English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For March 29/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry To Jerusalem/Palm Sunday
John 12/12-19/The next day a great multitude that had come to the
feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm
trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord!’The King of Israel!”Then Jesus, when He had found
a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”His disciples did not
understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they
remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these
things to Him. Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus
out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the
people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The
Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing
nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
on March
28-29/2026
Israel, Lebanon's Rulers, the Army, Security Forces, and UNIFIL Bear
Responsibility for the Martyrdom of George and Elias Said, Sons of Debel/Elias
Bejjani/March 29/2026
Palm Sunday …The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem./Elias BejjaniMarch
29/2026
The Weapon of Files: From the Hell of Epstein to Seizing Lebanese
Decision-Making by Castrated Leaders, Officials, Clerics, and Influential
Figures Implicated in Scandalous Files."/Elias Bejjani/March 25/2026
Lebanese army mourns soldier killed in Israeli strike in Kfar Tebnit
Israeli airstrike targets Beirut’s southern suburbs
Israeli jets break sound barrier over Beirut, Metn, Keserwan, Bekaa
Israel-Hezbollah war: Latest developments
Aoun calls deadly Israeli strike on journalists 'blatant crime'
Lebanon says 46 rescuers, 5 medical staff killed in Israeli strikes
Al-Manar and al-Mayadeen reporters killed in Israeli strike in south
British Foreign Secretary announces additional £2m humanitarian funding to
Lebanon
Syrian defense ministry says smuggling tunnel found near Lebanon border — report
Lebanon to move clocks forward one hour for daylight saving time
South Lebanon: What Remains of History When Geography is Lost?/Mustafa
FahsAsharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
Charles Chartouni’s Most Provocative Interview: "Those Loyal to Iran Should
Leave Lebanon!"
Lebanon kids struggle to keep up studies as war slams school doors shut
Israel–Lebanon border security calls for cooperation, not control/Yossi
Mekelberg/Arab News/March 28, 2026
The War on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues/LCCC website
links to several important news websites
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on March
28-29/2026
Trump says Iran has to reopen Strait of Hormuz, negotiations ongoing
Pentagon readying for ground operations in Iran: Washington Post
US envoy Witkoff says Trump administration is hopeful for meetings with Iran
soon
Attempts at diplomacy as US troops build up in the Mideast
Loud explosions heard in Iranian capital
Israel army says struck Iran complex producing naval weapons
Israel faces third front from Houthis as war enters second month, military
expands Lebanon operations
Houthis confirm first attack since Iran war as Israel identifies missile launch
from Yemen
Iran-backed Houthis claim first missile launch on Israel
Israeli strikes hit two Gaza police checkpoints, killing six, medics say
US hopes for Iran meetings 'this week'
Possible breakthrough to allow aid and agricultural shipments through Hormuz
Over 2 dozen US troops wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi base
Baghdad orders probe after drone targets Kurdistan president’s home
Two drones targeting US embassy in Baghdad intercepted: AFP
Saudi Arabia intercepts five drones, one missile
Israel says Iran missile attack kills man in Tel Aviv
Israel military says striking ‘regime targets’ in Tehran
Pakistan to host Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt for talks on Iran war
Third fire breaks out in UAE after Iran missile attack
French police thwart a suspected bombing outside a Bank of America building in
Paris
Kuwait airport radar suffers significant damage due to drone attack
News of the ongoing war between Iran on one side and the US and Israel on the
other. links to several television channels and newspapers
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on March
28-29/2026
Finish the Job: Leaving Iran's Regime in Place Guarantees Endless Regional
Instability/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 28, 2026
Pakistan’s Coincidences/Samir Atallah/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
How to Declare a State of War Under the Constitution/Faiq Zaidan/Asharq Al Awsat/March
28/2026
Iraq and the Loyalist Militias/Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
Iran: The Danger of the Venezuelan Model/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/March
28/2026
President Trump and Political Genius/Colonel Charbel Barakat / March 28, 2026
The Strait of Hormuz and the new energy shock/Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya
English/28 March/2026
on March
28-29/2026
Israel, Lebanon's Rulers, the Army, Security Forces, and UNIFIL Bear
Responsibility for the Martyrdom of George and Elias Said, Sons of Debl
Elias Bejjani/March 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153204/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DRar8yT9dU
With profound anger and sorrow, the Lebanese people and the conscience of the
free world mourn the two wronged martyrs, George Said and his son Elias, who
were killed by Israeli fire on the road linking their village, Debl, and the
town of Rmeish. This heinous crime is not merely a "military error," but a
direct targeting of peaceful, unarmed citizens who never bore arms nor belonged
to schemes of strife or to the terrorist "Hezbollah" axis that has brought ruin
and destruction upon Lebanon and the South.
The two martyrs were on a mission of survival, seeking sustenance and medicine
for their people in the besieged village of Debl, only to fall drenched in blood
on a "humanitarian corridor." Due to Hezbollah’s criminality and its futile
Iranian jihadist wars—and because of the Lebanese state's negligence (army and
security forces) and the indifference of the international UNIFIL forces—this
path has turned into a death trap lurking for the innocent.
What the village of Debl faced yesterday with the martyrdom of two of its sons,
preceded days ago by the fall of three martyrs in the town of Ain Ebel and the
targeting of the shepherd of Rmeish, is the dear blood tax paid by Christians in
Southern Lebanon as the price for clinging to their roots and history. They are
the children of this holy land trodden by the feet of Lord Christ and His Virgin
Mother, raised in faith on soil kneaded with the blood, sweat, and conviction of
their ancestors. They remain steadfast against all projects of uprooting and
displacement—whether Palestinian, leftist, pan-Arabist, Baathist, or Iranian.
Today, Southern Christians stand with pride and resilience, bare-chested before
the terrorism of the Iranian-backed jihadist Hezbollah. The group has turned
their towns and villages into missile platforms and open battlefields for the
account of the Tehran regime, completely disregarding the safety and security of
residents who refuse displacement and cling to the land they redeem today with
their lives.
Full and absolute responsibility for the dire situation in Southern Christian
villages and towns rests upon:
The Falsely Named "Lebanese State": Hijacked in its decision-making, rulers,
officials, and sovereignty by Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Army and Security Forces: Which abandoned their constitutional duty
to protect citizens, leaving Southern Christian border villages to face their
fate alone, caught between the hammer of occupation and the anvil of terrorism.
The International UNIFIL Forces: Who are called upon today to exercise their
actual role in protecting civilians and securing humanitarian corridors. There
is no use for "peacekeeping forces" content with the role of a spectator,
issuing reports while the innocent are slaughtered.
However, the greatest responsibility is borne by the terrorist Hezbollah, which
occupies South Lebanon and takes its residents hostage for regional adventures,
unconcerned by the destruction of villages or the displacement of their people.
The cry of Debl's parish priest, Father Fadi Falflé, along with the cries of
Christian residents and municipal and electoral figures, is the cry of a people
who reject humiliation. These are a people who refuse to leave their land and
will not be intimidated by the machine of death. The Christian presence in the
South will remain a solid rock upon which all projects foreign to Lebanon's
identity and history shatter.
Mercy to the martyrs George and Elias Said, and to the martyrs of Ain Ebel and
Rmeish. Shame to everyone who conspired or remained silent in the face of these
crimes.
Palm Sunday …The
Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Elias BejjaniMarch 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/04/107794/
(Psalm118/26): “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yahweh! We have
blessed You out of the house of Yahweh”.
On the seventh Lantern Sunday, known as the “Palm Sunday”, our Maronite Catholic
Church celebrates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The joyful and
faithful people of this Holy City and their children welcomed Jesus with
innocent spontaneity and declared Him a King. Through His glorious and modest
entry the essence of His Godly royalty that we share with Him in baptism and
anointing of Chrism was revealed. Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, the
“Palm Sunday”, marks the Seventh Lantern Sunday, the last one before Easter Day,
(The Resurrection).
During the past six Lantern weeks, we the believers are ought to have renewed
and rekindled our faith and reverence through genuine fasting, contemplation,
penance, prayers, repentance and acts of charity. By now we are expected to have
fully understood the core of love, freedom, and justice that enables us to enter
into a renewed world of worship that encompasses the family, the congregation,
the community and the nation.
Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time to participate in the Jewish Passover
Holiday. He was fully aware that the day of His suffering and death was
approaching and unlike all times, He did not stop the people from declaring Him
a king and accepted to enter the city while they were happily chanting :
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of
Israel!”.(John 12/13). Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet,
the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19/39-40). Jesus entered Jerusalem to willingly
sacrifice Himself, die on the cross, redeem us and absolve our original sin.
On the Palm Sunday we take our children and grandchildren to celebrate the mass
and the special procession while happily they are carrying candles decorated
with lilies and roses. Men and women hold palm fronds with olive branches, and
actively participate in the Palm Procession with modesty, love and joy crying
out loudly: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21/09).
On the Palm Sunday through the procession, prayers, and mass we renew our
confidence and trust in Jesus. We beg Him for peace and commit ourselves to
always tame all kinds of evil hostilities, forgive others and act as peace and
love advocates and defend man’s dignity and his basic human rights. “Ephesians
2:14”: “For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles
into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of
hostility that separated us”
The Triumphal Entry of Jesus’ story into Jerusalem appears in all four Gospel
accounts (Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19). The four
accounts shows clearly that the Triumphal Entry was a significant event, not
only to the people of Jesus’ day, but to Christians throughout history.
The Triumphal Entry as it appeared in Saint John’s Gospel, (12/12-19), as
follows : “On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took the branches of the palm
trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” Jesus, having found a young
donkey, sat on it. As it is written, “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold,
your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt. ”His disciples didn’t understand
these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that
these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
The multitude therefore that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the
tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it. For this cause also
the multitude went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing.
Behold, the world has gone after him.” Now there were certain Greeks among those
that went up to worship at the feast. These, therefore, came to Philip, who was
from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told
Jesus.”
The multitude welcomed Jesus, His disciples and followers while chanting:
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of
Israel!”.(John 12/13). His entry was so humble, meek simple and spontaneous. He
did not ride in a chariot pulled by horses as earthly kings and conquerors do,
He did not have armed guards, nor officials escorting him. He did not come to
Jerusalem to fight, rule, judge or settle scores with any one, but to offer
Himself a sacrifice for our salvation.
Before entering Jerusalem, He stopped in the city of Bethany, where Lazarus
(whom he raised from the tomb) with his two sisters Mary and Martha lived. In
Hebrew Bethany means “The House of the Poor”. His stop in Bethany before
reaching Jerusalem was a sign of both His acceptance of poverty and His
readiness to offer Himself as a sacrifice. He is the One who accepted poverty
for our own benefit and came to live in poverty with the poor and escort them to
heaven, the Kingdom of His Father.
