English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For March 31/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter
and will not be able.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 13/22-30:”Jesus went through one town and village after
another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord,
will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow
door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once
the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand
outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he
will say to you, “I do not know where you come from. “Then you will begin to
say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets. “But he will
say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.
Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in
the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first
who will be last.’”
on March
30-31/2026
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 Bejjani/March
29/2026
Video-Link to an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio from Good Morning
America
Video-Link for an interview from JNS with The Lebanese-Israeli Activist Jonathan
Elkhoury
Relief convoy to border villages led by the Papal Nuncio
Israel announces assassination of senior leaders in coordination unit between
Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, and destruction of more than 100 towers
After urgent warning… airstrikes target villages in Western Bekaa and cut off
Sahmar–Yahmar road
Lebanon Judge Completes Investigation into Port Blast
Report: Iran’s Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon Despite Expulsion
Israel Opens New Incursion Route from Syria into Lebanon via Mount Hermon
Iran Says Its Expelled Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon as Political Tensions Soar
Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘safe and accounted for’ – McEntee
Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in Lebanon
UN Peacekeepers in the Crossfire Between Israel and Hezbollah
Lebanese Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike on Checkpoint
FBI: Detroit synagogue attacker was inspired by Hezbollah
Israel announces killing senior Hezbollah leaders
Lebanon… From Arena to Party of the Conflict/Sam Menassa/ Asharq Al Awsat/30
March/2026
Washington: The demand is to disarm Hezbollah, and there is no issue with the
Shiites, as prospects for ending the war in southern Lebanon remain
blocked/Mohammad Shuqair/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
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
30-31/2026
Trump Threatens to Destroy Iran’s Civilian Infrastructure if a Deal Is Not
Reached ‘Shortly’
Trump claims Iran gave in to US demands, considers seizing oil
Thousands of US Army paratroopers arrive in Middle East as buildup intensifies
Rubio Says US Hopeful in Private Talks After Iran ‘Fractures’
Iran’s heavy water production plant no longer operational, IAEA says
Iran Confirms Death of Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Tangsiri
Iran Hangs Two ‘Political Prisoners’ from Banned Opposition
Spain Closes the Country's Airspace to US Planes Involved in the Iran War
Israeli Death Penalty Bill for Palestinian Murder Convicts Faces Vote
Syrian Leader Pledges to Work with Germany on Migration, Recovery
Türkiye Says NATO Defenses Down Missile from Iran
Saudi, Jordan, Qatar leaders warn Iran attacks threaten region
Saudi Arabia condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait
White House expresses ‘concerns’ over Israel blocking Jerusalem’s Catholic
leader
Russia expels UK diplomat on spying allegations
Student shoots a teacher and then fatally shoots himself at a Texas high school,
authorities say
The War on Hezbollah-The Iranian Terrorist Proxy Continues/LCCC website
links to several important news websites
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on March
30-31/2026
The Sham of 'Disarming' Hamas/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 30,
2026
Khomeini, the Jewish Rabbi, and the American Ambassador/Elie Aoun/March 30/2026
Iran Is Using Its Citizens As Human Shields/Janatan Sayeh/The Daily Wire/March
30/2026
When Can American Bases Be Removed?/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/30
March/2026
Iran, ‘Soleimani’s Armies’ and Trump’s Coup/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/30
March/2026
X Platform & Facebook Selected twittes for March 29/2026
on March
30-31/2026
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 Bejjani/March 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
Video-Link to an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio
from Good Morning America
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153280/
Secretary of
State Marco Rubio talks to “GMA” about the war in Iran, including ongoing
negotiations and the reports that the Pentagon is preparing for ground
operations in the country.
March 30/2026
Video-Link for an interview from JNS with The
Lebanese-Israeli Activist Jonathan Elkhoury
He is telling the story of betrayal and survival, revealing what most Lebanese
actually think today/A MASSIVE Uprising is Happening Right Now in Lebanon.
JNS TV/March 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153248/
Jonathan Elkhoury tells a rarely told story of betrayal and survival, revealing
what most Lebanese actually think today. Through his personal journey from a
child in southern Lebanon to an Israeli citizen, viewers will learn the real
history behind Hezbollah’s rise, the collapse of the South Lebanon Army and why
a surprising majority of Lebanese may now be ready for change.
Relief convoy to border villages led by the Papal Nuncio
Al-Markazia/March 30/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – Caritas Lebanon announced in a statement that “in a clear display
of humanitarian and national solidarity, it launched today a relief convoy that
reached the cities and towns of Tyre, Adoussiyeh, Hajja, Kfarwa, and Aishiyeh in
southern Lebanon. The initiative aims to support affected families and
strengthen their ability to remain steadfast on their land in the face of the
difficult conditions the country is experiencing.”According to the statement,
the convoy toured “towns whose residents insisted on staying in their villages
and refused to be displaced. Essential supplies were distributed to address the
most urgent needs of the local population, similar to previous stops. This
effort comes within a humanitarian partnership bringing together Caritas
Lebanon, the Pontifical Mission in Lebanon, the organizations Oeuvre d’Orient
and Solidarity, and Bishop Marwan Charbel Tabet of the Maronite Diocese in
Canada, who contributed—along with priests of his diocese—to supporting this
initiative.”
The convoy was led by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, in the presence
of the Maronite Bishop of Antelias, Antoine Abou Najm, along with the president
of Caritas Lebanon, Father Samir Ghawy; the association’s spiritual advisor
Archimandrite Naaman Qozahya; regional coordinator Father Bassam Saad; and
representatives of partner institutions—sending a clear message of unified
efforts in serving people and preserving their dignity. The Papal Nuncio was
accompanied during his southern tour by a delegation from the Maronite League,
including Raymond Azar, head of the regional committee, and committee rapporteur
Youssef Ammar.
The association stressed that “supporting residents in their towns goes beyond
meeting immediate needs; it extends to empowering them to remain rooted in their
land, as this is a fundamental pillar in preserving social cohesion and national
belonging.”
Caritas Lebanon reaffirmed, “in light of the current circumstances, its firm
commitment to continue its humanitarian mission alongside all Lebanese, based on
the principles of human dignity and solidarity, and in the belief that people
remain at the heart of every response, and that holding on to one’s land is an
act of hope and a testimony to resilience.”
Israel announces assassination of senior leaders in
coordination unit between Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, and destruction of
more than 100 towers
Al-Markazia/March 30/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on platform “X”: “The IDF
eliminated in Beirut senior leaders in the unit responsible for coordination
between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and Palestinian terrorist groups
across the Middle East. Earlier today, Monday, the IDF struck in Beirut and
killed Hamza Ibrahim Rakin, deputy commander of Unit 1800, along with the unit’s
operations officer.”He added that “Unit 1800 is responsible for coordination
between Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza,
Syria, and Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). As part of his duties, Rakin also
oversaw the transfer of operatives from these organizations to participate in
fighting against our forces operating in southern Lebanon.”He noted that, in
addition to Rakin, the operations officer and another member of the unit were
also killed. In further strikes throughout the day in Beirut and southern
Lebanon, Hezbollah facilities were targeted. In a previous post, Adraee said:
“The Israeli Air Force continues its strikes against Hezbollah and is completing
the destruction of more than 100 high-rise ‘terror towers’ in the heart of
Beirut.”He added: “As part of ongoing efforts by the Air Force, Northern
Command, and Intelligence Directorate, more than 100 towers used by Hezbollah in
the Beirut area have been destroyed.”He claimed that “Hezbollah used these
towers for command-and-control purposes and to carry out attacks against Israeli
civilians and IDF forces,” adding that the group had embedded these structures
within civilian areas, “in another example of its cynical exploitation of
civilians in Lebanon.”He confirmed that “the Israeli army continues to strike
Hezbollah with force.”
After urgent warning… airstrikes target villages in Western
Bekaa and cut off Sahmar–Yahmar road
Al-Markazia March 30/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on towns in the Western
Bekaa. One strike targeted the outskirts of Sahmar, followed by another on the
Sahmar mountain.Two additional strikes hit the outskirts of Hmiyya (near Labaya),
coinciding with a powerful strike that cut off the road between the towns of
Sahmar and Yahmar.Another Israeli strike targeted the outskirts of Qalia in the
Western Bekaa. This came after an urgent warning issued by the Israeli army to
residents of several Lebanese villages—including Zellaya, Labaya, Yahmar, and
Sahmar in the Western Bekaa, as well as Qalia and Dalafi—calling on them to
evacuate immediately. The army said that what it described as “Hezbollah
activities” in these areas prompted it to carry out military operations, while
asserting that it “does not intend to harm civilians.”Residents were urged to
head north toward the town of Qaraoun for safety, with a warning that any
movement southward could put their lives at risk. Following the warning, the
threatened villages in the Western Bekaa witnessed heavy displacement movements
on Monday evening toward northern Qaraoun. If you’d like, I can also provide a
brief summary or explain the key developments across these reports.
Lebanon Judge Completes Investigation into Port Blast
Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Lebanese judge Tarek Bitar has completed his investigation into the 2020 Beirut
port blast, a years-long case that involves possible charges against dozens of
people, a judicial official told AFP on Monday. Since 2023, the investigation
into the massive Beirut port explosion, which killed more than 220 people on
August 4, 2020, has been in jeopardy after Hezbollah led a campaign demanding
the removal of Bitar, who was later hit with dozens of lawsuits to remove him
from the case. Bitar resumed his investigation last year as Lebanon's balance of
power shifted following a 2023-2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah that
weakened the Iran-backed militant group. "The investigating judge in the Beirut
port explosion case, Tarek Bitar, decided to conclude his investigations into
the case and referred the entire file to public prosecutor Jamal Hajjar," the
official told AFP. The number of defendants in the case reached around 70
people, including politicians, security and military officials and civil
servants, according to the official. The prosecutor will study the file and
present his opinion and then refer it again to Bitar "who will issue his
indictment and determine the responsibility for each of the defendants". Bitar
is supposed to "make a decision regarding about 20 defendants who appeared
before him since the beginning of 2025" on whether to "detain them, set them
free or conditionally release them", the official said. Bitar has already made
his decision regarding the remaining 50, including politicians and judges who
refused to appear before him for questioning, according to the official. No one
is currently detained in relation to the port blast. Lebanese authorities say
the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium
nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated
warnings to senior officials.
Report: Iran’s Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon Despite
Expulsion
Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Iran's ambassador will not leave Lebanon despite being declared persona non
grata and ordered to leave the country by Sunday, an Iranian diplomatic source
told AFP. "The ambassador will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the wishes
of the speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and of Hezbollah," the source said,
speaking on condition of anonymity. Hezbollah has denounced the decision while
Berri's Amal party joined Hezbollah ministers in boycotting a cabinet session
this week in protest at the order to expel Mohammad Reza Sheibani. The foreign
ministry this week gave Tehran's envoy until Sunday to leave in the latest
unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted on March 2
between Israel and Hezbollah. The ministry accused him of making statements
"interfering in Lebanon's internal politics". French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel
Barrot called the expulsion "a courageous decision". The Lebanese authorities
have banned Hezbollah's military and security activities. It is the only armed
non-state group in the country and a close ally of Iran. It has also banned the
presence and operations of Iran's Revolutionary Guards whom Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam accused of directing Hezbollah operations against Israel.
Israel Opens New Incursion Route from Syria into Lebanon
via Mount Hermon
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
The Israeli army said Sunday that it carried out a cross-border operation from
the Syrian side of Mount Hermon toward the “Rous” mountain area inside Lebanese
territory in the Shebaa Farms, in a move reflecting a push to expand operations
into more complex terrain. Israel has occupied the Syrian Hermon since the 2024
fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. According to an Israeli military
statement, a mountain commando unit climbed in snowy conditions to comb the
area, gather intelligence and identify field infrastructure. The move goes
beyond a limited reconnaissance operation, because the elevated terrain allows
oversight of wide areas and opens new routes that go beyond traditional front
lines. Geographic advantage and pressure on the south. A source familiar with
developments told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most notable shift is the entry of
Israeli forces via the Mount Hermon axis — a step long anticipated in military
scenarios due to its geographic advantage. The route allows potential advances
toward the western Bekaa or a flanking maneuver down toward Kfarchouba on the
mountain’s western slopes.“This route could effectively sever geographic links
between southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa within a relatively short time,”
the source said. Retired Brigadier General Naji Malaeb warned that the most
dangerous scenario would be using the axis to encircle the south or cut supply
lines between southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa, directly affecting
Hezbollah’s logistical structure.
