English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  May 03/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth
Letter to the Colossians 03/01-11:”If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!”

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 02-03 May/2026
Text and Video, Arabic and English/The “Shoes” Culture Used by Hezbollah to Attack Al-Rahi is the Language of All Political “Parties-Corporations,” and the Conflict Between Al-Rahi and Hezbollah is an “Internal Friendly Dispute”/Elias Bejjani/ May 02, 2026
Video, Text, Arabic & English/On Labor Day, we remind the Lebanese that the General Labor Union in Lebanon, in all its branches and leadership, is a product of Syrian and Iranian intelligence incubators and a destructive tool in the hands of Berri and Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/May 01/2026
Israeli attacks since March 2 killed 2,659, wounded 8,183: Health Ministry
Israel army says troops damaged ‘religious building’ in Lebanon
13 killed in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon
Hezbollah says reinforced fighters in south Lebanon during war
Lebanese Divisions over Approach to US Pressure for Aoun–Netanyahu Meeting
Israel Steps up Pressure with Displacement, Strikes after Aoun Rejects Netanyahu Meeting
Report: Israel to strike Hezbollah drone production deep in Lebanon
Hezbollah confirms it is manufacturing FPV drones in Lebanon
Lebanese army chief and US general meet on Lebanon security
LBCI removes digital content featuring caricature of Hezbollah leader after judicial order
Angry Birds’-style video caricaturing Hezbollah draws rebuke
Lebanon prepares new displacement center in Beirut as tensions rise and return remains uncertain
Ceasefire fragile as Lebanon weighs diplomacy, possible US-mediated talks with Israel
PM Salam urges Lebanese to reject hate speech and avoid sectarian strife
On the Permissible and the Impermissible/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 02/2026

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 02-03 May/2026
War with US likely, Iran official says after Trump rebuffs proposal
Iran says ‘ball in US court,’ but ready for talks or war
Iran military official says renewed war with US 'likely'
Trump says US Navy acting like 'pirates' during Iran blockade
Iran cuts oil production amid mounting storage pressure from US blockade: Report
US warns shipping firms over paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz
Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen, diverted toward Somalia
Israel says two Gaza flotilla activists brought in for questioning
US approves military sales of over $8.6 billion to Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Israel
US to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany
UK PM Starmer says some pro-Palestinian marches could be banned

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 02-03 May/2026
Extensive Interview from Israel Hayoum with Morgan Ortagus, former deputy envoy to the Middle East..The remarkable journey of Trump's senior Jewish diplomat/Israel HayomEng/ by Or Shaked Published on 04-30-2026
How Syria is dismantling IRGC networks, deepening Gulf Arab ties/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/May 02, 2026 21:59
Iran should beware the consequences of its blackmail/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/May 02, 2026
Beyond the blackout, who really runs Iran now?/Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/May 02, 2026
Landmark UK royal visit soothes Trump tensions/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/May 02, 2026
Rising debt, rising distress leave Africa adrift/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/May 02, 2026
Wars Without Weapons/Abdel Rahman Shalgham/Former Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 02/2026
To the Trump Administration: Beware the So-Called Moderates/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 02/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 02/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 02-03 May/2026
Text and Video, Arabic and English/The “Shoes” Culture Used by Hezbollah to Attack Al-Rahi is the Language of All Political “Parties-Corporations,” and the Conflict Between Al-Rahi and Hezbollah is an “Internal Friendly Dispute”
Elias Bejjani/ May 02, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154129/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRp5lwL9YjQ
There has never been a day when Patriarch Al-Rahi, his entourage,Waled Ghayad and his subordinate Abu Kasm were not aligned with Assad, Iran, and Hezbollah—remaining in a fatal estrangement from Lebanon, the rights of its people, independence, and sovereignty. From his first day as Patriarch, Al-Rahi supported Iran’s terrorist party in Lebanon, Hezbollah, glorified what is falsely and blasphemously called “Resistance,” cheered for the criminal of “human presses” Bashar al-Assad, and participated—via his henchman Father Abu Kasm—in “Quds Day” in Tehran. He also toured the world marketing Assad, Iran, and Hezbollah as the protectors of Christians in the Middle East.
Al-Rahi has always, whether indirectly or directly, been considered an ally of Hezbollah. Therefore, Herzbollah’s attack on him is an “internal friendly dispute” that does not warrant all this performative “Zajal” of condemnation. Let them resolve the dispute among themselves.
As for the language and “culture of shoes” used by Hezbollah—which wretchedly reflects its mindset and caliber—this is the language and culture of all owners of the “political Parties-Corporations” in Lebanon, whether they are foreign proxies or local family-run businesses.
Ultimately, the poetic statements of condemnation are mere words that change nothing; they are devoid of credibility or effectiveness. In conclusion, the best service His Eminence Al-Rahi can provide to the Church, the Maronites, and Lebanon is to resign—to find peace and grant others peace.

Video, Text, Arabic & English/On Labor Day, we remind the Lebanese that the General Labor Union in Lebanon, in all its branches and leadership, is a product of Syrian and Iranian intelligence incubators and a destructive tool in the hands of Berri and Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/May 01/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154084/
Lebanon marks Labor Day today under the umbrella of a vile Iranian occupation, and in the shadow of a General Labor Union in Lebanon that is a creation of Syrian and Iranian intelligence services. This labor body from top to bottom, is nothing but a tool of destruction, sabotage, and corruption in the hands of the Iranian occupier, represented by its two Lebanon's enemies: Nabih Berri, the king of corruption and the corrupt, and Hezbollah, the Iranian, terrorist, Persian, and jihadist army.
Out of the necessity to raise awareness among the Lebanese people, it is essential to expose the facts, call things by their names, and inform all concerned parties in Lebanon and abroad that all current labor unions—with their leaders, administrations, and officials—are enemies of the workers and their rights. They act under the orders of their handlers, mobilizing workers in the service of Berri and Hezbollah through hypocrisy and deceit, using misleading slogans that present falsehood disguised as truth.
Among the Trojan figures tasked with corrupting and “Iranizing” labor unions are Beshara Al-Asmar and Bassam Tlais. Like the rest of the union leadership, they are merely tools in the hands of Nabih Berri and Hezbollah, operating according to their directives, with little to no concern for workers or their rights.
Since these unions function as tools of destruction in the hands of the occupation and its symbols, they do not truly represent workers nor act in their interest. Therefore, it is imperative that they be dissolved and that fair laws be reestablished to protect the rights and responsibilities of labor unions in Lebanon, in accordance with international legal standards.
In conclusion, the current labor unions in Lebanon do not represent the workers. Rather, those who placed them in their positions did so in service of the occupation project of Berri and Hezbollah.

Israeli attacks since March 2 killed 2,659, wounded 8,183: Health Ministry
LBCI/May 02/2026
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli attacks on the country since March 2 have killed 2,659 people and wounded 8,183 others.

Israel army says troops damaged ‘religious building’ in Lebanon
AFP/May 02, 2026 21:03
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Saturday that its forces damaged a “religious building” in south Lebanon, drawing condemnation from a Catholic charity, which identified it as a convent and denounced the “deliberate” targeting of a place of worship.
The military said troops operating in the village of Yaroun had damaged a structure inside a religious compound while dismantling what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in the area. “It was determined that during the forces’ operations to destroy terrorist infrastructure, one of the houses located in a religious compound was damaged,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, said on X. “There were no visible signs indicating this was a religious building,” he continued. “Once clear identifying features were observed on another building in the compound, the forces acted to prevent any further damage to the compound.” Adraee justified the presence of troops in the area by citing multiple rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah from within the compound toward Israeli territory, as fighting continues in spite of a ceasefire. The French Catholic charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient said the troops had “destroyed” a convent belonging to the Salvatorian Sisters, a Greek-Catholic religious order with which the charity is affiliated. “L’Oeuvre d’Orient strongly condemns this deliberate act of destruction against a place of worship, as well as the systematic demolition of homes in southern Lebanon aimed at preventing the return of civilian populations,” it said in a statement. But Israel’s foreign ministry denied the site — which it described as “a monastery” — had been destroyed, saying on X the site was “intact and safe,” posting a photograph of a two-story house. The incident comes days after the military jailed two soldiers for 30 days for desecrating a statue of Jesus Christ in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel. A photograph that went viral on social media showed a soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the statue’s head. Israel has kept up deadly strikes on Lebanon despite the April 17 ceasefire that sought to halt more than six weeks of war between it and Hezbollah. The ceasefire text grants Israel the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”Israeli soldiers are operating inside a “Yellow Line” running some 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanon’s border, where they are carrying out wide-scale detonations and demolitions of buildings.

13 killed in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon
Agence France Presse/May 02/2026
Lebanon's health ministry said 13 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes in the south, including in a town where Israel's army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire. The strikes in Habboush killed eight people, including a child and two women, and wounded 21 others, the ministry said, raising an earlier toll. Other strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people, two of them women, and wounded four more, it said. The ministry also reported a strike in Ain Baal near the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and wounded seven others. In Habboush, where the Israeli evacuation warning was issued, an AFP photographer saw clouds of smoke rising after the raids. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli warplanes "launched a series of heavy strikes... less than an hour after" the warning. Israel's military had said it would act "forcefully" against Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group's "violations of the ceasefire agreement", and told residents to flee to open areas at least one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the town. The NNA also reported Israeli strikes and artillery fire on other south Lebanon locations, including Tyre. Israel has kept up deadly strikes on Lebanon despite the April 17 ceasefire that sought to halt more than six weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah. The ceasefire text grants Israel the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks". Israeli soldiers are operating inside a "Yellow Line" running some 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanon's border, where they are carrying out wide-scale detonations and demolitions of buildings. The NNA said Israeli troops carried out detonations in the southern town of Shamaa, and "demolished a monastery and a school" run by a religious order in the town of Yaroun after other detonations of "homes, shops and roads" there.
'Fear for their lives'
Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops and sites in southern Lebanon on Friday, saying they were in response to Israeli ceasefire violations. The group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the U.S.-Israeli killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Lebanon's health ministry on Friday raised the toll from Israeli strikes since March 2 to more than 2,600 dead, including 103 emergency workers and paramedics. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' under-secretary general for national society development and coordination, Xavier Castellanos, said that when Lebanese Red Cross volunteers go on a mission, "they fear for their lives". Two Lebanese Red Cross paramedics are among those killed in Israeli strikes. "That a person that is trying to save lives, is trying to alleviate human suffering, might be targeted, might be killed... this is something that I found absolutely unacceptable," Castellanos told reporters near Beirut.

Hezbollah says reinforced fighters in south Lebanon during war
Agence France Presse/May 02/2026
Hezbollah has brought reinforcements and weapons to the south of the country since the start of the war with Israel on March 2, the organization's director of media relations said. The Lebanese Army said in January it had finished disarming the group near the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, the scene of multiple wars between Israel and Hezbollah, the most recent of which was brought to a halt on April 17 by a ceasefire. The army had been enacting a plan that it drew up after a 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended the last war between the two. Speaking during an interview with a group of journalists including from AFP, Youssef Al Zein said the group had been able to "introduce forces and arms in the course of the battle" with Israel. Zein said the reinforcements did not use roads controlled by the Lebanese Army. "We are convinced that the army is a national army" that "will not enter into a confrontation with Hezbollah," he said. He said that if Israel had been able to penetrate deeper into Lebanese territory it was because Hezbollah had been disarmed south of the Litani river, which runs around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and its infrastructure there, including tunnels, destroyed. Nevertheless, he insisted that Hezbollah was able to "reconstitute its forces" after the last war with Israel, and that it was "prepared for a long battle". Israel announced on April 7 that it had completed the deployment of its ground forces in southern Lebanon and would maintain a 10-kilometer-deep "security zone".Asked about Hezbollah's recent use of cheap one-way attack drones controlled via fibre-optic cable against Israeli forces, Zein said it was one of the group's tactics."We are aware of the enemy's superiority, but at the same time we are exploiting its weak points," he said. The use of such drones which, unlike radio-controlled UAVs, can't be electronically jammed and are hard to track, was popularised by the Ukraine conflict. Zein, whose predecessor Mohammed Afif was killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut during the 2024 war, said the drones were "manufactured in Lebanon". Attacks using such drones have killed two Israeli soldiers and a civilian contractor in under a week, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the wider regional war started by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, when it launched rockets at Israel. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 2,600 people, with its strikes on Lebanon continuing despite the truce.

