English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  May 13/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11/32-44/:"When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? ’Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? ’So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go."

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 12-13 May/2026
Elias Bejjani/Video Link to my interview on Al-Hawiya Youtube platform
The victories of the mullahs and Hezbollah are defeats of destruction, suicide, calamities for their people, plague, ignorance, madness and morbid religious delusions/Elias Bejjani/May 09/2026
Lebanon Urges U.S. Ambassador to Push Israel to Halt Bombardments
Hezbollah Secretary General Calls for Indirect Negotiations and Rejects Disarmament
Israel Says 350 Hezbollah Operatives Killed in Over 1,100 Post-Ceasefire Strikes
Lebanese–Israeli talks to open in Washington Thursday at 9:00 a.m. US time and continue until 5:00 p.m.: Sources to LBCI
Israel Increases Pressure, Widens Ambitions in Lebanon by Carrying Strikes Beyond Litani
Evolving drone war in southern Lebanon clouds Iran peace prospects
Israeli Strikes Kill Six in South Lebanon
Hezbollah Leader Urges Lebanon to Quit Direct Talks with Israel
From battlefield to talks: Israel expands ground operations in South Lebanon
Israeli troops raid Litani river amid clashes with Hezbollah
President Aoun condemns killing of civil defense members, urges end to Israeli violations
Lebanon Says Israeli Strike Kills Two Civil Defense Personnel
Lebanon-Israel war: Latest developments
UAE designates 16 individuals, five entities on Local Terrorist List over Hezbollah links
Lebanon’s proposed amnesty law sparks debate over justice, sentencing and prison overcrowding
Salam says Lebanon seeking US guarantees
Lebanese-Israeli Negotiations and the Near Future/Colonel Charbel Barakat/May 12/2026
Aoun’s Anticipated Washington Visit a Rare Opportunity for Lebanon/Samar El-Kadi/This is beirut/May 12/2026
Lebanon’s Peace Should Not Wait on Saudi Arabia/Marwan El Amine/This is beirut/May 12/2026
The "Last Mile" of Hezbollah's Disarmament: Washington Holds the Key/Marwan El Amine/This is beirut/May 12/2026
The ‘Patriotism’ of Hezbollah as the Perfect Antithesis of Patriotism/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 12/2026

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 12-13 May/2026
Trump '100% confident' Iran will stop enriching uranium, will hand over remaining stockpiles
Pentagon Says US Cost of Iran War Nearing $29 billion
Treasury Department Tells US Banks to Flag Suspected Iranian Money-Laundering Networks
Iran’s Guards hold military drills in capital as ceasefire teeters
Iran Could Enrich Uranium to Weapons Grade if Attacked, Lawmaker Warns
US defense secretary faces new round of questioning from Congress over Iran war
US budget watchdog estimates Golden Dome will cost $1.2 trillion
Israel Sent Iron Dome Batteries, Personnel to UAE: U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Pakistan rejects report on Iranian military aircraft in country as ‘misleading’
Qatar says Iran should not use Hormuz to ‘blackmail’ Gulf
Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’
UK to send drones, jets and warship to join defensive mission securing Strait of Hormuz
China and US agree on opposing Hormuz tolls, State Department says
Trump vows to free all Venezuelan political prisoners
Saudi Arabia carried out undisclosed attacks on Iran during the war: Reuters
Trump says he doesn’t need Xi’s help on Iran
Iraqi Authorities Make Late Admission of Makeshift Israeli Base in Desert
ISIS Claims Deadly Attack on Syrian Government Forces
EU Approves Full Restoration of Trade Relations with Syria
Israeli MPs Set Up Special Tribunal and Allow Death Penalty for Hamas-Led 2023 Attackers
Kuwait Says Four People Affiliated with Iran’s IRGC Arrested Trying to Enter by Sea
Former Ecuadoran Top Diplomat Enters Race for UN Chief

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 12-13 May/2026
The Muslim Brotherhood and “Unattended Wealth/Mishari Al-Zaydi/ Asharq Al-Awsat / May 12, 2026
Erdogan's Turkey: The NATO Member That Sponsors Terrorism/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 12/ 2026
Sweden Drops 'Islamophobia', Votes for Free Speech/Robert William/Gatestone Institute/May 12, 2026
No US-Iran deal yet: How long can Tehran endure?/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/English Al Arabia/May 12/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 12/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 12-13 May/2026
Elias Bejjani/ Video Link to my interview on Al-Hawiya Youtube platform
Exposing and ridiculing Lebanon’s puppet rulers and the owners of their Trojan horse political party companies, affirming that Israel is an ally of Lebanon, that peace will be imposed by force, and that the decision to eradicate the cancer of Hezbollah is irreversible/Explaining the reality of the Iranian advisory government’s authority in Lebanon
Title: Netanyahu at Baabda Palace Soon? Elias Bejjani Reveals the Scenario of Peace Imposed by Force!
In a high-stakes and explosive episode of “Power of ogic” hosted by Abdel Rahman Darnika, political activist Elias Bejjani shatters all political taboos, offering a radical and unprecedented analysis of the Lebanese crisis.
Is the era of diplomacy over? Bejjani presents shocking hypotheses regarding Lebanon’s future, arguing that the “Hezb Statelet” has completely hijacked national sovereignty, rendering official institutions mere facades operated by foreign “Remote Controls.”
Key highlights of this controversial interview include:
The Baabda Scenario: How could peace with Israel be imposed by force? And why does Bejjani foresee Netanyahu reaching the heart of Lebanese decision-making?
An Alliance of Necessity: Has Israel become the “ally” required to uproot Iranian influence from Lebanon?
Unmasking the Elite: A blistering critique of the political establishment, military leadership, and even religious figures; why does Bejjani believe they are all complicit in covering up the “Iranian Occupation”?
The Diaspora’s Roadmap: Bejjani’s vision for dismantling Hezb’s infrastructure and overturning politicized judicial rulings dating back to the Syrian hegemony era.
A conversation that defies expectations and confronts the viewer with existential questions about
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154394/
May 11/2026

The victories of the mullahs and Hezbollah are defeats of destruction, suicide, calamities for their people, plague, ignorance, madness and morbid religious delusions
Elias Bejjani/May 09/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/144467/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrmfwGPbgY
The arrogance of Iran's mullah regime and its disregard for its internal reality and actual military capabilities laid the foundation for the collapse of its expansionist project.
Instead of reassessing the balance of power and backing down from its suicidal nuclear ambitions, the regime doubled down on stubbornness and arrogance. It resorted to threats and loud rhetoric—mainly targeting the United States and Israel—convinced it possessed the power to deter and challenge the world.
But this hollow arrogance brought about a decisive response from President Donald Trump, who moved swiftly to dismantle Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure, isolate the regime diplomatically, and deal a fatal blow to its unrealistic nuclear dreams—dreams that never matched the true size or capacity of Iran’s resources.
As for the much-hyped Iranian threats to strike the U.S. and Israel, they are nothing more than empty soundbites—completely detached from reality. Iran, which hasn't won a direct military confrontation in over four decades, is incapable of confronting either the U.S. or Israeli power. All it can do is resort to media noise and hollow bluster that change nothing in the real balance of power.
Just like Hamas, Hezbollah, and other ideologically driven groups—whether Arab nationalists, leftists, or Sunni and Shiite political Islamists—Iran’s rulers have fallen into the trap of fatal miscalculation.
They have completely lost touch with reality, failing to assess their own true capabilities or those of the so-called “Great Satan” (America) and “Little Satan” (Israel). Instead, they remain trapped in delusional, pathological fantasies that they claim are “divinely inspired.”
They have misunderstood their true size and misjudged their enemies. This chronic mental and ideological dysfunction is what has brought them to the brink of total collapse—just like all others in history who have failed to understand their own limits and those of their opponents.
Why Do Ideologues Drag Their Nations into Lost Battles?
Following the political and military developments in the Middle East raises a simple and urgent question:
Why do ideologically driven leaders—whether religious or political—consistently drag their countries into doomed wars that only bring destruction, despair, and ruin?
The answer lies in the widespread disease of strategic miscalculation, one that afflicts, among many others, the rulers of Tehran and their militant proxies—particularly Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Add to them the larger landscape of political Islam in both its Sunni and Shiite forms, as well as their counterparts in the Arab and global leftist revolutionary camps.
The Illusion of Power and the Detachment from Reality
These groups suffer from a narcissistic overestimation of their own power, constantly fueled by closed ideological narratives that claim they possess absolute truth and divine or historical destiny.
They live inside echo chambers filled with self-affirming beliefs and dogma. They see themselves as eternally victorious and divinely favored—even as their reality is one of failure and humiliation. At the same time, they deny or downplay the strength of their adversaries, leading to decisions based on fantasy, wishful thinking, and delusion rather than truth and sober analysis.
Psychological Mechanisms Behind Strategic Stupidity
This behavior can be understood through several psychological mechanisms and cognitive distortions:
Confirmation Bias: Ideologues seek only the information that supports their beliefs and ignore all contradicting evidence.
Groupthink: These groups turn inward, suppressing dissent and rewarding blind conformity.
Collective Narcissism: They see themselves as morally and ideologically superior, incapable of error or defeat.
Identity Anchoring: Their ideology is so deeply tied to their group identity that admitting defeat would mean personal and collective collapse.
Illusion of Control: They believe they can control outcomes and destiny—despite reality proving otherwise.
When Defeat Is Rebranded as “Victory”
When these actors suffer catastrophic defeats, they don’t admit failure. Instead, they resort to pathological justification and redefine their losses as moral or symbolic victories.
This is precisely what Hamas does: it brought destruction, famine, and displacement to the people of Gaza, yet still claims it achieved “divine victory.”
Hezbollah is no different: its fighters are killed daily, its facilities bombed, its leaders targeted deep inside Beirut, and yet it still clings to its weapons and boasts about “steadfastness” and “resistance.”
Iran’s Mullahs: Arrogance on the Road to Collapse
The clearest and most dangerous example of strategic blindness caused by miscalculation is the Iranian regime. Israel, with support from the United States, has systematically destroyed the military infrastructure that the mullahs built over 40 years across Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen. One by one, their nuclear facilities and regional influence have been dismantled.
Yet the regime lives in a state of total denial.
It believes that its stubbornness and arrogance will somehow reverse the strategic tide. It has rejected every diplomatic offramp, believing it can defy America, Israel, and the international community.
The result? Its capabilities continue to erode. Its commanders are assassinated with precision, from Yemen to Damascus. Its economy is strangled by sanctions. And its people suffer from poverty, repression, and hopelessness. Still, the regime clings to the myth of “resistance” as if it were a viable strategy. In truth, it is a suicidal illusion.
Collapse Is Inevitable—and the Price Will Be High
What the mullahs and their allies fail to realize is that their ideological stubbornness will only lead to a devastating collapse—not only of their regimes, but of thousands of innocent lives that will be caught in the fallout. Hezbollah, now a burden on Lebanon and its own Shiite community, has no exit strategy. Its ideology leaves no room for retreat. Hamas, which betrayed Gaza, has no option but to continue destroying what remains of its people’s lives. As for the mullahs, they have passed the point of no return. Their regime is delegitimized, cornered, and running out of time.
Conclusion: When reason is replaced by delusion, hallucination, and the narcissism of miscalculation and distorted perception of reality. What unites these actors is that they have all replaced reason with ideology, analysis with slogans, and truth with delusion. They do not know when to win or when to surrender, because they are prisoners of ideological narcissism that makes retreat impossible. For them, miscalculation is not just a strategic flaw—it is a fatal condition. One that doesn’t merely topple regimes, but devastates nations and destroys entire peoples.