“The operational trajectory remains open, but the next phase carries significant
risks of escalation,” he stated. He added that Mount Hermon’s importance lies in
being the highest elevation under Israeli control, offering broad
intelligence-gathering capabilities to monitor missiles and drones and
strengthen surveillance systems. Malaeb said limited infiltration operations in
mountainous terrain may aim to draw Hezbollah into deploying forces there to
prevent wider incursions, while also opening the door to a new front.
Challenges of ground confrontation
The source said a key development could be opening a front toward the Bekaa
through positions along the Syrian border near Mount Hermon, potentially
expanding the scope of clashes and engaging Hezbollah on an additional front. He
warned that any incursion from the Syrian side into Lebanon — and any response —
could place the Syrian army in a sensitive position, as any exchange of fire
could be interpreted as targeting Syrian territory, requiring a clear stance
from Damascus. So far, there are indications that Syria is seeking to avoid
involvement and has reiterated its rejection to allow its territory to be used
in regional conflicts, reflected in reinforced deployments along its borders.
Avoiding dragging Syria into the conflict remains a key factor in preventing
wider escalation, the source underlined.
Iran Says Its Expelled Ambassador Won’t Leave Lebanon as
Political Tensions Soar
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
Iran on Monday defied Lebanon's expulsion order for its ambassador by saying he
would stay, further increasing tensions in a country in the crosshairs of the
latest fighting between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Lebanon had
declared Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani “persona non grata" in an effort to
weaken Iran's diplomatic presence and have a charge d'affairs at its embassy
instead. But the deadline to leave the country was Sunday. “Our embassy in
Lebanon is active,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told
journalists. “Our ambassador, following remarks made by relevant Lebanese bodies
and the conclusions reached, will continue his mission in Beirut and he is still
there.” Lebanese officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not clear what Lebanon would might do next or how diplomatic relations
might be affected. The Iranian ambassador is reportedly in the embassy, where he
is believed to have diplomatic immunity. The Lebanese Hezbollah group entered
the Iran war by firing at Israel, which has responded by invading southern
Lebanon and bombing parts of the capital, Beirut. Health officials in Lebanon
say over 1,200 people have been killed, with over 1 million people displaced.
“This morning, the Iranian ambassador is drinking his coffee in Beirut and
making a mockery of the ‘host’ country,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar
said Monday on X. “Lebanon is a virtual country that is effectively occupied by
Iran." Lebanon, under increasing pressure to disarm Hezbollah, earlier this
month announced a ban on its military activities as well as those by Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard. Then came the ambassador's expulsion order. Hezbollah
called it a “reckless and reprehensible measure” and “a clear capitulation to
external pressures and dictates.” It organized a rally near the Iranian embassy
to back the ambassador. A Lebanese diplomatic official said that over the past
week, Iran “put extreme pressure” on the government and parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri, a key political ally of Hezbollah, in a bid to reverse the decision.
Beirut is concerned that Iran’s inclusion of the war in Lebanon among its
conditions for dialogue with Washington would affect Lebanon's efforts to disarm
Hezbollah, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with
regulations.
Hezbollah says Iran has been a key ally of the group that claims it serves as a
military deterrent to Israel while providing social services, largely for
Lebanon's Shiite Muslim community. But critics say Hezbollah's armed presence
and its independent decision-making violates Lebanese sovereignty and
compromises its relationship with other Arab countries and the West. The rift
has weakened Lebanon’s efforts to find a way to end the war. President Joseph
Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, while critical of Israel’s invasion, have
condemned Hezbollah's firing of rockets towards Israel, in solidarity with Iran,
that sparked the latest fighting. Even before the war, Aoun and Salam were
scrambling to win trust that they could disarm Hezbollah without aggressive
confrontation. The group was weakened by its previous war with Israel, and many
saw a chance to act. Aoun and Salam came to power not long after the last war
ended in November 2024, pledging to disarm Hezbollah and all non-state actors.
But frictions inside Lebanon are worsening, especially after Foreign Minister
Youssef Raggi, a staunch opponent of Hezbollah, announced the expulsion order
for the Iranian ambassador. “Don’t play with fire because this fire will burn
you, your people, and those behind you,” Mahmoud Qamati, a senior official in
Hezbollah's political bureau, said in a recent fiery address aimed at Raggi, who
is a cabinet pick by the Lebanese Forces party, a fierce Hezbollah critic.
Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon ‘safe and accounted for’ –
McEntee
Grainne Ni Aodha and Rebecca Black, Press Association/March
30/2026
All Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon are safe and accounted for, Ireland’s Minister
for Defence has said. Three Indonesian peacekeepers have been killed in the
south of the country in recent days. It came amid rising tensions in the region
after Israel and the US began bombing Iran more than four weeks ago, which has
threatened global supplies of oil and disrupted air travel. Israel has launched
a ground invasion of Lebanon while targeting the Iranian-backed militant group
Hezbollah. On Sunday, the Indonesian peacekeepers were attacked when a
projectile exploded near a village in south Lebanon. Helen McEntee strongly
condemned attacks on Indonesian personnel with the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon (Unifil) in a statement on Monday evening. “These incidents represent
a deeply concerning further escalation and have resulted in the deaths of three
peacekeepers and serious injuries to others,” she said.
“My thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues, and I wish those
injured a full and speedy recovery. “Those serving under the UN flag do so in
pursuit of peace and stability. “These incidents are an attack on the very
principles of peace, cooperation and international solidarity. “I am in daily
contact with the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, and all Irish personnel
serving with Unifil are safe and fully accounted for.”Earlier, Taoiseach Micheal
Martin condemned the escalation of violence. “The role of the peacekeeper must
be respected and honoured at all times. “Both Israel and Hezbollah must do
everything in their power to keep peacekeepers from harm. “I have been briefed
by our Defence Forces and all Irish personnel serving in Lebanon continue to be
well and accounted for.”There are more than 360 Irish peacekeepers on a
six-month deployment to a Unifil base in southern Lebanon.
The United States and Israel wanted to have UN troops removed from the area in
2026 but an extension to 2027 was agreed after negotiations. Ireland will have
taken part in peacekeeping in Lebanon for almost 50 years by the end of 2027.
Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in
Lebanon
Anna Lamche/BBC/March 30/2026
Two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday when an
"explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle", the UN agency tasked with
policing the region has said. A third peacekeeper was "severely" injured in the
explosion, and a fourth was hurt, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil)
said in a statement. It is the second fatal incident in the last 24 hours,
Unifil noted. A peacekeeper - who was also Indonesian - was killed on Sunday
night when a projectile, also of unknown origin, exploded in Adchit Al Qusayr in
southern Lebanon. Unifil said it had launched investigations to determine what
happened in both incidents.The deaths come shortly after the Israeli military
announced it would step up ground and air attacks against the Lebanese armed
group Hezbollah. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia as well as a political
party, has fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the ongoing US-Israeli
strikes on Iran. Unifil said of the two deaths on Monday: "We extend our
sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those brave
peacekeepers who gave their lives in service of peace."It said under
international law, "all actors" had an obligation to ensure the "safety and
security" on UN personnel. "Deliberate attacks" on peacekeepers were "grave
violations" of international humanitarian law, Unifil said. "The human cost of
this conflict is far too high. The violence, as we have said before, must end."
Unifil was created by the UN Security Council in 1978, and has since served as a
buffer between Israel and Lebanon. The peacekeeping force patrols the "Blue
Line" - the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, in collaboration with
the Lebanese army. Around 339 peacekeepers have been killed since the mission
was established. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah,
brokered after violence flared between the two over the war in Gaza, Israel has
conducted near-daily strikes on Hezbollah targets. It says the armed group has
not abided by the terms of the ceasefire - under which Hezbollah was meant to
disarm and leave its positions in the south - and has accused Unifil and the
Lebanese army of not doing enough to remove its militants from the region.
Israel says its latest operation in southern Lebanon was intended to ensure the
security of communities in the north. Since the ceasefire began, 1,238 people
have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry,
including 124 children.Earlier this month, four Ghanaian soldiers serving with
Unifil were injured when their base was hit. Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel
Okudzeto Ablakwa did not say who was responsible when speaking at a Commonwealth
meeting on Sunday but said the bombing was "an attack on every principle that
the UN Charter exists to defend".
UN Peacekeepers in the Crossfire Between Israel and
Hezbollah
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
United Nations peacekeepers, who for decades have served as a buffer between
Israel and Lebanon, have seen three of their comrades killed and several others
wounded since the latest war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah. Here is an
overview of the UN force in south Lebanon, whose mandate expires at the end of
this year.
In the firing line
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrols the area around the
country's southern border, where Hezbollah and Israel began clashing this month
after the Iran-backed group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by firing
rockets at Israel. Israeli forces have been pushing into areas north of the
frontier, and officials have announced plans to establish a buffer zone up to
the Litani River, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Israel. On Monday, two
peacekeepers were killed when "an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their
vehicle", wounding at least two others, the force said.
The day before, an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded
when a projectile, also of undetermined origin, exploded near a UNIFIL position.
And earlier this month, three Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded when their base
was hit, with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accusing Israel of being
responsible and UNIFIL saying it would investigate. Over the years since its
mission began in 1978, the force has lost around 340 members. Visiting UN chief
Antonio Guterres this month said attacks against peacekeepers and their
positions were "completely unacceptable... and may constitute war crimes".
Ceasefire monitors
UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they
invaded Lebanon to stem Palestinian attacks targeting northern Israel. Israel
again invaded in 1982, only withdrawing from south Lebanon in 2000. After a 2006
war between Israel and Hezbollah, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 bolstered
UNIFIL's role and its peacekeepers were tasked with monitoring the ceasefire
between the two sides. UNIFIL patrols the Blue Line, the 120-kilometre (75-mile)
de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, in coordination with the Lebanese
army. It also has a maritime task force that supports Lebanon's navy. The
mission has its headquarters south Lebanon's Naqoura, which in recent years has
hosted indirect border negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Following a
November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities
between Israel and Hezbollah over the Gaza war, UNIFIL became part of a
five-member committee supervising that truce. Under pressure from the United
States and Israel, the UN Security Council voted last year to end the force's
mandate on December 31, 2026, with an "orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal"
by the end of 2027.
International force -
The mission currently involves around 8,200 peacekeepers from 47 countries,
according to the force's website.Top troop-contributing countries include Italy,
Indonesia, Spain, India, Ghana, France, Nepal and Malaysia. Italy's Major
General Diodato Abagnara has headed the mission since June 2025. UNIFIL patrols
have occasionally faced harassment, though confrontations are typically defused
by the Lebanese army. In December 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed and
three colleagues wounded when their convoy came under fire in south Lebanon.
Border area -
Resolution 1701 of 2006 called for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be
the only armed forces deployed in the country's south. UNIFIL had been
supporting the army in dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure near the border in
the months before the latest hostilities erupted, in line with a Lebanese
government decision to disarm the group following the 2024 truce. Hezbollah has
long held sway over swathes of the south and has built tunnels and hideouts
there, despite not having had a visible military presence in the border area
since 2006.
What comes next? -
Lebanese authorities want a continued international troop presence in the south
after UNIFIL's exit, and have been urging European countries to stay.Last month,
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Lebanon's army should replace the
force when the peacekeepers withdraw. Italy has said it intends to keep a
military presence in Lebanon after UNIFIL leaves.
Lebanese Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike on Checkpoint
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
An Israeli strike has killed a Lebanese soldier at a checkpoint in the country's
southern Tyre region, Lebanon's military said Monday. "An Israeli attack
targeted an army checkpoint" in al-Amriyeh near Tyre, "resulting in the death of
one soldier and injuries to others", the military said. A military source told
AFP the attack was the first direct targeting of a Lebanese army position since
the start of the war. Also Monday, the Israeli military said a soldier was
killed a day earlier in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing to six the number
of troops killed since fighting with Hezbollah started earlier in March.
"Sergeant Liran Ben Zion, aged 19, from Holon... fell during combat in southern
Lebanon," the military said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on
Sunday he had ordered the military to further expand its operations in southern
Lebanon, citing continued rocket fire by Hezbollah. Israel has said it will
seize a chunk of southern Lebanon to create a "buffer zone" against Hezbollah,
stoking Lebanese fears of Israeli military occupation that could deepen
instability and cause further displacement.Authorities in Lebanon say nearly
1,240 people have been killed there. Over 400 Hezbollah fighters have been
killed since it fired on Israel on March 2, sources told Reuters, but it is
unclear if the official death toll includes those fighters.