Lebanese Divisions over Approach to US Pressure for Aoun–Netanyahu Meeting
Beirut: Paul Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/2 May 2026
Lebanese political forces are split between those supporting direct negotiations with Israel to end the ongoing war in the south and those opposing them, placing the Lebanese president in a difficult position amid internal divisions that could affect the course of the state. There are warnings that pursuing any option without consensus could have repercussions for unity and internal stability. In a statement notable for both its timing and content, the US Embassy in Beirut on Thursday called for direct engagement between Lebanon and Israel, saying a direct meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu, mediated by the US president, could give Lebanon an opportunity to obtain tangible guarantees regarding full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian support and reconstruction, and the full restoration of the Lebanese state’s authority over every inch of its territory, guaranteed by the United States.
Hezbollah–Amal alliance
It was not surprising that the “Shiite duo” (Hezbollah and the Amal Movement) fully opposes such a meeting, viewing it as contrary to the path of direct negotiations underway between Lebanon and Israel. Sources close to the two parties told Asharq Al-Awsat: “There is absolutely no support for this meeting, and a scene like this cannot be accepted. It is true that US pressure is very clear, but there is also Lebanon’s interest and the position of Arab states, which advised the president not to move toward such a meeting and instead to seek, through negotiations, a security arrangement similar to the 1949 armistice agreement, even if with some amendments.”The sources added that “President Aoun is caught between US pressure on one hand and Arab pressure on the other, and must decide where Lebanon’s interest lies and define its position, role, and future in the region.”
Progressive Socialist Party
The position of the Progressive Socialist Party, expressed by MP Dr. Bilal Abdallah, is not far from that of the “duo.” Abdallah considers that “the meeting is premature, and there are many stages that must be completed before it can take place, most notably consolidating the ceasefire, halting attacks, Israeli withdrawal, and reaching a security agreement based on international agreements (a revised armistice agreement), after which each step can be addressed in due course.”He stressed the need to respect “the Arab and international ceiling and avoid preempting developments or skipping stages, as the repercussions would be negative for national interest and internal unity.”
Lebanese Forces and Kataeb position
By contrast, the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb parties take a different approach. MP Ghada Ayoub of the “Strong Republic” bloc (Lebanese Forces) said her party supports “the negotiating initiative undertaken by Aoun, which falls within the core powers of the president,” leaving it to him to assess its course, including the timing of any meeting or even a potential handshake with Benjamin Netanyahu, whether it should take place now or come as the culmination of negotiations. She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We support the president in what he sees as appropriate to save Lebanon and extricate it from this predicament, which has imposed a heavy cost as a result of Hezbollah’s decision to draw Israel into Lebanon. Today it realizes it is unable to remove it, and that the only party capable of doing so is the United States. We saw how President Donald Trump was able to impose a ceasefire on Benjamin Netanyahu despite his team’s insistence on continuing the war.”Ayoub stressed that “any negotiating track will be tied to clear conditions where the US position intersects with that of the Lebanese government, foremost among them disarmament, preventing Lebanese territory from being used as a launchpad for military operations against Israel, and banning the party’s security and military activities.”Sources in the Kataeb Party, while confirming significant US pressure to arrange an Aoun–Netanyahu meeting, said such a step requires “historic courage,” adding that “what matters in the end is the outcome, which should be a roadmap for peace.”

Israel Steps up Pressure with Displacement, Strikes after Aoun Rejects Netanyahu Meeting
Asharq Al Awsat/2 May 2026
Israel has intensified pressure on Lebanon by expanding evacuation warnings and resuming deep airstrikes, now covering most towns in the Nabatieh and Tyre districts and effectively isolating the city of Nabatieh from its surroundings. The escalation follows the failure of efforts to arrange a meeting in Washington between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under US auspices. Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “it is far too early” for such a meeting, stressing that the priority now is to end the war, secure an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, allow displaced residents to return to their areas, and begin reconstruction. In Beirut, the Israeli escalation is seen as additional pressure on the Lebanese state and Hezbollah amid a stalled political track. The Israeli army issued new evacuation warnings for nine towns in the Nabatieh district, adding to dozens of villages and towns previously warned starting last Sunday, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee once again. The new warning includes Qaquaiyat al-Jisr, Adshit al-Shaqif, Jibsheet, Aba, Kfarjouz, Harouf, Doueir, Deir al-Zahrani, and Habboush. This effectively restricts access to the city of Nabatieh, north of the Litani River, from all directions, leaving it isolated. The Israeli army called on residents to immediately evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away to open areas, warning that “anyone near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat assets is putting their life at risk.”
Airstrikes
Within hours of the warning, airstrikes began targeting the affected villages. The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes struck the old Husseiniya in the town of Doueir in Nabatieh district, completely destroying it. Nearby, a condolence hall, additional halls and ground-level rooms, and a headquarters of the Islamic Risala Scout Association were also destroyed. Graves and a martyrs’ cemetery were heavily damaged, along with several parked vehicles.
Israeli warplanes also struck Qaquaiyat al-Jisr, Safad al-Battikh, the outskirts of Braachit, Shaqra, al-Shihabiya, Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Kounine, Adshit, Majdal Zoun, al-Shaitiya, al-Samaaiya, the area between Kafra and Yater, and the Shoukin–Nabatieh road, with reports of casualties. Meanwhile, Majdal Selm and Qabrikha came under artillery fire.Strikes were also carried out near the vocational institute building in Nabatieh and near al-Quds roundabout in the city. A vehicle on the Kfar Dajjal–Nabatieh road was targeted, resulting in two deaths. Three residents from Shoukin, one from Meifdoun, and two Syrians were also killed in air raids on Shoukin in Nabatieh district. Yahmar al-Shaqif was subjected to Israeli phosphorus shelling accompanied by heavy machine-gun fire near the Litani River toward the town of Taybeh. Artillery shelling also targeted Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Meifdoun, al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoun, Touline, and Qabrikha. An airstrike on a house in the town of al-Luweizeh in the Iqlim al-Tuffah area killed three people. In the western sector, Israeli forces fired heavy machine guns toward the outskirts of Ramieh and Qawzah. An Israeli loitering drone targeted a motorcycle at the Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain junction south of Tyre, killing one person and wounding another who was taken to hospitals in Tyre. Another drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the al-Shaitiya road in Tyre district, seriously injuring the rider. Drones were also reported flying over villages in al-Zahrani.The cumulative death toll in Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,659 killed and 8,183 wounded, according to the Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health.
Hezbollah
Hezbollah, for its part, continued launching suicide drones targeting Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles inside occupied Lebanese territory. In a statement, the group said its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli forces in the town of al-Bayada with a loitering munition. The Israeli army said its air force intercepted a rocket fired toward its forces in southern Lebanon on Saturday afternoon. It added that Hezbollah launched rockets and explosive drones in several other incidents on Saturday, which fell near areas where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon, without causing casualties.

Report: Israel to strike Hezbollah drone production deep in Lebanon
Associated Press/May 02/2026
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir has instructed the Northern Command and the Israel Air Force to strike the production and supply chain of Hezbollah's FPV drones, including deep inside Lebanon, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Friday. This means Israel might strike in Beirut or its southern suburbs for the first time since the ceasefire went into effect. Hezbollah has launched a new weapon against invading Israeli troops and northern Israel in the latest round of fighting: small drones controlled with fiber-optic cables the width of dental floss that avoid electronic detection.These drones — used widely in the war in Ukraine — are small, hard to track and lethal. Drones killed an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon and injured at least a dozen others in northern Israel on Thursday, two seriously. A soldier and defense contractor were killed in Lebanon earlier this week. Many drones are susceptible to electronic jamming by air defenses. Jamming can cause a drone to crash or return to its point of origin. Fiber-optic drones are not piloted via GPS signals or radio control. They have a thin cable spooling out behind them that connects the operator's console directly to the drone, making it impossible to electronically jam. The drones are not infallible because the wind — or other drones — can cause the cables to tangle. But, "if you know what you're doing, it's absolutely deadly," said Robert Tollast, a drone expert and researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London, explaining how the drone can fly low and creep up on a target. Experts say militaries must either intercept the drones, which is difficult due to their small size and short flight path, or find a way to snip the nearly invisible cable.1 Hezbollah — the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon — announced it has been using the fiber optic drones on Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon or towns on the border. Israel believes the drones are made locally and are easy to produce – requiring little more than an off-the-shelf drone, a small amount of explosives, and transparent wire that is readily available on the consumer market. The fiber-optic drones are the latest part of a cat-and-mouse race as Israel's high-tech defenses race to intercept new threats, especially ones that are less sophisticated.1 Ran Kochav, a former head of the Israeli military's air defense command, said Israel is failing in its attempts to defend against the fiber-optic drones. "They fly very low and very fast, and they are very small, it's very difficult to detect them, and even after they're detected, they are really hard to track," he said. Ali Jezzini, a journalist specializing in security and military affairs who closely follows Hezbollah's capabilities, estimated that some of the drones used by the group cost between $300 and $400 each. He added that they appear to be manufactured locally using 3D printing technology, in addition to readily available electronic components typically used for civilian purposes but capable of dual-use applications. Hezbollah announced that it began using fiber-optic guided drones for the first time during the round of fighting that began March 2, after using other types of drones for years.

Hezbollah confirms it is manufacturing FPV drones in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/May 02/2026
Hezbollah's cheap fiber-optic drones are creating new challenges for Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, forcing the military to adapt its tactics against an increasingly lethal threat. The Israeli military -- considered one of the most advanced in the world -- has confirmed two soldiers and one civilian contractor killed in explosive drone attacks in under a week, with several others wounded despite a ceasefire in place since mid-April. The devices are small, cheap and readily available, like "children's toys", explained Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). The military "does not have nowadays any response for that, because they didn't prepare themselves for such low-tech explosives", she told AFP. Israel has been fighting Lebanese Hezbollah since early March, deploying troops into the neighbouring country's south to confront the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, violence has continued, with both sides accusing each other of breaching the ceasefire. Unlike conventional drones guided by GPS or radio, which can therefore be jammed, Hezbollah is using devices linked to their launch site by a thin fibre-optic cable that can stretch for dozens of kilometres. Operators pilot the drones in first-person view (FPV) using screens or virtual reality goggles that require limited training.
"Since the drone does not transmit the image via radio broadcast and does not receive guidance commands via a radio receiver, it cannot be detected by electronic intelligence means or blocked through electronic warfare," said Arie Aviram, an expert who has written on the subject for the INSS. The drones' speed and precision means they can cause considerable damage to Israeli targets, and their lack of electronic traces leaves troops reliant on radar or visual detection, which often comes too late.
Asymmetrical warfare
Hezbollah's use of these drones is characteristic of asymmetrical warfare, explained INSS researcher Mizrahi. In recent days, Hezbollah has relied more on these drones, a notable shift from the barrages of rockets it unleashed in the weeks after the war broke out. Experts say the cost of assembling the fiber-optic drones can range from just a few hundred dollars to around $4,000 depending on the quality and type of components, which can be bought on online platforms such as AliExpress. On Friday, the Lebanese militant group's media chief Youssef al Zein confirmed the group was using the drones and said they were being manufactured in Lebanon. "We are aware of the enemy's superiority, but at the same time we are exploiting its weak points," he said.
For Israel, shooting down cheap drones using sophisticated air defences and fighter jets is unsustainable and costly. Aviram said that lasers, like those used by Israel's Iron Beam air defense system, could be a suitable solution "provided they were widely deployed", which is not yet the case. Indicating the challenge posed by these devices, the Israeli defense ministry put out a public call on April 11 for "proposals to identify additional capabilities to address the threat of fibre-optic-controlled FPV drones".
Nets and barriers -
A video shared on social media by prominent Israeli journalist Amit Segal on Wednesday appeared to show military vehicles draped in netting to protect against drones. AFP was unable to verify the footage. A senior military official told journalists on Tuesday that "so far, we're using force protection technologies and other protections that we learned from other places, from our own experience with nets, with barriers". "But it's a threat that we're still adapting to, there's nothing that is foolproof," the official added, noting that the military was "learning" from the war in Ukraine, where fibre-optic drones are now common. Israeli news website Mako reported in 2024 that Ukraine -- which has become a world-leading drone expert since Russia's invasion -- offered its expertise to Israel several years ago but was rebuffed. "There was no concrete response," Ukraine's former defence minister Oleksii Reznikov told Mako at the time. Asked by AFP about the challenges posed by fibre-optic explosive drones, the Israeli military said troops had in recent weeks "conducted an in-depth analysis of how this threat operates and how Hezbollah employs it". "The IDF (army) is monitoring the drone threat and developing operational methods to address it," it said, adding that troops on the ground were "continuously working to improve and adapt their systems in order to deal with the evolving threat".

Lebanese army chief and US general meet on Lebanon security
Reuters/May 02, 2026 19:21
BEIRUT: Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf ​Haykal and US General Joseph Clearfield met in Beirut to discuss ‌the security ‌situation ​in ‌Lebanon ⁠and ​regional developments, the ⁠army said on Saturday in a statement. The army said: “The extraordinary meeting came as a result of a quick visit by Clearfield, and it addressed the security situation in Lebanon and regional developments, as well as ways to maximize the benefits of the mechanism and develop its work.”Clearfield heads ⁠a committee monitoring ‌a ‌US-backed ceasefire ​in ‌fighting between ‌Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The participants at the ‌meeting underlined the importance of ⁠the Lebanese ⁠army’s role and the need to support it during the current phase, the statement said.

LBCI removes digital content featuring caricature of Hezbollah leader after judicial order
LBCI/May 02/2026
The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) removed digital content featuring a caricature of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in a video inspired by the characters of the game ‘’Angry Birds,’’ following instructions from Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Ahmad Rami al-Hajj.