After His short Stop in Bethany, Jesus entered Jerusalem to fulfill all the
prophecies, purposes and the work of the Lord since the dawn of history. All the
scripture accounts were fulfilled and completed with his suffering, torture,
crucifixion, death and resurrection. On the Cross, He cried with a loud voice:
“It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.(John19/30)
The multitude welcomed Jesus when He entered Jerusalem so one of the Old
Testament prophecies would be fulfilled. (Zechariah 9:9-10): “Rejoice greatly,
Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous
and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I
will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and
the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule
will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth”.
The crowd welcomed Jesus for different reasons and numerous expectations. There
were those who came to listen to His message and believed in Him, while others
sought a miraculous cure for their ailments and they got what they came for, but
many others envisaged in Him a mortal King that could liberate their country,
Israel, and free them from the yoke of the Roman occupation. Those were
disappointed when Jesus told them: “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom” (John
18/36)
Christ came to Jerusalem to die on its soil and fulfill the scriptures. It was
His choice where to die in Jerusalem as He has said previously: “should not be a
prophet perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13/33): “Nevertheless, I must go on
my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet
should perish away from Jerusalem”.
He has also warned Jerusalem because in it all the prophets were killed: (Luke
13:34-35): “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones
those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as
a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! “behold,
your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until
the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.
Explanation of the Palm Sunday Procession Symbols
The crowd chanted, “Hosanna to the Son of David” “Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21/09), because Jesus was
is a descendant of David. Hosanna in the highest is originated in the Psalm
118/25: “Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success”. It
is a call for help and salvation as also meant by the Psalm 26/11: “But I lead a
blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me”. Hosanna also means: God
enlightened us and will never abandon us, Jesus’ is a salvation for the world”
Spreading cloth and trees’ branches in front of Jesus to walk on them was an Old
Testament tradition that refers to love, obedience, submission, triumph and
loyalty. (2 Kings 09/13): “They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them
under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is
king!”. In the old days Spreading garments before a dignitary was a symbol of
submission.
Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, and the “Daughter of Zion” is Jerusalem. The term
is synonymous with “paradise” and the sky in its religious dimensions.
Carrying palm and olive branches and waving with them expresses joy, peace,
longing for eternity and triumph. Palm branches are a sign of victory and
praise, while Olive branches are a token of joy, peace and durability. The Lord
was coming to Jerusalem to conquer death by death and secure eternity for the
faithful. It is worth mentioning that the olive tree is a symbol for peace and
its oil a means of holiness immortality with which Kings, Saints, children and
the sick were anointed.
The name “King of Israel,” symbolizes the kingship of the Jews who were waiting
for Jehovah to liberate them from the Roman occupation.
O, Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith to feel closer to You and to Your mercy when
in trouble;
O, Lord Jesus, empower us with the grace of patience and meekness to endure
persecution, humiliation and rejection and always be Your followers.
O, Lord Let Your eternal peace and gracious love prevail all over the world.
A joyous Palm Sunday to all
NB: The Above Piece was first published in 2014, republished with minor changes
The Weapon of Files: From the Hell of Epstein to Seizing Lebanese
Decision-Making by Castrated Leaders, Officials, Clerics, and Influential
Figures Implicated in Scandalous Files."
Elias Bejjani/March 25/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153046/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE3vBxWCH2E&t=939s
1. The Doctrine of Political
Blackmail: A Global Lesson in "Epstein"
The Jeffrey Epstein case in the United States serves as a chilling blueprint for
how vice and scandal are converted into political assets. The ultimate goal of
compiling compromising files (Kompromat) on leaders and influencers—whether
sexual or financial—is not merely defamation; it is political enslavement. Once
a "handler" possesses incriminating evidence, the official’s free will is
extinguished. They cease to serve the public interest and become a mere
instrument, forced to execute the handler’s agenda to avoid exposure or
imprisonment.
2. The "KGB" Legacy and Its Levantine Iteration
This school of thought, pioneered by the Soviet KGB, was meticulously adopted by
regional intelligence apparatuses (namely the Syrian and Iranian regimes). The
strategy is simple yet lethal: "Fabricate or Entrap." Since the late 1970s, the
forces occupying Lebanon have ensured that no political, military, financial, or
even religious figure ascends to power without first being "secured" by a
scandalous file.
In Lebanon, this has evolved into a comprehensive system of "Social and
Political Engineering." The pervasive corruption from the bottom to the peak of
the state is not coincidental; it is systemic and protected. Any official who
fails to perform their constitutional or sovereign duties is likely shackled by
a file (sexual, financial, or treasonous) wielded by intelligence agencies at
every national crossroads.
3. The Lebanese Reality: A "Facade State" Controlled by the Deep State
The blatant failure to make sovereign decisions and the disintegration of
Lebanese institutions are rooted in a grim reality: the vast majority of
secular, spiritual, and financial leaders have lost the ability to say "No."
Field Control: Hezbollah, acting as the military and security arm of the Iranian
"Wilayat al-Faqih" and the remnants of the Syrian Ba'athist influence, holds the
keys to these files.
The Deep State: Hezbollah manages a "Deep State" that dominates
director-generals, judges, security commanders, and bankers through intimidation
and pre-packaged scandals.
Absolute Subordination: Lebanese officials have been reduced to executive
facades for an expansionist Iranian policy, executed by Hezbollah—a group
operating on a cross-border agenda that disregards Lebanese national identity.
4. The Path Forward: From "Rogue State" to International Guardianship
Given this paralysis, which has rendered Lebanon a "failed and rogue state"
managed by a designated terrorist organization, internal democratic mechanisms
are no longer viable. The only exit strategy involves:
International Guardianship: Placing Lebanon under international supervision to
rehabilitate its institutions away from the pressures of intelligence-based
blackmail.
Dismantling the Parallel Structure: A surgical operation to dismantle
Hezbollah’s military, financial, and intelligence wings, and the seizure of
assets built upon the ruins of the state.
Accountability and Deportation: Bringing the leaders who sold out national
sovereignty to justice, recovering looted funds, and purging the state of
political "mercenaries."
Conclusion: Lebanon does not merely suffer from "mismanagement"; it suffers from
"Occupation by Blackmail." The nation will not rise until those "black files"
are burned and those who used them to enslave a country are held accountable.
NB: Kompromat
Kompromat is a Russian term (short
for kompromitiruyushchiy material or "compromising material") that refers to
damaging information about a politician, public figure, or businessperson used
to create negative publicity, exert blackmail, or ensure loyalty. While the term
became internationally famous due to Russian intelligence tactics, the practice
itself is a universal tool of "dirty politics" and espionage. How Kompromat
Works. The goal of kompromat is rarely just to destroy someone's reputation; it
is more often used to control them. Once an agency or a rival has "the files,"
the target becomes a puppet who must follow orders to prevent the information
from going public. Collection: Information is gathered through surveillance,
wiretapping, financial audits, or "honey traps" (using romantic or sexual
entrapment). Verification: The material must be credible enough (photos, videos,
bank statements) to pose a real threat.The "Lever": The target is informed that
the material exists. They are then given a choice: total cooperation or total
ruin. Weaponization: If the target refuses to comply, the material is leaked to
the media or "anonymously" posted online to trigger a scandal.
Lebanese
army mourns soldier killed in Israeli strike in Kfar Tebnit
LBCI/March 28/2026
The Lebanese army announced the death of Corporal Fadel Abdallah Ayoub, who was
killed on March 28, 2026, in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Kfar Tebnit.
Ayoub was born on Feb. 20, 1991, in Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh region. He had
received commendations from the army commander several times during his service.
He is survived by his wife and two children. Funeral arrangements will be
announced at a later date.
Israeli airstrike targets Beirut’s southern suburbs
LBC/March 28/2026
An Israeli airstrike targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday
evening.
Israeli jets break sound barrier over Beirut, Metn,
Keserwan, Bekaa
Agence France Presse/March 28/2026
Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over Beirut and several areas on
Saturday night, state media reported, as residents heard loud booms reverberate
across the city and in the mountains. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency
reported Israeli planes breaking the sound barrier several times, including
"over Beirut and its suburbs, Metn and Keserwan, reaching as far as the Bekaa
and Hermel."Residents heard the booms in several parts of the country. Lebanon
was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah
launched rockets at Israel after the killing of the Islamic republic's supreme
leader.
Israel-Hezbollah war: Latest developments
Agence France Presse/March 28/2026
An Israeli strike targeted a car near Jezzine and a leaflet box hit a balcony in
Jnah on Saturday after an overnight strike on Dahiyeh and air raids across south
Lebanon. Reports said the strike on the car killed four people. Israel had also
carried out dawn airstrikes on several towns in southern Lebanon on Saturday,
Lebanese state media reported, as Israel and Hezbollah said they continued to
target each other’s forces. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “a
series of strikes” at dawn on the town of Majdal Selm and “successive strikes”
on the towns of Kafra, Hanniyeh, Touline and Adloun. It added that several
Israeli strikes also targeted the city of Nabatiyeh, hitting “residential and
commercial buildings and a fuel station.”At the same time, the agency reported
strikes on border towns, particularly Taybeh, along with “an attempt by enemy
forces to advance toward the Litani area.”The Israeli military said on Saturday
morning that “at this time, the IDF continues to strike Hezbollah terrorist
infrastructure across Lebanon.”It also reported having hit dozens of Hezbollah
sites overnight and said it killed two senior members of Hezbollah’s
communications unit in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday.
“Overnight, the IDF conducted strikes on dozens of targets from the air and sea
across multiple areas in southern Lebanon, in support of ground troops and as
part of the ongoing effort to degrade the capabilities of Hezbollah in the
area.”For its part, Hezbollah said in a series of statements that it had
targeted gatherings of Israeli forces in Debel, a predominantly Christian border
town with some remaining residents despite the war.The group said it struck a
Merkava tank “with an attack drone” in Debel. And it said that “after monitoring
an Israeli enemy force positioned in a house in Debel, its fighters targeted it
with an attack drone.”Hezbollah also announced it targeted the Israeli
military’s Northern Command headquarters, north of the city of Safed in northern
Israel, with a volley of rockets.
Aoun calls deadly Israeli strike on journalists 'blatant crime'
Agence France Presse/March 28/2026
President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strike that killed a journalist for
Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV and another for the pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen channel in
southern Lebanon on Saturday. "Once again, the Israeli aggression violates the
most basic rules of international law, international humanitarian law and the
laws of war, by targeting journalists, who are ultimately civilians performing a
professional duty," Aoun said in a statement released by the presidency."This is
a blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists
enjoy international protection in wars."