FBI: Detroit synagogue attacker was inspired by Hezbollah
Detroit/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated that the man who rammed
his car into a Jewish synagogue in Detroit earlier this March had been planning
a terrorist attack inspired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, according to the Associated
Press. Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI office in Detroit, said that Ayman
Ghazali recorded a video before the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield,
in which he stated he wanted to “kill as many of them as possible.”She added
that Ghazali, 41, sat in the parking lot for several hours before crashing his
truck into the site, injuring a security guard. He then exchanged gunfire with
another guard, according to the FBI at the time, and the truck caught fire. The
vehicle was loaded with fireworks and gasoline containers. Officials reported
that emergency crews quickly evacuated the building, and none of the 150
children and staff inside were harmed.
Israel announces killing senior Hezbollah leaders
Tel Aviv/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The Israeli military announced the killing of senior Hezbollah leaders
responsible for coordinating between the group and Palestinian organizations in
an airstrike that targeted Beirut earlier on Monday, according to the German
News Agency.
The army said the strike in the Lebanese capital targeted and killed Hamza
Ibrahim Rakhin, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s Unit 1800, along with the unit’s
operations chief and another operative, according to The Times of Israel. The
Israeli military added in a statement that “Unit 1800 is responsible for
coordination between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and Palestinian
terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Judea and Samaria (the West
Bank).”It explained that the deputy head of Unit 1800 oversaw, as part of his
duties, the deployment of armed Palestinian elements in southern Lebanon to
confront Israeli forces. In other strikes in Beirut on Monday, the Israeli
military said it targeted Hezbollah headquarters and command centers.
It is worth noting that Israel has been carrying out airstrikes targeting
Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as several areas in southern, eastern, and
northern Lebanon, accompanied by ground incursions. This comes in response to
Hezbollah attacks on Israel since March 2, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on
Iran on February 28.
Lebanon… From Arena to Party of the Conflict
Sam Menassa/ Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
"State weakness" or "complex domestic balances" can no longer encompass the
current situation in Lebanon. We are facing something far more dangerous: a
gradual, comprehensive collapse, as well as gaping vacuums in political and
religious leadership.
This vacuum is the result of a long series of assassinations, beginning with the
elected president Bashir Gemayel, followed by Prime Minister Rashid Karami,
Grand Mufti Hassan Khaled, and then René Moawad. This trajectory peaked with the
assassination of Rafik Hariri and the chain of eliminations remains intact to
this day.Between assassinations and the natural absence of leaders whose void
was never filled, Lebanon’s national authorities have been laid bare, going from
a sovereign reference point to an entity that does not make decisions on war and
peace on its own soil, and sometimes even in its name, leaving it in limbo.The
end of the first "support war" through a ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah
and Israel on November 27, 2024, along with the election of General Joseph Aoun
and the designation of Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister, appeared to represent an
opportunity for the state to reassert itself. What followed, however, was less a
restoration of sovereignty than a transitional phase that widened the gap
between the state’s rhetoric and reality.
Hezbollah seems to have rebuilt capabilities under the direct supervision of
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which seems to have revamped the party's
hierarchical command and split its structure into decentralized units. This
reflects a shift toward direct Iranian participation in military decision-making
inside Lebanon, raising the question of whether we are witnessing new breaches
or a continuation of past breaches, and of what the new government has done to
contain them beyond issuing vague statements.
Since February 28, we have seen more than the mere reactivation of a military
organization. A structural transformation toward a decentralized model that is
far harder to contain is underway, and it is informed by the lessons of previous
confrontations, particularly the elimination of command centers. Its deeper
significance, however, is political: Lebanon has been forced to go from an arena
for others' conflicts to becoming a party to these conflicts. The Lebanese state
finds itself at a dead end. After declaring that it had begun implementing its
commitments in the South, it has exposed itself as either unable or unwilling to
control its own territory and protect its borders as the role of IRGC operatives
becomes plain. The state did not so much permit this as fail to prevent these
operatives. Either way, whether it is serious security breaches or complicity,
this problem cannot be dismissed, and it raises an even more troubling question:
where was Hezbollah's arsenal all this time?
This failure is not merely a problem of limited resources but of the state's
loss of control over its borders and its monopoly on the use of force. It has
gone from a weak entity into a façade for decisions made elsewhere. It issues
statements and announces the fulfillment of commitments but does not steer the
course of events, with functions assumed by parallel forces. This is no longer
an exception; it has become a norm. The authorities are in a state of denial.
Some behave as though the priority still lies in formal negotiations that had
become meaningless long ago. This detachment from reality is no less dangerous
than the violations themselves. How can negotiations be proposed when
decision-making is not in the hands of the state? And why are initiatives to
restore even a minimum of political agency sidelined under the pretext of
fragile domestic balances?
This is not the moment for shifting blame or pinning it on a single party. We
must recognize reality. Political forces, preoccupied with their petty disputes,
have all contributed to consolidating this situation, be it through negligence
or adaptation. Responsibility is shared among those who confiscated
decision-making, those who allowed it to be confiscated, and those who
acquiesced it as a fait accompli.
While the state was announcing steps to assert sovereignty amid IRGC operations
on Lebanese soil, political forces were consumed by electoral considerations and
competing over authority they know to be paralyzed. What sharper contradiction
could there be? Nor is society absolved. The silence of large segments of the
public, their adaptation to this reality or even their occasional justification
of the situations, have helped normalize the violation of sovereignty and
transformed it from a shock into something familiar. Lebanon has rarely faced
such fateful days. There appears to be no way out without restoring the state.
Who will begin taking this path, and from where? The problem is no longer just
the loss of the state's standing as sole authority, but the erosion of society's
trust in its ability or willingness to reclaim that role. Between a retreating
state, an advancing non-state actor, a political class that is either incapable
or complicit, a silent public, and a vicious, reckless Israeli government, the
future of a country is being written. Will the state be retained, or will the
country learn to live with its absence?
Washington: The demand is to disarm Hezbollah, and there is
no issue with the Shiites, as prospects for ending the war in southern Lebanon
remain blocked
Mohammad Shuqair/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Lebanon’s official and political leadership is facing a dead end, so far, in the
intensive efforts led by President General Joseph Aoun to stop the war between
Hezbollah and Israel. The conflict has reached a peak amid growing fears that
Israel may continue attempts to empty southern Lebanon of the Lebanese Army and
UNIFIL forces by targeting their positions.These Israeli actions are taking
place in the absence of any international intervention—especially from the
United States, which, according to a Western diplomatic source speaking to
Asharq Al-Awsat, appears to be giving Tel Aviv the green light to eliminate
Hezbollah’s military wing and disarm it. This is because Hezbollah is seen as
linking Lebanon to Iran, which acts as though it alone controls the Lebanese
file in negotiations on behalf of the Lebanese government.
The ongoing war in southern Lebanon now seems left to battlefield dynamics after
efforts to reach a ceasefire have failed. The primary concern of Prime Minister
Nawaf Salam’s government has shifted toward reinforcing the internal front to
preserve civil peace. This explains its cooperation with host communities to
prepare for new waves of displaced people, as Israel continues to displace
residents of southern towns and Beirut’s southern suburbs while systematically
destroying their homes.
The government’s efforts to accommodate new displaced populations do not mean
that Presidents Aoun and Salam have surrendered to the imposed reality. Rather,
they continue to engage with the international community to pressure Israel into
a ceasefire—provided Hezbollah responds accordingly instead of relying on
military escalation. The area south of the Litani River, extending northward to
nearby towns, has effectively become a scorched zone unfit for living, even
temporarily, due to ongoing Israeli attacks.
Official monitoring of the escalating situation in the south is part of Aoun’s
broader efforts, in coordination with the government, to stop the aggression and
restore stability. This comes amid a notable absence of public engagement by the
U.S. ambassador to Beirut, Michel Issa, who remains largely silent officially,
though he continues communication with ambassadors from the “Quintet” and
European group. No direct contact with Lebanese officials has been recorded.
Despite his public silence, a Western diplomatic source revealed that the U.S.
ambassador had already outlined a roadmap to end the war, but it did not receive
the necessary response to allow Washington to intervene.
In this context, the source quoted a senior U.S. diplomat in Beirut as saying
there is “no problem between the United States and the Shiites, whom we view as
a fundamental political component in Lebanon that cannot be ignored.” The issue,
he said, lies with Hezbollah, which executes a foreign agenda due to its close
ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and receives instructions from it.
The source added that Hezbollah obstructed the implementation of a plan prepared
by the Lebanese Army and adopted by the government to ensure that weapons remain
exclusively under state control. It also allegedly initiated the first rocket
launches toward Israel, despite verbally denying responsibility and refraining
from issuing an official statement—apparently to shield Iran’s Revolutionary
Guard from blame. This marked the first breach of a ceasefire from the Lebanese
side after more than a year of adherence.
Ambassador Issa had reportedly been officially informed that Hezbollah would not
militarily support Iran—a commitment the group had made to Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri. However, Hezbollah later reversed course, issuing a statement
claiming the rocket fire was retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to the diplomatic source, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into a war it did
not want, first by supporting Gaza and later Iran. The source added that the
U.S. had reassured Lebanon that Israel would not expand the war if Hezbollah
refrained from intervening militarily in support of Iran.
Washington also supported President Aoun’s call for direct negotiations with
Israel, on condition that Lebanon appoint a civilian delegation that includes a
prominent Shiite representative backed by Nabih Berri. While Berri showed
understanding of the initiative, he insisted it must follow a ceasefire and the
return of displaced residents before proceeding. However, Israel did not respond
positively to this proposal, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assigning
former minister Ron Dermer to handle the negotiation file with Lebanon. The
source noted that while Washington does not elaborate on Israel’s lack of
response, it holds Hezbollah responsible for undermining Aoun’s
initiative—particularly after Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected
negotiations under fire, viewing them as surrender to U.S. and Israeli will, and
insisting on maintaining Lebanon’s alignment with Iran.
If you want, I can also summarize this or explain the political context in
simpler terms.
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
30-31/2026
Trump Threatens to Destroy
Iran’s Civilian Infrastructure if a Deal Is Not Reached ‘Shortly’
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s
energy resources and other vital infrastructure, including desalination plants
that supply drinking water, if a deal to end the war is not reached “shortly.”Iran
meanwhile struck a key water and electrical plant in Kuwait, and an oil refinery
in Israel came under attack. Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on
Iran, as the war raged with no end in sight. Trump’s new threat came in a social
media post. Earlier comments to the Financial Times suggested American troops
could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. Trump has repeatedly claimed to
be making diplomatic progress— though Tehran denies negotiating directly — while
ramping up his threats and sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East.
It remains unclear where the diplomatic effort facilitated by Pakistan stands.
Iran’s continuing attacks on its Gulf neighbors could further complicate any
talks. Trump says diplomacy is going well but threatens major escalation
In a social media post, Trump said “great progress is being made” in talks with
Iran to end military operations. But he said if a deal is not reached “shortly,”
and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened, the US would broaden
its offensive by “completely obliterating” power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island
and possibly even desalination plants.
The strait is a crucial waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is
shipped in peacetime. The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian
infrastructure such as energy plants only if the military advantage outweighs
the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It’s considered a high bar to clear, and
causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime. A
22-year-old resident of Karaj, near Tehran, said his area lost power for several
hours overnight following nearby strikes.
“I was really scared. I thought that they’d hit the power plants and that we are
not going to have power anymore,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity
out of security fears. In the FT interview, Trump said his preference would be
to “take the oil in Iran.”
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t,” he said, referring to a terminal
through which nearly all of Iran's oil exports pass. Iran says US demands are
‘excessive, unrealistic and irrational’ The US already has targeted military
positions on Kharg.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had received a
15-point proposal from the Trump administration containing “excessive,
unrealistic and irrational” demands, while denying there had been any direct
talks. Earlier, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, dismissed
the talks in Pakistan as a cover while more US troops are brought to the region.
He said Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the
ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,”
according to state media. Twice during Trump’s second term, the US has attacked
Iran during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that
started the current war.