Angry Birds’-style video caricaturing Hezbollah draws rebuke
AFP/May 02, 2026
BEIRUT: A video published by a Lebanese TV outlet caricaturing Hezbollah’s leaders and fighters as characters from the “Angry Birds” mobile phone games drew a rebuke from the group, which called the clip “offensive” on Saturday. On social media, Hezbollah’s supporters condemned what they considered the ridiculing of leader Naim Qassem, who is also a Shia cleric, with some reacting by sharing images insulting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, the highest Christian authority in Lebanon. The video, shared by the LBCI channel on Friday, depicts Qassem addressing his fighters — with all of them depicted as birds from the popular video games — as they fight the Israeli army, portrayed as the series’ green pigs. Hezbollah said in a statement that the video contained “offensive and cheap insults that degrade political discourse to a repulsive level.” The group also called on supporters not to be “drawn into” the controversy “orchestrated by the enemies of the resistance.”LBCI was founded in the 1980s by the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party opposed to Hezbollah. However, the channel distanced itself from the party years ago and has been trying to present a more independent image since. “Before our holy symbols and our sheikh (Qassem), all holy symbols fall,” one Hezbollah supporter wrote on X, referring to Maronite Patriarch Rai. After the wave of insults, Rai was contacted by several officials and religious leaders criticizing the rhetoric. President Joseph Aoun in a statement on Saturday “condemned and rejected any attacks on the heads of Christian and Muslim religious communities and spiritual figures in Lebanon.”He also urged the public “to refrain from personal insults, given the negative repercussions of such practices, especially in the current circumstances the country is going through, which require broad national solidarity.”Despite the relative freedom of expression enjoyed in Lebanon in comparison to other Arab countries, the media, artists and comedians have faced harassment over work deemed by some to be offensive to political or religious figures. Hezbollah drew Lebanon in the Middle East conflict on March 2 after it fired rockets toward Israel in support of its backer Iran. More than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, according to Lebanese authorities, with the violence ongoing despite a fragile truce in place since April 17.

Lebanon prepares new displacement center in Beirut as tensions rise and return remains uncertain
LBCI/May 02/2026
Lebanese authorities are preparing a new displacement facility at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut to accommodate civilians still living on the streets, as concerns grow over renewed conflict and continued displacement from the south. According to the National Disaster Management Unit, approximately 1,200 displaced people remain in Beirut, with many staying along the capital’s waterfront. While the government has provided shelter centers outside the city, particularly in northern Lebanon and Bekaa, many displaced families have so far refused to relocate, citing their reluctance to leave Beirut. Officials say one of the main reasons for establishing the new site is to prevent displaced individuals from remaining without shelter, especially as essential services will be provided at the Sports City facility, which can host up to 1,500 people.
The site is expected to be operational by Monday and will receive families still living in public spaces. Despite some resistance, the National Disaster Management Unit said the primary objective is to ensure that no individuals remain exposed on the streets while their basic needs are met, similar to conditions already available in existing shelters. The committee has called on displaced residents to move to the facility to ensure a minimum level of stability under current conditions.

Ceasefire fragile as Lebanon weighs diplomacy, possible US-mediated talks with Israel
LBCI/May 02/2026
Questions remain over whether Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will travel to Washington for meetings that could include a possible encounter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as indirect diplomatic contacts continue to evolve amid ongoing tensions.Current indicators suggest that Aoun is unlikely to make the trip, given Israel’s continued failure, according to Lebanese assessments, to uphold commitments discussed during the second round of talks in Washington. Those commitments included reducing violations of the ceasefire agreement and halting ongoing demolition and bulldozing operations, as well as attacks on civilians. As the two-week deadline approaches for the expiration of the second extension of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, several scenarios are being considered. First, a fragile ceasefire could be extended for a third time to allow space for a broader U.S.-Iran understanding that may include Lebanon and Israel, or to stabilize the ceasefire in Lebanon and move toward formal negotiations with Israel.Second, before the deadline expires, Washington could increase pressure on Israel to enforce a more durable ceasefire following repeated violations. Under this scenario, negotiations would then proceed under U.S. sponsorship to address outstanding Lebanese demands. Those demands include the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of detainees and displaced persons, reconstruction efforts, and the full extension of state authority across Lebanese territory. A potential subsequent phase could include President Aoun traveling to Washington and meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shares similar objectives with Aoun but rejects direct negotiations with Israel before a complete ceasefire is secured. Hezbollah’s position, according to a party lawmaker, is that if a full ceasefire agreement is reached, the group would abide by its terms. All of these developments are expected to be discussed again during upcoming meetings between U.S. envoy Michel Issa and Lebanese officials next week. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, is expected to continue engagements with U.S. officials, including meetings with aides to the U.S. Secretary of State. According to Lebanese media reports, these diplomatic efforts are aimed at solidifying the ceasefire arrangement.

PM Salam urges Lebanese to reject hate speech and avoid sectarian strife
LBCI/May 02/2026
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that “no matter how deep the political disagreement may be, and while I remain committed to freedom of opinion, I have always warned against slipping into any form of expression that includes personal insults, defamation, bullying, and accusations of treason, all of which are condemnable and contribute to inflaming tensions and stirring sectarian sensitivities.”In a post on X, Salam appealed to citizens to exercise the highest degree of awareness and reject hate speech in order to prevent the country from being dragged into an atmosphere of strife with dangerous consequences.

On the Permissible and the Impermissible
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 02/2026
Regarding the Lebanese–Israeli negotiations, which have not yet begun and whose ambiguities still far outweigh what is clear, Hezbollah, along with its supporters and allies, has been waging a broad campaign of slander. Since these polemicists anchor their positions in specific doctrines and political figures, it is useful to revisit episodes from the histories of those schools and leaders to shed light on their contradictions and double standards.Khomeini has often been associated with an uncompromising, principled stance that does not bargain over what it considers right. Yet just months after leading an uprising, during which he unleashed a torrent of insults against the United States, he sent a message to the US government through Professor Kamarai, a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence at the University of Tehran. According to a report issued by the Central Intelligence Agency, Khomeini claimed in that message that he was not hostile to American interests in Iran. On the contrary, he indicated that he believed an American presence was necessary to balance Soviet, and perhaps British, influence. Fifteen years later, from exile in France, he sent another message to the American administration, seeking to convince it that change in Iran would not impede US access to Iranian oil and asking it to use its influence to prevent the army from staging a coup. At the time, there was speculation that, preoccupied with the Cold War, the United States had provided some assistance to Khomeini to keep out the Tudeh (communist) Party and, by extension, Soviet influence. What is known to have occurred, and is not mere speculation, is the scandal that came to be known as the Iran-Contra Affair, exposed in 1986. This involved an illegal covert operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras’ war against the Sandinistas through arms sales to Iran. Israel acted as an intermediary and partner. It appears that Tel Aviv was less hostile to Khomeini’s regime than both were to the Iraqi regime. Accordingly, it supplied Tehran with American-made missiles and spare parts and helped open and expand secret channels of communication between the United States and Iran. As for the nationalist radicals, they too, in all their diversity, have a history of “dancing with the devil.” In 1967, Gamal Abdel Nasser accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which called for an end to the state of war, recognition of the sovereignty of all states in the region, and respect for their right to live in peace. Three years later, he agreed to the plan proposed by US Secretary of State William P. Rogers, an American framework for implementing the resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces in exchange for ending the state of war and mutual recognition. More recently, three audio recordings surfaced in which Nasser expressed a desire to end the cycle of wars. The most notable is a conversation with Muammar Gaddafi. In it, the Egyptian leader mocked the notion of the “full liberation of Palestine,” suggesting instead that realistic solutions be limited to recovering the territories occupied in 1967. More broadly, the recordings affirm that Nasser had been seeking an end to perpetual conflict. After his death, Nasser’s deputy and partner since the 1952 coup, Anwar al-Sadat, fought the October 1973 war to “set the peace process in motion,” a trajectory that later culminated in the Camp David Accords.
For his part, Saddam Hussein also contributed his share of what could be described as “treachery.” To cut off Iranian support for the Kurdish uprising, he granted the Shah of Iran, through the Algiers Agreement in 1975, half of the Shatt al-Arab. He also ended his support for Iranian opposition figures and expelled Khomeini from Najaf. After the Iranian Revolution and the escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran following the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran, Saddam presented himself to Washington as the ideal candidate to fill the role of America’s man in the Gulf after it had been vacated by the Shah. He portrayed Iraq as a barrier against Khomeini’s revolution that would serve Western interests. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq were indeed restored in 1984. Saddam famously met twice with Donald Rumsfeld, then a special envoy for President Ronald Reagan, and Iraq received intelligence support and economic facilitation from the United States during its war with Iran. As for Saddam’s “half-brother” in Baathism, Hafez al-Assad, following the 1974 disengagement agreement brokered by Henry Kissinger and his army’s entry into Lebanon in 1976, as part of an implicit arrangement with the United States and Israel, his regime entered public negotiations with Israel at the 1991 Madrid Conference. Three years later, he sent Hikmat al-Shihabi to hold peace talks in Washington. What had been proximity talks, with an American mediator shuttling messages between the parties, evolved by 2000 into direct trilateral meetings involving Farouk al-Sharaa, Bill Clinton, and Ehud Barak.
As for Marxist–Leninist leftists, they rarely mention that in early 1918 Vladimir Lenin granted enormous concessions to what he described as “German imperialism” through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. These concessions included relinquishing vast territories containing large populations, agricultural wealth, industrial resources, and strategic buffer zones, as well as granting Germany access to Ukrainian grain and food supplies at a time of severe shortages. In addition to losing the Baltic coast, the Bolsheviks agreed to demobilize large portions of the army and navy.
All of them acted on the premise that necessity permits the impermissible. Yet Lebanon remains a different matter.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 02-03 May/2026
War with US likely, Iran official says after Trump rebuffs proposal
AFP/02 May ,2026
A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting between the US and Iran was “likely,” hours after President Donald Trump said he was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian negotiating proposal. Iran delivered the draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported without detailing its contents. The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then. “At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” Trump told reporters, blaming stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership.“Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever - or do we want to try and make a deal?” he added, saying he would “prefer not” to take the first option “on a human basis.”On Saturday morning, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely”, in quotes published by Iran’s Fars news agency.“Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” he added.
‘Stuck in purgatory’
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Friday that his country had “never shied away from negotiations,” but added it would not accept an “imposition” of peace terms.The White House has declined to provide details on the latest Iranian proposal, but news site Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted amendments putting Tehran’s nuclear program back on the negotiating table. The changes reportedly include demands that Iran not move enriched uranium from bombed sites or resume activity there during talks. News of the Iranian proposal briefly pushed oil prices down nearly five percent, though they remain about 50 percent above pre-war levels amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strait since the war began, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran resident Amir told Paris-based AFP journalists that the stalemate “feels like we are stuck in purgatory,” and he expressed little hope for the Iranian proposal.“This is all to waste time,” he said, predicting the United States and Israel “will attack again.”Despite the ceasefire in the Gulf, fighting has continued in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out deadly strikes despite a separate truce with the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed in strikes in the south, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning. Meanwhile, Washington announced late Friday it had approved major arms sales to its allies in the Middle East, including a $4 billion Patriot missile deal with Qatar and nearly $1 billion in precision weapons systems to Israel.
‘Terminated’
In Washington, lawmakers were wrestling with a legal dispute over whether Trump had breached a deadline to seek congressional approval for the war. Administration officials argue that the ceasefire pauses a 60-day limit, after which congressional authorization would be required - a claim disputed by opposition Democrats. Trump faces growing domestic pressure, with inflation rising, no clear victory in sight and midterm elections approaching. “There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” Trump said in letters to congressional leaders, adding that the hostilities “have terminated.”
In Iran, the war’s economic toll is deepening.
Washington has imposed new sanctions on three Iranian currency firms and warned others against paying a “toll” for safe passage through Hormuz, as demanded by Iran. The US military says its blockade of Iranian ports has stopped $6 billion in Iranian oil exports, while inflation in Iran, already high before the war, has surged past 50 percent. “For many people, paying rent and even buying food has become difficult, and some have nothing left at all,” 28-year-old Iranian Mahyar told an AFP reporter based outside the country. Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Friday that “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce.” He also threatened Iran’s enemies with “economic and cultural jihad.”