Lebanon Urges U.S. Ambassador to Push Israel to Halt Bombardments
This is beirut/May 12/2026
Lebanese leaders urged the U.S. ambassador to Beirut to pressure Israel to halt its attacks as it pounded the country with airstrikes on Monday despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Lebanese authorities raised the overall death toll from Israeli strikes since March 2 to 2,869 people. That figure includes dozens killed since the truce went into force on April 17. Israel's military said one of its soldiers had been killed a day earlier in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing its losses to 18 troops and a civilian contractor since the war began.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met separately with U.S. ambassador Michel Issa in preparation for a third meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives set to take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday.
Salam said he asked Issa to "exert pressure on Israel to stop the ongoing attacks and violations, in order to consolidate the ceasefire". Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon of late, with weekend strikes reaching as close as around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital Beirut.
On Monday, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on more than 30 locations in the south and east. It reported casualties in several areas, including south Lebanon's Zebdine, where it said an Israeli drone struck two people "while they were distributing bread" in a municipality vehicle to residents who had refused to leave the town.Under the terms of the ceasefire published by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".
Displacement
Israel's army issued an evacuation warning ahead of strikes on seven south Lebanon towns and two others in the Bekaa region in the country's east. The NNA reported a "large wave of displacement" in West Bekaa as hundreds of families fled the threatened towns. Lebanese authorities say the war has displaced more than one million people. Hezbollah claimed at least 20 attacks on Israeli military targets in south Lebanon, including bulldozing equipment, in what it said was retaliation for ceasefire violations. The Israeli army said two Hezbollah drones had damaged "unmanned engineering vehicles" in south Lebanon, and that its troops had "eliminated" a militant cell there. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war on March 2 when it launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion. Its troops are operating inside an Israeli-declared "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Lebanon's border where Lebanese residents have been warned not to return. In an interview with Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya channel on Sunday, Salam said the country was "facing the occupation of 68 Lebanese villages as a result of this war that was imposed on us".AFP

Hezbollah Secretary General Calls for Indirect Negotiations and Rejects Disarmament
This is beirut/May 12/2026
In a written statement released Tuesday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected calls for the group’s disarmament and urged a return to indirect negotiations with Israel in place of the ongoing direct Lebanese-Israeli talks. “We will not leave the battlefield, and we will turn it into hell for Israel,” Qassem declared. “We will respond to aggression and violations, and we will not return to what existed before March 2.”The message comes as the Lebanese government increasingly faces demands to implement its decision to place all weapons exclusively under state authority, a position publicly reaffirmed in recent months by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
Hezbollah rejects linking disarmament to negotiations
In his statement addressed to Hezbollah fighters, Qassem said “no one outside Lebanon” has the right to discuss Hezbollah’s weapons, describing the matter as a purely internal Lebanese issue and not part of negotiations with Israel. He insisted that discussions over Hezbollah’s arms could only take place after what he described as Lebanon achieving several conditions, including ending Israeli strikes, securing a full Israeli withdrawal from disputed territories, returning detainees, and launching reconstruction. Qassem also rejected ongoing direct Lebanese-Israeli talks backed by Washington, calling instead for indirect negotiations and warning that direct talks represent “pure gains for Israel.” The remarks come as Lebanon prepares for another round of direct U.S.-mediated discussions with Israel in Washington, where the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons is expected to remain central.
Statement closely aligns with Tehran’s negotiating position
Qassem also explicitly linked the prospect of ending Israeli attacks on Lebanon to a potential U.S.-Iran agreement. “The Iranian-American agreement that includes ending the aggression on Lebanon is almost the strongest card to stop the aggression,” he said. The wording appeared to reinforce criticism increasingly voiced by Hezbollah opponents in Lebanon who argue that the group continues to tie Lebanese state interests and security decisions to broader Iranian regional negotiations.

Israel Says 350 Hezbollah Operatives Killed in Over 1,100 Post-Ceasefire Strikes
This is Beirut/May 12/2026
In a recent statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that since the beginning of the ceasefire understandings, the Israeli Air Force has struck “more than 1,100 Hezbollah targets” and killed “more than 350 Hezbollah militants” across southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military added that it “will continue to act against threats directed at Israeli civilians and IDF troops” and that operations are being conducted “in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.”
Lebanese Casualty Figures
The figures released by Israel are relatively consistent with data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, with both sources showing minimal discrepancy, reporting that Israeli strikes since the ceasefire have killed at least 380 people in Lebanon, including 22 children and 39 women.
Lebanese authorities have repeatedly accused Israel of violating the ceasefire arrangement through continued airstrikes and targeted killings in southern Lebanon and other regions of the country. For its part, the Israel Defense Forces accuses Hezbollah of repeatedly violating the ceasefire through weapons transfers, military activity, and attempts to rebuild operational infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Operations Beyond the Litani River
According to data compiled by Alma Research and Education Center, the IDF has conducted 346 airstrikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire began, reflecting the continuation of Israeli operations beyond the area commonly referred to as the “Yellow Line.”The organization states that 206 strikes were conducted south of the Litani River, while 132 strikes were conducted north of the river, indicating that Israeli operations have not been limited to the border region and have extended deeper into Lebanese territory. Since the ceasefire understandings entered into effect, the IDF has also issued several evacuation warnings for areas located north of the Litani River, alleging Hezbollah military activity in civilian zones. One of the most notable strikes occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, where an Israeli airstrike targeted and killed a commander from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit. The strike marked one of the rare Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital’s suburbs since the ceasefire arrangements were announced and underscored Israel’s stated policy of continuing targeted operations against senior Hezbollah figures.

Lebanese–Israeli talks to open in Washington Thursday at 9:00 a.m. US time and continue until 5:00 p.m.: Sources to LBCI
LBCI/May 12/2026
Sources told LBCI that the Lebanese and Israeli delegations are set to begin the third round of talks in Washington on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. local time, continuing until 5:00 p.m., with discussions scheduled to resume on Friday. The sources said the meeting will open with a trilateral session between the delegations, followed by separate consultations as each side returns to its leadership. The delegations will then reconvene for further discussions. In parallel, the sources noted that Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa are both expected to arrive in Washington Tuesday evening. The Lebanese delegation will hold a preparatory meeting on Wednesday ahead of the start of the talks.

Israel Increases Pressure, Widens Ambitions in Lebanon by Carrying Strikes Beyond Litani
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
The ceasefire in southern Lebanon has not really ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has continued its raids on southern villages and the Iran-backed party continues to launch attacks against Israeli forces. The ceasefire has effectively turned into open combat that is gradually expanding from border areas towards Lebanon’s interior as Israel widens the scope of its attacks and warnings to include regions north of the Litani River. The latest warnings covered Mashghara and Qlaia in the western Bekaa. It appears that Israel is shifting the battle from “containing the southern front” to reshaping maps across the south and western Bekaa. Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the military was planning “a wide ground operation in Lebanon to address Hezbollah’s ongoing violations of the ceasefire.”A local source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel is effectively fully occupying 35 Lebanese towns and villages, seven others are until total siege and 82 have received evacuation warnings since the ceasefire took effect. Retired general Naji Malaeb told Asharq Al-Awsat that the developments on the ground in Lebanon “cannot be separated from the geopolitical conflict, meaning geography is being used to serve Israel’s political and military goals.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to extend the yellow line from the Naqoura to Jabal al-Sheikh, increasing Israeli military pressure beyond the areas covered by United Nations resolution 1701 that only covers regions south of the Litani, he added. The repeated attacks on the western Bekaa and the destruction of bridges along the Litani aim to empty these regions of inhabitants and control how the displaced return to them later, he explained. Attacks on the towns of Mashgara, Zlaya and Sohmor are also attempts to apply direct pressure on Hezbollah’s support base, he went on to say.
“Israel views the western Bekaa as a source of logistic and human support for Hezbollah,” Malaeb said, noting that the region has long served as a transit point for weapons smuggled from Syria to the Bekaa and then the south. “So, Tel Aviv wants to sever the link between the Bekaa and south,” he explained. On the military escalation, he highlighted Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s recent remarks that Israel was not in a truce with Lebanon. “This reflects an Israeli conviction that the confrontation will remain open as long as Hezbollah retains its weapons,” said Malaeb. “It is unfortunate that the party has not respected the Lebanese state’s decision to cease attacks, because its continued drone or rocket attacks weaken Lebanon’s diplomatic position,” he added. “Iran is trying to tie the situation in Lebanon to the broader confrontation in the region by demanding that a ceasefire cover all fronts,” he continued. If it is successful, “then Iran would have restored its control over the south and Hezbollah’s role on the border with Israel, destroying Lebanese efforts to separate the Lebanese file from the Iranian negotiations.”
Israeli strikes on a town in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded seven others, state media said Tuesday, as fighting continued despite a ceasefire agreement. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli strikes Monday night hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from capital Beirut. Israel has intensified its attacks in south Lebanon as it trades fire with Hezbollah despite an April 17 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that aimed to halt the fighting.More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2, according to health authorities.

