europe. He severely criticized some US allies, suggesting they had been “free riding” on Washington for years.
Such tensions will be particularly likely to flare again if the agreement process breaks down in coming weeks as Washington and Tehran now try to agree a permanent deal over the next 60 days of extended ceasefire. It would be no big surprise if this happens.
Huge challenges remain in implementing the agreement, including in the Strait of Hormuz, where returning tanker traffic to pre-war levels will not be easy. Even if attacks by the US and Iran now end, naval mines must be removed to make the waterway navigable again. This process is likely to take weeks, rather than days.There are also growing business fears about future navigation of the strait. The agreement asserts that Iran agrees to allow tanker traffic to pass unobstructed with no fee or toll, but only for the 60 days covered by the deal. In future, Iran could implement a new system, which would comply with international law, and charge fees for vessels passing through Hormuz.
This would represent a worse position than that before the conflict began when there was more or less complete freedom of navigation without charge. It would surely also raise tensions again within the Western alliance over the wisdom of the war. And all of this is even before the two sides attempt to progress the thorny issue of Iran’s nuclear program. This agenda appears most unlikely to be completely resolved within the next 60 days.
So while the agreement helped improve immediate-term diplomatic atmospherics at the G7, it may have only kicked the can down the road in terms of resolving key outstanding issues between the US and Iran. A permanent deal in coming weeks is not impossible, but enormous political heavy lifting is now needed that took previous US administrations much longer than 60 days to try to resolve.
• Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

What do we want?
Prince Turki Al-Faisal/Arab News/June 20, 2026
We want complete and pure peace around us and across the globe. But how can we achieve that?
First: Iran must abandon its ambitions to dominate the world through the Wilayat Al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist). It must realize that its recruitment of militias — such as Hezbollah, the Houthis and all its affiliated armed factions in Iraq and elsewhere in the world — is what fuels bloodshed and takes the lives of those it refers to as the oppressed. Instead, Iran should join the caravan of development and societal progress to stand in the ranks of the rest of the world’s nations.
Second: Israel must abandon its Talmudic ambitions and cease its bloody brutality and seizure of Arab lands in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. This savagery has made Israel and its people pariahs in the world; its citizens fear visiting other countries lest they be arrested on charges of genocide against the Palestinian people. The hundreds of thousands of people who continue to roam the streets of the world’s cities to this day, denouncing the Israeli occupation of Palestine, are the greatest proof of the global community’s rejection of Israel’s bloody actions.
Third: The West must stop coddling Israel, protecting it from condemnation and denunciation in UN Security Council meetings, and supplying it with money, weapons and even volunteers. This enabling, protection and arming are precisely what cause Israel to ignore all humanitarian standards and divine laws to achieve its ambitions.
Iran should join the caravan of development and societal progress to stand in the ranks of the rest of the world’s nations.
Fourth: The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries must criminalize anyone who insults or offends any individual from any GCC state on social media, whether that individual is a public figure or an ordinary citizen. GCC citizens must rise above attacking or insulting any fellow citizen of the council’s states. Furthermore, the GCC countries must adopt a joint defense network to repel any aggression against any of them.
Enough with the attacks that the GCC states have endured. They must stand together like a solid, fortified structure to repel all envious and ambitious forces.
As the well-known proverb goes: “One hand cannot clap by itself.”
***Prince Turki Al-Faisal is the former director-general of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency and a former ambassador. He is also the founder and Trustee of the King Faisal Foundation and Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
Translated from Asharq Al-Awsat

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