Iran says ‘ball in US court,’ but ready for talks or war
AFP/May 02, 2026 07:36
TEHRAN: Iran said Saturday that it was up to the United States whether to pursue a negotiated settlement or to return to open war, but that Tehran was ready for either outcome. “Now the ball is in the United States’ court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,” deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB. “Iran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,” he said. The comments came after a senior Iranian military officer said that renewed fighting between the US and Iran was “likely,” hours after President Donald Trump said he was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian negotiating proposal. Iran delivered the draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported without detailing its contents. The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then. “At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” Trump told reporters, blaming stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership. “Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever — or do we want to try and make a deal?” he added, saying he would “prefer not” to take the first option “on a human basis.”On Saturday morning, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely,” in quotes published by Iran’s Fars news agency. “Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” he added.
‘Stuck in purgatory’
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Friday that his country had “never shied away from negotiations,” but added it would not accept an “imposition” of peace terms. The White House has declined to provide details on the latest Iranian proposal, but news site Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted amendments putting Tehran’s nuclear program back on the negotiating table. The changes reportedly include demands that Iran not move enriched uranium from bombed sites or resume activity there during talks. News of the Iranian proposal briefly pushed oil prices down nearly five percent, though they remain about 50 percent above pre-war levels amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strait since the war began, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran resident Amir told Paris-based AFP journalists that the stalemate “feels like we are stuck in purgatory,” and he expressed little hope for the Iranian proposal. “This is all to waste time,” he said, predicting the United States and Israel “will attack again.”Despite the ceasefire in the Gulf, fighting has continued in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out deadly strikes despite a separate truce with the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed in strikes in the south, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning. Meanwhile, Washington announced late Friday it had approved major arms sales to its allies in the Middle East, including a $4 billion Patriot missile deal with Qatar and nearly $1 billion in precision weapons systems to Israel.
‘Terminated’
In Washington, lawmakers were wrestling with a legal dispute over whether Trump had breached a deadline to seek congressional approval for the war. Administration officials argue that the ceasefire pauses a 60-day limit, after which congressional authorization would be required — a claim disputed by opposition Democrats. Trump faces growing domestic pressure, with inflation rising, no clear victory in sight and midterm elections approaching. “There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026,” Trump said in letters to congressional leaders, adding that the hostilities “have terminated.”
In Iran, the war’s economic toll is deepening.
Washington has imposed new sanctions on three Iranian currency firms and warned others against paying a “toll” for safe passage through Hormuz, as demanded by Iran. The US military says its blockade of Iranian ports has stopped $6 billion in Iranian oil exports, while inflation in Iran, already high before the war, has surged past 50 percent. “For many people, paying rent and even buying food has become difficult, and some have nothing left at all,” 28-year-old Iranian Mahyar told an AFP reporter based outside the country. Supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Friday that “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce.” He also threatened Iran’s enemies with “economic and cultural jihad.”

Iran military official says renewed war with US 'likely'
Agence France Presse/May 02/2026
A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran was "likely", hours after President Donald Trump said he was "not satisfied" with a new Iranian negotiating proposal. Iran delivered the draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported without detailing its contents. The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then. "At this moment I'm not satisfied with what they're offering," Trump told reporters, blaming stalled talks on "tremendous discord" within Iran's leadership."Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever -- or do we want to try and make a deal?" he added, saying he would "prefer not" to take the first option "on a human basis".On Saturday morning, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military's central command, said "a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely", in quotes published by Iran's Fars news agency. "Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements," he added.
'Stuck in purgatory'
Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Friday that his country had "never shied away from negotiations", but added it would not accept an "imposition" of peace terms. The White House has declined to provide details on the latest Iranian proposal, but news site Axios reported that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had submitted amendments putting Tehran's nuclear program back on the negotiating table. The changes reportedly include demands that Iran not move enriched uranium from bombed sites or resume activity there during talks. News of the Iranian proposal briefly pushed oil prices down nearly five percent, though they remain about 50 percent above pre-war levels amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strait since the war began, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran resident Amir told Paris-based AFP journalists that the stalemate "feels like we are stuck in purgatory", and he expressed little hope for the Iranian proposal. "This is all to waste time," he said, predicting the United States and Israel "will attack again". Despite the ceasefire in the Gulf, fighting has continued in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out deadly strikes despite a separate truce with the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Lebanon's health ministry said 13 people were killed in strikes in the south, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning. Meanwhile, Washington announced late Friday it had approved major arms sales to its allies in the Middle East, including a $4 billion Patriot missile deal with Qatar and nearly $1 billion in precision weapons systems to Israel.
'Terminated' -
In Washington, lawmakers were wrestling with a legal dispute over whether Trump had breached a deadline to seek congressional approval for the war. Administration officials argue that the ceasefire pauses a 60-day limit, after which congressional authorisation would be required -- a claim disputed by opposition Democrats. Trump faces growing domestic pressure, with inflation rising, no clear victory in sight and midterm elections approaching. "There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026," Trump said in letters to congressional leaders, adding that the hostilities "have terminated". In Iran, the war's economic toll is deepening. Washington has imposed new sanctions on three Iranian currency firms and warned others against paying a "toll" for safe passage through Hormuz, as demanded by Iran. The U.S. military says its blockade of Iranian ports has stopped $6 billion in Iranian oil exports, while inflation in Iran, already high before the war, has surged past 50 percent. "For many people, paying rent and even buying food has become difficult, and some have nothing left at all," 28-year-old Iranian Mahyar told an AFP reporter based outside the country. Supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Friday that "the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce". He also threatened Iran's enemies with "economic and cultural jihad".

Trump says US Navy acting like 'pirates' during Iran blockade
Agence France Presse/May 02/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the U.S. Navy was acting "like pirates" as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports."We... land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It's a very profitable business," Trump said at a rally in Florida. "We're like pirates," he added to cheers from the crowd. "We're sort of like pirates. But we're not playing games."Trump's comparison of U.S. naval activity to piracy comes as legal experts raise alarms about Iran's blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz and its plans to charge a fee for ships passing through it. Tehran effectively closed the waterway -- a key route for oil and gas shipments -- after the start of the U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran on February 28. The United States announced a blockade of Iranian ports last month after peace talks in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough. The U.S. Central Command, responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle East, said it has redirected 45 vessels to "ensure compliance" with its blockade as of Friday. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters in April that the blockade will last "as long as it takes," while top U.S. military officer General Dan Caine said it "applies to all ships, regardless of nationality, heading into or from Iranian ports." Meanwhile Iran has vowed to maintain its chokehold on the strait as long as Washington continues to blockade its ports.

Iran cuts oil production amid mounting storage pressure from US blockade: Report
Al Arabiya English/02 May ,2026
Iran is cutting oil production as it struggles with mounting storage pressure caused by the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing a senior Iranian official. “As the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz tightens around Iran’s oil trade, exports have plunged in recent weeks and storage is rapidly filling,” according to the news outlet. Officials familiar with Iran’s energy policy say the country now has a narrowing window of roughly a month, at current production levels, before it runs out of storage capacity. A senior official reportedly added that Tehran is “proactively reducing” crude output as a preemptive measure rather than waiting for tanks to fill completely, according to Bloomberg.The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since then. Iran has maintained a stranglehold on the strait since the war began, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.The US military says its blockade of Iranian ports has stopped $6 billion in Iranian oil exports, while inflation in Iran, already high before the war, has surged past 50 percent. With Bloomberg

US warns shipping firms over paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz
AP/May 02, 2026
BEIRUT: The United States is warning shipping companies they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control alert posted Friday adds pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the strait at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes. Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through routes closer to its shore, charging fees at times. That “tollbooth ” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning, which said payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies. The US responded to Iran’s closure of the strait with a naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 13, preventing Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy. The US Central Command has said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.

Oil tanker hijacked off Yemen, diverted toward Somalia
AFP/May 02, 2026 15:30
DUBAI: Unidentified attackers hijacked an oil tanker on Saturday off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden and directed it toward Somalia, the Yemeni coast guard said. According to the agency, the tanker EUREKA was seized off Yemen’s Shabwa province by a group who “boarded, took control of it, then steered it... in the direction of the Somali coast.”The coast guard, which is affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, vowed to investigate the attack.“The location of the tanker has been determined, and work is under way to monitor it and take the necessary measures in an attempt to recover it and ensure the safety of its crew,” it said, without identifying the crew’s numbers or nationality. According to the website Marine Traffic, the EUREKA is a Togolese-flagged oil products tanker that was reported to have been in the UAE port of Fujairah in late March. Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s, peaking in 2011 with hundreds of attacks, but was significantly reduced by international naval deployments and new tactics by commercial shipping. But in recent weeks attacks have increased again, according to a report by the European Union naval mission deployed off the shores of the troubled east African country. Operation Atalanta, the EU’s naval force for Somalia, monitored three attacks in late April, according to its information service, the Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean (MSCIO). Since February 28, shipping in the region has also been disrupted by the US-Israeli war against Iran, but there was no immediate indication that Saturday’s hijacking was linked to the conflict.Last month, a tanker was captured in the Gulf of Aden by a new group of pirates operating from the port town of Garacad in the Puntland state of northeastern Somalia, a local security official told AFP.

Israel says two Gaza flotilla activists brought in for questioning
AFP/02 May ,2026
Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the foreign ministry said Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces. The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted by Israeli forces overnight Wednesday to Thursday. Israel said it had removed around 175 activists from the flotilla, but organisers accused Israeli personnel of “kidnapping” 211 people. Two of the activists, Saif Abu Keshek, from Spain, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, were in Israel and would “be transferred for questioning by law enforcement authorities,” the foreign ministry said on X. It also said the pair were affiliated with an organisation that was sanctioned in January by the US Treasury. That group -- the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) -- has been accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Treasury said the organisation had played a role in organising other Gaza-bound flotillas aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade. The United States has backed Israeli authorities over the flotillas, calling the latest one a “stunt. Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was a leading member of the PCPA. It said Avila was also linked to the organisation and was “suspected of illegal activity.”“Both will receive a consular visit from the representatives of their respective countries in Israel,” the ministry said.
Activists ‘beaten’
Avila was among the organisers of a flotilla that tried to bring aid to Gaza last year. That effort was also intercepted by Israeli forces. Israel controls all entry points into Gaza and the territory has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. Throughout the Gaza war that broke out in October 2023 with the Hamas attack on southern Israel, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the Palestinian territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely. Organisers of the latest flotilla said the Israeli interception took place over 1,000 kilometers from Gaza. They said their equipment was smashed and the intervention left them facing a “calculated death trap at sea.” Dozens disembarked on Friday at the Greek island of Crete, according to an AFP journalist. Organisers published photos on X showing two activists with bruises on their faces, while one participant said in footage that Israeli forces had “beaten” them “several times.”Hamas condemned the interception, alleging the activists had been abused and assaulted. The Palestinian movement urged rights groups to pursue legal action against Israeli authorities for “their crimes against the Global Sumud Flotilla, ensuring they do not enjoy impunity.” “We reiterate our pride in the international activists for their determination to continue their humanitarian efforts to break the siege on Gaza despite the criminal Zionist enemy’s terrorism and threats,” Hamas said. The Global Sumud Flotilla’s first Mediterranean voyage towards Gaza in the summer and autumn of 2025 drew worldwide attention, before Israeli forces intercepted the boats off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza in early October. Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and expelled by Israeli forces.

US approves military sales of over $8.6 billion to Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Israel
Reuters/02 May ,2026
The US State Department said on Friday it was approving military sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The announcements came as the US and Israel’s war against Iran marked nine weeks since its start and more than three weeks since a fragile ceasefire came into effect. Friday’s announcements by the State Department included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defense replenishment services costing $4.01 billion and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) costing $992.4 million. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5 billion and to Israel of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems costing $992.4 million. The State Department approved a sale to the UAE of APKWS for $147.6 million. The principal contractor in the APKWS sales to Qatar, Israel and the UAE was BAE Systems, the State Department said. RTX and Lockheed Martin were the principal contractors in the integrated battle command system sale to Kuwait and in the Patriot air and missile defense replenishment sale to Qatar, the State Department added. Northrop Grumman was also a principal contractor in the Kuwaiti sale.

US to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany
AFP/02 May ,2026
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year, the Pentagon said on Friday, in the latest rift in transatlantic ties over the Mideast war. The move came as US President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will increase to 25 percent next week, accusing the bloc of not complying with a trade deal inked last summer. Trump has renewed criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Monday that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table. Trump said Merz “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”On Wednesday, the American leader said Washington was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction” of US troops in Germany, and that he would decide in a “short period of time.”Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a Friday statement that “We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months.”“This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground,” Parnell added. During both of his terms in office, Trump has made a number of threats to slash US troop numbers in Germany and other European allies, saying he wants Europe to take on greater responsibility for its defense rather than depending on Washington. Trump on Friday accused German automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW of ripping off Americans, saying that Germany and “other European nations have not adhered to our trade deal.”Germany would likely be hit hard by a sharp vehicle tariff, as it is responsible for a significant portion of EU auto exports.
‘Why shouldn’t I?’
Trump now appears determined to punish allies who have failed to back the war or contribute to a peacekeeping force in the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, which Tehran’s forces have effectively closed. On Thursday, Trump said he may pull US troops from Italy and Spain due to their opposition to the war, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.”“Yeah, probably, I probably will. Why shouldn’t I?” Trump said. As of December 31, 2025, there were 12,662 active-duty US troops in Italy and 3,814 in Spain. In Germany, there were 36,436. Speaking during a visit to Morocco, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday that Germany was “prepared” for a reduction in US troops and was “discussing it closely and in a spirit of trust in all NATO bodies.”While saying he was “relaxed” about the idea of fewer US troops in Germany, Wadephul said that large American bases in Germany are “not up for discussion at all.”He said for example that the Ramstein Air Base had “an irreplaceable function for the United States and for us alike.”
Ukraine support
The EU said Thursday that the deployment of US troops in Europe was in Washington’s interest, and that the United States was “a vital partner in contributing to Europe’s security and defense.”
Trump meanwhile took aim at Merz again, telling him to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead of “interfering” on Iran. European powers have been on alert since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and a spate of drone incursions in the last year - as well as US promises to move away from defending the continent - have pushed the issue to the top of the agenda. Merz has made national security a priority, announcing unprecedented investments in an army that has been underfunded and under-equipped for decades. He has also reaffirmed support for Ukraine, for whom Germany has been the second-largest individual supplier of aid after the US.