Iran attacks Israel
Sirens sounded at dawn near Israel’s main nuclear research center, a part of the
country that has been targeted repeatedly in recent days. Israel’s military also
said it had taken out two drones launched from Yemen, where the Iran-backed
Houthis entered the war on Saturday with their first missile attack. Iran kept
up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors: Saudi Arabia intercepted five
missiles targeting its Eastern province; a fireball erupted over Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, as a missile was intercepted; and in Kuwait, an Iranian attack
hit a power and desalination plant, killing one worker and wounding 10 soldiers,
the state-run KUNA news agency reported. An Emirati official signaled that the
UAE wants more than just a ceasefire. “An Iranian regime that launches ballistic
missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports proxies is no longer an
acceptable feature of the regional landscape,” Noura Al Kaabi, a minister of
state at the UAE’s Foreign Ministry, wrote in a column published by the
state-linked, English-language newspaper The National. She added: “We want a
guarantee that this will never happen again.” NATO air defenses intercepted a
ballistic missile over Türkiye that was fired from Iran, Türkiye’s Defense
Ministry said, in the fourth such incident since the start of the war. Iran has
denied firing the previous missiles. Türkiye has tried to maintain a neutral
position and is taking part in mediation efforts. Israel launched a new wave of
attacks on Iran, saying it was striking “military infrastructure” across Tehran.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and Iranian state media reported a
petrochemicals plant in Tabriz, in the north, sustained damage in an airstrike.
Peacekeeper killed in Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, which Israel has invaded as it battles the Iran-backed
Hezbollah, an Indonesian United Nations peacekeeper was killed and three others
were wounded by an exploding projectile. An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb
killed one person and wounded 17, including four children, according to
Lebanon's Health Ministry. Over the weekend, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would widen its invasion,
expanding the “existing security strip” in southern Lebanon.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have
been reported dead in Israel. Two dozen people have been killed In Gulf states
and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people
have been killed, and more than 1 million have been displaced. Six Israeli
soldiers have died in Lebanon, while 13 US service members have been killed in
the war.
Oil prices rise again
Iran’s attacks on the energy infrastructure of the region and its stranglehold
on the Strait of Hormuz have threatened global supplies of oil, natural gas and
fertilizer. They have sent fuel prices skyrocketing and given rise to growing
concerns about an energy crisis.
Trump has said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 oil tankers through the Strait
of Hormuz starting Monday as “a sign of respect.” There wasn’t any information
on whether those ships were actually moving. Brent crude oil, the international
standard, was trading around $115 Monday, up nearly 60% from when the war
started.
Trump claims Iran gave in to US demands, considers seizing
oil
Agencies/30 March/2026
President Donald Trump said that Iran “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it
issued to Tehran to end the war, even as it remains unclear whether either side
is negotiating. “They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?” he told
reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. “We’re going to be asking for a couple of
other things.” He declined to specify what concessions Iran has offered.
Publicly, Iran has rejected the US’s 15-point list of ceasefire terms delivered
by the Trump administration via intermediaries in Pakistan, and has countered
with five conditions of its own — including maintaining sovereignty over the
Strait of Hormuz. Earlier Sunday, however, Trump said he wanted to seize Iran’s
oil resources, a move that would mark a major escalation in the conflict. “To be
honest with you, my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid
people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,”
he said in an interview with the Financial Times. Taking Iran’s oil would
require a risky military operation involving the invasion and occupation of its
main export hub, Kharg Island, which also houses an Iranian naval base. Trump
added that taking Kharg Island “would also mean we had to be there for a while.”
The president has said the war would end “soon,” as the economic fallout risks
spiraling into a political liability for his Republican Party ahead of the
November midterm elections. The US has sent dissonant messages about the next
stages of the war. Trump has pushed for ceasefire talks with Iran even as the
military ramps up forces in the region. The president said Sunday that
negotiations don’t preclude further military action. “We’re doing extremely well
in that negotiation,” Trump said. “But you never know with Iran, because we
negotiate with them, and then we always have to blow them up.”
Thousands of US troops amassed in the Middle East over the weekend, including an
amphibious assault team that arrived on Saturday. Members of the 82nd Airborne
are also on their way. Several hundred special operations personnel have arrived
in the region, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing two military
officials. Reuters has reported that the Pentagon has been considering military
options that could include ground forces, although Trump has not approved any of
those plans, according to multiple news outlets.Officials from Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey met over the weekend to find a path out of the conflict, but
it’s unclear whether they made any progress. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq
Dar said after the meeting with his counterparts that “both Iran and US have
expressed their confidence in Pakistan” to host future talks, although neither
side has indicated they are ready to meet.
Trump also suggested that the US has already achieved its goal of regime change.
US strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the initial hours of the
war. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has taken over for his father. “We’re dealing
with different people than anybody’s dealt with before,” Trump said. “It’s a
whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change. And
frankly, they’ve been very reasonable.”
Thousands of US Army paratroopers arrive in Middle East as buildup intensifies
Reuters/30 March/2026
Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have
started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters on Monday, as
President Donald Trump weighs his next steps in the war against Iran. Reuters
first reported on March 18 that Trump’s administration was considering deploying
thousands of additional US troops to the Middle East, a move that would expand
options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory. The
paratroopers, based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, add to the thousands of
additional sailors, Marines and Special Operations forces sent to the region.
Over the weekend, about 2,500 Marines arrived in the Middle East. The officials,
speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say specifically where the
soldiers were deploying to, but the move was expected. The additional Army
soldiers include elements of the 82nd Airborne Division headquarters, some
logistics and other support, and one brigade combat team. No decision has been
made to send troops into Iran, but they will build up capacity for potential
future operations in the region, one of the sources said.
Options for Trump
The soldiers could be used for several purposes in the Iran war, including an
attempt to seize Kharg Island, the hub for 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported there had been discussions within the Trump
administration about an operation to take the island. Such a move would be
highly risky, since Iran can reach the island with missiles and drones. Reuters
has previously reported the administration has discussed using ground forces
inside Iran to extract highly enriched uranium, though that option could mean US
troops deeper inside Iran for potentially longer periods of time, trying to dig
out material that is deep underground. The internal Trump administration
discussions have also included potentially putting US troops inside Iran to
secure safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. While that
mission would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, it could
also mean deploying US troops to Iran’s shoreline. Trump said on Monday the
United States was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in
Iran, but repeated his warning to Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US
attacks on its oil wells and power plants. Any use of US ground troops - even
for a limited mission - could pose significant political risks for Trump, given
low American public support for the Iran campaign and Trump’s own pre-election
promises to avoid entangling the US in new Middle East conflicts. Since
operations started on February 28, the US has carried out strikes against more
than 11,000 targets. More than 300 US troops have been injured and 13 service
members have been killed as part of Operation Epic Fury.
Rubio Says US Hopeful in Private Talks After Iran
‘Fractures’
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday voiced hope for working with
elements within Iran's government, saying the United States privately had
received positive messages. Rubio said there were internal "fractures" inside
the country and that the United States hopes figures with "power to deliver"
take charge. "We are hopeful that that's the case," Rubio told the ABC News
program "Good Morning America.""There are clearly people there talking to us in
ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past,
some of the things they're willing to do," he said.
Rubio nonetheless also denounced Tehran in broad strokes, insisting that the war
aimed to end its nuclear weapons building capacity, which President Donald Trump
said he accomplished during an attack last year. "These people are lunatics.
They are insane. They are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess
a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future," Rubio
said. In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio said there were "messages
and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United
States." The communication is "primarily through intermediaries, but there's
been some conversation," he told the Qatar-based news channel. "I think the
president always prefers diplomacy."Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and the
UN nuclear watchdog has said no bomb was imminent. Rubio's comments came a day
after Trump said that Iran has already gone through "regime change," one month
into the war launched by the United States and Israel. Trump said that the
United States was speaking to a "whole different group of people" and that they
were "very reasonable."On the first day of the war Israel assassinated Iran's
longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and subsequent strikes have killed other
top leaders. Rubio said that there was a difference
between private and public messages coming from Iran. "Obviously they're not
going to put it out in press releases, and what they say to you or put out there
for the world doesn't necessarily reflect what they're saying in our
conversations," Rubio said in the ABC interview.
Despite the Trump administration's public talk of diplomacy, the United States
has been reinforcing its military presence in the region and Trump on Monday
threatened to "blow up" Iran's oil-exporting island of Kharg if purported talks
fail.
The comments from the administration signal a readiness to work with some form
of the regime, after the United States and Israel at the start of the war spoke
of toppling the government which weeks earlier killed thousands of people as it
crushed mass protests.
Iran’s heavy water production plant no longer
operational, IAEA says
Agencies/30 March/2026
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that Iran’s heavy water
production plant at Khondab, which the country reported had been attacked on
March 27, has suffered severe damage and is no longer operational. The
installation contains no declared nuclear material, the UN nuclear watchdog
added in a social media post on X. The Israeli military confirmed it struck a
heavy water reactor and a uranium processing plant in central Iran on Friday.
“The Israeli Air Force... struck the heavy water plant in Arak, central Iran,”
the military said in a statement, describing the site as a “key plutonium
production site for nuclear weapons.”Iranian media had reported that US-Israeli
strikes hit the Khondab heavy water complex, saying they caused no casualties or
radiation leak from the site. Work on the reactor on the outskirts of the
village of Khondab began in the 2000s, but was halted under the terms of a
now-abandoned 2015 nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers. The core
of the reactor was removed and concrete was poured into it, rendering it
inoperative. The research reactor was officially intended to produce plutonium
for medical research and the site includes a production plant for heavy water.
The Israeli military also confirmed it struck a uranium processing site in
central Iran’s Yazd on Friday, after Iran’s atomic energy organization said
US-Israeli strikes hit the facility. “The Israeli Air Force... struck a uranium
extraction plant located in Yazd, central Iran,” the military said in a
statement, describing the site as a “unique facility in Iran used for the
production of raw materials required for the uranium enrichment process.”Iran’s
atomic energy organization said the strike on the plant “did not result in the
release of any radioactive material.”Israel and the US accuse Iran of seeking to
acquire nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its program is for civilian
purposes. The heavy water plant in Arak was targeted by Israeli strikes during
the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last June, during which the US also
carried out bombings.The Middle East was plunged into war on February 28 when
the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, triggering retaliatory missile
and drone attacks targeting Israel and several countries in the region.
Iran Confirms Death of Revolutionary Guards Navy
Commander Tangsiri
Asharq Al Awsat30 March/2026
Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander
Alireza Tangsiri following severe injuries, Iranian media reported, based on a
statement by the guards. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March
26: "In a precise and lethal operation, the IDF eliminated the commander of the
IRGC Navy, Tangsiri, along with senior naval command officials."Katz said
Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships from
crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Israel’s military launched on Monday a new wave
of attacks on Iran, saying it was striking “military infrastructure” across
Tehran, and explosions were heard in the Iranian capital. Iranian state media
reported a petrochemicals plant in Tabriz, in the north, sustained damage after
an airstrike and firefighters had to put out a blaze.
Iran Hangs Two ‘Political Prisoners’ from Banned Opposition
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 30/2026
Iran hanged two men on Monday for membership of a banned opposition group, with
rights groups describing them as political prisoners and expressing fear of a
surge in executions aimed at cowing the population during the Middle East war.
Akbar Daneshvarkar, 60, and Mohammad Taghavi-Sangdehi, 59, were hanged at dawn
in the notorious Gehzel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj for
membership of the outlawed People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as
Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK). They were executed "after confirmation and final
approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court", the judiciary's Mizan Online
website said. The MEK opposed the rule of the shah and initially supported the
1979 revolution but rapidly fell out with the new clerical leadership in the
1980s. It is now based in exile and is designated as a terrorist organization by
Tehran. The group's political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCIR),
confirmed in a statement that the two were members of the MEK.
Its leader Maryam Rajavi said "the desperate clerical regime, in fear of
the people's uprising, vainly attempts to delay the explosion of the people's
anger for a short while by executing the bravest children of Iran." Activists
expressed fear that there would be a new surge in executions as authorities
sought to spread fear throughout society against the backdrop of the war against
Israel and the United States.
Amnesty International described the executions as arbitrary and said the two men
had been subjected "to torture and other ill-treatment in detention" and also
not allowed a final goodbye to families.
'Ruthless execution machinery' -
"Even amid the aerial bombardment, authorities are continuing their ruthless
execution machinery, weaponizing the death penalty against dissidents in a
desperate bid to stifle dissent and tighten their grip on power," Amnesty said.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights
group, said "we fear that the Islamic Republic will exploit the current wartime
conditions to carry out mass executions inside prisons to instill societal
fear". IHR said the two men were political prisoners and were "subjected to
physical and psychological torture, denied due process rights and sentenced to
death in a process that did not meet minimum fair trial standards".It warned
that four co-defendants were "at grave and imminent risk of execution" in Ghezel
Hesar prison after being sentenced to death in the same case.