Evolving drone war in southern Lebanon clouds Iran peace prospects
Reuters/May 12, 2026
BEIRUT: While Washington and Tehran argue over a deal to end the attacks on shipping that are shaking the world economy, Iran’s most powerful ally Hezbollah and Israel are stepping up a drone war in Lebanon — on camera — that is complicating the path to peace.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has used cheap, easy-to-assemble First Person View kamikaze drones to transform the war it has been fighting since it began firing on ​Israel on March 2, days after the US-Israeli forces began their attacks on Iran.
Controlled with fiber-optic cables, the FPV drones can evade Israel’s high-tech jamming technologies to target its troops occupying southern Lebanon during a shaky ceasefire announced on April 16, a week after the truce in the wider Iran war began. The Iran-backed group has published videos of more than 45 FPV attacks, 28 of them in the nearly four weeks since the ceasefire, which had halted Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital before Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah commander there on Wednesday.
The truce has also left Israeli ground forces occupying a so-called buffer zone up to 10 km in from the border, in confined territory, which Hezbollah knows well, and vulnerable to such attacks. All of the videos before the ceasefire was announced showed UAVs flying at static positions or vehicles including tanks and excavators, with no fatalities reported by Israel. But since the ceasefire was announced, Hezbollah began targeting groups of soldiers, reporting five attacks. Three Israeli soldiers and one contractor were reported by Israel to have been killed.
Israel is firing back, with at least two deadly FPV drone attacks against Hezbollah in April complete with published drone images purporting to show Hezbollah fighters up close. The widespread use of FPV attack drones began several years ago and thousands of ‌kilometers away in Ukraine, ‌where front lines are covered with netting to defend against Russia’s drones, and where some drone operators are watching Hezbollah.“They are amateurs, but they ​are ‌learning,” said Dmytro Putiata, a ​drone warfare expert serving in Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Brigades.
Iran and mediator Pakistan say any US-Iranian peace agreement must include a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon to prevent an escalation there restarting the wider Iran war. US-mediated direct talks between the Lebanese government and Israel are due to resume on Thursday and Friday, but progress has been slow; Israel insists that Lebanon disarm Hezbollah, which risks reigniting conflict in a country that suffered a 1975-1990 civil war. Hezbollah’s head of media relations, Youssef El-Zein, said the group assessed that continued Israeli troop casualties from FPV drones could force an Israeli withdrawal more effectively than the negotiations with Israel, which Hezbollah opposes. Israeli troops who have invaded southern Lebanon in the current conflict presented “an opportunity, and not a threat,” as they could be more easily targeted, he said. “We know the enemy’s supremacy, but we also know their points of weakness. We are taking advantage of the points of weakness to create that balance,” Zein told reporters.

Israeli Strikes Kill Six in South Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Israeli strikes on a town in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded seven others, state media said Tuesday, as fighting continued despite a ceasefire agreement.Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli strikes Monday night hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from capital Beirut.The NNA reported the wounded were transported to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre. Israel has intensified its attacks in south Lebanon as it trades fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah despite an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that aimed to halt the fighting. More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2, according to health authorities. Lebanese leaders recently urged the US ambassador to Beirut to pressure Israel to halt its attacks during the ceasefire, though Israel has also reported coming under fire. Israel's military said over the weekend that one of its soldiers had been killed in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing its losses to 18 troops and a civilian contractor since the war began. The NNA on Tuesday reported strikes near other southern Lebanese towns, and the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa valley.

Hezbollah Leader Urges Lebanon to Quit Direct Talks with Israel
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group called on the government Tuesday to withdraw from direct talks with Israel, calling them a concession and urging “indirect negotiations.” Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold two days of talks in Washington starting Thursday in an attempt to end the latest fighting that broke out two months ago, following the Iran war, and discuss the future of relations between the two sides that have been at war since Israel was created in 1948. Hezbollah leader urges indirect talks Naim Qassem said in a letter directed to the group’s officials that direct negotiations benefit Israel and that they are “concessions by Lebanese authorities.” He said Lebanon’s government should instead resort to indirect negotiations with Israel, as in previous years, such as when a ceasefire was reached in November 2024. Indirect talks are usually done through a third party. Qassem also said the dispute over Hezbollah’s possession of weapons was an internal affair and shouldn't be part of the talks with Israel. The Lebanese government has sought the disarmament of the armed group after the latest round of fighting broke out in early March, calling all military activities by the group illegal. Lebanese authorities have also demanded cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, deployment of Lebanese troops south of the Litani River, the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel and the return of displaced people to their homes. Qassem said Tuesday his group is ready to cooperate to help achieve the five points demanded by the country's government. Israel and Lebanon trade attacks despite the ceasefire
Despite the US-brokered ceasefire, which went into effect on April 17, Israel and Hezbollah have continued carrying out daily attacks. Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told reporters Tuesday that since the ceasefire went into effect, 380 people have been killed and 1,122 wounded. He added that since the latest war started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the US and Israel attacked Iran, the death toll in Lebanon has reached 2,882 dead and 8,786 wounded. Since the early hours of Tuesday, Israel’s air force carried out strikes in different parts of southern Lebanon as well as the village of Sohmor in the eastern Bekaa Valley, state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said airstrikes on the village of Jibchit killed three and wounded four on Tuesday. The Israeli military had earlier issued an evacuation warning to the residents of Sohmor and four villages in southern Lebanon. The National News Agency reported that an Israeli force entered parts of the southern village of Deir Mimas on the Litani River and blew up a water pumping station that uses solar energy and supplies the village with fresh water. The agency said that the blast at the station at around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) caused wide damage. The Israeli military posted photos of troops along the Litani River, without providing exact location details. Hezbollah issued a statement saying that its fighters struck Israeli troops Tuesday morning near the Litani River in the village of Deir Seryan with rockets. It gave no further details. Also Tuesday, Hezbollah confirmed that one of its military commanders was killed in an airstrike near Beirut last week. The group released a photo of Ahmed Ghaleb Balout describing him as a commander who spent much of his life on the battlefield. Balout was killed May 6 in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut. It was the first airstrike near Beirut since the ceasefire went into effect.  The Israeli military said Thursday it had killed Balout, who it identified as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, along with two other fighters.

From battlefield to talks: Israel expands ground operations in South Lebanon
LBCI/May 12/2026
Israeli forces crossed the Litani River in South Lebanon during an operation carried out by the Golani Brigade, marking a significant escalation on the ground just days before direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli delegations in Washington. According to the Israeli army, the operation went beyond villages along the frontline and the "yellow line," reaching one of the neighborhoods of Zawtar El Charqiyeh. The military described the mission as complex and said robotic systems were deployed to scan the area before troops advanced under heavy fire intended to "soften" the terrain. The army claimed that Hezbollah fighters had prepared for combat in the area. Israeli officials said the operation aimed to secure the northern edge of the buffer zone and establish what they described as "operational control" in the region.
The Israeli military added that forces from the 36th Division had joined Golani Brigade units to consolidate positions deeper inside South Lebanon, clear the area, and maintain a continued presence there.The military development comes two days before the first direct talks in Washington at the level of the heads of the Lebanese and Israeli delegations. The move is widely seen as carrying political and military messages to the parties involved in the talks, particularly as reports indicate that Tel Aviv intends to raise what it calls the "long-term status" of South Lebanon during discussions. Meanwhile, the Israeli army acknowledged that its forces continue to face threats from Hezbollah's explosive drones. It said that since the ceasefire took effect, it has struck at least 100 Hezbollah targets, while stressing that its target list "remains long."

Israeli troops raid Litani river amid clashes with Hezbollah
Agence France Presse/May 12/2026
The Israeli military said on Tuesday its troops had conducted a days-long raid in the area of the Litani river in south Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah persist despite a ceasefire.
In a statement, the military said that over the past week, troops had conducted a "special operation to clear terrorist infrastructure from the Litani area and establish operational control in the area".It said soldiers had been operating south of the Israeli-declared "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometers north of the border and where Israeli forces continue to be stationed. Israeli media reported that troops had gone beyond the Litani river and operated on the outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah.
When asked by AFP, the Israeli military said it was unable to confirm whether troops had crossed the Litani, but it published photos from the operation showing soldiers walking along a bridge traversing a river. Other photos published by the military showed tanks and soldiers operating along the riverbank. "During the operation, the troops located compounds used by Hezbollah terrorists, underground tunnel routes containing large quantities of weapons, weapons storage facilities, and missile launchers," the military said, adding that it had struck more than 100 targets.
It also said troops had "struck and eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat, alongside aerial support."Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire in south Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place since April 17 between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanon's health ministry on Tuesday told AFP that Israeli strikes have killed 380 people since the ceasefire took effect. The Israeli military says five soldiers have been killed by the fighting in south Lebanon since the start of the truce. In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had identified an "unsuccessful attempt to launch a surface-to-air missile toward an Israeli Air Force aircraft," but that no damage or injuries were caused. According to the Israeli media report, troops crossed from the border town of Deir al-Seryan toward Zawtar al-Sharkiya, north of the river. Hezbollah said it targeted troops near the river of Deir al-Seryan, and a Merkava tank in the border town of al-Bayyada near Naqoura. Israeli strikes targeted Tuesday Srifa, Debaal, Dweir, Betoulay, Ras al-Ein, Kafra, Jebshit, and Srifa, in south Lebanon, and Sohmor in the east after ordering its residents to evacuate. Troops detonated a water pumping station in Deir Mimas and houses in Bint Jbeil. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vowed Tuesday that his fighters would turn the battlefield into "hell" for Israeli forces. "We will not surrender and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people, however long it takes and however great the sacrifices... we will not abandon the battlefield and we will turn it into hell for Israel," he said.