UK PM Starmer says some pro-Palestinian marches could be banned
AFP/02 May ,2026
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that banning some pro-Palestinian marches could be justified, especially when they call for the intifada to spread. Labour leader Starmer is under pressure to act after a spate of antisemitic incidents, including this week, when two men were stabbed in the north London suburb of Golders Green, which is home to a large Jewish community.A 45-year-old British national who was born in Somalia was remanded in custody when he made his first appearance in court on Friday accused of attempted murder. Starmer visited the scene of the attacks and a Jewish volunteer ambulance service on Thursday and was booed by some locals, who accused him of not doing enough to protect them. They also denounced pro-Palestinian activists holding marches in British cities, which began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The prime minister, a former human rights lawyer and chief public prosecutor whose wife is of Jewish origin, said many Jewish people had told them they were affected by “the repeat nature” of the protests.“I’m a big defender of freedom of expression, peaceful protests,” he told the BBC. “But when there are chants like ‘globalize the intifada’, that’s completely off limits. “Clearly, there should be tougher action in relation to that.”The intifada refers to the Palestinian civilian uprisings against Israel in 1987-1993 and the early 2000s. Starmer said he wanted to police the language used on marches more strongly and that there were “instances” when some protests should be stopped altogether. Discussions had been taking place with the police for some time about what further action could be taken, he added. In December last year, police in London and the northwest city of Manchester said they would arrest anyone chanting “globalize the intifada.”The Jewish community in Britain views the chant as “very, very dangerous,” said Starmer. On Thursday, the UK increased its security alert level to “severe” - the second highest - in part because of the attack in Golders Green, as well as the threat from extremism and the far-right. The police have said they would look closely at all calls about future protests.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 02-03 May/2026
Extensive Interview from Israel Hayoum with Morgan Ortagus, former deputy envoy to the Middle East..The remarkable journey of Trump's senior Jewish diplomat
Israel HayomEng/ by Or Shaked Published on 04-30-2026
https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/04/30/the-remarkable-journey-of-trumps-most-powerful-diplomat/
Morgan Ortagus, former deputy envoy to the Middle East, opens up about her Jewish conversion, the Israeli-Lebanese talks she helped broker, and why October 7 changed everything.
Morgan Ortagus is one of the most prominent figures in American foreign policy in recent years. She has stood at the center of some of the most consequential developments in the Middle East – from efforts to advance the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration, to her more recent role as deputy to the president's Middle East envoy in the second Trump administration, where she was directly involved in managing the Lebanon arena and the initial contacts between Israel and Lebanon following the November 2024 ceasefire. Ortagus concluded her role earlier this year, after more than a year in the Trump administration. In an exclusive interview with Hayom magazine, she describes the behind-the-scenes of sensitive negotiations, the challenges of trying to rein in Hezbollah, and the prospects for a future agreement between the two countries. But before her diplomatic career, Ortagus emphasizes that one of the central elements of her life – and perhaps the one that shapes her entire worldview – is her Jewish identity, built over an extraordinary personal journey that began in the heart of the Middle East.
Ortagus was not born into the Jewish world. "I grew up in an evangelical Christian family," she says. "My parents were very supportive of the State of Israel and the Jewish people." That connection, she explains, predated any personal choice. "It was instilled in me from a young age. I felt lucky to have Zionist parents, and they were very supportive of me."
Ortagus began her conversion process in Washington, D.C., but it followed her into her service as a public affairs officer with USAID in the Middle East. "I was on temporary duty in Baghdad in 2007. My first real Shabbat and Hanukkah were in Saddam Hussein's palace. I'm sure that made him roll over in his grave. "Eventually, I ended up in Saudi Arabia, serving as a Treasury attaché, and I would make Skype calls with my rabbi. Every Friday we had a lesson. That required, of course, trying to observe Shabbat within the constraints of Riyadh. There were quite a few Jewish diplomats at the US Embassy and other embassies, but I remember that my best friend to this day – an Iraqi-American Muslim woman – was the one who helped me prepare the food for the Shabbat meal."
Ortagus describes a conversation in which she was challenged about her choice to convert. "I remember that my rabbi at the time said to me during our lessons, 'Morgan, you know, this is an unconventional way to go through conversion. I wish you were in Washington and could go to synagogue and observe the mitzvot in a normal way.'
"I said to her, 'What you're talking about – a situation where I can freely walk into a synagogue, where I'm free to convert, and where I'm part of a safe and normal community – that does not square with the history of the Jewish people. What I'm experiencing – a situation where I have to hide the fact that I'm converting, to do it quietly – that is the authentic Jewish experience.' She said, 'You know what? You're right.'"
A symbol of faith
Ortagus describes the process she went through as she moved between Jewish denominations. "I came back to the US, went through the beit din [rabbinical court] and the mikveh [ritual immersion bath]. Then, two days after the 2020 election, my daughter was born. We moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began attending the Orthodox synagogue there, which is part of a wonderful community. At that point, we weren't yet observing at an Orthodox level, but I started thinking about my daughter and her future as a Jewish woman. Then, especially after October 7, it became very important to me that we become more religious and traditional in our Judaism."
"So I'm not a perfect Jew," she says with humility, "but I try as much as possible to raise her in an Orthodox way. And since October 7, I try to wear a Jewish symbol every day – whether it's a ring or a Magen David necklace. I really wanted my daughter to see that we are not yet another generation of Jews with trembling knees. That we are proud of who we are, that we stand our ground and our identity. We will never be ashamed, and we will certainly never hide who we are."
Ortagus recounts how this set off a media storm during her tenure as deputy Middle East envoy. "When I shook the hand of President Joseph Aoun in Lebanon, I forgot that the ring was on. One of my friends texted me and said, 'I loved the photo with the ring.' When I finally had a reception, I had no idea what the hell she was talking about. I had no idea the internet had exploded that day.
"There were people who told me I shouldn't wear a Magen David because it looks like I'm taking sides. And I said, 'This is not a symbol of the State of Israel, it's a symbol of my faith.' And just as you would never tell a Christian American not to wear a cross, you cannot tell me to do that as a Jewish woman. And I said, 'Not only should you stop telling me to stop wearing a symbol of my faith, but every time someone tells me that, I'm going to find an even bigger necklace to wear,'" she says.
"I am deeply proud of my faith. I am very proud to be an American. The greatest honor of my life is to put on the uniform of our military, but I feel the same way about my faith. Just as no one can ever make me stop wearing the uniform of our country, no one will ever stop me from wearing the Magen David." She adds, "I am going to teach my daughter to stand up for what she believes in and to be proud of her faith. And I truly wish that Jews around the world – the Jewish people – that we all feel this way."
Ortagus reflects on her time at the State Department under the first Trump administration, serving as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's spokeswoman and helping advance the Abraham Accords.
"It was a tiny team that really understood what was happening. You could count on two hands who knew what was going on. A wonderful group of people who trusted each other, and it never leaked – no one knew."
Ortagus elaborates. "First, Jared Kushner brought me in to help him launch the peace plan, and then that small team became the Abraham Accords. I remember when Avi Berkowitz pulled me aside and said, 'I think we're going to close this with the UAE and Bahrain.' And I said, 'No way!' So we started talking about it, planning and working together."
"The hope was, of course, that this would be the president's signature diplomatic achievement – so that Trump would win," Ortagus says, referring to the 2020 election, which Joe Biden ultimately won. "And then you hope to get back there again and expand the Abraham Accords. That's something I obviously wanted to do with Lebanon, but everything depends on timing."
Ortagus is clear that the ability to reach those agreements depended on isolating Iran. "We didn't get there by magic. It happened because of four years of policy that put the Islamic Republic of Iran in a box – maximum pressure, the elimination of Qasem Soleimani. Every decisive action was taken that led the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan at the time to understand that we were putting their enemy in a box. That's why I think it was so important that the president returned to the maximum pressure campaign within two weeks of starting his second term."
Between Beirut and Jerusalem
In 2024, Trump was re-elected, and Ortagus was appointed deputy to the president's Middle East envoy under Steve Witkoff. Asked to describe her role, which included the Lebanon portfolio and representation at the US mission to the UN, and which effectively began during the transition between the Biden and Trump administrations, she turns to the first challenge she faced in the Lebanon arena.
"When I worked with Steve, we did everything together. Lebanon was one of the things I worked on. In the first weekend after the administration took office in January, there was a deadline – under the November 2024 ceasefire agreement reached by the Biden administration and Amos Hochstein – for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from southern Lebanon."
"Amos had flagged this to me during the transition. And I thought, 'Damn, we're going to have to deal with this.' Israel doesn't feel ready – they need a few more weeks or months to do it. I hadn't yet met President Aoun, I barely knew Ron Dermer, and I didn't even have an office yet. We didn't even know where the bathrooms were," she says with a laugh.
"We negotiated an extension of that clause in the ceasefire to give the IDF a little more time to complete a phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon. In the end, Israel withdrew from 99% of the territory, except for the five points."
Ortagus describes the dynamic with the Lebanese side. "They were pushing to reach a point where the IDF would exit southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, and so they agreed to the ceasefire extension. President Aoun was very new – he was sworn in a week before Trump. Nawaf Salam hadn't even formed a government yet. So everyone was genuinely new, and they needed some kind of win."
In the period between the announcement of the November 2024 ceasefire and the escalation against Hezbollah in March 2026, Israel managed to preserve room to maneuver that allowed for targeted strikes against Hezbollah despite the ceasefire. I asked Ortagus whether the Trump administration had given a green light to those strikes.
"Yes, but that was part of the Biden administration's agreement, under the basic understanding that Israel would have the ability to neutralize threats to its homeland for the residents of its north. A lot of people focus on the Israeli strikes, but it's important to remember that Lebanon also had a commitment – as it promised twenty years ago at the end of the 2006 war [the Second Lebanon War] – and that is to disarm Hezbollah."
Later, Ortagus chose to deepen her involvement in the Lebanon portfolio. "I spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and decided to focus narrowly on Hezbollah's disarmament and on the mechanism that sat in Naqoura, in an effort to get the armies to work together."
She reflects on how those early conversations contributed to the direct talks now taking place between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington. "I think the dialogue we're seeing today comes from things we kept very quiet – months of grueling work, sitting in a small room, traveling to Lebanon frequently, with the Israeli military and the Lebanese Armed Forces in the same room, face to face, talking to each other. What we achieved through the mechanism wasn't something big or bold – it was deliberately kept out of the media. It was the quiet, grinding work of connecting two countries, of diplomacy."
The Lebanese failure
While American and Israeli officials now describe the meetings between the two countries' ambassadors as the first direct Israeli-Lebanese talks in decades, the earlier round of discussions that Ortagus led – involving both civilian and military figures – was in fact the first direct contact of its kind.
"Even before we brought the civilians into the room, we had the armies doing it – trying to work together, trying to build trust. And I think that if we ever truly reach, when this war ends, a genuine disarmament of Hezbollah, we'll need to return to that same painstaking, detail-driven, and at times monotonous work we did through the mechanism – to bring the two countries closer, so there is an element of trust that makes it possible to disarm Hezbollah together."
Ortagus describes how the strikes against Iran serve the dialogue between the countries. "Hezbollah receives its funding, training, and equipment primarily from Iran. That is clearly the head of the snake, and I think President Trump has dealt a serious blow to Iran's ability to support Hezbollah."
She details what the Lebanese government is also required to do at the civilian level. "There are so many things that need to happen socially, where the Lebanese government is genuinely failing, and a lot of it comes down to very basic things – like the fact that the Lebanese government needs to provide essential services to Shiites in the south. I've used this example a million times, but I'm a mother with a young daughter, and if my counterpart in southern Lebanon is a Shia woman, and Hezbollah is providing her with education, infrastructure, and healthcare – not the Lebanese government – then who is she going to trust? People need faith and confidence that their government can meet their needs."
I ask Ortagus, based on her familiarity with Lebanese leadership – including President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam – whether there is genuine will and effort to disarm Hezbollah.
"I think the Lebanese representatives are taking a cautious approach, and I don't necessarily blame them. In some ways, I even understand why they're doing it. They were there when President Obama signed the nuclear deal with Iran, and they were the ones who paid the price when Iran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief – and a large portion of that money went to Hezbollah. In practice, it is the IRGC that controls Hezbollah, and through that effectively controls large parts of Lebanon."
She adds, "It takes a great deal of courage, and I think there is certainly a will among many of Lebanon's leaders to break free from Iran's influence and from the shackles Hezbollah has imposed on the country. I think they would be glad to be rid of it. I think they have a weak government institutionally and a weak military, and they need support.
Ortagus describes the economic dynamic that defined Lebanon from the 2006 war through October 7. "Lebanon promised the US and the world that it would disarm Hezbollah, and it always managed to do just enough to stay above the minimum threshold that wouldn't anger us. On the other hand, our funding, along with that of the rest of the international community, was just enough to keep them afloat. So it was a kind of chicken-and-egg game."
Facing that dynamic are clear American expectations. "I also understand where members of Congress are coming from when they demand that all our partners and allies – not just Lebanon – be accountable to the American taxpayer. If you're a country receiving US military funding, our Congress, and especially this president, will expect you to take certain actions to justify it."
Ortagus describes what she expected of Israel during the contacts she managed, despite the challenges. "I really pushed Israel and the IDF to work with Lebanon. I said we need to help them if and when they're ready for it. The problem is that Lebanon has a system riddled with systemic corruption, and that touches the military too. But the positive aspect of the military is that it's an institution that enjoys significant trust among the Lebanese public. So there's something to work with there."
Diplomacy under fire
The Lebanese side is still hesitant about a head-of-state meeting, but that doesn't trouble Ortagus. "When the time is right, that meeting will happen. Aoun is the president, and he has taken very bold steps to lead this negotiation, but Prime Minister Salam matters too – the government answers to him."
She elaborates. "Lebanon has a system where any agreement reached won't just require a vote by Nawaf Salam's cabinet – there's also the parliament, which is of course led by Speaker Nabih Berri and the Shiite bloc, and they will have a say as well."
Asked whether a peace deal with Lebanon is realistically achievable before the end of the current administration, Ortagus takes a measured view. "I certainly hope so. I think it will take time – it won't happen overnight." But she adds, "It was very smart of Rubio to host the ambassadors, and for the American side to take ownership of the process."
"It's important to acknowledge my dear friend Michel Issa, who has done exceptional work and advanced the negotiations to the next stage. He managed to bring the issue to President Trump's attention, and that is what led to the situation we're seeing today on the path to peace between Lebanon and Israel."
She understands that a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon would be an unprecedented achievement. "Peace with Lebanon is in many ways one of the most important relationships, one of the most important places for Israel to reach peace – it's the neighborhood. I remember that one of the IDF commanders who came to one of our meetings through the mechanism lived just 15 minutes from where we were sitting. And so it is a tragedy when two neighbors cannot meet, talk, and exchange ideas between their people."
Ortagus identifies who she believes stands to gain the most from peace between the two countries. "I think Lebanese Shiites are excellent businesspeople. I always enjoyed meeting and talking with them. I have no doubt that the biggest winners from peace between Lebanon and Israel will be the country's Shiite citizens. Who is most affected when Hezbollah drags Israel into war? The Shiites. They will gain the most – not only because you won't see them uprooted from their communities again and again, dealing with destruction and loss of life, but because within a very short time, the strongest business ties that will form between Israel and Lebanon will likely be with Lebanese Shiites."
Finally, she draws the line connecting the Iranian front to Lebanon and the region as a whole. "I hope and pray that the president's efforts to confront Iran and put it back in a box will succeed, because ultimately every success we achieve in the region will flow from what he has done with Iran and how he finishes the job. Success or failure depends on his decisions and actions on Iran, which have been the toughest of any president in the last 47 years. The 47th president of the United States is being called upon, after 47 years, to finally stand up to this vile regime."