Shadi Sadr, co-founder of the NGO Justice for Iran, which seeks legal
accountability for rights violations in the country, said "the Iranian people
are trapped between an international war and severe internal repression".Mizan
said the two executed men were charged with participating in "terrorist acts",
carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the regime, and disrupting national
security.
According to the NCRI, the MEK regularly carried out actions inside Iran aimed
at the clerical authorities. Iran on March 19 executed three men who were
accused of killing police officers during protests in January, the first
hangings Iran has carried out related to the nationwide demonstrations that were
met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities. It
also executed Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, the same month
on charges of spying for Israel, drawing condemnation from Stockholm and the EU.
Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, according to rights
groups. Last year it hanged at least 1,500 people, according to figures from IHR.
Spain Closes the Country's Airspace to US Planes Involved in the Iran War
Asharq Al Awsat/March 30/2026
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in the Iran war, the defense
minister said Monday, marking another step in the government's opposition to US
and Israeli involvement in the conflict in the Middle East. The country had
already said that the US couldn't use jointly operated military bases in the
Iran conflict, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has described as
illegal, reckless and unjust, The AP news reported. Defense Minister Margarita
Robles said Monday that the same logic applied to the use of Spanish airspace in
the conflict. “This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces
from the very beginning. Therefore, neither the bases are authorized, nor, of
course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the
war in Iran,” Robles told reporters. Spain’s government under Sánchez, one of
Europe's most prominent left-wing leaders, has been Europe’s loudest opposing
voice against US and Israeli military actions in the Middle East. He has called
on the US, Israel and Iran to end the war, saying earlier this month: “You
cannot respond to one illegality with another, because that’s how humanity’s
great disasters begin.”After Sánchez's government denied the US use of the Rota
and Morón military bases in southern Spain, US President Donald Trump threatened
to cut trade with Madrid. It was the latest flare-up between Spain and the US,
which made trade threats against the European nation last year, too, when
Sánchez said that his government wouldn't increase its defense spending in
accordance with a ramp-up agreed to by other NATO members following pressure
from Trump. At the time, Sánchez's government said that Spain could meet its
military commitments by spending 2.1% of gross domestic product on defense,
instead of the 5% the rest of the 32-nation military alliance agreed upon.
Sánchez was also among the most vocal critics of Israel's actions in the war in
Gaza, which invited criticism from Israel's government on several occasions. “I
think everyone knows Spain’s position; it’s very clear,” Robles said, calling
the war in Iran “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.”Associated Press
Israeli Death Penalty Bill for Palestinian Murder Convicts
Faces Vote
Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Israel's parliament is expected on Monday to vote on a bill that would make the
death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military court of
killing Israelis, a measure that Israel's European allies say would unfairly
target Palestinians under military occupation. The measure includes provisions
requiring sentencing within 90 days with no right to clemency. It was devised by
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister who along with other
ardent supporters has worn noose-shaped lapel pins in the run-up to the vote,
Reuters reported. The bill's critics say it aims at Palestinians in the West
Bank by instructing military courts in the occupied territory to impose the
death penalty in cases involving killings of Israelis, except in "special
circumstances". Those courts only try Palestinians and have a near-100%
conviction rate, rights groups say.
The vote on the bill is the latest action by members of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's right-wing coalition to cause concern among Israel's allies in
Europe, who have also been critical of Jewish settler violence against
Palestinians in the West Bank.
Netanyahu's Likud party was expected to vote in favor of the bill. Israeli media
reported that he had previously asked for some elements of the measure to be
softened to head off an international backlash. The original bill had mandated
the death sentence for non-Israeli citizens in the West Bank convicted of deadly
terrorist acts. The revised legislation that is up for a vote on Monday includes
the option of life imprisonment.
Even before the vote on its passage, the bill drew criticism from the foreign
ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain, who said it had a "de facto
discriminatory" character toward Palestinians. "The adoption of this bill would
risk undermining Israel's commitments with regards to democratic principles,"
the ministers said in a joint statement on Sunday. A group of United Nations
experts has said that the bill includes "vague and overbroad definitions of
terrorist", meaning the death penalty could be meted out over "conduct that is
not genuinely terrorist" in nature.
Ben-Gvir has argued that the death penalty would deter those considering an
attack similar to the Hamas-led assault of October 7, 2023, that killed nearly
1,200 in Israel. Israel's subsequent military assault in Gaza has killed more
than 72,000.
Amnesty International, which tracks countries imposing death penalty laws, says
there "is no evidence that the death penalty is any more effective in reducing
crime than life imprisonment."Israeli rights groups have said they will
challenge the bill at Israel's Supreme Court if it becomes law. Israel abolished
the death penalty for murder in 1954. The only person ever executed in Israel
after a civilian trial was Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust,
in 1962. Military courts retained the option of imposing a death sentence but
have not done so so far. Some 54 countries around the world permit the death
penalty, including a handful of democracies such as the United States and Japan,
according to Amnesty International. The group says that the global trend on the
death penalty is toward abolition, with 113 countries having outlawed it for all
crimes. The Israeli rights group B'Tselem says that military courts in the West
Bank, where Palestinians are tried for alleged crimes, have a 96% conviction
rate and have a history of extracting confessions through torture. Ben-Gvir,
known for keeping a portrait in his living room of a Jewish gunman who killed 29
Palestinian worshippers in a West Bank mosque, has overseen an overhaul of
Israeli prisons that have led to widespread allegations of torture, starvation,
and abuse of Palestinian prisoners. Israel denies systematic abuse of prisoners
in its jails. Abdallah Al Zughari, the head of the Palestinian Prisoner's Club,
said that Palestinians in Israeli jails had already been subject to "slow
killing practices" that have led to the deaths of more than 100 prisoners since
October 7, 2023.The death penalty bill, should it become law, would pose a
"major threat to the lives of detainees," Zughari said.
Syrian Leader Pledges to Work with Germany on Migration,
Recovery
Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday pledged to work with Germany to
enable more Syrians to return home and rebuild their country after its
devastating civil war, as he made a historic visit to Berlin. Europe's top
economy is home to the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union at more
than a million, many of whom arrived during the peak of the migrant influx in
2015-2016. After meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Sharaa said that "we are
working with our friends in the German government to establish a 'circular'
migration model", AFP reported. This would "enable Syrians to contribute to the
reconstruction of their homeland without giving up the stability and lives they
have built here, for those who wish to stay", he said. Merz, who has made a
tougher immigration policy a priority since taking office last year, also said
he and Sharaa were "working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return to
their homeland".Sharaa was speaking on his first trip to Germany since ousting
his country's longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. He has managed to
build relations with Western governments and made several overseas trips,
including to the United States, France and Russia. As a result, many
international sanctions on Syria have been lifted to help the country rebuild
after a bloody 14-year civil war. Earlier, Sharaa told a foreign ministry forum
in Berlin that Syria had experienced a "huge amount of destruction" during its
long conflict, saying that Syrians "want to catch up with the rest of the world"
as Germany did after World War II. He pointed to investment opportunities in
Syria's energy, transport and tourism sectors, describing his homeland as very
diverse and with "a great wealth of human resources". Merz said Germany wanted
to "support" reconstruction in Syria as it struggles to rebuild after a long and
bloody civil war, adding that a German government delegation would travel to the
Middle Eastern country in the next few days. However, Merz also said that he had
stressed to Sharaa in their meeting "that many joint projects in the future will
depend on our finding a state governed by the rule of law"
Türkiye Says NATO Defenses Down Missile from Iran
Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
A ballistic missile fired from Iran entered Turkish airspace on Monday and was
shot down by NATO defenses, Ankara said, in the fourth such incident reported
since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. There was no immediate comment
from Tehran which has denied specifically targeting its neighbor Türkiye
during the conflict and has said it was not involved in the previous three
missile launches, which were all downed by NATO defenses. NATO's spokesperson
said the alliance intercepted an Iranian missile heading towards its member
country Türkiye, adding that it was "prepared for such threats and will always
do what is necessary to defend all Allies". Iran has fired missiles at countries
across the Middle East since the start of the conflict, striking oil
infrastructure and bases with US forces in the region. Türkiye's defense
ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading on Monday.
Türkiye's Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province hosts US, Turkish,
Polish, and other personnel. US personnel are also stationed at NATO's Kurecik
radar station in Türkiye's southeastern Malatya province where the alliance
recently deployed a Patriot missile defense system. Separately, Türkiye's Chief
of the General Staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, held a video conference
with NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on Monday, to
discuss regional defense and security issues, the defense ministry said. The
ministry said all necessary measures were being taken "decisively and without
hesitation" against any threat directed at Türkiye's territory and airspace. The
incident comes after talks in Islamabad at the weekend between the top diplomats
of Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia on potential ways to end the war
and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Türkiye had offered and tried to
mediate between Iran and the United States before the war started at the end of
last month. Ankara has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict, criticized
the US-Israeli attacks as illegal, and described Iran's attacks on regional
countries as unacceptable.
Saudi, Jordan, Qatar leaders warn Iran attacks threaten
region
Al Arabiya English/30 March/2026
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah, and Qatar’s Emir
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a trilateral meeting in Jeddah on Monday,
the Saudi Press Agency reported. The leaders discussed the latest regional
developments, including the repercussions of the ongoing military escalation,
risks to freedom of international navigation and energy security, its impact on
the global economy, and the coordination of joint efforts to enhance regional
security and stability, SPA said. They also warned that continued Iranian
attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan, including the
targeting of civilian and vital facilities, “constitute a dangerous escalation
that threatens the region’s security and stability,” according to the agency.
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions linked to the US-Israeli war with
Iran. Several Arab and Islamic countries – including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and
Qatar – have faced repeated Iranian attacks since the conflict began on February
28, despite insisting they are not involved. Separately, Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Faisal bin Farhan joined a joint ministerial meeting via video conference
with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Russia, and Jordan to discuss the
repercussions of Iranian attacks on countries in the region.
Saudi Arabia condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait
Saudi Arabia/Al Arabiya English/30 March/2026
Saudi Arabia has condemned the heinous Iranian attacks targeting a Kuwaiti Armed
Forces camp, as well as a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, the
Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The Kingdom stressed that these
“cowardly” Iranian attempts and its blatant conduct towards the countries of the
region confirm the continuation of a hostile approach that cannot be justified
under any circumstances, and “explicitly contradicts international laws and
norms, principles of good neighborliness, and risk further escalation in the
region.”Ten Kuwaiti military personnel were injured in an Iranian missile attack
on a military camp in the country, the Kuwaiti army said on Sunday. The camp
sustained material damage, the army said in a post on X.An Iranian strike on a
power station in Kuwait killed one Indian worker and damaged a building at the
site, the Gulf state’s electricity ministry said Monday. “A service building at
a power and water desalination plant was attacked as part of the Iranian
aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of an Indian
worker and significant material damage to the building,” said Fatima Abbas
Jawhar Hayat, a spokesperson for the ministry. With AFP
Saudi Arabia condemns Iranian attacks on Kuwait
Al Arabiya English/30 March/2026
Saudi Arabia has condemned the heinous Iranian attacks targeting a Kuwaiti Armed
Forces camp, as well as a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, the
Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The Kingdom stressed that these
“cowardly” Iranian attempts and its blatant conduct towards the countries of the
region confirm the continuation of a hostile approach that cannot be justified
under any circumstances, and “explicitly contradicts international laws and
norms, principles of good neighborliness, and risk further escalation in the
region.”Ten Kuwaiti military personnel were injured in an Iranian missile attack
on a military camp in the country, the Kuwaiti army said on Sunday. The camp
sustained material damage, the army said in a post on X. An Iranian strike on a
power station in Kuwait killed one Indian worker and damaged a building at the
site, the Gulf state’s electricity ministry said Monday.
“A service building at a power and water desalination plant was attacked as part
of the Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of
an Indian worker and significant material damage to the building,” said Fatima
Abbas Jawhar Hayat, a spokesperson for the ministry. With AFP
White House expresses ‘concerns’ over Israel blocking Jerusalem’s Catholic
leader
Reuters/30 March/2026
The White House on Monday expressed “concerns” over Israeli police blocking
Jerusalem’s Catholic leader from accessing Christianity’s holiest site on Palm
Sunday. “We did express our concerns with Israel with respect to these holy
sites being shut down,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, said
during a regular press briefing. “We want worshipers to be able to access these
holy sites.”Leavitt said the White House acknowledged Israeli concerns over “safety.”The
incident sparked outrage in Europe and on Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Monday the Latin Patriarch would get “full and immediate
access.”Read more: France condemns Israeli police blocking Jerusalem’s Latin
Patriarch.