President Aoun condemns killing of civil defense members, urges end to Israeli violations
LBCI/May 12/2026
President Joseph Aoun expressed deep sorrow and regret over the killing of two Civil Defense personnel on Tuesday as a result of ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, despite the announcement of a ceasefire. He said that targeting humanitarian and relief workers constitutes a blatant violation of international laws and all humanitarian principles. President Aoun extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the two victims and to the Civil Defense apparatus, praising the sacrifices made by its members in protecting citizens and saving lives under the most difficult circumstances.He stressed that the continuation of Israeli attacks undermines efforts to consolidate calm, adding that he will not hesitate to work with relevant international parties to halt repeated violations and secure a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory.
The President also reaffirmed his commitment to continuing diplomatic contacts and efforts with Arab and friendly countries and the international community, with the aim of protecting Lebanese sovereignty and ensuring the safety and stability of the Lebanese people.

Lebanon Says Israeli Strike Kills Two Civil Defense Personnel
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Lebanon's civil defense agency said two of its personnel were killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday while they were on duty in the country's south. The personnel were killed in "an Israeli airstrike that targeted them while they were carrying out a rescue mission" after a previous strike in the city of Nabatieh, a civil defence statement said. According to AFP, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 380 people since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war began on April 17, citing Lebanon's Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine. The overall toll in Israeli strikes since the war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2 has reached 2,882 people including 279 women and 200 children, he added. Since the ceasefire, "380 people have been killed and 1,122 wounded," Nassereddine said. A ministry official told AFP that the toll includes 39 women and 22 children. Under the terms of the truce released by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".In addition to carrying out ongoing airstrikes, Israeli troops have been operating behind a so-called "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) north of the border between the two countries. Some 108 emergency and health workers are among the overall death toll while 249 others have been wounded and "16 hospitals have been damaged" since the start of the conflict, Nassereddine said. "It's a massacre... there are no armed men or fighters in these (ambulance) vehicles, just medical equipment and wounded, contrary to what Israel says," he added. Lebanese leaders on Monday urged the United States to pressure Israel to halt its attacks, which have intensified in recent days. The appeal came as Lebanese and Israeli representatives are set to meet later this week in Washington for a third round of direct talks.

Lebanon-Israel war: Latest developments
Naharnet/May 12/2026
Strikes targeted Tuesday afternoon al-Henniyyeh, Kherbet Selem, Qsaybeh, Harees, Tayrdebba, and Ras al-Ain south of Tyre, while Hezbollah claimed drone attacks on a soldier and a Merkava tank in north Israel near the border with Houla. The Israeli army renewed its warning to four villages in south Lebanon -- Arzoun, Tayrdebba, Bazourieh and al-Hosh. The strike on a motorbike on the Tayrdebba road killed a Syrian citizen and his wife, the National News Agency said. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 380 people since a nominal ceasefire began on April 17. A ministry official said that "380 people, including 22 children and 39 women, have been killed in strikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire came into effect", out of a total of around 2,900 people killed since the war erupted on March 2. Under the terms of the truce released by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks". In addition to carrying out ongoing airstrikes, Israeli troops have been operating behind a so-called "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometers north of the border between the two countries.

UAE designates 16 individuals, five entities on Local Terrorist List over Hezbollah links
Al Arabiya English/12 May ,2026
The United Arab Emirates has designated 16 individuals and five entities on its Local Terrorist List over their links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, WAM news agency reported on Tuesday.“The move forms part of the UAE’s ongoing efforts, both domestically and internationally, to disrupt and dismantle networks linked to the financing of terrorism and related activities, whether direct or indirect,” WAM reported. It added that the decision “reflects the UAE’s firm and longstanding commitment to combating terrorism and extremism in all forms, and to preventing the financing of terrorist groups and organisations.” All 16 individuals are Lebanese nationals while all five entities, which include al-Qard al-Hassan, are headquartered in Lebanon, the report added.

Lebanon’s proposed amnesty law sparks debate over justice, sentencing and prison overcrowding
LBCI/May 12/2026
When general amnesty is mentioned in Lebanon, memories often return to the post-civil war amnesty law of 1991, which closed one of the country’s bloodiest chapters under the principle of “forgive and forget.”But the proposal currently under discussion in parliament is not a revival of the 1991 law. Instead, it focuses primarily on exceptionally reducing certain prison sentences rather than granting blanket pardons. Under the proposal, detainees would not be released without trial. The draft law centers on reducing prison terms, particularly those tied to death sentences and life imprisonment, while also seeking to accelerate delayed judicial proceedings and address the cases of detainees who have not been tried or remain held without arrest warrants. The renewed debate comes amid growing criticism of delays within Lebanon’s judicial system and worsening prison overcrowding. Lebanese prisons currently hold more than 8,000 inmates and detainees, many of whom have not yet received final verdicts. Critics argue that when detainees spend years awaiting trial or sentencing, calls for general amnesty become the result of institutional dysfunction rather than part of a comprehensive justice reform plan. Concerns surrounding the proposed law have centered on whether it could apply to serious crimes, including rape, embezzlement of public funds, murder, treason, espionage and drug trafficking, as well as whether it could override personal legal claims filed by victims’ families. Sources told LBCI that discussions held in Baabda between several MPs — at their request — and President Joseph Aoun, in the presence of Defense Minister Michel Menassa, resulted in an agreement on three key disputed points. The first concerns sentencing. Death penalties would be replaced with 20 years in prison, while life sentences would also be converted into 20 years in prison. Under Lebanese law, one prison year is calculated as nine months.
The second point relates to clearly defining prison terms, while the third concerns the treatment of merged or cumulative sentences. Discussions also addressed the cases of individuals who failed to appear before the courts and remain fugitives. However, the proposal to release detainees without trial was rejected. Officials instead agreed that such detainees should face trial and would not benefit from any amnesty measures. Despite the reported agreement, political divisions quickly resurfaced. Parliamentary sources told LBCI that Monday’s joint parliamentary committees session was canceled after some lawmakers objected to what they described as the exclusion of several MPs from the Baabda meeting. Political discussions so far do not indicate that a final consensus has been reached over the proposed law, nor that a new parliamentary committee session will be scheduled soon. Discussions, however, are expected to continue in the coming days.

Salam says Lebanon seeking US guarantees
Naharnet/May 12/2026
Amid preparations for the third round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Washington, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam clarified that "at the top of our agenda is solidifying the ceasefire." "Our demands are well-known: a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal, the release of prisoners and their return to Lebanon, and the return of displaced persons to their towns and villages, thus enabling the commencement of reconstruction," Salam said in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper. Regarding Lebanon's demands from the United States, he stated: "We want and are working with the American side to translate what was mentioned twice in the statement issued by the US Embassy in Beirut concerning the negotiations into concrete action. The statement spoke of American guarantees, and we are seeking and demanding a practical and effective implementation of these guarantees." Salam reiterated that "no one negotiates on behalf of Lebanon except the Lebanese state, although we are fully aware that the future of the negotiations is affected by the Islamabad negotiations concerning the war between Iran, the United States, and Israel." On the other hand, commenting on his visit to Damascus last Saturday, he noted: "We will remain in constant contact to confront the shared challenges in the region, and we have succeeded in giving new impetus to the necessary cooperation between Lebanon and Syria for the common good, within the framework of a sound state-to-state relationship." He added: "We have concluded the work of the Supreme Council, which had been frozen, but we need a permanent cooperation framework. We are in the process of forming a joint high-level committee, similar to the existing high-level committees between Lebanon and Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan."