Lebanon says 46 rescuers, 5 medical staff killed in Israeli
strikes
Agence France Presse/March 28/2026
Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said Saturday that 46 rescuers and
five medical staff had been killed by Israel since the start of the war with
Hezbollah on March 2. Nassereddine said in a press conference that "the number
of martyrs in the health sector... is 51 martyrs... including 46 paramedics and
5 health workers, including nine new paramedic martyrs today." The minister said
the nine medics killed in south Lebanon on Saturday included four from
Hezbollah's Islamic Health Committee who were targeted by Israeli strikes while
carrying out rescue missions, and five from the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement's
Risala Scouts, who were also on duty.
Al-Manar and al-Mayadeen reporters killed in Israeli strike in south
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/March 28/2026
Three Lebanese journalists were killed on Saturday by an Israeli strike that
targeted their vehicle in southern Lebanon, a military source told AFP. Veteran
reporter Ali Shouaib of Hezbollah's channel Al-Manar and Fatima Ftouni of Al-Mayadeen,
seen as close to Iran, were killed near Jezzine, alongside Ftouni's brother, a
cameraman, the source said. Al-Mayadeen and Al-Manar confirmed the deaths of
their journalists. The Israeli army later confirmed that Shouaib was the target
of the strike, claiming that he was a member of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit
who disguised as a journalist and worked on exposing the positions of the
Israeli army in south Lebanon and inciting against the "State of Israel."
Shouaib was well-known war correspondent in the country where he had covered
south Lebanon for Al-Manar for nearly three decades. Ftouni had made a live
report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in Jezzine region. The
strike came days after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut
killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Al-Manar TV, along
with his wife.
British Foreign Secretary announces additional £2m
humanitarian funding to Lebanon
Naharnet/March 28/2026
At the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in France, the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette
Cooper announced an additional £2 million in UK humanitarian funding to Lebanon
bringing the British total contribution to £9.5 million since the beginning of
the conflict. This funding will support U.N. OCHA’s Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF)
to respond to growing humanitarian needs. LHF provides food, water, health,
shelter and protection support to conflict-affected communities across the
country. "This funding underlines the UK’s continued commitment to supporting
vulnerable communities at a time of escalating humanitarian pressures," a
British embassy statement said.British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell said:
“The UK remains deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in
Lebanon. The Foreign Secretary announced additional humanitarian funding to
support vulnerable communities across the country. We will continue to
coordinate with the Government of Lebanon and humanitarian partners.”
Syrian defense ministry says smuggling tunnel found near
Lebanon border — report
LBCI/March 28/2026
The Media and Communication Department of the Syrian Ministry of Defense told
the SANA agency that authorities discovered a tunnel connecting Syrian and
Lebanese territory near the village of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali, west of Homs. The
tunnel was reportedly used for smuggling by alleged “Lebanese militias.”
Authorities have since sealed the passage.
Lebanon to move clocks forward one hour for daylight saving
time
LBCI/March 28/2026
Authorities in Lebanon reminded the public that clocks will be set forward by
one hour starting at midnight, in observance of daylight saving time.
South Lebanon: What Remains of
History When Geography is Lost?
Mustafa FahsAsharq Al
Awsat/March 28/2026
South Lebanon (the South of the river, the far South) is steeped in antiquity.
For thousands of years, the peoples and tribes who successively settled forged
its collective memory, and its written and oral history, leaving their mark on
the land and in the collective consciousness itself.
It is there that Jesus performed his first miracle, in Cana of Galilee- where
historians find manifestations of his teachings, earning it the name "the land
of the Gospel," later "the land of the Annunciation." It is also where the
Canaanites settled after arriving from the Arabian Peninsula, laying the
foundations of their civilization three thousand years before Christ. From the
port of Tyre the king’s daughter Elissar sailed to Carthage, while her sister
Europa gave her name to the continent. The Yemeni tribe of Amela went there
after the flood of Marib, giving it the name of Jabal Amel.
Jabal Amel, whose hills rest against the shoulder of Galilee, has long been a
gateway for travel to and from Jerusalem taken by conquerors and pilgrims alike.
In our own time, it is the region of Lebanon that has most deeply shaped the
collective memory of the Shiite communities, who have lived there for over a
thousand years. It is where their narratives took shape as the ages passed and
sultans came and went, armies passed through and moved on, and occupations were
resisted. Its people belong to it as place, heritage, memory, and identity. They
carved it out of rock to build it and gave their lives to preserve it, leaving
it time and again against their will, always in the hope of returning.
It is not merely a place, but a cultural identity and a vessel for individual
and collective memories alike. This memory has the power to transform grief and
pain into joy, catastrophe into renewed hope and a path through which to rise
again from death and war. However, war does not wipe out stones alone; it erases
the stories, narratives, and memories bound to it. It becomes difficult to
maintain the past and memories of a people without it. Displacement and exile
sever the bond between people and place; over time, the place becomes an
imagined memory whose images fade. Here, one must ask: if the people of the
South return and rebuild their villages, their towns, their homes; would they be
able to fill the holes in their memory?
War generates divergent narratives and stories. Fragments collective memory are
scattered into disjointed accounts, until each individual possesses their own
distinct version. This produces not a diversity of memories but a conflict
within: from a perforated memory, the sense of collective identity seeps away,
replaced by a severed and isolating "I."
The people of the South may be able to rebuild what has been destroyed—but is it
as easy to rescue a memory thousands of years old? Can it be pulled living from
beneath the rubble? The destroyed villages—bearing human heritage in their
values and customs, their songs and chants, their squares, places of worship,
cemeteries, and gravestones—are themselves witnesses to both memory and
history.What the people of the South will face is not only the burden of return
or reconstruction, but the fear of losing a memory rich in its details, its
influences, its presence and continuity. This is a knowledge that literature,
poetry, and culture strive to capture. The great southern poet Shawqi Bazee put
it thus: "It is the natural outcome of a convergence between individual talents
and objective conditions—history forming one part, geography another—alongside
various civilizational and cultural factors. Perhaps it is the meeting of these
elements at a single focal point that has enabled southern Lebanon to become
fertile ground for all those poetic expressions that have flourished upon its
soil from ancient times to the present day."The South- our places, our
presences, and our thoughts been destroyed; our souls that have been lost- is a
difficult memory to forget and perhaps even more difficult to protect.
Charles Chartouni’s Most Provocative Interview: "Those
Loyal to Iran Should Leave Lebanon!"
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153199/
In this explosive episode of #PowerOfLogic hosted by Abdulrahman Dernayka on El
Haweya platform, renowned scholar and academic Dr. Charles Chartouni delivers a
scathing critique of Lebanon's current political trajectory and the influence of
regional powers.
Key Highlights of the Episode:
Identity & Loyalty: Dr. Chartouni sparks widespread controversy with his blunt
message to those prioritizing Iranian interests over Lebanese sovereignty.
The "Apocalyptic" Vision: How the obsession with "changing the world order" and
religious prophecies led to the systematic destruction of the Lebanese state.
The Death of Greater Lebanon: Why the 10,452 km² Lebanon is fading under the
weight of weak governments and political "absurdity."
The Nihilistic Project: An in-depth analysis of the Iranian project and its
impact on the collapse of national institutions.
A raw, unfiltered discussion that breaks all taboos and addresses the
fundamental crisis of the Lebanese identity.
Watch the full episode and join the conversation: Is the era of "Greater
Lebanon" officially over? Tell us what you think in the comments.
Lebanon kids struggle to keep
up studies as war slams school doors shut
AFP/March 29, 2026
BEIRUT, Lebanon: In a classroom turned shelter for displaced families, teenager
Ahmad Melhem follows a recorded lesson on a tablet as the war between Hezbollah
and Israel interrupts education for hundreds of thousands of students in
Lebanon.
“I don’t want to regret not finishing my studies despite the difficult
circumstances,” said Melhem, whose family was displaced from Beirut’s southern
suburbs, the site of repeated Israeli bombardment. “We took a risk and went back
to get schoolbooks,” he told AFP. “We’re trying with everything we have to
continue our education so we can achieve our goals,” said the 17-year-old, who
hopes to study engineering after finishing high school.Crisis-hit Lebanon was
pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 when militant group Hezbollah fired
rockets toward Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with large-scale strikes on Lebanon
and a ground offensive in the country’s south, killing more than 1,100 people —
including 122 children — and displacing more than one million people, according
to authorities. The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF says the war has
left almost half a million students out of school in Lebanon, after more than
350 public schools were turned into shelters and many in areas under Israeli
bombardment were closed. Melhem’s family and others are sharing a classroom
divided up by plastic curtains at a school in a central Beirut district, the
room scattered with thin mattresses and blankets, a table and small stove
serving as a shared kitchen.
‘Digital divide’
In the corner, Melhem has set up his books and a computer screen, but there is
no Internet in the room. An NGO has provided Internet access in the schoolyard,
crowded with children playing and families socialising, but Melhem says he
cannot concentrate because of the noise, so he watches the recorded classes
later. His private school resumed distance learning two weeks after the war
began, after canceling subjects and shortening lessons. “In-person (class) is
better and more engaging,” he said. “I miss group work and the science projects
we used to do.” According to a 2023 World Bank report, each day of public school
closures costs the Lebanese economy three million dollars. In the courtyard,
Melhem’s mother helps her other son, aged eight, to follow his online classes.
“If I leave him alone, his mind wanders and he can’t keep up with the lesson,”
says Salameh, 41. “The war has destroyed everything,” she added.
“Education is the only thing left for my children.”UNICEF’s head of education in
Lebanon, Atif Rafique, expressed particular concern about the future of students
who are preparing to enter university while the war continues. He warned of the
dangers of children dropping out of school, especially “girls and adolescent
young women” who face additional risks, including early marriage.
‘Not even pens’
In Dekwaneh, north of Beirut, at a vocational institute that is now a shelter,
Aya Zahran said she spends her day “preparing food and working to make the place
livable.” “We have only one phone that my siblings and I share,” said Zahran,
17, who is also displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs. But “the link the
school sent us (for online classes) doesn’t work,” she said. Rafique said
hundreds of public schools lack the resources for distance learning, and noted a
“big digital divide” when it comes to Internet access, with teachers also
affected. UNICEF has helped launch an online platform with recorded lessons, and
a hotline allowing students to access materials through a phone call, without
needing Internet access. He said children in south Lebanon have been
disproportionately affected by education interruptions since the last round of
hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out in October 2023. Just a week
before the latest war began, UNICEF reopened 30 schools in the south that had
been damaged in the previous conflict, he said. At the vocational institute’s
entrance, an education ministry employee was registering children to assess what
educational services they need. “The situation here is very difficult... there’s
no Internet here, and not even pens,” said Nasima Ismail, who has been displaced
from the northeast Bekaa region, as she signed up her children. “My children are
top students. I don’t want them to miss out on their education, as happened to
us when we were kids,” said Ismail, recalling Lebanon’s devastating 1975-1990
civil war.“I want them to complete their education, even if we are left with
nothing,” she said. “I wish them days better than ours.”