Russia expels UK diplomat on spying allegations
AFP/30 March/2026
Russia on Monday kicked out a British diplomat over allegations he was working
as a spy -- charges rejected by London as “complete nonsense.”Moscow and London
have each expelled multiple embassy staff over the last decade, trading
accusations of espionage. Expulsions from one side have typically been followed
by a tit-for-tat response from the other. The diplomat was expelled for engaging
in “subversive intelligence activities that threaten Russia’s security,”
Russia’s FSB security service said. The diplomat was ordered to leave Russia
within two weeks, the FSB said.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had summoned Britain’s charge d’affaires
over the incident and warned London not to retaliate.Britain accused Russia of
waging an “increasingly aggressive and co-ordinated campaign of harassment.”“The
accusations made today by Russia against our diplomats are complete nonsense,” a
foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding Russia was “pumping out malicious and
completely baseless accusations about their work.”“The UK does not stand for
intimidation of British embassy staff and their families,” the British
spokesperson added. Russia previously announced the expulsion of a British
diplomat in January, prompting the UK to revoke a Russian diplomat’s
accreditation last month. Relations between London and Moscow, currently at a
low point over the Ukraine war, have been strained by spying allegations for
decades. In 2006, former FSB officer and Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko
was killed in London, poisoned by polonium in what British investigators said
was a hit by the Russian secret service. In 2018, the UK said Russian double
agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in the British
cathedral city of Salisbury. A member of the public was killed after handling
the delivery device, a discarded perfume bottle, triggering the largest Western
expulsion in decades of Russian diplomats alleged to be spies.
Student shoots a teacher and then fatally shoots himself
at a Texas high school, authorities say
Associated Press/March 30/2026
BULVERDE, Texas (AP) — A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high
school and then fatally shot himself, authorities said Monday. No other injuries
were reported in the shooting at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in
Bulverde. The Comal County Sheriff’s Office has not said what may have led to
the shooting.The teacher was taken to a San Antonio hospital, but the sheriff’s
office did not have an update on her condition. The male student died on the
scene, the sheriff's office said. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told
The Associated Press that the student died from a self-inflicted gunshot.The
school said on social media that it was placed on lockdown at 8:34 a.m., and the
bell schedule listed online shows that classes start at 8:55 a.m. One student
told KSAT-TV that they heard loud bangs coming from a room on the second floor
and then heard screaming. Another student told the TV station that they heard
five shots and yelling before her debate teacher told students to get inside a
classroom. Students were bused to a nearby middle school, where parents stood in
long lines, some praying, as they waited to be reunited. Jesse Lopez, a parent,
told KSAT-TV that it will be difficult to tell his daughter that she has to
eventually go back to class.“For one, she has autism, and she’ll be afraid to go
back, she’ll be real afraid to go back,” Lopez said. The high school, which is
part of the Comal Independent School District, focuses on academics and skills
to prepare students for college, according to the district's website. Its
curriculum is centered on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, known
as STEAM, with electives that include cybersecurity and engineering. The school
opened in August 2020 with a freshman class. It has since grown to offer grades
nine through 12 and as of this school year has about 260 students enrolled,
according to the district's website.
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
30-31/2026
The Sham of 'Disarming' Hamas
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 30, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153267/
Hamas, like Iran, continues to treat
the idea of disarmament with a mix of dismissal and rhetorical defiance,
effectively signaling that it has no intention of giving up its weapons or
altering its dream of eliminating Israel.
For Hamas, disarmament is not a serious proposal. Instead, it is a tool for
political theater, a way to manipulate donors and tighten its grip over the Gaza
Strip.
In Hamas's view, the establishment of Israel on any of this land is an illegal
"Zionist project" and a form of colonial occupation.
When Hamas talks about "resistance" (Arabic: muqawama), it is referring to a
comprehensive framework aimed at destroying Israel through a violent jihad (holy
war), similar to the Islamic conquest of the Christian Byzantine Empire, or
Turkey's 1974 invasion and conquest of northern Cyprus.
According to the Independent Arabia report, some 20,000 Hamas gunmen will be
integrated into a new security force in the Gaza Strip and receive salaries with
international funding. The new force would be granted the status of an official
security apparatus, recognized regionally and internationally.
The "Board of Peace" has also apparently offered "political and legal immunity"
to Hamas terrorists, guaranteeing that they will not be prosecuted
internationally or by Israel in exchange for their involvement in a local
governing council.
If true, this means that the "Board of Peace" views Hamas as a legitimate and
acceptable partner in the future management of the Gaza Strip. The mere act of
engaging Hamas in such negotiations is beyond problematic. It risks not only
legitimizing an Islamist terror group, but also entrenching its authoritarian
rule in the Gaza Strip and paving the way for more massacres against Israel.
The idea of integrating Hamas terrorists into the Gaza Strip's new security
apparatus is even worse. Such a move sends a message to the Palestinians that
participation in terrorism carries no consequences and that terrorists can move
directly from violence into official roles without a meaningful process of
disarmament.
Legitimizing these terrorists -- as with the Taliban in Afghanistan --
undermines any attempt to establish norms of governance based on law rather than
on violence, and can only embolden other terror groups. Without a credible
enforcement mechanism -- backed by unified international and regional support --
calls for disarmament remain hallucinatory.
It is hard to see how pro-Hamas countries such as Qatar, Turkey, or Pakistan,
all part of the "Board of Peace" -- and two of which, Qatar and Pakistan, have
never even recognized Israel -- would seriously participate in any effort to
force the Palestinian terror groups to give up their weapons.
Without such pressure, plans for disarmament will continue to be dismissed by
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups. Any plan that assumes these groups
will voluntarily lay down their weapons is dangerously unenlightened.
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have again rejected demands by US
President Donald J. Trump's "Board of Peace" to lay down their weapons. This
rejection underscores the determination of terror groups to continue their fight
against Israel.
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have again rejected demands by US
President Donald J. Trump's "Board of Peace" to lay down their weapons. This
rejection underscores the determination of terror groups to continue their fight
against Israel.
The Palestinian terror groups' refusal to hand over their weapons shows they do
not take seriously Trump's repeated threats that they must disarm as part of the
October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire and reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip.
Trump made his latest threat in February 2026, when he warned that Hamas would
be "harshly met" if they failed to disarm. Hamas, like Iran, continues to treat
the idea of disarmament with a mix of dismissal and rhetorical defiance,
effectively signaling that it has no intention of giving up its weapons or
altering its dream of eliminating Israel.
For Hamas, disarmament is not a serious proposal. Instead, it is a tool for
political theater, a way to manipulate donors and tighten its grip over the Gaza
Strip.
The Palestinian terror groups' latest refusal to disarm came after they received
a detailed 12-point disarmament plan from the "Board of Peace."
The plan proposes an eight-month timeline:
1. Preparation (days 1-15) – A Palestinian technocratic committee takes security
control and begins preparatory steps.
2. Heavy Weaponry (days 16-40) – Israel removes heavy weaponry; international
security forces deploy.
3. Infrastructure Destruction (days 31-90) – Destruction of all tunnels and
military infrastructure.
4. Full Collection (days 91-250) – Local police forces collect and register all
remaining small arms, including rifles and pistols.
A Palestinian official close to the talks between the "Board of Peace" and Hamas
said the plan was "unfair," and expected Hamas to seek some "amendments and
improvements."
The unnamed official said the plan did not provide guarantees Israel would
carry out its obligations. The plan, the official added, would risk causing the
war to resume by linking reconstruction and improvements to living conditions to
political issues such as disarmament.
Three Palestinian terror groups – Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) — issued separate statements criticizing the
plan. They said it unfairly prioritized disarmament over issues such as
reconstruction and Israeli withdrawal.
PIJ wrote in its statement:
"The weapons of the resistance belong to the Palestinian people and constitute a
fundamental means to achieve their national goals, foremost among them ending
the occupation and establishing an independent state."
Senior Hamas official Ismail al-Sindawi stated that the core of the crisis "lies
in the occupation." The weapons of the Palestinian factions, he said, "are a
natural consequence of the occupation."
Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist inside any borders. It
considers all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea as an
Islamic wakf (endowment) that belongs to Muslims to hold in trust for Allah by
divine right.
In Hamas's view, the establishment of Israel on any of this land is an illegal
"Zionist project" and a form of colonial occupation. Hamas's 1988 charter frames
the conflict as a religious one, and calls for the "liberation of all of
Palestine."
When Hamas talks about "resistance" (Arabic: muqawama), it is referring to a
comprehensive framework aimed at destroying Israel through a violent jihad (holy
war), similar to the Islamic conquest of the Christian Byzantine Empire, or
Turkey's 1974 invasion and conquest of northern Cyprus.
The PFLP emphasized that "resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian
people." According to the group, "the resistance's weapons have never been a
tool for chaos, but rather a means to protect the Palestinian people."
For its part, the DFLP warned that any arrangements concerning weapons must be
part of a unified Palestinian position and claimed that Israel "is seeking to
achieve political gains through diplomatic pressure after its military failure."
Sheikh Salem al-Sufi, head of the Bedouin Tribes and Clans Council in the Gaza
Strip, said that the Palestinian terror groups' weapons represent the "spirit"
of the Palestinian people. Relinquishing the weapons, al-Sufi stressed, "is out
of the question without achieving security and establishing an independent
Palestinian state."
According to a report in the Independent Arabia newspaper, the "Board of Peace"
recently presented Hamas with a set of guarantees described as tempting but
complex.
The alleged guarantees include granting the terror group an international
protection umbrella by deploying an international security force and observers
on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, as well as a written American
commitment that Israel would not launch military operations or assassinations.
According to the Independent Arabia report, some 20,000 Hamas gunmen will be
integrated into a new security force in the Gaza Strip and receive salaries with
international funding. The new force would be granted the status of an official
security apparatus, recognized regionally and internationally.
The "Board of Peace" has also apparently offered "political and legal immunity"
to Hamas terrorists, guaranteeing that they will not be prosecuted
internationally or by Israel in exchange for their involvement in a local
governing council.
If true, this means that the "Board of Peace" views Hamas as a legitimate and
acceptable partner in the future management of the Gaza Strip. The mere act of
engaging Hamas in such negotiations is beyond problematic. It risks not only
legitimizing an Islamist terror group, but also entrenching its authoritarian
rule in the Gaza Strip and paving the way for more massacres against Israel.
The idea of integrating Hamas terrorists into the Gaza Strip's new security
apparatus is even worse. Such a move sends a message to the Palestinians that
participation in terrorism carries no consequences and that terrorists can move
directly from violence into official roles without a meaningful process of
disarmament.
Legitimizing these terrorists -- as with the Taliban in Afghanistan --
undermines any attempt to establish norms of governance based on law rather than
on violence, and can only embolden other terror groups. Without a credible
enforcement mechanism -- backed by unified international and regional support --
calls for disarmament remain hallucinatory.
Finally, disarmament requires coordination between the US, key Arab and Islamic
states, and European partners to ensure consistent pressure and messaging.
It is hard to see how pro-Hamas countries such as Qatar, Turkey, or Pakistan,
all part of the "Board of Peace" -- and two of which, Qatar and Pakistan, have
never even recognized Israel -- would seriously participate in any effort to
force the Palestinian terror groups to give up their weapons.
The "Board of Peace" will need to apply pressure on the Palestinian terror
groups just as a first step toward forcing them to disarm.
The pressure could include cutting off financial and military lifelines through
sanctions, tighter monitoring of aid flows, and preventing weapons smuggling
into the Gaza Strip. The board also needs to tie reconstruction projects to
verifiable steps toward demilitarization. If the terrorists remain defiant,
Israel may need to use military force to eliminate all the terror groups in the
Gaza Strip.