How Syria is dismantling IRGC networks, deepening Gulf Arab ties
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/May 02, 2026 21:59
Fall of Assad’s regime in late 2024 triggered Syria’s break with the Revolutionary Guard’s “axis of resistance”
Analysts say uprooting the infrastructure the IRGC spent years building will be a long, difficult process
LONDON: As Syria’s transitional government deepens ties with Arab Gulf states, it is also quietly trying to dismantle one of the most entrenched legacies of the war — Iran’s military and economic influence. Syria’s partnership with the Gulf countries has been building since late 2024, after a rebel offensive toppled Bashar Assad’s regime. Since then, Saudi Arabia especially has moved to deepen cooperation with the interim government of Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
In May last year, Saudi Arabia persuaded US President Donald Trump to lift sanctions on Syria and helped facilitate a meeting between Trump and Al-Sharaa in Riyadh. The move marked a major diplomatic shift and put Syria on a path toward international reintegration.
Yet closer ties with Gulf states are only part of the story. For Syria’s new leadership, attracting Arab capital also means loosening the networks that Iran spent years building inside the country.
Iran, one of Assad’s key allies during the civil war, had embedded itself in Syria’s military, political and economic institutions. Those networks, analysts say, cannot be dismantled overnight.
“The situation here is much more complicated than it appears,” a Damascus-based security expert told Arab News on condition of anonymity.
“Even though the leadership is trying to move in that direction and distance itself from the axis of resistance, on the ground there are still many groups and individuals who remain closely tied to that same axis. So, the intention and the plan are there, but it’s going to take time.”
Iran has spent years building networks in Syria and analysts say it will take time to dismantle them.
The “axis of resistance” is a loose, Iran-backed network of armed groups and some state-linked forces across the Middle East that defines itself in opposition to Israel and the US.
The alliance, bound together by the extraterritorial Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, influences Iran’s relationships in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza and, at times, Syria.
Iran’s reach in Syria extended far beyond politics and security. It is also believed to have embedded itself into lucrative sectors, including telecommunications, real estate, ports and phosphates.
FAST FACTS:
• The “axis of resistance” is an IRGC-backed network of armed groups across the Middle East, united against Israel and the US.
• Under Bashar Assad, Syria was long considered part of the axis, but the regime’s fall in 2024 removed a state pillar from the network.
A December 2022 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Syrian Network Observatory found that mobile operator Wafa Telecom, established in 2017, had ownership links to figures and companies tied to the IRGC, despite efforts to present it as Syrian-owned. Syria’s new authorities now appear increasingly willing to confront the remnants of Iran-linked networks. On April 21, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Al-Sharaa in Jeddah. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties, “particularly in the economic and investment fields and regional connectivity projects.”
The meeting highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a central diplomatic and economic player in Syria’s postwar reintegration. For both governments, the broader goal is to turn renewed political engagement into tangible economic gains.
“President Al-Sharaa needs Saudi investment,” Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Arab News. The Saudi crown prince “can spur that along.”Two days before Al-Sharaa’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Syria’s Interior Ministry said security forces had foiled a “sabotage plot” by a “Hezbollah-linked cell” in the southern province of Quneitra. The cell had planned to use Syrian territory to mount a cross-border attack, state news agency SANA reported. The April 19 incident was the latest in “several attempts to destabilize the country and undermine public security,” the ministry said, adding that the alleged plot involved remnants of Assad’s former regime and individuals linked to Hezbollah.
Authorities reported a similar case earlier in the month. On April 11, the Interior Ministry said its counterterrorism directorate had foiled a planned attack near the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus and that preliminary investigations showed the cell was linked to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, however, denied the accusations, calling them “false and fabricated.”
In a statement on April 12, the Iran-backed Lebanese group said it “has no activity, connection, or relationship with any party in Syria,” adding that it has no presence on Syrian territory.
The effort to curb Iran-aligned influence has also extended to Syria’s borders.
On April 15, Syrian authorities said they had discovered a tunnel in the southern countryside of Homs province that extended into Lebanon and seized weapons and ammunition depots allegedly prepared for smuggling, according to Syrian state TV channel Al-Ekhbariya.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanon. Hussein Chokr, a Beirut-based policy expert, said dismantling institutions once linked to the IRGC is driven less by Gulf pressure than by the new leadership’s need to consolidate power at home. “Eliminating the remnants of figures previously linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who could potentially form a future sphere of influence, is more of a domestic Syrian demand, particularly for the new regime, rather than a Gulf demand,” Chokr told Arab News. “No system that comes to power through the full exclusion of the previous order is likely to tolerate remnants of that old order retaining even limited levers of influence,” he said. “To do so would risk undermining its narrative and legitimacy in the eyes of those who backed its exclusionary rise to power.”
Still, removing those networks is only one part of Syria’s challenge.
Even before the US-Israel war with Iran, Chokr, said the barriers to Gulf investment were formidable. Those obstacles include “a decayed institutional structure, legislation that does not meet investor needs, uncertainty over the commercial feasibility of investment, and a fragile domestic environment operating under economic constraints that had not yet entered a genuine path to recovery,” he said. “After the regional war (began), unfortunately, those structural problems remain intact.”Indeed, Syria’s new authorities inherited an economy hollowed out by nearly 14 years of civil war, mismanagement and sanctions. The country still faces damaged infrastructure, a weakened currency, fragmented markets and an entrenched war economy.
Even so, there are early signs of recovery and reintegration. Many sanctions have been lifted, and the international community has resumed high-level engagement with Damascus.
That reopening, however, is unfolding against a volatile regional backdrop. On Feb. 28, the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which retaliated by targeting its Arab neighbors, Israel and Jordan.
For Iran, Assad’s fall was widely seen as a major strategic defeat. For Syria, it accelerated a reorientation toward Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Qatar, the West and sanctions relief, rather than a return to Tehran’s orbit. So, while Iran-linked interests may still linger, they no longer appear to set the direction of the Syrian state.Ghassan Ibrahim, a London-based Syrian analyst and head of the Global Arab Network, said Syria’s connection to the axis of resistance was effectively severed with the fall of Assad’s government on Dec. 8, 2024.
“Once the Assad regime fell, it became clear that this was never really about the Syrian people,” Ibrahim told Arab News. “There was no clear segment of the Syrian population that genuinely supported the axis of resistance; it was entirely tied to the regime itself.
“Once the regime fell, everything connected to it fell with it, including Iran’s influence. I believe Syria became one of the leading countries in pushing back against Iran.”
Syria’s wartime patronage networks have also been reshaped. “Even the war economy has been completely restructured, and the new government and public institutions are not linked to Iran at all,” Ibrahim said. “In fact, Iran is frustrated and feels that it has lost the first war, the one that pushed it back toward its own borders. Obviously, it has also lost Lebanon as a result of the lack of transport links between Iraq and Lebanon, so it may only be a matter of time before Lebanon follows.” Syria’s leadership, for its part, has tried to keep the country out of the regional war. Speaking from Chatham House in London in late March, Al-Sharaa said that “unless Syria is subjected to direct attacks by any party, it will remain outside this conflict.”
Landis said Damascus has so far managed to “stay out of the regional destabilization brought about by the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the US-Israeli attack on Iran,” which has “badly hurt” Syria’s two neighbors, Iraq and Lebanon. Lebanon has borne the brunt of the direct military and humanitarian fallout, while Iraq has been pulled in as both a strategic and economic battleground involving US forces, Iran-aligned groups and the wider war. On March 2, Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since then, Israel has waged a campaign that has displaced more than 1 million Lebanese and killed more than 2,500 people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Syria, by contrast, has so far avoided direct confrontation with Israel, even after Israel moved into the UN-monitored demilitarized zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria following Assad’s fall and has since launched strikes across Syria.
“Syria might have been drawn in when Israeli settlers moved across the border into Syria to declare that southern Syria should be part of Israel,” Landis said. “Although Israeli soldiers escorted the settlers out of Syrian territory, the settlers subsequently met with an Israeli government minister to demonstrate that they have support and should not be viewed as a bunch of weirdos.”
On April 22, the Israeli military said it had apprehended and returned around 40 Israeli activists who had briefly crossed into Syria, AFP reported.
Landis said the threat to Syria remains real, but Al-Sharaa “was restrained and refused to take the bait.” As a result, “he has successfully kept Syria out of Israel’s crosshairs in the latest round of war.”“To underline his commitment to Syria’s new alignment away from Iran and the ‘axis of resistance’ and toward Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkiye as well as toward the US, Al-Sharaa has mobilized forces along the borders with Lebanon and Iraq to stop cross-border smuggling and prevent the use of Syrian territory by pro-Iranian militias,” he added.
That border push has increasingly taken on a diplomatic dimension. On March 10, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Al-Sharaa agreed to activate coordination and consultation on border control, according to official statements. Then, on April 28, Syria’s permanent envoy to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, called on the Iraqi and Lebanese governments to deploy official state forces along their borders with Syria and prevent the spread of militia groups amid ongoing regional instability.
Taken together, those moves suggest Damascus is trying to do more than distance itself rhetorically from Iran. It is attempting to dismantle the infrastructure — physical, political and economic — that once anchored Tehran’s influence in Syria. Whether it can uproot those residual networks without triggering further economic disruption or regional pushback may shape not only Syria’s recovery, but also the depth of Gulf investment it is now seeking.