Israel–Lebanon border security
calls for cooperation, not control
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 28, 2026
With alarming frequency and rather quickly, the border between Israel and
Lebanon can shift from calm to high-intensity conflict. Until the late 1970s,
this frontier remained relatively quiet, despite the fact that the two countries
have technically been in a state of war since the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli
conflict and have never signed a peace treaty. Early tensions largely took the
form of skirmishes involving Palestinian militants affiliated with various
factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. However, after the PLO was
forced out of Lebanon in 1982, resistance to Israeli occupation became a
defining pillar of the newly established Lebanese Shiite militant movement,
Hezbollah. This narrative of resistance also provided a powerful pretext for the
Iranian-backed and financed organization to develop a military force that not
only rivalled the Lebanese Armed Forces but, in several respects, surpassed it —
enabling it to exert significant influence across large parts of the country.
Unlike the confrontation with Iran, in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has clearly articulated objectives that extend beyond neutralizing
nuclear and missile capabilities to include the prospect of regime change, one
of the stated aims in Lebanon is, at least in principle, the exact opposite of
creating the conditions for the Lebanese government to take control of the
country. Israel seeks to degrade Hezbollah’s military capacity and, in doing so,
also enable the Lebanese state to reassert control over the territory between
the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated ceasefire line, and the Litani River, about 30
km to the north. The strategic objective is to establish a buffer zone
separating Israeli territory from Hezbollah’s operational reach.
Yet, pursuing this objective through overwhelming military force carries
significant risks. Strikes that extend beyond Hezbollah’s military
infrastructure, resulting in large-scale casualties, including civilians and
children, and emergency personnel, while destroying houses and civilian
infrastructure, risks producing precisely the opposite of their intended effect.
Rather than weakening Hezbollah’s position, it reinforces its excuse for
remaining a military force, without active resistance to it by the government or
the Lebanese population. The risks would be even more pronounced if Israel were
to initiate a large-scale ground offensive, potentially leading to a prolonged
occupation of southern Lebanon, an outcome with a long-lasting and fraught
historical precedent.
This approach reflects a deeply embedded security paradigm within Israel’s
political and military leadership: the conviction that only direct control over
territory can ensure lasting security, rather than reliance on the capacity of
the Lebanese state or its armed forces.
Use of overwhelming military force carries significant risks.
As in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Hezbollah has moved to
inflame Israel’s northern front, launching cross-border rocket attacks that it
framed as a “revenge for the blood of the Supreme Leader of the Muslims, Ali
Khamenei.” Although both sides can be accused of violating the November 2024
ceasefire before the latest escalation, Hezbollah’s actions went beyond a
limited or localized breach. Instead, they signaled a deliberate re-entry into
sustained hostilities, likely aligned with Iranian strategic interests and
encouraged by Tehran.
Hezbollah’s leadership is unlikely to have acted without anticipating a forceful
Israeli response, particularly at a time when Israel is engaged in a war with
its chief opponent, Iran, and still has to concentrate forces in Gaza and the
West Bank. Indeed, this escalation may have been designed precisely to provoke
such a reaction. If Israel were to refrain from responding decisively, it would
risk appearing weak and overextended. After all, before the November 2024
ceasefire, large parts of northern Israel had been evacuated for over a year due
to persistent rocket attacks and the threat of incursions by Hezbollah’s elite
Radwan Force. The displacement of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians
represented a tangible strategic gain for Hezbollah — and, by extension, for
Iran — one that Israel is unlikely to accept as a new status quo. However, a
forceful Israeli response carries its own strategic dangers. The destruction of
critical infrastructure, such as bridges along the Litani River, and the
signaling of a potential ground operation aimed at establishing a security zone,
risks alienating the local population and further weakening the already fragile
Lebanese state.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing cycle that undermines long-term
stability. Actions intended to weaken Hezbollah risk instead entrenching its
role within Lebanon’s political and security landscape. Such an outcome would
complicate any future efforts to reach a negotiated settlement or move toward a
broader normalization of relations between Israel and Lebanon.
This dilemma poses a significant challenge for any Israeli government,
particularly one that is not equipped to handle complex situations requiring a
more nuanced approach. In this battle, the Israeli and Lebanese government and
most of its population are on the same side, as the latter seems to be
determined to take the country on a different path, helped by a weakened
Hezbollah, together with Iran, which have for decades hijacked the political
system and held the society to ransom.
Hezbollah, together with Iran, has hijacked the political system.
Israel’s desire to establish a security buffer between the Blue Line and the
Litani River is not, in itself, unreasonable. However, such an objective does
not necessarily require a sustained military presence or territorial occupation.
A more sustainable approach would prioritize avoiding prolonged occupation while
fostering cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces, thereby laying the
groundwork for a revised, mutually acceptable security arrangement.
In this regard, a practical benchmark for de-escalation would be a renewed
commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 and
reaffirmed in the 2024 ceasefire framework. The resolution recognizes the
Lebanese government as the sole legitimate authority entitled to possess and
deploy weapons within the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line.
Effective implementation of this framework could allow for a full Israeli
withdrawal from contested areas, including the remaining outposts held after the
last ceasefire, while providing a measure of security through the
demilitarization of the border zone. This cannot be achieved without regional
and international support and a peacekeeping operation with a clear mandate.
Ultimately, the challenge along the Israel–Lebanon border lies in reconciling
two competing logics: the immediate demands of security and the longer-term
requirements of political stability. Military force may offer short-term
deterrence, but without a credible political framework, it risks perpetuating
the very conditions that give rise to recurring conflict. Only by shifting from
a paradigm of territorial control to one of cooperative security can a more
durable and stable equilibrium emerge along this volatile frontier.
• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate
fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House.
X: @YMekelberg
The War on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues/LCCC website
The just war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran and its
proxies—devils, terrorists, drug traffickers, and mafia networks—continues
relentlessly and will not stop before their complete defeat.
To follow the news, below are- links to several
important news websites:
National News Agency (Lebanon)
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
MTV Lebanon
https://www.mtv.com.lb/
Voice of Lebanon
https://www.vdl.me/
Asas Media
https://asasmedia.com/
Naharnet
https://www.naharnet.com/
Al Markazia News Agency
https://almarkazia.com/ar
LBCI (English)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/en
LBCI (Arabic)
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Janoubia Website
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/ar
Kataeb Party Official Website
https://www.kataeb.org
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published
on March
28-29/2026
Trump
says Iran has to reopen Strait of Hormuz, negotiations ongoing
Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that negotiations with Iran were
ongoing and said the Iranian regime needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’re achieving each and every one of the military objectives I laid out less
than four weeks ago,” Trump said during a speech at the FII Summit in Miami,
Florida. Trump said Iran was being “decimated” as talks continue, adding that
Tehran wants a deal. He said 3,554 targets remained in Iran. The US president
also praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as other Gulf
leaders from the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. Calling MBS a close friend, Trump said
Saudi Arabia should be proud of the Saudi Crown Prince.
Pentagon readying for
ground operations in Iran: Washington Post
AFP/March 29, 2026
PARIS: The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran –
potentially including raids on Kharg Island and coastal sites near the Strait of
Hormuz – though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment, the
Washington Post reported Saturday. Any ground operation would stop short of a
full-scale invasion, instead involving raids by special operations forces and
conventional infantry troops, the Post said, citing unnamed officials.
Washington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East in the
month-old war. The first of two contingents arrived on Friday on an amphibious
assault ship, the US military said on Saturday. Reuters has reported the
Pentagon was considering military operations that could include deploying ground
troops in Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday the US could
achieve its aims without ground troops but that it was deploying some to the
region so Trump would have “maximum” flexibility to adjust strategy. The
Pentagon was also expected to deploy thousands of soldiers from the US
Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. The deployment would come atop of some 5,000
Marines who are being shifted to the Middle East. Those forces are over and
above the 50,000 US forces already in the region, AP reported. The surge of
Marines and soldiers has fed speculation that Trump is, at the very least,
positioning troops to conduct limited ground strikes to secure the banks of the
strait or capture Kharg Island, a critical part of Iran’s oil industry. Defense
experts say US ground forces could certainly capture Kharg and help secure the
strait, but the cost could be a war of attrition in which American lives and
taxpayer money present a hefty price.– with Reuters and AP
US envoy Witkoff says Trump administration is hopeful for
meetings with Iran soon
Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Friday that the
United States was hopeful that there would be meetings with Iran this week.
“There are some people in Iran who deny that there are negotiations, but I think
everybody in this room knows we are negotiating. It’s clear,” Witkoff said at
the FII Summit in Miami, Florida. He alluded to “some ships” being able to
transit through the Strait of Hormuz, calling that a “very, very good sign.”
Witkoff, speaking shortly before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled address
at the FII summit, said his boss wants a peace deal. “But he also believes in
peace through strength. Without pressure, you’ll never get anybody to the
table.”The diplomat and close confidante of the US president listed several red
lines, including no enrichment for Iran and halting support of non-state
militias. "We have a 15-point plan on the table that the Iranians have had for a
bit of time. We expect the Iranians to respond, and it could solve it all.”He
added: “We think there will be meetings this week. We’re certainly hopeful for
it,”With Reuters
Attempts at diplomacy as US troops build up in the Mideast
Associated Press/March 28/2026
Pakistan said Saturday Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will send their top
diplomats to Islamabad for talks aimed at ending the Iran war. Foreign Minister
Ishaq Dar said in a statement that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin
Farhan, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr
Abdelatty will arrive Sunday for a two-day visit to "hold in-depth discussions
on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region."
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington delivered a 15-point "action list"
to Iran for a possible ceasefire, with a proposal to restrict Iran's nuclear
program and reopen the strait. Tehran rejected the proposal and presented its
own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its
sovereignty over the waterway. Meanwhile, U.S. ships drew closer to the region
carrying some 2,500 Marines, and at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd
Airborne trained to land in hostile territory to secure key positions and
airfields have been ordered to the Middle East. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
said the U.S. "can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops."
Loud explosions heard in Iranian capital
AFP and Reuters/28 /2026:
A series of loud explosions on Saturday evening rattled the Iranian capital, an
AFP journalist reported, as the war with Israel and the United States ground on.