Without such pressure, plans for disarmament will continue to be dismissed by
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups. Any plan that assumes these groups
will voluntarily lay down their weapons is dangerously unenlightened.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22396/sham-of-disarming-hamas
*Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Khomeini, the Jewish Rabbi, and the American Ambassador
Elie Aoun/March 30/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/03/153269/
In one of his interviews, Turkish
Admiral Cihat Yaycı presented a documentary video of Khomeini conducting a
“prayer of gratitude” after his return to Tehran in 1979. As a show of support,
a Jewish Rabbi and the American Ambassador were standing behind Khomeini. The
link to the video is at the end of this article.The Admiral stated that
Khomeini’s provisional government was formed in Paris. He said that one of the
objectives for bringing Khomeini to power was to achieve the “expansion” of
Israel. As such, Iran’s militant groups in Lebanon and Syria gave the
justifications for Israel to expand into both Lebanon and Syria. The Admiral
said that “the Iranian regime has fulfilled its role. Now, there is this Greater
Middle East Project on the table.”
I cannot personally confirm the identity of the individuals portrayed in the
Admiral’s video or its exact date. At the same time, I have no evidence contrary
to what he is claiming.
There is plenty of evidence to prove that the rise of radical militant groups
throughout the region (whether Sunni or Shiite) could not have reached this
level if it was not for some tacit support or approval from the West or Israel
as part of whatever strategy they were pursuing.
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described (in his book “The English
Job”) Israel’s alliance with Khomeini and provided him with weaponry (even
before the so-called “Iran-Contra affair”).
Another British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook stated in 2005 that "Al-Qaeda was
unquestionably the product of CIA intervention."
U.S. Representative Ron Paul stated that Hamas was “encouraged and really
started by Israel … to counteract Yasser Arafat.”
The purpose of this article is not to merely cite evidence (although there are
many that can be cited) but to define the lesson learned: We always have to
evaluate the blowback-driven consequences of our strategies or decisions.
The United States and Israel must recognize the disastrous outcome of their
“constructive chaos” and “interests-based” strategies (which have inflicted
detrimental impacts on the people of the region). They must make the necessary
adjustments – by moving from the policies of “arming one group to fight another”
towards “values-based strategies” aimed at dealing only with individuals who
adhere to long-defined values (primarily that of freedom of conscience). Anyone
else should be excluded from any consideration.
In the meantime, the Islamic elements must distinguish between the so-called
“Western principles” and “Western foreign policy” and recognize that the people
of the region are doomed to endless wars and failures if they do not adopt
“Western principles” (based on common law) – to be distinguished from Western
foreign policies that have not always been the best.
Armenian philosopher George Gurdjieff described war as a manifestation of mass
"sleep," stating that "several millions of sleeping people are trying to destroy
several millions of other sleeping people". He believed that if people were
truly awake, they would not participate in such destruction.
On this basis, we may state that the “sleeping” Americans and Israelis overlook
the fact that they themselves are the ones who played a role in bringing the
Iranian regime into existence. While the “sleeping” Iranians and their regional
proxies overlook the fact that their sole existence is to advance the interests
of certain elements (whatever those “elements” and “interests” may be). They
blame everyone who disagrees with them as a “traitor” or “Zionist” while they
refuse to acknowledge that their leadership was one of the first to walk that
path.
While certain Americans, Israelis, Iranians, and Lebanese cooperate on policies
that lead to destruction, so too can “good will” individuals of all these
nationalities coordinate on what is constructive and lead the region to a better
future based on valid principles.
The losers in this war are the people and nations of Lebanon, America, Israel,
and Iran – all of whom will incur more national debt and suffer human casualties
for the benefit of the true “winners”: the military industry and the dark
spirituality. After all, the war exists because someone is benefitting from it
(whatever that “someone” or those “benefits” may be).
If we have to choose between an Iranian dictatorial regime without freedoms and
an American regime with freedoms, we stand on the side of freedom. And if the
current war is aimed at imposing a certain “peace”, the question to be asked is
whether that peace would be based on interests without values, or interests with
correct values and correct principles aimed at establishing true freedoms and
genuine peace for all?
*Khomeini’s video is between minutes 11:00 and 12:00 of the following link:
“What is the unknown danger in the Israel-Iran War? Admiral Cihat Yaycı”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vxNVLC8EE8&t=801s
Iran Is Using Its Citizens As Human Shields
Janatan Sayeh/The Daily Wire/March 30/2026
Tehran’s regime is sacrificing ordinary Iranians and calling it "defense."
As U.S. and Israeli bombs and missiles seek their targets across Iran, the
regime is drafting the population into service as human shields. While the war
dismantles the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities, a parallel campaign has
targeted the regime’s repression apparatus. With their bases gone, regime forces
are now embedding in civilian areas to raise the cost of the war for ordinary
Iranians and force a rally-around-the-flag effect, to no avail.
Nightly rooftop chants against the Islamic Republic have echoed across cities
throughout the war, with many cheering strikes on regime targets. The campaign
against the repression apparatus has resonated widely, with Iranians sharing the
locations of security forces online to aid Israeli strikes. Survivors of the
January massacre say the public remains on standby for another wave of protests,
while Washington has indicated it will send a clear signal when the time comes
for mobilization.
As the campaign shifts toward urban areas, the regime has predictably sought to
portray the strikes as indiscriminate, even as it tries to turn homes into
targets. This is not only a military tactic but part of a deliberate information
campaign to frame the conflict as an attack on civilians.
Iranian authorities have not installed air raid sirens or constructed bomb
shelters despite the warning provided by the June 2025 conflict with Israel.
During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, officials dedicated radio broadcasts to
warning the public of nightly Iraqi strikes, allowing residents to seek refuge.
Today, despite constant rhetoric about an imminent confrontation with the United
States and Israel, the regime has deliberately avoided taking even minimal
protective measures — revealing how little the regime values its people.
Senior regime officials do not share the risks imposed on civilians. The
leadership operates from hardened underground bunker complexes in Tehran,
including multi-entrance command centers and tunnel-linked shelters used by Ali
Khamenei and other officials during crises, ensuring continuity of command even
as military assets are embedded near populated areas. U.S. Central Command and
the Department of Defense have warned that the regime is exploiting “heavily
populated civilian areas” by “deliberately positioning missile and drone
launchers” in major cities. The Israel Defense Forces’ Persian-language X
account echoed this point and posted a photo of Basij forces stationed inside a
school. Israeli Air Force similarly reported on a strike against the IRGC’s
internal repression headquarters that was “embedded within civilian
infrastructure.”
Ordinary Iranians are corroborating these claims by sharing footage online that
documents such conduct. Videos sent to Persian-language diaspora media show
armored security vehicles and military personnel stationed in schools throughout
the country, while other clips depict a destroyed missile launcher positioned in
a non-military storage shed in the densely populated city of Tehran.
The regime has not spared medical facilities. In Tehran, IRGC forces sought to
take over part of the Hamdaman rehabilitation institute, a center for orphaned
girls with disabilities, to house roughly 50 personnel during the war. The head
of the facility objected to the request, after which she was assaulted by the
officers and later detained. Many military commanders were also reported to be
holding meetings in hospitals.
One example of the regime’s infamous underground “missile cities” sits directly
beside a civilian leisure hub. The IRGC embedded a 500-meter-deep missile
complex into the mountains beside Yazd Mountain Park, a recreational site built
with the intention to draw visitors, containing lakes and leisure facilities,
with underground networks extending through the same foothill zone. The missile
base includes rail-linked launch systems, assembly halls, fuel depots, and
multiple launch exits. It falls under the control of the IRGC’s Al-Ghadir Corps,
which oversees regional forces. The park, opened in the same area a few years
earlier, provided both cover for construction and a steady civilian presence.
Azadi Sports Complex is another case of how the Islamic Republic repurposes
civilian sites for repression and war. Tehran has used sports facilities this
way since at least 2009, and the 12-Day War again showed that Azadi and other
venues housed personnel. The complex’s director said Azadi had served the armed
forces “with full capacity” during the June conflict, and the regime even built
an anti-riot police base beside the stadium. So when Azadi was struck earlier in
March, the regime’s claim that civilian infrastructure had been targeted omitted
the fact that the site was again being used as a staging ground for internal
security forces. Once Israeli strikes shifted toward hyperlocal targeting of
specific patrol units and checkpoints, videos indicate that these repression
squads began sheltering beneath bridges. Missile launchers and other weapons
were spotted along roads and inside several tunnels in western Iran, calculating
that any attack would endanger passersby and bolster the regime’s narrative
about indiscriminate strikes and feed its broader disinformation campaign.
Winning the information battle is as critical as battlefield success in this
context. The United States and Israel have the Iranian people on their side, but
that advantage is not guaranteed. If Washington plans to send a clear signal for
Iranians to take to the streets, the people of Iran must understand who their
real enemy is.
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/03/26/iran-is-using-its-citizens-as-human-shields/
*Janatan Sayeh is the Iranian analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s
regional malign influence.
When Can American Bases Be Removed?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz was a predictable possibility, present in
every potential war scenario with it. There was a precedent for its closure in
the 1980s when Iran planted mines, targeted ships, and threatened maritime
traffic. Known as the "Tanker War," Iran used missiles and speedboats. This war
is historically significant because Iran caused and brought about foreign naval
intervention, establishing a permanent American military presence in the Gulf.
Before Iran's attacks on maritime transport, the Americans did not have bases
and warships in the Gulf.
The first battle was in the height of the Iran-Iraq war. At the time, Iraq was
also attacking Iranian oil tankers. Tehran not only attacked Iraqi naval forces
but also attacked the naval vessels of Gulf countries, just as it attacks its
Gulf neighbors today.
When the Fifth Fleet entered the region, an American warship was hit by an
Iranian naval mine. That incident changed the rules of engagement, as the United
States became an active party in the crisis, and naval battles ensued for the
first time since World War II. Iran targeted Kuwait's oil tankers and struck
Gulf maritime installations, so Kuwait requested support, and American flags
were raised on the tankers, which were escorted by American naval vessels. With
the internationalization of the war, Iran's naval military capabilities and oil
platforms were destroyed.
That was an important round of fighting that concluded the long war later with
Iran's defeat, and it accepted a ceasefire. Today's war is a continuation of a
series of wars and clashes since the 1980s that express Iran's intentions and
policies.
Among the five negotiating conditions, which Iran is said to have put forward
through Pakistan, is its demand for the evacuation of the region from American
military bases. This unrealistic condition is met by a list of 15 American
conditions, and despite the White House's lack of confirmation of their
validity, they seem consistent with official statements. To stop the war,
Washington requires Iran to abandon its offensive military capabilities, such as
programs, systems, and stockpiles, and adopt an executive mechanism. Here, if
Iran accepts this, talk of ending the American bases becomes reasonable, because
they were built primarily against Iranian threats, despite the lies of
conspiracy theory propaganda that claim the bases have hidden motives to seize
the Gulf and the region.
Trust in the Iranian regime is lacking, and it is difficult to build trust that
would allow for the abandonment of American bases, at least in the foreseeable
future. The regime may change its policy at a later time in a positive way or
change altogether, and that is another matter that would then require a review
of strategies to confront the Iranian threat.
Talking about the future is left for when circumstances change, but today we are
living in ancient history. The war of closing the Strait of Hormuz is a repeat
of the Tanker War in the 1980s, which confirms the difficulty of trusting the
Iranian regime, which is replicating itself despite changes in the players, the
oil market, and the passage of half a century. That war was between Saddam's
Iraq and Khomeini's Iran; today, it is between Israel and Iran. Oil and gas were
and still are strategic commodities for the world's economy.
The Iran of the 1980s is the Iran of today, spreading chaos and terrorism. Its
regime is the last of the standing rogue states, after Saddam, Gaddafi, and
Assad were eliminated.
However, the regime, although it seems cohesive and standing on its feet in the
current war, is not the same regime that fought the eight-year war and the
Tanker War; at that time, it was in its prime and at the peak of its popularity.
Today, it is old and has lost its popularity, especially among the new
generations who are aware of its policies and reject the squandering of their
country's wealth on wars in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and South
America.
The Strait of Hormuz is a passage that is no longer an American matter but
primarily concerns China, India, South Korea, and Japan, whose economies depend
on it. These importing countries will find themselves forced in the future to
protect their ships from Tehran's policy of using the strait and installations
as a weapon against its neighbors, and the economies of the "new" global powers
are in danger as a result of Iran's aggressive tendencies. The United States is
the main combatant this time, but it will not defend the interests of these
countries later, as President Donald Trump has said. Tehran has used the strait
as a hostage against the Gulf countries, as well as against its partners, such
as China and India. Regionally, Iran is an undeniable military power, and this
is one of the reasons of the outbreak of the preemptive war to stop the growth
of its nuclear and missile capabilities. Its factories produce thousands of
missiles and drones that were not a commercial business, but a regional
political project aimed at destabilizing the region.