Lebanese-Israeli Negotiations and the Near Future
Colonel Charbel Barakat/May 12/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154432/
What is the true status of the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, and who is actually interested in them? After the war on Iran and the significant weakening of its power, observers are wondering why the American president, who is orchestrating the situation, has not wanted to conclude the mission despite the possibility of doing so. Are there other related issues that he is trying to include in a comprehensive regional deal? Why is the remnants of the Iranian regime being given time, or even being allowed to survive, given that it no longer possesses any practical capabilities, while President Trump holds the coup de grâce to its head, with no partner in the decision-making other than his moral ally, Mr. Netanyahu? On the other hand, we see that giving Israel a free hand in Lebanon, to eliminate the remnants of the mullahs' regime and cleanse the Shiite-majority areas of their inhabitants and even their property, is an ongoing process that is progressing steadily and flawlessly. The displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese Shiites from the south and the destruction of infrastructure and homes do not require justification as long as Hezbollah claims to be fighting and resisting, even achieving victory, pursuing the "enemy," inflicting losses upon it, and even shelling the Israeli interior. Faced with the dire situation of its citizens, particularly the Shia, the Lebanese state could no longer remain silent, even in the eyes of the world. President Aoun offered his readiness for direct negotiations with the Israelis to reach an understanding on solutions as a prelude to a ceasefire. This was unacceptable to Hezbollah, which seeks to justify its refusal to relinquish its weapons in any ceasefire talks, disregarding the limits of the community's endurance. Hezbollah even insisted on linking any agreement to the Iranian position. Hence, its calls to sabotage negotiations before they even begin, using various pretexts such as refusing direct negotiations, not pursuing sustainable solutions (i.e., raising the issue of peace), or even adhering to the terms of a truce and preventing cross-border incursions. All it wants is a temporary ceasefire to reorganize its ranks, rearm, reinforce its positions, and fill vacant leadership posts in anticipation of a new round of fighting. President Berri supported this proposal, of course, in addition to his partner Jumblatt, whose position is usually understood to be in harmony with the professor’s position, and may be “for a reason in Jacob’s mind,” or perhaps as we say, “too good to be bad.”
At the regional level, President Trump wanted to empower Iran's neighbors so they would feel they were contributing to lasting stability, not just absorbing attacks. He invited Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and even Egypt to participate in setting the terms for who would govern the new Iran. These countries had differing visions with the previous regime, which could contribute to shaping and solidifying a lasting peace in the region. Hence, Pakistan was given the role of hosting and facilitating the negotiations, as it had not been directly targeted by Iran, nor had it always been in agreement with its leadership on strategic choices. However, some of these countries failed to grasp the true nature of their assigned role, perhaps because they were unaccustomed to being consulted on crucial matters. Therefore, instead of seeking a new vision for regional relations that considered the changes and forces that, along with the United States, had helped to curtail the Iranian regime's capabilities, they reverted to outdated and obsolete approaches. They failed to grasp the true nature of the invitation, as their media and opinion leaders remained deluded by the Iranian regime's capacity for aggression, on the one hand, and by clinging to the role of leading the Arab consensus, which proved ineffective in confronting Iranian hegemonic projects or in forging a unified stance against the Muslim Brotherhood's
agenda, on the other. Turkey, under Erdoğan's patronage, and Qatar, with financial support, had turned their attention to toppling the regime in Egypt and obstructing the effects of Ibn Salman's reforms in Saudi Arabia. They failed to understand the crucial role of Israel in maintaining stability and stabilizing the situation. Within this context, we can understand the Saudi and Egyptian attempts to influence Lebanon's position regarding negotiations and to curb the government's momentum toward peace, which could contribute to shaping a better future for the country within the framework of proposed solutions for the region. Some argue that President Trump is the one pushing for a meeting between the Lebanese president and the Israeli prime minister, and this may be true. However, the Israelis' enthusiasm for the idea of negotiating with Lebanon and reaching final solutions has led them to temper their enthusiasm, exposing their game and thwarting their plan, which was merely a stalling tactic. The Lebanese, especially the Shiites, are daily relinquishing their rights to life and survival, and are being driven towards displacement from their country. They neither refrain from creating pretexts for war against them, nor do they cease supporting their aggressors who persistently seek to hold them responsible for the mistakes of the Revolutionary Guard, which no longer possesses the means to defend itself, let alone wage a war thousands of kilometers away from its homeland, with which it has neither road nor ally.
Hezbollah has hindered the openness of Lebanese Shiites and their contribution to the country's success, delaying their progress as a society and confining their role to spreading the hatred it imported from the Iranian mullahs. As a result, it has dragged them back to tribal times and tied them to a system out of step with history. Will their fate resemble that of these people? Or will the demographic engineering projects include them, forcing them away from Lebanon's shores and into Iranian regions of Central Asia? In that case, the displacement of some, even if it reaches hundreds of thousands, would not affect the ninety million inhabitants of the country, as they have been nurtured on Iranian ideology and educated in the same programs in their schools and communities. The Lebanese state, which has acquiesced to occupations for fifty years, has seen its ruling elite take no action to avert this bleak fate. It continues to waver in its decisions and hesitate in its choices, failing to escape the clutches of hegemony and preventing anyone with a vision from contributing to its salvation. Therefore, the war will continue, the destruction will increase, and displacement will become the only option. All the billions of dollars amassed by Mrs. Randa and her esteemed husband, the perpetually cunning ruler, will be of no avail, nor will they accompany anyone to the grave. The palaces built with the money of the oppressed will bring ruin and destruction upon their owners. As the southern proverb says, "If one land is watered, another will be watered," and Ali Hassan Khalil's palace in Khiam will not be the only witness to this fate. Some say that the Arabs, especially the Saudis, are behind convincing the Lebanese of Hezbollah's choice regarding negotiations, and this may be true. However, we do not believe that the Al Saud have forgotten what Hezbollah and its masters, the mullahs, plotted against them. They are not unaware of the bombing of Mecca, the Khobar Towers bombing, and other attacks, nor the mullahs' plans to incite sectarian strife in Qatif, nor what Sayyed Hassan and his successors said about them. And of course, there are all the Captagon smuggling operations aimed at destabilizing Saudi society from within. We know that Bedouins often exact revenge after forty years, and so what is being prepared for them may be a rejection of solutions so that the outcome will be as harsh as possible, including cleansing Lebanese soil of evil and those who harbor it once and for all. President Trump's attempt to help Lebanon recover will be rejected by the intransigence of these people and their followers, and from there, hands will be unleashed to implement merciless plans. We grieve for every innocent person who has fallen
victim to injustice and for every soul that has been misled, not knowing where to turn for protection or to whom to seek refuge.

Aoun’s Anticipated Washington Visit a Rare Opportunity for Lebanon
Samar El-Kadi/This is beirut/May 12/2026
As Lebanon prepares to continue U.S.-mediated talks with Israel later this week, a potential trip by President Joseph Aoun to Washington is increasingly being viewed in Beirut as a rare opportunity that cannot be missed. “President Aoun should absolutely go to Washington,” Lebanese Forces MP Ghayyath Yazbeck told This is Beirut. “He represents more than 80 percent of the Lebanese people and has the legitimacy and duty to negotiate in Lebanon’s name.”While the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on April 30 urged President Joseph Aoun to visit the White House for a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Aoun said such a meeting would be premature. Instead, he said on May 4 that Lebanon and Israel should first reach a security agreement.
Meanwhile, Lebanon has raised its level of representation for talks with Israel in Washington scheduled for Thursday and Friday by including President Joseph Aoun’s envoy, Simon Karam. “These talks aim to break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades,” the U.S. State Department said.
Rare and Important Window
Political and military analyst Riad Kahwaji described the U.S.-mediated talks as a “rare and extremely important opportunity” for Beirut to restore state sovereignty and secure international support. “The only party in the world capable of exerting real influence on Israel to stop the war is the United States, especially [U.S. President] Donald Trump,” Kahwaji said in an interview with This is Beirut. “Trump’s willingness to give Lebanon time to address its internal issues is an opportunity that should not be wasted or taken lightly,” he added.
Yazbeck echoed this view, describing the current diplomatic initiative as a historic opportunity for Lebanon to break free from Iran’s influence exerted through Hezbollah. “Such occasions have happened three times in Lebanon: in 1982 when the PLO left, in 2005 when the Syrians withdrew, and now with the possibility of ending Iran’s influence,” Yazbeck told This is Beirut. Kahwaji said the ongoing negotiations could strengthen the Lebanese state in its long-standing efforts to reclaim authority from Hezbollah, which he described as the dominant force despite the state’s formal authority. “These talks will empower the state and bring more force and support to help it fulfill its mission,” he said. “The question is whether President Aoun is willing to go all the way.”
Confronting Hezbollah
As U.S.-mediated direct talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv have progressed since early April, Hezbollah has repeatedly criticized Lebanese state leaders, including President Joseph Aoun, over the negotiations. Aoun issued a sharp rebuke to Hezbollah on April 27. “What I am doing is not treason,” he said, defending his support for the talks.“Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to serve foreign interests,” Aoun added, in reference to Hezbollah opening a front against Israel in support of Tehran on March 2. The key challenge facing the Lebanese state and its president, according to Kahwaji, is how to translate its decisions and rhetoric on Hezbollah into tangible action. “What if Hezbollah rebels against the state and tries to use force?” he asked. “Is Aoun willing and ready to respond?” The Lebanese government is caught between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and lacks the means to fully enforce sovereign decisions, according to Yazbeck. He said the state must either gradually assert authority over Hezbollah-controlled areas and seek stronger international backing. “Aoun should go to Washington with cards in his hands and be determined to tighten the noose around Hezbollah,” Yazbeck said. “Otherwise, no country in the world will take Lebanon seriously.”Despite rising political tensions and threats from figures aligned with Hezbollah, Yazbeck dismissed speculation that Aoun could face repercussions if he travels to Washington.
“This falls within the framework of political intimidation,” Yazbeck said. Kahwaji argued that Hezbollah is facing mounting pressure from within Lebanon's Shia community. He said the community has become increasingly fatigued by conflict and economic hardship. Kahwaji suggested that a negotiated settlement with Israel could isolate Hezbollah politically if endorsed by Lebanon’s government and parliament. At the same time, he stressed that Washington must continue pressing Israel to avoid expanding its military operations deeper into Lebanon. As Lebanon and Israel press forward with diplomatic engagement, and Hezbollah continues to challenge a fragile ceasefire, President Joseph Aoun faces a delicate moment. “The time for hesitation is over,” the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said in its call for Aoun to meet Netanyahu in Washington.