The blasts were heard in central Tehran for several minutes, although it was not
clear what was targeted. US President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran were
going “very well,” but Tehran denies talking with Washington. Iran has been
reviewing the 15-point US proposal, although one official has dismissed it as
“one-sided and unfair.” Its demands range from dismantling Iran’s nuclear
programme to curbing its missile development and effectively handing over
control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports. Turkey’s
Fidan told an Istanbul conference on Saturday that the world’s new “polycentric
system” requires a solution to guarding vital energy and trade routes. He said
Turkey’s high-level dialogue aims to swiftly chart out “actionable steps” to end
the war before there is further destruction to the region and global economy.
Israel army says struck Iran complex producing naval weapons
Reuters/28 March/2026
The Israeli military said Saturday it had struck an industrial complex in Tehran
used for the research and development of naval weapons. “The IDF struck the
headquarters of the Iranian terrorist regime’s Marine Industries Organization,”
the military said, adding the strike was part of a wave of attacks conducted
overnight from Friday to Saturday. “This headquarters is responsible for the
research, development, and production of a wide range of naval weaponry,
including surface and sub-surface vessels, manned and unmanned equipment, as
well as engines and weapons.”US President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran
were going “very well,” but Tehran denies talking with Washington. Iran has been
reviewing the 15-point US proposal, although one official has dismissed it as
“one-sided and unfair.” Its demands range from dismantling Iran’s nuclear
programme to curbing its missile development and effectively handing over
control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources and reports. Turkey’s
Fidan told an Istanbul conference on Saturday that the world’s new “polycentric
system” requires a solution to guarding vital energy and trade routes. He said
Turkey’s high-level dialogue aims to swiftly chart out “actionable steps” to end
the war before there is further destruction to the region and global economy.
Israel faces third front from Houthis as war enters second
month, military expands Lebanon operations
LBCI/28 March/2026
With the war entering its second month, Israel has found itself facing a third
front from the Houthis, compounding the challenges facing its defense systems
and placing the southern region within range of two fronts simultaneously.
Security assessments say the fronts now include Iran and the Houthis, in
addition to the northern and central fronts involving Iran and Hezbollah. A
Houthi ballistic missile launched toward southern Israel signals the risk of
what security officials describe as a new scenario that could expand to threaten
maritime navigation and affect the global oil market.
The missile from Yemen came after a night during which millions of Israelis
remained in shelters until dawn following missile fire from Hezbollah and Iran.
Among the projectiles was a cluster missile that struck about ten locations in
the area around the site. It fell during the night, killing one Israeli,
wounding dozens, and causing extensive damage, according to information cleared
for publication by military censors. In Lebanon, the Israeli army has
intensified its attacks and expanded its congtrol, reinforcing its units with
additional troops and armored vehicles to support confrontations with Hezbollah
fighters. Military censors also allowed the publication of reports that nine
soldiers were wounded. At the same time, warnings are growing in Israel about
the risk of becoming bogged down in Lebanon as calls for a full-scale war
continue and shelling of civilian targets intensifies. Despite the deaths,
injuries, and public outcry directed at decision-makers, and estimates that Iran
and Hezbollah possess enough missiles to sustain heavy daily bombardment for
weeks, a majority of Israelis still support continuing the war with Lebanon.
According to surveys, 74% want the Litani River to become a new borderline with
Lebanon, while 76% oppose agreeing to halt fighting with Hezbollah if that were
a condition in an agreement to end the war with Iran.
Houthis confirm first attack since Iran war as Israel identifies missile launch
from Yemen
Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis confirmed on Saturday that they had launched an
attack on Israel for the first time during the current Israeli-US war against
Iran, marking their entry to the conflict and raising the prospects of a broader
regional confrontation. The group said the attack with a barrage of missiles
came after continued targeting of infrastructure in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the
Palestinian territories, adding that their operations would continue until the
“aggression” on all fronts ends. The Israeli military said early on Saturday it
had identified a launch of a missile from Yemen, the first time a missile has
launched from Yemen since the war erupted. The launch comes hours after
Iran-aligned Houthis said on Friday they were prepared to act if what the group
called an escalation against Iran and the “axis of resistance” continued but did
not say what form any intervention would take. For all the latest headlines,
follow our Google News channel online or via the app. The Houthis entry to the
war raises the prospects of a broader regional confrontation, particularly given
the Houthis’ ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping
lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, which they had done in
support of Hamas in Gaza after October 7, 2023.Iran’s allies in Lebanon and Iraq
have already joined the war in the region triggered by US and Israeli strikes on
Tehran four weeks ago. With Agencies
Iran-backed Houthis claim first missile launch on Israel
Associated Press/28 March/2026
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile launch toward Israel early
Saturday, their first since the war in the Middle East started. The Israeli
military said it intercepted the projectile. The war, now marking its one-month
anniversary, erupted after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, which
retaliated with strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. The
conflict has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports and caused fuel
prices to soar. Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic
waterway, has also exacerbated the economic fallout of the war.
Israel struck Iran's nuclear facilities hours after threatening to "escalate and
expand" its campaign against Tehran on Friday. Iran vowed to retaliate and
struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding more than a dozen U.S. service members
and damaging planes.
Before Saturday's attack, there appeared to be a breakthrough as Tehran agreed
to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the strait.
Houthi involvement could further complicate the war
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, claimed
responsibility in a statement aired Saturday morning on the rebels' Al-Masirah
satellite television. He said the Houthis fired a barrage of ballistic missiles
targeting what he described as "sensitive Israeli military sites" in southern
Israel. The attack came hours after Saree signaled in a vague statement Friday
that the rebels would join the war. Sirens went off around Israel's southern
city of Beer Sheba and the area near Israel's main nuclear research center as
Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire on Israel overnight. Loud explosions also
filled the air in Tel Aviv and Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said it was
responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area. Saturday's
assault calls into question whether the Houthis will again target commercial
shipping traveling through the Red Sea corridor, as they did during the
Israel-Hamas war, upending shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1
trillion worth of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels also fired
drones at Israel. The potential involvement of the Houthis in the war would also
complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier that
went to port in Crete on Monday for repairs. Sending the carrier back into the
Red Sea could draw it into the same high tempo of attacks seen by the USS Dwight
D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in the 2025 American campaign
against the Houthis. The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since 2014,
and so far had stayed out of the war as the rebels have had an uneasy ceasefire
for years with Saudi Arabia, which launched a war against the group on behalf of
Yemen's exiled government in 2015.
Israeli strikes hit two
Gaza police checkpoints, killing six, medics say
Reuters/March 28, 2026
CAIRO: Two Israeli air strikes on two checkpoints of the Hamas-led police force
killed at least six Palestinians including a child, local health officials said,
in the latest round of violence despite a US-brokered ceasefire that is now more
than five months old. Medics said Israeli planes attacked two police
checkpoints in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing three
policemen and three civilians, including a girl, and wounding four others. The
Israeli military did not immediately comment on the recent strikes. The military
has killed over 680 Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas came
into effect in November, local health officials say. More than 72,000 have
been killed since the war started in October 2023. Israel is now also waging a
war, alongside the US, against Iran, and is carrying out a new campaign
against Hezbollah in which Israel forces have invaded southern Lebanon. Violence
in Gaza has persisted despite the ceasefire and amid Israel’s war with Iran.
Health officials in the territory say at least 50 Palestinians have been killed
by Israeli forces since the Iran conflict began a month ago.
US hopes for Iran meetings 'this week'
Agence France Press/28 March/2026
U.S. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday he believes Iran
will hold talks with Washington "this week" to end the month-long war in the
Middle East.
"We think there will be meetings this week, we're certainly hopeful for it,"
Witkoff told a business forum in Miami when asked about the Iran negotiations.
Possible breakthrough to allow aid and agricultural
shipments through Hormuz
Associated Press/28 March/2026
Iran has agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the
Strait of Hormuz following a request from the United Nations. Ali Bahreini, the
country's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said Iran agreed to "facilitate and
expedite" such movement. The vital waterway usually handles a fifth of the
world's oil shipments and nearly a third of the world's fertilizer trade. While
markets and governments have largely focused on blocked supplies of oil and
natural gas, the restriction of fertilizer ingredients and trade threatens
farming and food security around the world.
Over 2 dozen US troops wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi
base
Associated Press/28 March/2026
More than two dozen U.S. troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi
Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base in the past week, according to two people who
have been briefed on the matter. Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones
at the base in the Friday attack that injured at least 15 troops, including five
seriously, according to the sources who were not authorized to comment publicly
and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The base, about 96 kilometers (60
miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, came under attack twice earlier in the
week, including a strike that wounded 14 U.S. troops, according to the people
briefed on the matter. The base is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force but is also
used by U.S. troops.
Baghdad orders probe after drone targets Kurdistan
president’s home
Reuters/28 March/2026
A drone attack targeted the home of the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
early on Saturday, security sources said, in an incident that comes as tensions
continue to rise across northern Iraq. Air defenses also shot down a drone near
a Peshmerga fighters’ base in Duhok, the sources added. The strikes come amid a
surge in attacks on both Iran-aligned militias and Kurdish forces as the
US-Israeli war against Iran spills over into Iraq, drawing in multiple armed
groups and straining Baghdad’s efforts to contain the fallout. Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the attack on Kurdish President Nechirvan
Barzani’s home and spoke with him by phone, his office said. Sudani ordered the
creation of a joint federal-Kurdistan security and technical team to investigate
the incidents and identify those responsible, the statement added.
Airstrikes have been targeting sites belonging to Iraq’s umbrella group for
Iran-backed Shi’ite militias, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and Kurdish
Peshmerga fighters in Iraq’s Kurdistan since the start of the US-Israeli war
against Iran. Iraq’s military accused the US and Israel of carrying out some of
the airstrikes on the PMF. Tehran-backed armed groups have also launched attacks
on US bases in Iraq and the US embassy.