The war revealed that Iran was planning to use its arsenal in its expansionist
project, whose frantic destructive activity we see in strikes against six Gulf
countries, Iraq, and Jordan, and reaching the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
Sea, in addition to its militias in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. Intentions are
reflected by actions, not words.
If Iran pledges and commits that it will not return to developing its aggressive
military capabilities, the American, British, and French bases will leave
because they are a result of Iranian threats, and Iranian threats are not a
response to their presence.
Iran, ‘Soleimani’s Armies’ and Trump’s Coup
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/30 March/2026
Trump’s approach differs than that of his predecessors. He has different
friendships, rivalries and ways in running wars. He is a general who runs the
battle in person through screens, social media and the telephone. His statements
have nothing to do with traditional diplomacy. His threats to NATO are
unprecedented. His celebration of the elimination of some of the Iranian
leadership in the first strikes of the war are bizarre. He strikes hard and then
proposes negotiations. He doesn’t stop long to listen to who he is talking to.
He speaks of Iran’s surrender, ignoring the fact that the regime, which doesn’t
have the ability to win this war, is incapable of declaring surrender or
admitting defeat. Iran is not an ordinary country. It is a revolution that
refused to embrace the features of a state, its conditions, and commitments
towards its neighbors and the world.
In talking about the current war, the roles of three main men come up. The first
is General Qassem Soleimani, the slain leader of Iran’s Quds Force. He acted as
though a decisive war with Israel was inevitable. He believed that wiping Israel
off the map was not impossible, even if it took a series of war. He told several
members of the Axis of Resistance that the “major blow” will pummel Israel with
rockets and drones fired from several maps. The attacks will destroy Israel’s
defenses, image and the Israelis’ trust in it and kick off a major wave of
immigration from it.
Soleimani also spoke of changing the features of the region by severing the
“American string” that in his view ties together several Arab countries and
stands in the way of Iran exporting its revolution. So, he came up with the plan
to surround Israel and the targeted Arab countries with a “belt” of tunnels,
rockets and drones.Among Soleimani’s major duties was destabilizing the system
that the US set up in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime. He
destabilized it through allies and the system was hollowed out and a parallel
army was set up. After the emergence of ISIS, Soleimani succeeded in
establishing and supporting the Popular Mobilization Forces and later
transforming it into a legitimate force that operates with a high degree of
independence.
Another one of Soleimani’s missions was to end the isolation of Lebanon’s
Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime after they were accused
of being involved in the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik
al-Hariri. The 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel achieved that, with
Soleimani himself overseeing battles from Lebanon. For years, Soleimani
succeeded in building what he called “Soleimani armies” in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq
and Yemen. He managed to temporarily avert the breach of the Axis of Resistance
in Syria when he persuaded Vladimir Putin to intervene to save Assad’s regime
from collapse. Soleimani’s fingerprints are also all over developments in Gaza
and Sanaa. Iran tried for years to sever the “American string” without slipping
into a direct confrontation with the US. The visiting journalist in Tehran would
often be told “you are asking about a war that will never happen” and “Iran goes
to the edge of the abyss with the US, but it never fall into it because it is
aware that America has the ability to set it back several decades.”
Iran adopted this policy of avoiding the abyss when Trump ordered Soleimani’s
assassination near Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020. Iran made do with a
“symbolic” response despite how deeply wounded the supreme leader was with the
assassination of the man who was closest to his mind and heart.
Trump effectively upturned the conflict between the US and Iran. No one before
him dared to take a move so bold as the assassination of commander of the Quds
Force and engineer of the “parallel armies”. The decision to assassinate him was
more dangerous than the assassination of Osama bin Laden because Soleimani had
the backing of a major regional power that operated its “small roaming armies”
in several maps.
After Trump’s return to the White House, he was visited by a man whose position
allowed him to meet American and Iranian officials over the years. I learned
from him that Trump’s generals were pushing the idea of punishing Iran for its
nuclear ambitions, harassment of American forces, threats to moderate countries
and attempts to seize energy routes and keys to the region. The man said that
the Trump administration will not hesitate in carrying out a major coup against
the one Iran carried out in the region.
From this position, one can understand why the US has embraced the change that
has taken place in Syria and that led to the severing of routes between
“Soleimani’s armies”. Here rises the role of the second man, Benjamin Netanyahu,
who succeeded in convincing Trump that Iran and “Soleimani’s armies” are an
imminent threat to not just Israel, but the US as well. Today, we can speak of
three major errors committed by the Iranian leadership. The first was sliding
into a direct war with history's most powerful army, as touted by Trump. The
second is revealing its hostile intentions towards Arb Gulf countries and Jordan
after pounding them with rockets and drones that far exceed the numbers it has
fired at Israel. The third is believing that the Hormuz Strait is a hostage that
it can capture to squeeze the global economy.
We have entered the second month of the major war. If the American and Israeli
strikes succeed in destroying Iran’s offensive and defensive capabilities and
its ability to threaten its neighbors and the straits, then the region will find
itself confronted with a new reality in Iran and the region in general,
especially in countries where “Soleimani’s armies” operate. Iran’s loss of
ability to fire at regional countries effectively means a change in regime,
position and balances of power between it and its neighbors.
Trump is the most dangerous general against Iran and “Soleimani’s armies”. The
success of his coup against the long Iranian coup will change the features of
the region and the various balances of power there. America may have acted
decisively in the region, while Russia appears mired in Ukraine and China has
opted for wisdom and reason.
X Platform & Facebook Selected twittes for
March 29/2026
Lindsey Graham
Just had a very good discussion with @POTUS about his recent statement regarding
the consequences to Iran if they do not agree to an acceptable peace deal.
I support diplomatic efforts to end the conflict consistent with our military
objectives, but it takes two to tango. The necessity for military action is
weeks not months and Operation Epic Fury is well ahead of pace. The hope for me
has always been that by neutralizing Iran as the largest state sponsor of
terrorism, it will open the gateway to peace allowing Saudi Arabia and Israel to
normalize their relationship, effectively ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. If
this historic normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel occurs, it will
be due to President Trump’s bold, decisive leadership in dealing with the
Iranian threat so they can no longer be a spoiler for peace like they were on
October 7, 2023.
Keep it up Mr President. Wind down the war and wind up efforts for an historic
peace deal.
Israel-Alma
The central terror base of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon. This
is where those who are unwelcome in Lebanon hide. The problem is that the
Lebanese state is unable (and perhaps also unwilling?) to implement its own
declarations and decisions (a recurring pattern with it...). Hezbollah knows
this, and Mohammad Shabaani knows this too... But the (former) ambassador
Shabaani also knows that "if your house is made of glass, it's better not to
throw stones..."
Ambassador Mike Huckabee
My statement re Prohibiting the Latin Patriarch of entering Church of Holy
Sepulcher on Palm Sunday: While all Holy sites in the Old City are closed due to
safety concerns for mass gatherings including the Western Wall, Church of the
Holy Sepulcher and Al Aqsa Mosque, the action today by the Israel Nat'l Police
to deny Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and 3 other priests
from entering the Church to offer a blessing on Palm Sunday is an unfortunate
overreach already having major repercussions around the world. Home Front
Command Guidelines restrict any gatherings to 50 people or less. The 4
representatives of the Catholic Church were well below that restriction.
Statements from the Gov't of Israel indicate the action to prohibit Cardinal
Pizzaballa entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were for safety reasons,
but churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem have met with the
restrictions of 50 or less. For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the
Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or
justify. Israel has indicated it will work with the Patriarch to accommodate a
safe means of carrying out Holy Week activities.
Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער
Last week, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry declared the Iranian ambassador a
"persona non grata" and set a deadline for his expulsion from Lebanon. That
deadline expired yesterday, March 29th. This morning, the Iranian ambassador is
sipping his coffee in Beirut, mocking the host "country". Hezbollah ministers
also continue to serve in the Lebanese government. Lebanon is a virtual state
that is, in practice, occupied by Iran. It is a visible occupation that hardly
anyone speaks about.
5,000 missiles, rockets, and drones have been fired at Israel from Lebanese
territory since March 2nd, when Hezbollah launched its attack in violation of
the November 2024 ceasefire. A large portion of them were fired at Israel from
south of the Litani River - an area that the Lebanese army declared in early
January to be under its "operational control". Lebanon will not regain its
freedom until a decision is made in Beirut to confront the Iranian occupation
and its proxy - Hezbollah.
Baba Banaras
BREAKING : All Hezbollah leadership including current Chief Naim Qassem has been
killed in Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli Airforce bombed multiple locations in
Beirut, Lebanon with pin point accuracy. Official confirmation awaited.
Israel Police
Following a productive meeting between the Israel Police and Latin Catholic
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a mutual framework has been established for
upcoming Easter ceremonies. Due to the complex security reality of Operation
“Roaring Lion,” ceremonies including the “Holy Fire” will be held in a symbolic,
limited format. This coordination ensures that freedom of worship is maintained
alongside our shared, primary duty: the protection of human life. In the past
few weeks, Iranian missiles and debris have impacted within the Old City. These
life-saving restrictions are a direct response to a real and present danger to
all worshippers
יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog
I welcome the understandings reached this morning between the commanders of the
Israel Police and the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista
Pizzaballa, during their meeting together with a representative on behalf of the
President's Residence, to regulate the preparations for the Easter prayers in
the Old City of Jerusalem.
I reiterate and emphasize the uncompromising commitment of the State of Israel
to freedom of worship for members of all religions, and the importance of
maintaining the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem. On behalf of the
State of Israel, on the occasion of the approaching Easter holiday, I wish to
extend my warmest greetings to the Latin Patriarch and to my sisters and
brothers the Christians in the Holy Land, and to all our Christian friends in
the Middle East and around the world.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
The Lebanese government expelled the Iranian ambassador in Beirut.
An Iranian diplomatic source told AFP that the ambassador will not leave Beirut.
This is how much respect the Islamist Iranian regime has for international law
and Arab governments: zilch.
Nadim Koteich
Trump says Iran agreed to "most of a 15-point peace plan." Then he tells the
@FT he wants to "take the oil" and maybe seize Kharg Island.
These aren't contradictions. They're the same message in two languages: one for
the negotiating table, one for the gun to its head.
The deal is real. So is the threat. That's the Trumpian architecture. 🛢️
Hanin Ghaddar
Be careful with what Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports.
Today, the ministry says that Israeli strikes have killed 1,238 people since
March 2. However, at least 800 of these are Hezbollah/IRGC operatives and
fighters.
It’s important to make this distinction during any war, especially this war
because the IDF has maintained its policy of targeted attacks in Lebanon.
Also, Israel is maintaining its policy of differentiating between Lebanon and
Hezbollah; that’s why the airport is still functioning.
The Israeli strategy south of Litani is different but warnings are still
consistent to avoid civilian casualties.
Keep in mind that Minister of Health - Rakan Nasseriddine - is one of the two
Hezbollah ministers in the cabinet.
Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער
Last week, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry ceremoniously declared the Iranian
ambassador "persona non grata" and allocated time for his expulsion. That time
expired yesterday, on 3/29. This morning, the Iranian ambassador is drinking his
coffee in Beirut and making a mockery of the "host" country. Hezbollah ministers
are still serving in the Lebanese government as well. Lebanon is a virtual
country that is effectively occupied by Iran. An overt occupation that almost no
one talks about. 5,000 missiles, rockets, and UAVs have been fired at Israel
from Lebanese territory since March 2, when Hezbollah launched an attack in
violation of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. A large portion of them were
fired at Israel from south of the Litani - an area that the Lebanese army
declared at the beginning of January to be under its "operational control."
Lebanon will not regain its sovereignty as long as the decision is not made in
Beirut to confront the Iranian occupation and its proxy - Hezbollah.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
In the Islamist emirate that Jolani/Sharaa constructed in Syria, with help from
@USAMBTurkiye Tom Barrack, a radical jihadi Islamists raided a shop, grabbed
alcohol bottles, smashed them. He also kicked the table and broke non-alcoholic
products. The owner, likely Christian, sat there terrified, facing a crazed
armed bunch of jihadis. The soundtrack added to the video is one of the radical
ISIS anthems about spilling our blood to purify our land. Oh, and did I tell you
that Sharaa promises Syrians that foreign investments will flood his country and
turbocharge his economy? Just how?