Lebanon’s Peace Should Not Wait on Saudi Arabia
Marwan El Amine/This is beirut/May 12/2026
At the most immediate level, the U.S.-brokered push for Lebanon-Israel diplomacy faces the obstacle of Hezbollah’s weapons—or, more precisely, the arsenal of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Lebanese territory. The drive for diplomacy must also overcome a shortsighted approach to peace that is emerging in Lebanon. Some Lebanese sovereigntist political forces and state figures argue that any potential progress toward normalization with Israel should be conditioned on a broader regional track, specifically Saudi Arabia’s position. As such, they seek to make Lebanon’s sovereign decisions contingent on regional power balances. This argument is not new in Lebanon. It reproduces the logic entrenched by late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad during Syria’s hegemony over Lebanon. Assad consistently sought to link Lebanon to Syria in negotiations with Israel, promoting the notion that Lebanon would be “the last Arab country” to sign a peace agreement. This was part of Assad’s broader strategy to keep Lebanon within Syria’s sphere of influence and use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations with regional and international actors. It also helped cement Lebanon as an arena for conflict against Israel, in contrast to the Golan Heights, where Assad avoided confrontation. In this context, linking Lebanon’s diplomacy with Israel to Saudi Arabia’s position on normalization with Jerusalem makes little sense, especially since a Lebanon-Israel peace agreement would protect Lebanon without harming Saudi interests.
Instead, normalization with Israel should be advanced independently. Continuing to tie Beirut’s decision-making to the calculations of foreign states, regardless of which ones, prolongs the state of war and leaves Lebanon hostage to shifting regional balances. The objective is to close the southern front, a battleground for decades, and end Lebanon’s misuse as an arena for regional conflicts. Since the Cairo Agreement of 1969—a turning point that transformed Lebanese territory into an open arena for the conflicts of others—Lebanon has paid a heavy security, economic, and human price unmatched by any other Arab country. Lebanon can no longer bear additional burdens or political posturing from any side, whether from domestic factions or Arab states. Accordingly, decoupling Beirut’s diplomatic initiative for peace from Saudi Arabia’s position would prioritize Lebanon’s national interests. A comparison of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia’s respective situations underscores Beirut’s far greater imperative for peace. In terms of sovereignty, Saudi Arabia exercises full control over its territory and is not used as a proxy battlefield, whereas Lebanon continues to serve as an arena for the IRGC. In Lebanon, pursuing peace aims to eliminate the pretext of “resistance” used to justify military activity along the southern border. Saudi Arabia has one of the region’s strongest economies, bolstered by a cohesive state structure with full sovereign capacities. This affords it considerable room for maneuver and the luxury of time in approaching normalization with Israel. Delaying peace does not impose direct costs on its internal stability, economic development, or urban growth.
By contrast, Lebanon is mired in a severe economic crisis intersecting with the challenges of an ongoing conflict. The country, already suffering from an unprecedented financial collapse, has been drawn by Hezbollah into what is arguably the most dangerous war in its history. Thousands have been killed, while Lebanon has suffered massive destruction on a scale never before witnessed, as Israel continues to occupy parts of its territory. This reality compounds Lebanon’s human and material losses on a daily basis while further undermining domestic stability.
Between the Lebanese and Saudi realities, the question of time and its cost is decisive. What may be tolerable for Saudi Arabia is unsustainable for Lebanon. Based on these considerations, Lebanon’s national interests dictate accelerating the path toward peace with Israel as an existential necessity to halt the ongoing state of attrition. Peace would pave the way for ending Lebanon’s state of war, securing Israel’s military withdrawal, and launching a comprehensive reconstruction process. It would allow displaced families to return to their homes and halt the open-ended bleeding of the Lebanese state and society.

The "Last Mile" of Hezbollah's Disarmament: Washington Holds the Key
Marwan El Amine/This is beirut/May 12/2026
There is no doubt that Israel has inflicted a severe blow on Hezbollah, weakening not only its battlefield capabilities but also significantly eroding its regional role. However, its complete dismantling as a military force ultimately depends on U.S. pressure on Iran. Hezbollah no longer resembles the organization it was prior to launching its campaign against Israel on October 8, 2023, in “support” of Gaza. At that time, Hezbollah was widely regarded as the cornerstone of Iran’s regional project and one of Tehran’s most effective instruments for projecting influence. The Iranian proxy intervened directly in the Syrian civil war on behalf of the regime of now-deposed Bashar al-Assad, while also supporting Tehran’s security machinations in Iraq and Yemen. Hezbollah’s security and intelligence networks extended into several Gulf states, with reach and repercussions across Europe, South America, and Africa. Since then, Israel has assassinated Hezbollah’s top officials, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, a central architect in the expansion of Iran’s regional influence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once described Nasrallah as the second most important figure in the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was later killed by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, 2026. Despite sustaining significant losses in its wars with Israel, Hezbollah continues to exert extensive influence within Lebanon. This is reflected in its de facto control over key areas on the ground, as well as its ability to shape decisions of war and peace in Lebanon through its military and security apparatuses. The result is that Hezbollah wields substantial leverage within Lebanese political life. It stands as one of the main obstacles to progress in diplomatic efforts between Lebanon and Israel, limiting the prospects of a peace agreement between the two countries. Once the crown jewel of Iran’s regional project, Hezbollah received significant political, financial, and military support from Tehran. This reflected Hezbollah’s role as Iran’s most important strategic asset, both in the conflict with Israel and in shaping the regional balance of power in the Middle East. Today, however, the picture is markedly different. As Hezbollah’s regional influence erodes, Iran’s continued investment in the group appears increasingly costly relative to the political and strategic returns it once generated.
From this perspective, the Iranian regime may place less strategic value on Hezbollah as an asset. The militia’s value as a bargaining chip is diminishing, as neither Washington nor Tel Aviv appears willing to make significant concessions. Israel has arguably already accomplished much of its objective of weakening Hezbollah by reducing the strategic value the group offers the Iranian regime. Moreover, Israel continues to launch daily waves of strikes against Hezbollah’s military and security infrastructure, deepening attrition and further eroding its capabilities.
Yet despite its significance, Israeli military action alone is unlikely to be sufficient to compel Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons or dismantle its military apparatus. A decision of this magnitude is not made in Beirut’s southern suburbs, but in Tehran. Accordingly, the “last mile” in ending Hezbollah’s military role now rests largely with the U.S., after Tel Aviv has completed much of the operational groundwork. This entails Washington compelling Tehran to dismantle Hezbollah’s military structure. Consequently, the prospects for peace between Lebanon and Israel are now influenced less by developments between Beirut and Jerusalem than by the trajectory of Washington’s policy toward Tehran.

The ‘Patriotism’ of Hezbollah as the Perfect Antithesis of Patriotism
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 12/2026
The Dutch-American political scientist Arend Lijphart developed what he called "consociational democracy," a democratic system in which the leaders of prominent social communities share power in order to ensure that no single group dominates the others.
Accordingly, consociational democracy has been presented as a governance model for societies whose stability emanates from cooperation among the elites of its various communities rather than from majority rule. Its defining features include the formation of broad coalitions among community leaders, each community’s right to a veto over decisions it considers a threat to its interests, a sensible distribution of political power and resources, and a degree of autonomy or self-governance for each community.
The Netherlands was Lijphart's original model. It was a society split into several "pillars": Catholic, Protestant, socialist, and liberal. Each pillar had its own schools, media, and organizations; at the top, however, the elites of each pillar worked together. Lebanon was a key case study of consociationalism of Lijphart's, alongside Belgium, Switzerland, and of course, the Netherlands, as well as less complete cases such as Malaysia, Cyprus, and Canada. Later, other scholars added Bosnia, post-2003 Iraq, and South Africa during its transition.
This theory has faced and continues to face criticism. However, its fundamental assumption is its most compelling idea: distinguishing between cases where consensus is limited, and there are many subcultures, which demand some sort of consociational arrangement, and cases of broad consensus and few subcultures, where majority rule can function more straightforwardly. Lebanon is not the only country in our region that falls into the first category, though it is the most conspicuous.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that one of the surest ways to undercut this "consociation” is for one component of a divided society to wage a foreign conflict that the other components, for whatever reason, have not endorsed. The decision to declare neutrality for Switzerland at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which reshaped Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, was implicitly partly driven by the fact that the country is home to several national communities, each of which is an extension of a neighboring country: France, Germany, and Italy. Accordingly, very little daylight separates embroiling the country in foreign conflicts from civil war, rendering neutrality a fundamental need and a national doctrine for a people who chose not to be an outpost of their neighbors.
Despite the criticisms, some well-founded, of how consociationalism has been practiced in Lebanon, the architects of the Lebanese system were always mindful of this need, and this was reflected by the fact that both Beshara al-Khoury and Riad al-Solh’s names have been coupled with the independence of 1943.
Nothing did more to hinder addressing the grievances of Muslim communities than prioritizing foreign alignments, first with Nasserism and then the Palestinian revolution. When these tensions, in the mid-1970s, morphed into a long and bitter war that did not end until the late 1980s, much of those grievances were addressed by the Taif Accord that improved the terms of the consociational framework.
It is no exaggeration to say that today, Hezbollah’s arms are the single biggest impediment to the emergence of any form of consensus. These arms aggravate fears and replace the trust that should prevail among citizens of what is supposed to be a single country with mutual suspicion, and they push the country into foreign wars that make consensus all but impossible. That much can be said before getting into how the anguish of displacement, an extension of the war, is fodder for latent civil conflicts.
The fact that consensus, in the Lebanese case, is the ultimate requisite for any viable form of patriotism renders ascribing patriotism to Hezbollah and its war, as some have, wholly untenable. Indeed, they become a textbook case of patriotism’s antithesis. A war that at least two-thirds of the Lebanese do not believe in and had been dragged into cannot also be "patriotic," nor can disregard for the elected institutions that have banned the party's weapons - to say nothing of Hezbollah’s ties to Iran and its Revolutionary Guard that the party itself does not deny.
Three interlinked premises underpin the argument that the party and its war are "patriotic.” The first is an implicit definition of the nation that ignores the pluralistic nature of its society and the sub-cultures of its communities, presenting the country’s divisions as a split between "right" and "left" or "dignity" and "humiliation." The second is branding a large majority of the population traitors and slandering them for rejecting a fateful choice made by a small minority and imposed by force of arms. The third is a definition of patriotism founded not on consensus, but on dominating and subjugating "the enemies of the people."
Here, the definition of patriotism is flipped on its head; it is determined on the basis of one’s hostility toward some foreign actor - "patriotism is hostility to imperialism and Zionism" - rather than the extent to which one complies with and develops national consensus. This definition is not, of course, subject to consulting the various communities' views; rather, it brands those who demand such consultation as traitors.
These qualities, since they add authoritarianism and misrepresentation to this anti-patriotism, threaten, through perpetual war and the staggering human and economic costs that come with it, to drive the majority of the population toward a civil conflict that would destroy any notion of a nationhood and sense of national identity. That is precisely what is happening in Lebanon today.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 12-13 May/2026
Trump '100% confident' Iran will stop enriching uranium, will hand over remaining stockpiles
Naharnet/May 12/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is "100% confident" that Iran will stop enriching uranium and will hand over the enriched material that it possesses to the U.S. In a radio interview, Trump also emphasized that Washington will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, and claimed that his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "excellent." "We don't have to rush anything. We have a blockade which allows them no money. It's a very simple thing: we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, because they'd use it," Trump said. "If [the nuclear weapon] explodes, it would be an unimaginable disaster," Trump continued.The US president also claimed that Iran would already have achieved nuclear weapons if his previous administration had not withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, initially signed by then-president Barack Obama.
"If I had not canceled the agreement, they would have had nuclear weapons four years ago," Trump said. "It was a sure path to nuclear weapons, and there was nothing you could have done to stop it," he added. Trump also said that the Iranians had pledged to stop enriching uranium. "They're going to stop, and they told me they're going to give us the dust."
Trump also said that he "gets along great with Bibi (Netanyahu). We were partners in the truest sense of the word." "You wouldn't have Israel without me," he said.
Meanwhile, U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed a congressional committee, saying that "Iran has effectively tried to use the North Korea strategy, with such overwhelming capabilities, conventionally, that no one would dare prevent them from pursuing a nuclear weapon."
"It took President Trump to have the courage to make that historic decision, and hopefully we can get that across the finish line with negotiations, which are ongoing right now," Hegseth added.