Two drones targeting US embassy in Baghdad intercepted: AFP
LBCI/28 March/2026
Two drones targeting the U.S. embassy in Baghdad were intercepted by air
defences late Saturday, security officials said, the first such attack against
the diplomatic mission in 10 days. One official said the drones were shot down
outside the Green Zone, which houses government institutions and diplomatic
missions. A second official confirmed an attack by an "explosive" drone had been
prevented. The last such attack occurred on March 18. The influential
pro-Iranian armed group Kataeb Hezbollah subsequently said it would pause
attacks on the U.S. embassy, extending the five-day ceasefire twice.AFP
Saudi Arabia intercepts five drones, one missile
Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted five drones fired on the country, the
Ministry of Defense spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said.In addition
to the drones, Saudi air defenses also intercepted and destroyed a ballistic
missile that had been launched toward Riyadh. Israel and the US have been
striking Iran since February 28. Iran has retaliated by attacking Israeli and US
targets in the region, in addition to indiscriminately targeting neighboring
countries not involved in the war. Saudi Arabia has become a target for Iranian
drone and missile attacks but has been able to thwart most of the threa
Israel says Iran missile attack kills man in Tel Aviv
AFP/28 March/2026
Israeli authorities said an Iranian missile attack killed a man in Tel Aviv on
Friday, as Tehran pressed its retaliatory strikes across the region a month into
the war. The Israeli military said it had “identified missiles launched from
Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel” in at least five rounds in
just over five hours, triggering air defense systems and warning sirens late on
Friday and early Saturday. The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service
said a man was killed in Tel Aviv in one of the attacks.Two other men, aged 65
and 50, were wounded in a separate incident in the city, and another two in the
southern town of Kuseife, MDA said. In a video from one of the impact sites
shared by the military, Home Front Command official Miki David said a
residential apartment was hit by a cluster munition. Cluster munitions explode
mid-air and scatter bomblets across a wide area. Iran and Israel have previously
accused each other of using cluster bombs. AFP images from Tel Aviv showed
emergency responders at the scene of a missile impact, where the bombed-out
entrance to a building was littered with debris. Video footage that a witness
shared with AFP showed what appeared to be a missile barrage over Jerusalem,
where air raid sirens had sounded. AFP correspondents also heard the sound of
explosions from Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli media said
that one of the rounds of inbound attacks, which according to the army’s Home
Front Command triggered sirens in Israel’s north and parts of the annexed Golan
Heights, was carried out simultaneously by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Earlier Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would exact a
“HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” after attacks major steel factories and
nuclear sites. Before the latest fatality was confirmed, emergency services and
authorities had said attacks killed 18 civilians on the Israeli side since the
start of the war on February 28. They said Iranian missile attacks had killed 13
Israelis, including four minors, as well as one Filipino caregiver and one Thai
national.
Israel military says striking ‘regime targets’ in Tehran
AFP/28 March/2026
Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Iranian “regime targets” early
Saturday, as an AFP journalist in the capital Tehran reported hearing around 10
intense blasts and seeing a plume of black smoke. A brief military statement
said Israeli forces were “currently striking Iranian terror regime targets
across Tehran,” without elaborating.
Pakistan to host Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt for talks on Iran war
Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt will meet in
Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East, the government said on
Saturday. It said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had invited his counterparts and
that they would be in the Pakistani capital on Sunday and Monday. “During the
visit, the Foreign Ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of
issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” a foreign
ministry statement said. The visiting foreign ministers would also meet
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it said. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr
Abdelatty will travel to Pakistan to meet with his counterparts from Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia and Turkey and discuss regional de-escalation, Egypt’s foreign
ministry confirmed. A foreign ministry source earlier told AFP that the
quadrilateral meeting would take place on Monday, with delegations expected to
arrive in Pakistan by Sunday evening. Pakistan has emerged as a key facilitator
between Iran and the United States as the conflict drags on, serving as an
intermediary for messages between the two sides. Islamabad has longstanding
links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief
Field Marshal Amin Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President
Donald Trump. Ankara’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the private A Haber
broadcaster that the meeting was initially planned to be held in Turkey.
“However, since our Pakistani counterparts are required to remain in their
country, we moved the meeting to Pakistan,” he said late on Friday. Germany’s
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct
US-Iran meeting in Pakistan “very soon,” without revealing his source. While
Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has
passed a response to Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad,
according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency. With
Agencies
Third fire breaks out in UAE after Iran missile attack
AFP/28 March/2026
Six people were injured after three fires broke out in Abu Dhabi on Saturday as
a result of debris falling from a ballistic missile interception, the emirate's
media office said. Five of the injured are Indians, while a sixth injured is a
Pakistani national, the Abu Dhabi Media Office reported. Authorities said the
fires were dealt with in the vicinity of Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, or
KEZAD, part of Abu Dhabi's AD Ports Group economic cities and free zones. Tehran
continues to strike Gulf nations a month into the regional war.
French police thwart a suspected bombing outside a Bank of America building in
Paris
The Associated Press/28 March/2026
French police have thwarted a suspected bomb attack outside a Bank of America
building in Paris, authorities said Saturday. One suspect was detained and
another escaped. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, or PNAT, told
The Associated Press that it has opened an investigation into alleged
terrorism-related offenses. The suspected offenses include attempted damage by
fire or by a dangerous means, the manufacture of an incendiary or explosive
device, the possession and transport of such devices with the intent to prepare
dangerous damage, and involvement in a terrorist criminal association. A person
was placed in police custody. “Well done to the rapid intervention of a Paris
police prefecture unit, which made it possible to thwart a violent act of a
terrorist nature overnight in Paris,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.
“Vigilance remains at a very high level,” Nuñez said. “I commend all security
and intelligence forces, fully mobilized under my authority in the current
international context.” RTL radio, citing police sources, reported that the
incident took place early Saturday when police officers spotted two suspects
carrying a shopping bag near the premises of the Bank of America in the 8th
arrondissement of the French capital.One of the suspects, holding a lighter, was
attempting to ignite a device, RTL said, while the second suspect managed to
escape. The Paris police prefecture declined to comment. Since the Iran war
broke out, French authorities have increased personal protection of some figures
from the Iranian opposition and stepped up security around sites that could be a
target, including sites linked to US interests and to the Jewish community,
Nuñez said earlier this week.
Kuwait airport radar suffers significant damage due to drone attack
Reuters/28 March/2026
Kuwait International Airport was targeted by multiple drone attacks that caused
significant damage to its radar system but resulted in no casualties, state news
agency KUNA said on Saturday, citing the country's Civil Aviation Authority.
The authority’s spokesperson later said the attacks were carried out by Iran,
its proxies, and the armed groups it supports.
News of
the ongoing war between Iran on one side and the US and Israel on the other. The
news is abundant, fragmented, and difficult to keep track of as it evolves
constantly. For those wishing to follow the course of the war, the following are
links to several television channels and newspapers:
Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper
https://aawsat.com/
National News Agency
https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/ar
Al Arabiya/Arabic
https://www.alarabiya.net/
Sky News
https://www.youtube.com/@SkyNewsArabia
Nidaa Al Watan
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Markazia
https://www.nidaalwatan.com/
Al Hadath
https://www.youtube.com/@AlHadath
Independent Arabia
https://www.independentarabia.com/
The Latest
LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on March
28-29/2026
Finish the Job: Leaving Iran's Regime in
Place Guarantees Endless Regional Instability
Dr.
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 28, 2026
This is precisely the moment when the greatest strategic mistake could be made:
stopping halfway while leaving "moderate" extremists still in place.
If left intact, the regime will almost certainly, at some point -- after the
Trump administration's term ends -- accelerate its most ambitious and dangerous
projects, most notably its pursuit of nuclear weapons along with ballistic
missiles to deliver them.
Now, faced with intensified pressure and internal fragility, the regime has, as
usual, apparently signaled a willingness to negotiate. It may even agree to
sweeping terms – say "yes" to anything — not because of any positive
transformation but as a tactic for survival.
A ceasefire deal now would not resolve the underlying problem -- it would freeze
it in place temporarily while allowing the regime to recover. Once stabilized,
it would resume its activities -- with the same less-than-neighborly objectives.
Any agreement with this regime, or what is left of it, will almost certainly end
up undoing the very gains that the US and Israel have achieved.
The choice, therefore, is between finishing what has been started or once again
facing the same reality just around the bend.
This is the moment when the United States and Israel could make greatest
strategic mistake in the Iran war: stopping halfway while leaving "moderate"
extremists still in place.
Only two countries, the United States and Israel, have finally confronted a
regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which, for nearly half a century, has held
the world hostage and destabilized an entire region, all while brutally
tormenting its own people.
Iran's ruling system has built its identity on ideology — an expansionist
doctrine rooted in "exporting the revolution," undermining and attacking
sovereign states, and financing terrorist proxies. From Hezbollah in Lebanon, to
Hamas in Gaza, to the Houthis in Yemen, to the Popular Mobilization Forces in
Iraq, to terrorist cells in Latin America, the regime has poured billions into
non-state actors that perpetuate cycles of violence, weaken governments, and
terrorize civilians. At home, it has maintained power through repression,
torture, censorship and force.
In recent weeks, however, despite a media landscape that often appears critical
— or at times echoing narratives favorable to Tehran — the reality on the ground
suggests that actual progress has been made in degrading the regime's military
capabilities and its hold on power.
In addition to having buried Iran's three major nuclear facilities last June in
less than two weeks, significant blows now include eliminating Iran's air force,
navy, weapons manufacturing infrastructure and many of its missile launchers.
For years, Iran invested heavily in asymmetric maritime warfare — fast attack
craft, mines, and unconventional tactics designed to disrupt shipping lanes and
threaten global oil and gas flows. Reports and assessments indicate that key
elements of this infrastructure have been permanently put out of operation– and
will not be rebuilt overnight.
It was a capacity that took generations to construct.
This is precisely the moment when the greatest strategic mistake could be made:
stopping halfway while leaving "moderate" extremists still in place.
The Iranian regime is, at its core, ideological, and not a conventional actor
that recalibrates and retreats when pressured. When wounded, it recalculates,
regroups, and seeks continuance. If left intact, the regime will almost
certainly, at some point -- after the Trump administration's term ends --
accelerate its most ambitious and dangerous projects, most notably its pursuit
of nuclear weapons along with ballistic missiles to deliver them.
From Tehran's perspective, the goal is clear. If conventional capabilities are
degraded, then nuclear deterrence becomes not just desirable, but essential. A
premature agreement would give the regime exactly what it needs: time to
rebuild, adapt, and double down.
Under the 2015 JCPOA "nuclear deal" negotiated by the Obama administration, Iran
accepted delaying its nuclear weapons breakout until 2025 in exchange for
sanctions relief. Rather than fundamentally altering its behavior, the regime
used the breathing room to expand its regional influence, enrich more uranium,
build thousands of ballistic missiles, fund its proxies, murder Americans,
attempt to assassinate then presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, and, on
October 7, 2023, use its Hamas proxy to invade Israel. In that part of the
world, agreements with "infidels" can be considered tactical delays, not
strategic transformations.
Now, faced with intensified pressure and internal fragility, the regime has, as
usual, apparently signaled a willingness to negotiate. It may even agree to
sweeping terms – say "yes" to anything — not because of any positive
transformation but as a tactic for survival.
Domestically, Iran's regime faces deep unpopularity. Recent anti-regime
protests, economic hardship, and political repression have eroded its
legitimacy. Israeli and US strikes have eliminated key personnel and
capabilities. In such a position, it is likely to agree to almost anything if it
ensures its own survival.