Iran should beware the consequences of its blackmail
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/May 02, 2026
In its recent proposal to the US, Iran suggested first handling the issue of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the war and leaving discussions on the nuclear issue until later. Iran is creating new hurdles for Washington and is banking on its own resilience and ability to outlast America.
In its asymmetric warfare approach, it was somehow predictable that it would use the Strait of Hormuz card to put pressure on the US and the world to end the war. However, Iran should be careful. It is one thing to use this card to push America to come to the negotiating table, but to insist on it will have the opposite effect in the long run.
Of course, the closure of the strait, compounded by the US blockade, is hurting the global economy. Iran is hoping that this will push the international community to put pressure on America to end the war. On the other hand, with Iran insisting on asserting its dominance over an international waterway indefinitely, the world will not want to be at Iran’s mercy later on. It will look for alternative routes and this will make the Strait of Hormuz card irrelevant, or at least highly ineffective, in the future.
In addition to this strait, Iran has another card it has not yet played: the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. This falls in the area under the control of the Houthis, Iran’s Yemeni allies. It is of great importance. It is a vital maritime channel connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. A significant portion of global trade passes through it. All shipments coming from Asia toward Europe go through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait before reaching the Suez Canal. Some 12 percent to 15 percent of worldwide trade and about 30 percent of global container traffic transits via the Suez Canal. A sizable part of this flow also has to pass through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
The world will look for alternative routes and this will make the Strait of Hormuz card irrelevant, or at least highly ineffective.
In addition to being an important passage for world trade, it is an important passage for world data. Seventeen submarine fiber-optic cables carry 90 percent of the data traffic between Asia and Europe. Hence, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait provides an essential connection for the world’s information flow and is an important lifeline for the digital infrastructure of the Middle East and Africa. So far, Iran has not used this card. In fact, there has been an increase in trade flowing through this area. Saudi Arabia has benefited from the infrastructure it built to reroute a big part of the oil extracted from its eastern oil fields to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. The pipeline was built in the 1980s during the Iraq-Iran war to mitigate any disruption caused by the Iranians around the Strait of Hormuz. The East-West pipeline is operating at its full capacity of 7 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia is using its infrastructure to help the Arab Gulf states that are suffering due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Aramco’s Asia-Pacific customers are now loading crude at Yanbu and using the Bab Al-Mandab as an alternative to transit oil to Asia. This means the strait has gained importance since the start of the war, which makes it a card Iran will likely play when it feels it needs to. This is a potential risk.
If both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait were closed, 30 percent of global container shipments and 25 percent of gas and oil supply could be threatened. This not only involves energy supply, it would also have implications for food security, fertilizer supply and global manufacturing supply chains. As a result, the Arab Gulf states — and the world — are starting to look for alternative routes.
We can already see two alternative routes taking shape that are far from Iran and its areas of influence. We can already see two alternative routes taking shape that are far from Iran and its areas of influence. The first is a railway line from Saudi Arabia to Jordan, Syria and Turkiye, reviving the old Hijaz Railway. This route would support the movement of goods as it goes through countries that are not subject to Iranian influence, while connecting the Arab Gulf to Turkiye and the Mediterranean. From there, the goods could flow to Europe. Saleh Al-Jasser, the Saudi minister of transport and logistic services, last week announced that joint studies into this project are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The other route is the Middle Corridor, or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. This is a multimodal trade route connecting Europe and China via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye. Though the original concept of a Middle Corridor that competes with the Northern Corridor and the ocean route in linking China to Europe goes back to 2009, its importance started to grow with the Ukraine war. It represents an alternative to trade passing through Russia. Now, even more attention is being paid to this route as it also bypasses Iran and its areas of influence. Iran must be careful and look beyond the war. It is using the Strait of Hormuz card to the maximum and it might use the Bab Al-Mandab pressure point next. However, the more it chooses to blackmail the world, the more the world will push back by looking into alternative routes.
*Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.

Beyond the blackout, who really runs Iran now?
Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/May 02, 2026
When Ali Khamenei was killed on Feb. 28, the war the US and Israel were waging on Iran took out not just a supreme leader but a generation of Tehran’s political and military elite alongside him. The hole at the top of the regime was patched briefly by a Provisional Leadership Council under President Masoud Pezeshkian. Then, on March 8, the Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Ali Khamenei the third Supreme Leader of the Revolution, as the successor to his father.
The new leader has not appeared in public. Not a single photograph, video or even audio recording has emerged to confirm his presence at the helm. The silence has fed a cottage industry of speculation, with competing claims circulating inside and outside Iran: that he is dead, gravely ill, or has been wounded.
Having followed the war in the Gulf, day by day, and after consulting sources inside and outside Iran, my own assessment — credible, if not final — is this: Mojtaba Khamenei is alive. He was injured, but is recovering. And he is still running the country through a tight circle of confidants and behind a wall of extraordinary security.
So why the blackout? Three reasons.
The first is straightforward: Keep him alive. Tehran has no intention of giving US or Israeli intelligence the kind of opening that led to his father’s death. Losing a second supreme leader in months would be catastrophic, and the Assembly of Experts would struggle to coalesce around a third. The second is about the picture itself. When a new leader does step into view, especially in wartime, he cannot look weak. He cannot look broken. In a conflict where optics is a weapon, a frail or scarred supreme leader would be a gift to the enemy. Tehran has calculated that showing a visibly wounded supreme leader would serve its enemies more than its own people.
The IRGC is more powerful than it was before the war. That much is true. But it does not hold a monopoly on decision-making.
Reports corroborated by multiple sources say Mojtaba Khamenei was hit in the leg, was left with a facial scar, and at one point could not walk. If true, the silence is in itself a message: Do not demoralize the public at home, and do not hand Washington and Tel Aviv leverage at the negotiating table.The third is by design. Strategic ambiguity has long been a tool of Iranian statecraft. The blurrier the picture inside the regime, the more room Tehran has to maneuver, and the harder it is for foreign analysts to chart the new chain of command. The fog is a feature, not a bug, for it invites speculation, most of it untethered from accurate inside information.
A narrative has solidified coming from prominent Western think tanks, newspapers, and magazines: Mojtaba Khamenei is dead or incapacitated, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized the wheel, a brutal succession fight is underway. However, these theories do not describe the Iran that exists; they describe the Iran their authors expected after the elder Khamenei was killed, a projection dressed up as rigorous analysis. To read the new leadership clearly, you have to read it on its own terms, not through affection or contempt. Emotion, when it drives the analysis, ruins the analysis. The IRGC is more powerful than it was before the war. That much is true. But it does not hold a monopoly on decision-making. Power is distributed across an interlocking set of institutions, all sitting under the supreme leader’s office. They answer to the supreme jurist. Whatever turf disputes exist among them are mediated by directives from Mojtaba Khamenei, who is, according to the constitution, both commander-in-chief and the chief architect of the country’s foreign policy.
The key players right now are the IRGC, the Supreme National Security Council, the Foreign Ministry, the Expediency Discernment Council, and Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, whose standing rests on the support of former military figures such as Ahmad Vahidi and Mohammed Bagher Zolghadr, and ultimately on the trust of the supreme leader.
Pezeshkian is in the room, but the presidency is no longer where decisions are made. Its writ runs to domestic administration. On the war and foreign policy, the Supreme National Security Council is the body that matters, with the IRGC and the intelligence services represented at the table. Decisions flow upward and the supreme leader signs off, vetoes, or amends them.
The New York Times has reported that Mojtaba Khamenei’s health is improving and his mind is sharp. The orders are still his, passed down a long chain of trusted couriers, by deliberately old-fashioned low-tech means, to keep him alive.
• Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher specializing in Islamist movements, the evolution of religious discourse, and relations between the Gulf states and Iran.

Landmark UK royal visit soothes Trump tensions
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/May 02, 2026
Much pomp and pageantry accompanied the four-day visit by UK King Charles and Queen Camilla to the US. However, beneath all the gloss, the tour may have been one of the most important undertaken by any British monarch since at least the 1950s Suez crisis.
As much as the 250th anniversary of US independence from Britain shaped the narrative for the trip, it is another date — almost 70 years ago in 1957 — that Charles will have been keenly aware of as he visited US President Donald Trump and addressed Congress on Monday and Tuesday. Then, as now, US-UK relations had significantly deteriorated when Queen Elizabeth II made her own first US state visit to meet President Dwight Eisenhower.
The successful October 1957 tour saw Eisenhower assert that “the respect we have for Britain is epitomized in the affection we have for the royal family, who have honored us so much by making this visit to our shores.” Unquestionably, Elizabeth helped stabilize relations between the two countries after Eisenhower’s significant disagreements with Anthony Eden, who resigned as UK prime minister in January 1957 following the Suez debacle, to be replaced by Harold Macmillan.
Fast forward 70 years and a new Middle Eastern conflict, this time in Iran, is again the backdrop for challenging relations between the two governments. Trump has frequently scolded Prime Minister Keir Starmer over ⁠his refusal to join this latest war, saying the UK leader is “no Winston Churchill,” and has made disparaging comments over UK military capabilities and its performance in recent wars, including Afghanistan. Another thorny security issue is the proposed Starmer deal on the future governance of the Chagos Islands, site of a key US-UK base on Diego Garcia.
The Starmer government is also on the political back foot amid the turbulent aftermath of last year’s sacking of Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington, over his links to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a former contact of Trump in New York before Trump ran for the presidency. However, politics is not the only area in which the two nations are at loggerheads. On economic issues, too, tensions are high. Some UK politicians are concerned that the deterioration in Trump-Starmer ties could unravel some of the deals announced last year during the US president’s state visit to the UK. That saw Trump, when his relationship with Starmer was in a better place, saying “we’re forever joined and we are forever friends and we will always be friends.”
During that visit, the two leaders signed what was billed as a landmark tech partnership aimed at strengthening cooperation in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy. The UK prime minister called it “the biggest investment package of its kind in British history” and “ground breaking,” not least given that it would bring thousands of new jobs to the UK.
The Iran conflict is the backdrop for strained relations.
The pledges mainly from US tech giants and financial groups amounted to investment of about $205 billion over several years. Trump also hyped up the agreement, saying: “We have also just signed a historic technology prosperity deal, one of a kind, to ensure our countries lead the next great technological revolution side by side.”
Given the growing tensions between Trump and Starmer, Charles pitched for UK business, including encouraging post-Brexit deeper trade ties with the US. Already, the UK has signed multiple trade agreements with US states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Indiana, and it is trying to secure targeted federal-level deals on key UK exports.
As head of the Commonwealth, Charles also made a broader charm offensive during his trip for the nations in the club, including South Africa. These countries are all affected by tariffs and wider Trump agendas, including the president’s decision not to invite South Africa to US-hosted G20 meetings this year.
In these efforts, he was joined by Camilla, who on Tuesday co-hosted an artificial intelligence event with US First Lady Melania Trump that extolled the UK-US relationship.
Charles and Camilla know that Trump is a huge fan of the wider royal family and played up to this during the visit. Trump often says one of his earliest memories was watching television coverage of Elizabeth’s coronation in June 1953 with his Scottish-born mother. Indeed, such is the US leader’s admiration that a portrait of Elizabeth is now on display at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
As king, Charles sought to show the distinction during his trip between the UK’s royal head of state and head of the government, Starmer. This difference makes the UK royal family a key asset when it comes to international diplomacy, as Elizabeth showed in 1957 with Eisenhower.
So the visit was not only aimed at smoothing troubled waters between governments. It was also a reminder that wider ties between the two nations are deeper than individual politicians. This generally highly constructive and successful bilateral longer-term relationship has long been built on traditional links founded on demographics, religion, culture, law, economics, politics, defense, and security.
Taken together, amid the multiple challenges in the US, UK, and wider Commonwealth relationships, the royal visit helped renew wide-ranging collaboration. This will provide some protection for ties if key UK political leaders fail to get on with Trump.
• Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Rising debt, rising distress leave Africa adrift
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/May 02, 2026
In early 2026, a single rating action exposed the brittle fault lines of global finance. Fitch downgraded the African Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank, to junk status. It then withdrew its ratings entirely after Afreximbank severed the relationship. What looked like a technical skirmish between a lender and an agency quickly became a diplomatic grenade rolling across the continent’s balance sheets.
This was never just about one bank. Afreximbank was created almost 40 years ago precisely to keep trade credit flowing when commercial markets slammed their doors on Africa. Now, for doing exactly that job — lending to Ghana during its debt restructuring — the bank was penalized for losing its preferred creditor status.
The irony is brutal: Fulfill your development mandate, and the rating agencies will call you risky.
Afreximbank’s move to terminate the rating before the downgrade went public showed rare defiance. But defiance or an act of institutional self-assertion does not pay down debt or reopen trade credit lines. After all, crossing from a BBB- rating to BB+ can widen borrowing spreads by more than 100 basis points in emerging markets. For a bank running over $40 billion in assets and financing much of that through external debt, every extra basis point translates directly into higher costs for trade finance throughout the continent.
Africa still pays a staggering premium simply because of how risk is perceived rather than how it performs. Infrastructure default rates on the continent run at just 2.6 percent, among the lowest in the world. But credit ratings often miss this reality. A UN agency calculated that 16 African countries collectively overpay more than $74 billion in debt servicing costs because their ratings sit lower than their actual economic fundamentals warrant.
Moreover, only three of the 34 rated African countries hold investment-grade status. The remaining 38 percent of the continent is entirely unrated, which translates to a punitive guessing-game premium. Meanwhile, every non-investment-grade borrower pays a substantial markup that is not a reflection of true default probability. Instead, it is a structural tax imposed by a system that lacks enough data points on Africa and, therefore, defaults to negative assumptions.
Even more troubling, credit ratings in Africa function less like neutral opinions and more like assessments, a distinction the International Organization of Securities Commissions recognized back in 2015. That means the consequences are heavier. A downgrade actively creates risk by raising borrowing costs, triggering forced selling from institutional investors, and shrinking fiscal space for essential spending.
Worse yet, a new geopolitical wound opened early this year. The US-Iran war effectively closed or severely restricted both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab Al-Mandab, creating a double maritime chokehold. For Egypt, the impact has been catastrophic. Suez Canal revenues have dropped by roughly 40-60 percent, representing an annual loss approaching $10 billion. Egypt is a major Afreximbank shareholder, and its financial distress directly feeds back into the bank’s risk profile.
For the continent’s other economies, the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope adds 10-15 days to transit times. Fuel, fertilizer, and food imports have all surged in cost. Inflationary pressures that were finally cooling are heating up again. And because Afreximbank now faces higher borrowing costs itself, the trade finance facilities that could soften these shocks are becoming more expensive just when they are needed most.
The cost of everything is rising, the margin for error is shrinking, and the clock is running.
And, unlike the previous two decades, when the continent would simply “look East” when the West retreated, the era of Beijing functioning as Africa’s lender of last resort is over. Between 2020 and 2024, the continent experienced a net outflow of roughly $22 billion to China, meaning repayments on existing loans exceeded new disbursements. Beijing has quietly but decisively shifted from building mega-infrastructure to demanding repayment. New loans are smaller, more targeted, and increasingly denominated in renminbi rather than dollars.
And the timing could not be worse.
Africa is still reeling from a “fiscal long COVID.” Governments everywhere postponed hard choices during the pre-pandemic era of ultra-low interest rates. However, that era ended abruptly, and now global public debt is on track to breach 100 percent by 2028 — peacetime levels never seen before. For low-income countries, interest payments now consume 21 percent of tax revenues on average, and in emerging markets, the picture is only marginally better.
As a result, trade-offs have become brutal. Every dollar borrowed without matching revenue means higher taxes or lower spending in the future. But the appetite for public benefits consistently exceeds the willingness to raise revenue. Governments cannot deliver Nordic-level welfare without Nordic-level taxation.
Credibility and flexibility now stand in direct tension. Rigid fiscal rules can deepen recessions. No rules at all invite market rebellions, as seen during the eurozone debt crisis. The middle path requires credible medium-term anchors with escape clauses for rare shocks, transparent plans that protect the vulnerable, and institutional frameworks that build confidence without strangling the government’s ability to respond to severe downturns.
Few countries have found that balance.
Afreximbank’s post-downgrade experience offered a partial blueprint for navigating that middle path. Six weeks after the Fitch episode, the bank raised a $2 billion syndicated loan from 31 lenders, pivoting toward Asian and Middle Eastern banks. Those lenders cared less about Fitch’s opinion and more about the bank’s actual repayment history and shareholder backing.
It is a meaningful precedent, but not yet a systemic solution to dislodge an Africa trapped in a frustrating interregnum. On one hand, the old Western-led financial order is punishing the continent for trying to build autonomous institutions. On the other hand, new alternatives like AfCRA and the BRICS bank are not yet mature enough to carry the full load. And, as always, it is the most vulnerable economies that face slow suffocation. What Africa needs now is not more declarations or summits. It needs a liquidity bridge that can carry the continent through this period without forcing another lost decade of austerity and social pain. That bridge could come from a coalition of willing lenders: for example, Asian and Middle Eastern banks, development finance institutions from non-Western powers, and perhaps even a real UN-led debt workout mechanism — if the political will materializes. For now, the ships are still moving around the cape; the bonds are still trading, and the banks are still lending. But the cost of everything is rising, the margin for error is shrinking, and the clock is running.
• Hafed Al-Ghwell is senior fellow and program director at the Stimson Center in Washington and senior fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies.