Pentagon Says US Cost of Iran War Nearing $29 billion
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
The Pentagon said Tuesday that the cost of the war with Iran had climbed to nearly $29 billion, as President Donald Trump faced mounting scrutiny over the conflict and its impact on military readiness. The new figure, revealed by the Defense Department during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, is about $4 billion higher than the estimate offered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth two weeks ago. Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were testifying on a $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 alongside Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III when they were asked for an update on the war's price tag. "At the time of testimony... it was $25 billion dollars," Hurst told lawmakers, referring to Hegseth's April 29 estimate. "But the joint staff team and the comptroller are constantly looking at estimates and now we think it is closer to 29."

Treasury Department Tells US Banks to Flag Suspected Iranian Money-Laundering Networks
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
The Treasury Department wants US banks and other financial institutions to monitor for suspected Iranian money laundering networks that use their funds to smuggle sanctioned oil through shell companies and crypto networks. The move, which effectively deputizes the global financial system to help disrupt Iran’s sanctions-evasion infrastructure, comes as the US and Iran reached another impasse over how to end their war while their ceasefire has grown increasingly shaky. President Donald Trump on Monday said the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after he rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to end the war. The Trump administration is calling on banks to flag certain customers who may launder funds for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, including newly formed companies moving unusually large amounts of money, firms that route payments through multiple intermediaries or transactions connected to Iranian crypto firms, among other indicators. As part of the US initiative to monitor Iranian oil sales, banks are being asked to watch out for oil labeled as “Malaysian blend” to disguise its Iranian origin, missing or falsified shipping documents or ship-to-ship oil transfers that obscure where cargo came from. A Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network report released Monday says oil firms linked to Iran conducted roughly $4 billion in transactions in 2024. And dozens of shipping companies based in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong — all connected to transporting sanctioned Iranian oil — processed about $707 million through US accounts in 2024. Along with a bombing campaign in Iran, the Trump administration has turned toward an economic-focused effort aimed at choking Tehran into submission, through sanctions and the threat of secondary sanctions on Iran's allies. In April, Treasury sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, and others threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran and accusing those countries of allowing Iranian illicit activities to flow through their financial institutions.

Iran’s Guards hold military drills in capital as ceasefire teeters
AFP/May 12, 2026
TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards held military exercises in capital Tehran to prepare for any confrontation, state media reported Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump warned a ceasefire in the Middle East war was on the brink of collapse. The drills involved the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, as well as the Basij, a paramilitary force affiliated with the Guards, according to state TV. “Enhancing combat capability to confront any movement of the American-Zionist enemy was one of the goals and scenarios implemented in this drill, which was successfully carried out,” Brig. Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of the Tehran Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying by state TV. The war, which started more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, spread across the Middle East and damaged the global economy, affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz — a vital route out of the Gulf for oil, gas and fertilizer, seeking to wield economic leverage over the United States and its allies.
The US Navy, meanwhile, is blockading Iran’s ports, at times disabling or diverting ships heading to and from them.

Iran Could Enrich Uranium to Weapons Grade if Attacked, Lawmaker Warns
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Iranian parliamentary spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei said on Tuesday that the country could enrich uranium up to 90% purity, a level considered weapons-grade, if Iran is attacked again. "One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment. We will review it in the ‌parliament," Rezaei, who ‌is spokesperson for the parliamentary ‌national security ⁠and foreign policy ⁠commission, posted on X. US President Donald Trump said on Monday an ongoing ceasefire between the US and Iran was on "life support" after dismissing an Iranian proposal, underscoring how fragile diplomatic efforts to ⁠end the conflict remain. Last June, ‌Trump said ‌Iran's nuclear facilities were "obliterated" by US and Israeli ‌strikes during a 12-day war, severely ‌limiting Iran's capacity to enrich uranium. The fate of around 400kg of uranium enriched to 60%, a short technical step from roughly ‌90% weapons-grade material, remains unclear. US intelligence assessments suggest Tehran's nuclear program will ⁠not ⁠be significantly impeded unless that highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile is removed or destroyed. The nuclear issue has been a key point of contention in talks between the US and Iran to end the conflict that began in late February. Tehran wants nuclear topics discussed at a later stage, while Washington insists Iran should move its highly enriched uranium stockpile abroad and renounce domestic enrichment.

US defense secretary faces new round of questioning from Congress over Iran war
The Associated Press/12 May ,2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced tough questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday about the Trump administration’s end game for the Iran war, the conflict’s costs and its impact on diminishing weapons stockpiles.
For this part, the Pentagon chief softened his tone from previous hearings on Capitol Hill in his opening remarks, which notably lacked criticism of lawmakers and outlined the Trump administration’s efforts to expand the military’s industrial base.
The powerful House and Senate subcommittees that oversee defense spending are holding back-to-back hearings to review the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which calls for a historic allocation of $1.5 trillion. The discussions in the House quickly veered into the handling of a war that higher fuel prices pose political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told Hegseth that the “question must be answered at the end of this crisis: What have we accomplished and at what cost?”“This administration has not presented Congress with any kind of clear or coherent strategy week to week, day to day, hour to hour,” DeLauro said. “The rationale shifts, the objectives change. The end game is ill defined when it is defined at all.”
California Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, the House subcommittee’s chair, also asked about the impact of the Iran war on funding as well as the US military’s weapons stockpiles. “Questions persist about whether we are building the depth and reliance required for a high end conflict,” Calvert said. “The world has grown more dangerous, more complex, and more interconnected in its risks,” Calvert said. “China is modernizing its military at a pace and scale that is alarming. Russia continues to wage a brutal war of aggression. And while Iran and their proxies have been dealt a severe blow, they remain a threat.”Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, asked for a breakdown of funding needs for the Iran war. “We’ve asked several times for a complete update on munitions levels, and it has not been provided,” she said.
McCollum also pressed Hegseth on whether the US military has a plan to draw down troops if Congress passes a war powers resolution to end the conflict. Hegseth said the military has a plan to pull out, but also to escalate or shift assets if necessary.
“But certainly in this setting, we wouldn’t reveal what the next step may be, considering the gravity of the mission that the president is undertaking to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb,” Hegseth said. The defense secretary also said that concerns over the military’s weapons stockpiles, drawn down from the Iran war, have been “unhelpfully overstated.”
“We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need,” Hegseth told lawmakers. He said the defense industry has been told to “build more and build faster,” while blaming the military industrial base’s inadequate capacity on previous administrations and US aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. “We are rebuilding a military that the American people can be proud of, one that instills nothing less than the unrelenting fear in our adversaries and confidence in our allies,” Hegseth said. President Donald Trump is facing increasing pressure from the economic shocks of Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor where 20 percent of the world’s oil normally flows. The US military in turn has blockaded Iranian ports and the two sides have traded fire , with American forces thwarting attacks on their warships and disabling Tehran-linked oil tankers. Trump said Monday that the ceasefire is on “massive life support” and criticized Iran for its latest proposal, pointing to his demands that Iran significantly limit its nuclear program. “I would call it the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us,” Trump said. The Republican president also said he wanted to suspend the federal gas tax to help Americans shoulder surging fuel prices . He has previously said higher costs are worth it to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Tuesday’s hearings will give a mostly new group of lawmakers the chance to grill or applaud Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the planning and execution of the war. That includes Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican whose re-election this year is far from guaranteed. She voted with Democrats on an effort to halt the conflict late last month, saying she wants to see a defined strategy for bringing the war to a close. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, has voted against the string of unsuccessful war powers resolutions but spoken of the need for congressional authorization so Americans will know the war’s limits and objectives. Hegseth and Caine had faced marathon hearings two weeks ago before the House and Senate Armed Services committees, which mostly traced the well-worn positions of both parties. In the previous hearings, Hegseth notably said the ceasefire paused a 60-day deadline for congressional approval of the war, which is required under the 1973 War Powers Act. The US and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, while the fragile truce began April 8.
Hegseth’s reasoning faced pushback from Democrats and will likely encounter similar criticism Tuesday. But he will face plenty of friendly Republicans, including the Senate subcommittee’s chair, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and perhaps the Iran war’s biggest booster in Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Hegseth and Caine are expected to outline the proposed defense budget and stress the need for more drones, warships and missile defense systems whose stocks have been drawn down during the conflict.