A ceasefire deal now would not resolve the underlying problem -- it would freeze
it in place temporarily while allowing the regime to recover. Once stabilized,
it would resume its activities -- with the same less-than-neighborly objectives.
Meanwhile, its network of allies — states such as Russia, North Korea and China
— will provide avenues for technological support, economic lifelines and
strategic coordination—as they already have been doing during the conflict.
There is also undoubtedly the calculation in Tehran that it can outlast
President Trump 's strong leadership. The regime may assume that political
cycles will be less assertive, creating opportunities to reset the board on more
favorable terms.
The events of October 7, 2023, carried out by Hamas with Iran's planning and
backing – and the Iranian regime's slaughtering more than 30,000 of its own
unarmed citizens in just two days in January -- serve as a reminder of what is
at stake. These are the downstream consequences of a system that funds, trains,
and arms groups that are committed to violence and terrorism. Without addressing
the source, the cycle will continue.
If a ceasefire agreement is signed, Iran's regime will recover. When it does, it
is likely to come back more determined than ever to advance its nuclear weapons
program, especially when Trump is no longer in office.
While extraordinary progress has been made in weakening key components of Iran's
regime, the temptation to shift toward accommodation needs to be avoided at all
costs. Any agreement with this regime, or what is left of it, will almost
certainly end up undoing the very gains that the US and Israel have achieved.
The choice, therefore, is between finishing what has been started or once again
facing the same reality just around the bend.
*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
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22390/iran-finish-the-job
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Pakistan’s Coincidences
Samir Atallah/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
In the summer of 1971, the world was boiling, as usual. Suddenly, a dangerous
secret was revealed: the US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, was “undergoing
treatment” in the city of Islamabad. But for what illness? For the “China
illness.” It would reshape the strategic balance of the world since Mao Zedong
came to power in Beijing. Through that agreement, the Soviet Union would be
“isolated.” The rapprochement triggered an almost unbelievable political
spectacle. That agreement came to bear the name of China.
Once again, China’s name emerges in a secret deal. While the world burns along
every edge, the US president stands in a calming posture, announcing an
agreement, or a draft agreement, with Iran. Pakistan is back in the picture half
a century later. Weeks earlier, Indian leader Narendra Modi made a visit to
Israel described as the most consequential in Asia’s history. What is happening?
Asia is overturning. The “new” is not the Middle East, which Benjamin Netanyahu
boasts of having shaped, but Greater Asia, toward which the world is shifting.
Not only in demographic weight, but in scientific advancement that places India
and China in a shared cockpit, bound only by a long history of mutual barriers.
Is it not striking that India today ranks among capitalist states - and so too,
perhaps even more so, China. Have we not said the world is overturning, or
rather, that it has already overturned and the matter is settled?
Kissinger had passed the age of one hundred when he made his
final visit to China. There is little doubt that the US–China rapprochement was
the most important political act of his career. He failed in the Middle East, in
Vietnam, in Cambodia, and in Latin America, while working in secret to alter
strategic balances and enable the rise of the Chinese giant.
The reality is that the strategic game in Pakistan today is a
long-range, multi-impact process. To describe it as a surprise is an
oversimplification and a disregard for major recent developments, including the
Pakistan–Bangladesh tensions, after relations between them had remained
distinctive for decades.
The “international game” has returned to Asia as a struggle over influence,
resources, and historic corridors. Pakistan’s strategic importance has
re-emerged, particularly as it is regarded as the possessor of the “Islamic
nuclear bomb.” Are all these merely coincidences?
How to Declare a State of War Under the Constitution
Faiq Zaidan/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
Declaring a state of war is among the most serious sovereign decisions a state
can take, given its profound political, military, and legal consequences. In
Iraq, the constitution strictly regulates this process to prevent misuse and to
strike a balance between protecting the state and preserving its democratic
system.
The 2005 Iraqi Constitution stipulates that this decision cannot be taken
unilaterally or arbitrarily; it requires specific constitutional procedures.
Under Article 61 (Ninth), a state of war or emergency is declared based on a
joint request from the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, which
must then be submitted to the Council of Representatives for approval.
A two-thirds majority of the members of the Council of
Representatives is required to approve a declaration of war, a threshold that
reflects the gravity of the decision and is intended to ensure broad national
consensus before entering into armed conflict.
The Iraqi Constitution establishes a precise legal framework for declaring war,
balancing the need to protect the state from external and internal threats with
the need to preserve the democratic system and prevent authoritarianism.
Adhering to these constitutional provisions is essential to safeguarding
citizens' rights and ensuring state stability.
The actions of certain armed factions, and their attempts to unilaterally make
decisions of war and peace, constitute a serious threat to state sovereignty and
social stability, as well as a disruption of legal and security order.
When armed groups effectively declare war by engaging in military activities,
this amounts to a clear violation of the constitution. This authority is
exclusively vested in legitimate constitutional institutions that represent the
will of the people and operate within a defined legal framework. When factions
assume such authority, they weaken the state and undermine the rule of law.
From a security standpoint, such unilateral actions create
multiple centers of military decision-making, leading to chaos and instability,
and may drag Iraq into internal or regional conflicts without national
consensus. The proliferation of arms outside state control also increases the
risk of armed clashes between groups within society.
Politically, this behavior threatens the democratic system, as it bypasses
elected institutions and marginalizes their role, diminishing citizens’ trust in
the state. Unofficial decisions to wage war may also expose the country to
international isolation or sanctions. Socially, this
situation has a direct impact on citizens’ lives, as people live in a state of
fear and uncertainty, while public services and the economy are strained by
ongoing security tensions.
The unilateral declaration of war by armed factions represents a grave threat to
Iraq’s state and society, undermining national sovereignty and the legal order.
It is therefore essential to confine arms to the hands of the state and to
strengthen constitutional institutions in order to ensure security and stability
and to build a state founded on law and legitimacy.
Iraq and the Loyalist Militias
Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
Among the many "blessings" Iran has bestowed on Iraq is the empowerment of armed
"loyalist" militias in the Land of the Two Rivers, along with the "invention" of
what is known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Over time, this entity
has steadily encroached on the state and come to dominate it, while politicians
have been effectively coerced into incorporating these militias- whose loyalty
lies with Iran before Iraq- into the very structure of the state.
These militias have never concealed their full alignment with
Iran’s revolutionary regime. Some, such as the Badr Organization, were in fact
born, raised, and shaped within the cradle of the Revolutionary Guard Corps as
far back as the early 1980s. Today, these militias are
no longer merely a scourge for ordinary Iraqis, obstructing the emergence of a
genuine state, entrenching sectarian strife, and driving financial and
administrative corruption, they have also become a direct source of external
danger to Iraq. One manifestation of the ongoing conflict- on, from, and within
Iran- is the activation of PMF factions as part of Iran’s operational strategy
against Iraq’s neighbors. Most recently, Jordanian government spokesperson and
minister Mohammad Momani revealed that Iran-aligned militias are using Iraqi
territory to launch attacks against Jordan and other neighboring states.
The Iraqi government- at best - appears overpowered, much
like its Lebanese counterpart.What, then, are we to make of statements by Iraqi
officials such as Hussein Allawi, adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani,
who said in an interview with Al-Arabiya that they are “committed to not
allowing any armed group to target countries in the region”? Yet rockets and
drones continue to be launched from Iraqi soil toward Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi
Arabia, and beyond.
A collective position is gradually taking shape among Iraq’s Arab neighbors in
response to this hostile reality. This is reflected in the joint statement
issued by six countries: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and
Jordan, calling on Iraq to halt this aggression “immediately, in order to
preserve fraternal relations and avoid further escalation.”It is well known that
there are Iraqi groups and leaders whose allegiance, in both practice and
inclination, lies with Iran. Peace be upon Iraq.
Iran: The Danger of the Venezuelan Model
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/March 28/2026
The latest ultimatum issued to Iran by President Donald Trump is due to end as
this column appears. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
The president might issue another ultimatum, I have lost
count of how many he has issued in the past few weeks, or he might intensify his
“special military operation” against the Khomeinist regime in Tehran by using
the elite of the US army to capture the Iranian island of Kharg. Whatever he
does, he might render the very word ultimatum meaningless in political and
diplomatic lexicon. Ultimatum entered that lexicon more than 2000 years ago when
the then “strongman” of Rome Julius Caesar sent an ultimatum (final word) to his
arch-enemy Pompey not to cross the River Rubicon with his rebel army on the way
to the capital. “If you do, you’ll die!” was the message. Pompey did and died. I
don’t think we should take Trump’s ultimatum as a “do and die” warning. He is a
dealmaker not a bounty hunter. In any case, he may remember Bill Clinton’s
answer to those who asked why the US wouldn’t just go after its foes and
eliminate them. “Yeah!” Clinton commented, “We can do
that. But since I know I can kill them tomorrow why do it today when they might
change their minds?”
Should we sneer at Trump’s ultimatums (or is ultiamata the plural?) as some smug
Europeans do with a smirk?
I think not.
Trump has a native genius for using every opportunity to make his way out of a
tight spot with a dexterity that would have made Houdini jealous.
By playing yo-yo with his ultimatums Trump achieves a number
of goals. The first is to show that he is in control
of a ticking bomb that could explode in everyone’s face. For the past few weeks,
armchair generals and TV eggheads have been citing Sun Tzu and Clausewitz about
the need to have an exit strategy in any war. He says:
I issue an ultimatum and offer a roadmap for negotiations. In fact, his latest
15-points roadmap is labeled “for peace” not just a ceasefire.
To be sure the Khomeinist bunch in Tehran start by rejecting the deal and offer
a 6-point plan which they know would be unacceptable to Trump. But these are
opening gambits. What matters is to stop a war that is unlikely to produce the
results that either adversary hoped for while doing damage to a dozen other
nations not involved in this deadly game.Trump says Tehran has already given him
a “big prize”.
He is right.
According to French economic experts the announcement by Tehran that the Strait
of Hormuz isn’t close except for “hostile” nations helped a handful of
speculators who had “inside information” to make more than $500 million extra
profits on stock exchanges.
You have two guesses as to who those lucky gamblers were and where they got
their inside information. In his latest chat about the war Trump mentioned what
he sees as his success in Venezuela indicating his wish to repeat it in Iran
where, as he says, the baddies have been eliminated, and some “good people” are
emerging as credible interlocutors for Washington. If
the latest attempt at engaging the mullahs fails, Trump could blame Tehran for
derailing his peace process. And that could go some way towards silencing those
who oppose the war in the US and across the globe. That argument could also help
persuade the Congress to grant the $200 million extra he says he needs to pursue
the war.