Wars Without Weapons
Abdel Rahman Shalgham/Former Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 02/2026
After the defeat of June 5, 1967, the late Libyan journalist Rashad Bashir al-Huni traveled to Cairo and attended the trials of senior Egyptian officers who were held responsible for the defeat. He returned to Libya and wrote an article in *Al-Haqiqa*, the newspaper he edited, titled: “Knights Without a Battle.”
In it, he dissected the political, military, and economic structures in Egypt that produced that devastating defeat. After the success of the Libyan revolution on September 1, 1969, dozens of journalists who had written during the monarchical era, in both public and private newspapers, were put on trial and accused of corrupting public opinion in Libya.
Among those brought before what was known as the People’s Court was Rashad Bashir al-Huni himself. The principal charge against him was what he had written in his incendiary article, “Knights Without a Battle.”
The irony is that, just days before his death, the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, in his meeting with the late Mauritanian president Moktar Ould Daddah and in a phone call with the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, said much of what Rashad al-Huni had written in the article for which he was tried. From the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 to the wars we are witnessing today, the heavy question persists: why are the stars of defeat pinned on the shoulders of officers, junior and senior alike? In reality, many among them are victims, not perpetrators.
After every successful military coup, officers holding ranks higher than those of the coup leaders are dismissed; some are tried and imprisoned, and some meet the fate of execution. In Israel, many officers who participated in the two world wars went on to fight its wars with the Arabs. Those who retire often move into political life or turn to fields such as archaeology, yet when wars break out, they return to the front lines under the command of officers younger in age and rank.
This introduction is prompted by the title of this article: “Wars Without Weapons.” Wars are merely small links in a long chain of conflict, complex and cumulative, whose foundation is the army of knowledge.
The total number of Jews worldwide is about 16 million, including 7 million in Israel. The number of Arabs across all Arab countries, according to 2026 estimates, stands at 510 million. Since 1901, Jewish recipients of Nobel Prizes in scientific fields including physics, chemistry, medicine, and economics have numbered 155, representing 22 percent of all laureates worldwide. Among Arabs, only Ahmed Zewail and Omar Yaghi have received the prize in scientific categories, both in chemistry. Israel’s area is 20,770 square kilometers, while the Arab world spans roughly 13 million square kilometers.
Israel hosts more than seventy research centers outside universities and ranks among the highest countries globally in research intensity relative to population. After the June defeat, the late Egyptian writer Anis Mansour raised the slogan “Know your enemy,” delving into the details of Israel’s scientific, industrial, and educational systems. Some attacked him, accusing him of self-flagellation, to which he replied sarcastically: “Some deserve to have their minds flogged, not just their bodies.” Across the Arab world, satellite channels and social media bombard us with appearances by those presented as scholars, who speak of the “science” of marriage, divorce, khulʿ, and disobedience; of which foot to use when entering the bathroom; of women’s dress and the roles they should not assume. Friday sermons remain in another realm, dominated by narratives of intimidation. Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations in most Arab universities avoid engaging with applied sciences, instead roaming through stories lost in distant times, whether mythical or otherwise. One diligent researcher reportedly spent years studying the degree of flatulence that nullifies ablution.
After independence, the late Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba said that we had moved from the lesser struggle against colonialism to the greater struggle through knowledge and work for development, progress, and advancement. Education that equips young men and women, from the primary stage, with the power of critical thinking, through curricula that encourage scientific research and by providing laboratories in schools, universities, and institutes, is the foundational base of strength for life in all its dimensions, in war and in peace.
We are not inventing a new species of human beings, nor crafting a history tailored to our illusions and dreams. The world is no longer merely a small global village as it was once described; it is now a page we see, read, and experience within our own homes. The experiences of nations that once stood at the lowest levels of backwardness and, within a few years, leapt to the forefront of progress, prosperity, and power, are before us.
The beginning lies in cutting the cords that bind us to pits and swamps buried by the current of time. There can be no victory in a war in which chronic ignorance confronts those who fight with the weapons of knowledge and reason.

To the Trump Administration: Beware the So-Called Moderates
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 02/2026
Critics often frame Iranian politics as a struggle between moderates and hardliners, but this distinction has repeatedly proven disastrously misleading. Different styles may appear, but the overarching objective remains the same: preserving the Islamist regime of Iran to continue jihad (holy war).
Softer rhetoric has emerged when the regime needed economic rescue or a diplomatic opening. Once the pressure recedes, the underlying strategic behavior remains unchanged.
In many ways, so-called "moderates" have historically served as the most effective guardians of the system: they are able to secure concessions from the outside world while preserving the internal order. They present hope abroad while maintaining continuity and deeper control at home. Trump appears aware of this pattern but, perhaps concerned about the political pressure on him at home, has sometimes, alarmingly, looked tempted to settle for it.
By maintaining pressure while demanding quick movement, Trump is turning time against Iran's regime rather than allowing the regime to use time against the United States. This reversal may be one of the most strategically important developments in US-Iran relations in years.
For decades, the Iranian regime's leadership has relied on delay, patience, ambiguity, and the hope that Western governments would eventually accept half-measures in exchange for temporary calm. Trump appears determined finally to end that cycle: delay no longer guarantees survival.
Critics often frame Iranian politics as a struggle between moderates and hardliners, but this distinction has repeatedly proven disastrously misleading. Different styles may appear, but the overarching objective remains the same: preserving the Islamist regime of Iran to continue jihad (holy war). Pictured: Iranian army soldiers stand in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally to support the regime in Tehran, on April 29, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
No one since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 has read the Iranian regime better than US President Donald J. Trump. Despite the criticism from commentators, the opposition party, social media voices, and members of the foreign policy establishment, no political leader has understood Tehran's methods more clearly, or acted against them with greater decisiveness. Many negotiated with Iran's regime. Many hoped it would change. Trump recognized a central truth that others have either ignored or refused to confront: the Iranian regime survives by deception, delay, and the constant purchase of time.
Currently, Trump is maintaining maximum pressure and refusing to provide relief from sanctions or blockade before Iran addresses the central issue of its nuclear ambitions, uranium "dust," or proxies. Rather than accepting endless procedural talks, indirect formulas, or staged concessions, he is demanding immediate, concrete action. This is precisely what has unsettled the Iranian regime. Its traditional strategy depends on dragging out every process until the pressure weakens or political conditions change.
All the Iranian regime wants today is time -- to breathe economically, stabilize politically, reorganize internally, wait for a more favorable international climate, outlast America's midterm elections, and see another administration replace the current one.
The Islamic Republic has long mastered the art of negotiation without resolution. It delays meetings, introduces new conditions, shifts language, creates procedural complications, and turns every diplomatic process into a maze. While talks continue, often pressure decreases. While the world debates technical details, Iran preserves its strategic programs, strengthens its arsenal and improves its regional position. Delay itself becomes victory. Every month gained is another month of survival.
Trump understands this game. Instead of allowing negotiations to become a theater of endless diplomacy, he has simplified the matter: No nuclear weapons capability. No missiles. No uranium nuclear "dust." No proxies. No endless excuses. No sanctions relief first. No waiting years for partial understandings that later collapse. In doing so, he has removed the regime's preferred battlefield.
At present, the pressure is hurting Iran. Its economy has suffered from prolonged restrictions, high inflation, currency decline, and mounting structural dysfunction. Reports continue to note catastrophic strains on the rial and wider economic distress. Economic pressure is a political issue. Economic pain can fuel public dissatisfaction, create elite rivalries, and prompt questions about competence inside the power structure.
Relief would mean foreign currency, access to markets, and the ability to reassert control. It means oxygen. Relief would bring room to maneuver and the ability to continue old patterns under new circumstances.
By maintaining pressure while demanding quick movement, Trump is turning time against Iran's regime rather than allowing the regime to use time against the United States. This reversal may be one of the most strategically important developments in US-Iran relations in years.
Critics often frame Iranian politics as a struggle between moderates and hardliners, but this distinction has repeatedly proven disastrously misleading. Different styles may appear, but the overarching objective remains the same: preserving the Islamist regime of Iran to continue jihad (holy war).
Softer rhetoric has emerged when the regime needed economic rescue or a diplomatic opening. Once the pressure recedes, the underlying strategic behavior remains unchanged.
In many ways, so-called "moderates" have historically served as the most effective guardians of the system: they are able to secure concessions from the outside world while preserving the internal order. They present hope abroad while maintaining continuity and deeper control at home. Trump appears aware of this pattern but, perhaps concerned about the political pressure on him at home, has sometimes, alarmingly, looked tempted to settle for it.
To his great credit, Trump's approach so far has focused on unmistakable and irreversible conditions. It forces choices rather than conversations about choices. It transforms diplomacy from a performance into the demand for a decision. Trump's posture indicates that he is unwilling to let Iran simply run out the clock.
If pressure is lifted, the Iranian regime gains resources without making meaningful concessions. If pressure remains, the regime must decide whether survival requires compromise. That is leverage, and leverage is most powerful when it is not prematurely surrendered.
For decades, the Iranian regime's leadership has relied on delay, patience, ambiguity, and the hope that Western governments would eventually accept half-measures in exchange for temporary calm. Trump appears determined finally to end that cycle: delay no longer guarantees survival.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
*Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 02/2026
Hanin Ghaddar
This is what irresponsible and lazy journalism looks like:
- I’ve been covering and writing about Hezbollah and the Shia community for decades.
- My research (articles, studies, book) have been based on extensive interviews with Lebanese Shia, including Hezbollah supporters.
- I’m also from south Lebanon - actually grew up there until I went to college. I know the south. I know the Shia.
- This is NOT how you talk to the Shia!
- This report is a good example of lazy journalism and the reporters obviously have no idea how to talk to people from this community.
- Two foreign journalists travel around the south for 10 days - only 10 days - and expect to understand the most complicated community dynamics there is - without any deep examination of the history, background, or the private spaces of this community.
- The people in the south - terrified from everyone - are not going to tell you what they really feel. They don’t know you; they don’t trust you!
- Journalism is a responsibility and these fast-food pieces could be extremely dangerous in shaping the political narrative and lumping the Shia, again, under Hezbollah’s umbrella.