At some point Trump would also need to get congressional approval for military
engagement beyond the 60-day limit set by law. Again, the claim that he did all
he could to obtain peace but failed because of the other side’s intransigence
could be helpful.
Furthermore, the latest ultimatum and deal game helps Trump remind everyone that
he and not the Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is in driving seat as far as
ending this war is concerned. That clam is bolstered by Israel saying “talk or
no talks” it will continue bombing Iran.
However, Trump surely knows that even if Tehran meets all his demands now there
is no guarantee it would abide by them beyond his presidential tenure or even
after the US mid-term elections if he becomes a lame duck.
After all, seven US presidents have made deals of different kinds with the
Khomeinist regime but never managed to change its vicious nature.
A scorpion doesn’t sting as a tactical aberration; it is in its nature to do
that.
On Tehran’s side even those “good people” Trump says he has identified as the
new ruling clique know that the grand “dealmaker” makes promises that are not in
his gift to fulfill. The Islamic Republic has become subject to four sets of
sanctions in the past 48 years. The first set consists of sanctions imposed by
the United Nations’ Security Council in seven unanimous resolutions. Who is
going to pilot their cancellations and risk being blamed if Tehran re-started
misbehaving after a while? The second set consists of
sanctions imposed by the US Congress. Removing them would require bipartisan
accord, something of a mirage in an America going through a politico-cultural
civil war. The third set of sanctions consists of
those set by the president via executive orders. Trump could remove them with a
series of signatures. But even if that happens, rewinding their effects through
the complex legal, political and economic systems would need time, much time.
The third set of sanctions, including the notorious snapback
mechanism that Trump mentions are those imposed by the European Union. Removing
them would require approval by the European Commission, the European Union
Parliament and 27 national parliaments plus some regional ones seeing something
that won’t happen with a Trumpian whistle.
In other words, the Venezuelan “solution” would just mean kicking the ball down
the road. If there is an “Iran problem”, and I have said there is for the past
48 years, the wisest and least problematic solution is regime change.
The mistake that successive US administrations, European
powers and some of our neighbors have made is to narrow down the choice in
dealing with a rogue regime to appeasement or war and often deciding that the
former card trumps the latter.Between appeasement and war there is a third
option: regime change through Iran’s internal political dynamics. A process of
people-based change started almost four years ago and in late 2025 developed
into the largest national uprising the region has seen in contemporary history.
After mas repression claiming thousands of lives, the
uprising seemed to have subsided but re-started with fresh vigor just before the
war forced it, I believe temporarily, out of the scene.
A seriously weakened and increasingly unpopular regime is
using war as a pretext for more repression while citing patriotism, the last
refuge of the scoundrel.
President Trump and Political Genius
Colonel Charbel Barakat / March 28, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153190/
President Donald Trump—considered by some, especially in left-wing journalistic
circles, to be outspoken to the point of naivety, and as one who presents
whatever crosses his mind without much thought or planning—appears today, as we
begin to see the results of his actions that manage the world with precision and
balance, to have meant what he said. Consequently, many of his seemingly "hasty"
proposals, as some call them, have become clear to us. Today, the press, which
claims respect for itself and its readers, waits with bated breath to hear his
"light" comments to understand what is happening and what is being planned for
the future of international relations and the fate of the peoples affected by
them.
From the first day he entered the White House for his second term, President
Trump began his campaign to control the American borders under the guise of
working against illegal immigration. Neither the public nor the legislators
understood what he was aiming for, but he wanted American security to control
the scene, from the external borders to the inside of cities and streets. From
here, he moved to the stage of fighting illegal immigration internally and
expelling some of those hiding within American societies and working on behalf
of the intelligence services of enemy countries, primarily Iran, under the
umbrella of Islamic fundamentalism. Instead of the public moving against any
action in the Middle East, all the apparatus for leading popular movements and
demonstrations were exposed in advance, and their role ended without effort.
He announced the imposition of tariffs on friends before enemies, and then
launched expansionist ideas towards Panama, Canada, Greenland, and others. After
that, he conducted a "collection" campaign from the Gulf states, which some
considered a tribute he imposed on allies under the slogan of investing in the
American economy, and returned with more than four trillion dollars. He was not
satisfied with that alone but also imposed tariffs on European, Canadian, and
other friendly nations' goods. Of course, the media and legislators alike in
these countries revolted. He did not forget the allies' contributions to the
NATO budget, and he threatened to leave the issue of Ukraine to the Europeans,
who are sleeping on pillows of leftist control in their countries and avoiding
responsibility to the point of occupy areas within their own countries and
imposing laws that have nothing to do with their cultures.
Then he left the stage for Israel to discipline the Hamas movement and everyone
who supports it around the world. Then, when it appeared to be ripe, he
intervened to impose solutions in his own way, trying to include moderate
Islamic countries in the settlement, unconcerned by the objecting Arabs, who for
eighty years have not put forward solutions nor advanced initiatives that
prevent extremism and protect laws.
Then he focused on Venezuela to strike the smuggling cartels led by countries in
South America, primarily the Maduro regime allied with Iran and one of its
external arms, Hezbollah. He overthrew him using force but without war. He
prevented several wars around the world, not least of which was the one that was
about to break out between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed states.
We will not delve deeper into analyzing everything he did, but we will move to
the Iranian issue, where all aspects of this danger that controls one of the
most important countries in the Middle East in terms of energy production and
control over its export have ripened, in addition to its extensions, not only in
the countries of the Middle East but in the entire world. It presents its
project of a global Islamic state—that is, control over the world under the
slogan of extremist political Islam led by the Supreme Leader (Wali al-Faqih)
from Tehran.
Today, when President Trump says that the money collected from tariffs on goods
funded the campaign, we know how he forced the contribution of allies without
their knowledge and without their leftist representatives voting on the project
in their parliaments, where none of these projects would pass—in fact, they
would fight the idea from the start. As for the contributions of the Gulf states
to the American economy, which amounted to trillions of dollars, they are so
that the American citizen feels that the war against Iran is to protect these
countries and, consequently, his economy. This is what an official in the United
Arab Emirates announced two days ago, when he stated that we contribute $1.7
trillion as investments in the United States, which makes it incumbent upon it
to contribute to protecting our security because it is thereby protecting its
own interests.
Finally, President Trump's constant talk about economic interests and the focus
on the shares that will be given to the United States after the fall of the
Iranian regime, especially American companies that will operate in oil
production and reconstruction in all fields, will necessitate an American
military presence to protect them. Therefore, whoever rules Iran in the future
must take these matters into consideration and include them in his calculations.
Just as American forces remained in Europe and Japan since World War II, and in
South Korea since the 1950s and still are, these forces will remain in the
future in the Gulf to protect it from adventurers and secure stability for its
countries and institutions. This may include the United Arab Emirates regaining
the islands that protect the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz—namely Greater and
Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa—which will perhaps return to it with its own forces and
under the American umbrella, because it has trained in operations it conducted
on the island of Socotra and other Yemeni islands to know how to reclaim its
rights from Iran and contribute to protecting this important international
waterway with major international participation that is beginning to appear and
which leads to stability in the region.
The topic of President Trump and Lebanon remains; we will talk about it in
another article.
*This report aims to raise awareness among those working in politics and media.
The
Strait of Hormuz and the new energy shock
Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya English/28 March/2026
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said that the Iran war
caused the biggest energy crisis in history – bigger even than the oil shocks of
1973 and 1979. While the global economy has added new sources of energy in the
renewables space since 1973, about 80 percent of the energy mix still depends on
fossil fuels, which goes to show just how important oil and gas remain.
Twenty percent of oil and petroleum products as well as 20 percent of LNG must
pass through the Strait of Hormuz to reach their markets. Its de facto closure
sent oil and gas prices soaring. Gas prices in Europe are up around two thirds –
at the end of winter when storage runs low. Brent and WTI have been seesawing
dramatically with every new turn and twist in the conflict. In early March we
saw an intraday differential of more than $30/b and on March 23 it reached
$17/b. The oil price was $72.8/b at the beginning of the conflict and
temporarily peaked around $120. It traded at $107.5/b on March 27 at 6 a.m.
CET.In any crisis, prices and inflation are the transmission mechanisms to the
global economy. Worse, we are not just dealing with inflation, but with an
actual physical lack of supply. Not only can most ships not pass Hormuz, but
Gulf producers also had to shut in more than 9 million barrels of production,
because storage was running out. The problem is deeper than just the closure of
the Strait of Hormuz. The IEA estimates that 40 energy installations in nine
countries have been damaged or severely damaged. Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG facility
was seriously degraded by an Iranian strike. Seventeen percent have been taken
out, and Qatar Energy estimates it could take between three to five years to
restore full capacity. It also severely impacted Qatar’s expansion plans.
Analysts had predicted LNG oversupply for the coming years which now has turned
to scarcity. We will only fully understand the extent of the damage to the Gulf
oil and gas infrastructure once hostilities cease. In the meantime, the world is
missing physical barrels, LNG cargoes, and fertilizer. Over eighty percent of
oil gas and petroleum products passing through the Strait of Hormuz are going to
Asia, which is where we see most of the physical shortage, resulting in
governments working to restrict consumption via shorter work weeks and other
measures. Southeast Asia is particularly hard hit, because it lacks storage.
Japan and Korea boast just below or above 200 days’ worth of petroleum reserves,
which they both started to release. China is in a better position because it has
amassed reserves in underground storage and still gets some cargoes through the
Strait. Europe will feel the physical scarcity down the road because it buys
refined products from Asia.
To make matters worse, most of OPEC’s spare capacity is behind the Strait of
Hormuz predominantly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Up until this crisis, OPEC had
played an important role in balancing markets by adjusting quotas to the
downside when physical markets were oversupplied and to the upside when they
were undersupplied. This is where spare capacity matters. The dimension of the
crisis is staggering. We are talking about a physical dislocation in the oil
markets to the tune of what we had experienced during COVID-19 on the demand
side, only this time on the supply side – which makes matters worse. Even if and
when the current crisis is over, it will take considerable time (months/ years
in some cases) to reboot the system. A lot will depend on extent of damage to
oil and gas installations in GCC countries, and how quickly operations can be
resumed. Shippers will have to adjust to new insurance environments and tankers
as well as cargo ships will be in the wrong place, a situation which will also
take time to unwind.
In the meantime, we are dealing with physical scarcity: competition for LNG, oil
and petroleum products as well as all the other industrial inputs hailing from
the Gulf will be intense. Asia and Europe will fight each other over LNG from
all geographies – particularly the US. As far as oil, petroleum products and
fertilizer are concerned, scarcity will permeate throughout the global economy.
The Iran war constitutes a shock to the global economy that will be felt for
some time after hostilities cease.
X Platform & Facebook Selected twittes for
March 28/2026