US budget watchdog estimates Golden Dome will cost $1.2 trillion
Reuters/12 May ,2026
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield could cost approximately $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy and operate over 20 years, a figure that dwarfs a $185 billion price tag offered by the program’s Pentagon director. Golden Dome envisions expanding ground-based defenses such as interceptor missiles, sensors and command-and-control systems while adding space-based elements meant to detect, track and potentially shoot down incoming threats from orbit. These would include advanced satellite networks and orbiting weapons. The CBO estimated acquisition costs alone for the system would total just over $1 trillion, with the space-based interceptor layer - a constellation of 7,800 satellites - accounting for about 70 percent of acquisition costs.
The system would cover the entire United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and would have the capacity to fully engage an attack from a regional adversary such as North Korea. However, the CBO warned the system could be overwhelmed by a full-scale attack from Russia or China. The executive order establishing Golden Dome, signed on January 27, 2025, set an aggressive timetable to field a comprehensive homeland missile-defense system by 2028.

Israel Sent Iron Dome Batteries, Personnel to UAE: U.S. Ambassador to Israel
This is Beirut/May 12/2026
Israel sent Iron Dome air defense batteries and personnel to operate them in the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran, the U.S. ambassador to Israel said on Tuesday. "Can I say a word of appreciation, deep appreciation and admiration, for the United Arab Emirates?" Mike Huckabee said during a conference at Tel Aviv University. "They were the first Abraham Accords member, but look at the benefits that they have had as a result. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them. How come? Because there's an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords," he said. Iran targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, which was sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic at the end of February. Despite a ceasefire that came into effect last month, the UAE has since reported multiple missile and drone attacks from Iran. The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a top U.S. ally in the region and among the Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term in 2020. AFP

Pakistan rejects report on Iranian military aircraft in country as ‘misleading’
Al Arabiya English/12 May ,2026
Pakistan on Tuesday rejected a report claiming it had allowed Iranian military aircraft to park at its airfields, calling it “misleading” and saying such reports aim to undermine efforts to promote stability and peace. The Pakistani foreign ministry issued a statement responding to a CBS News report regarding the presence of Iranian aircraft the Nur Khan Airbase. The report published on Monday citied US officials who spoke only under condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues. They told CBS News that days after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran in early April, “Tehran sent multiple aircraft to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan, a strategically important military installation located just outside the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi.” “Among the military hardware was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft,” the report added, noting that the move reflected possible efforts to “insulate some of Iran’s remaining military and aviation assets from the expanding conflict.”Pakistan said in the statement that after the ceasefire and during the first round of the US-Iran talks in Islamabad, “a number of aircraft from Iran and the US arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff.”The ministry’s statement noted that some aircraft and support personnel remained in the country temporarily in anticipation for follow-up talks. “The Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement,” the foreign ministry said. “Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading and entirely detached from the factual context.” Pakistan, the statement added, has acted as an “impartial” facilitator and the country has “extended routine logistical and administrative support where required, while maintaining full transparency and regular communication with all relevant parties.”

Qatar says Iran should not use Hormuz to ‘blackmail’ Gulf
AFP/May 12, 2026
DOHA: Iran should not use the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blocked since the start of the Middle East war, as a means to blackmail Gulf states, Qatar’s top diplomat said Tuesday. “Iran should not use this strait as a weapon to pressure or to blackmail the Gulf countries,” said Qatari Foreign Minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Turkiye supports efforts ​to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on ‌Tuesday, ‌adding ​the ‌channel ⁠should ​not be ⁠used as a “weapon” during the Iran war. Speaking at ⁠a press conference ‌in ‌Doha ​alongside ‌his Qatari counterpart, ‌Fidan also said Ankara was contributing ‌to efforts led by Pakistan to ⁠find ⁠a negotiated end to war between Iran and the United States.

Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Iran's chief negotiator on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the United States to accept the conditions in Tehran's 14-point proposal for peace in the Middle East war or face "failure". The defiant message came after US President Donald Trump rejected the latest counteroffer from Iran and said that a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8 was on "life support". But Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington had to accept Tehran's "rights" if it wanted to end more than two months of conflict, as peace talks remain deadlocked after an initial round failed to produce a breakthrough last month. "There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another," said Ghalibaf in a post on X. "The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it." Iran has refused to back down in its war with Washington, with military officials warning they are prepared to respond to any renewed US attack. It has choked traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz trade route, rattling global markets and giving it vital leverage, while the US has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports. Details of the latest US proposal remain limited, though media reports say it involves a one-page memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the fighting and establishing a framework for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Iran's foreign ministry said its response called for ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, halting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and securing the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad under longstanding sanctions. It did not elaborate on what Iran would offer in return. On Tuesday, the spokesman for Iran's parliamentary national security commission said lawmakers would consider the possibility of enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels if conflict resumed. "One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment. We will examine it in parliament," Ebrahim Rezaei wrote in a post on X. Tehran possesses a significant stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, with roughly 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon. Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains a key sticking point in negotiations with the United States, which insists the material must be transferred out of the country. Iran has so far refused to move its enriched uranium stockpile abroad and insists on its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, though it has said the level of enrichment remains "negotiable".

UK to send drones, jets and warship to join defensive mission securing Strait of Hormuz
Reuters, London/13 May ,2026
Britain said on Tuesday it would contribute autonomous mine-hunting equipment, Typhoon fighter jets and the warship HMS Dragon to a multinational defensive mission aimed at securing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense minister John Healey announced the commitment during a virtual summit with more than 40 of his counterparts from other nations involved in the mission, which he said would become operational when conditions allowed. “With our allies, this multinational mission will be defensive, independent, and credible,” he said in a statement. The Iran war has sharply curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting oil exports and sending energy prices higher. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait. Britain’s contribution will be backed by 115 million pounds ($155.53 million) of new funding for mine-hunting drones and counter-drone systems, as London seeks to reassure commercial shipping of its commitment to freedom of navigation amid heightened regional tensions. The package will include autonomous systems to detect and clear naval mines, high speed drone boats, Typhoon jets for air patrols and HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer that is already on its way to the Middle East. Britain already has more than 1,000 personnel deployed in the region as part of existing defensive operations, including counter-drone teams and fast jet squadrons.

China and US agree on opposing Hormuz tolls, State Department says
Reuters/12 May ,2026
Senior US and Chinese officials agree that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department told Reuters on Tuesday, in a sign that the two countries are trying to find common ground on efforts to pressure Iran to give up control of the vital waterway. The statement by the State Department comes ahead of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where Iran’s chokehold on the strait will be on the agenda. Iran’s near-complete closure of the vital trade artery since the joint Israeli-US airstrikes on the country on February 28 has sent shockwaves through global energy markets. The State Department said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the issue in an April phone call. “They agreed that no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz,” department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Reuters in response to questions about the call. The State Department has not previously provided a readout of the call in a break from its usual practice. China’s embassy did not dispute the US account of the discussion, saying it hoped all sides can work together to resume normal traffic through the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply. “Keeping the area safe and stable and ensuring unimpeded passage serves the common interest of the international community,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Reuters. Tehran has demanded a right to collect tolls on shipping traffic as a precondition for ending the war. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iran, and Trump has floated the possibility of imposing its own fees on traffic or working with Iran to collect tolls. After domestic and international pushback, the White House has since said Trump wants to see the Strait of Hormuz open up for traffic without any limitations. Chinese officials so far have avoided direct mention of tolls, even while condemning the US blockade.
‘Normal and safe passage’
Two sources briefed on the Wang-Rubio exchange said Rubio had raised the prospect of Chinese vessels paying tolls, which they said appeared aimed at encouraging Beijing to apply more pressure on Tehran to bring the conflict to an end. China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington. In a subsequent meeting with Iran’s foreign minister, Wang said the international community shared a “common concern about restoring normal and safe passage through the strait” while reiterating that China supports Iran in “safeguarding its national sovereignty and security.” China vetoed a US-backed resolution in the United Nations last month encouraging states to work together to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing it was biased against Iran. That prompted US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, to argue that Beijing was tolerating Iran holding the global economy at gunpoint. Washington together with Bahrain has drawn up another UN resolution demanding Iran halt attacks and mining in the strait, but diplomats say this is also likely to meet with Chinese and Russian vetoes if it comes to a vote. That resolution also calls for an end to “efforts to exact illegal tolls” in the strait. China has ordered its companies not to comply with US sanctions against Chinese oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude, measures intended to isolate and pressure Tehran.

Trump vows to free all Venezuelan political prisoners
LBCI/May 12/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to work to free all political prisoners in Venezuela as he voiced confidence in U.S.-backed interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
"We're going to get them all out. And I'll tell you what, Delcy is doing a great job," Trump told reporters when asked about political prisoners in Venezuela, whose leftist president Nicolas Maduro was deposed by U.S. forces in January. AFP

Saudi Arabia carried out undisclosed attacks on Iran during the war: Reuters
LBCI/May 12/2026
Saudi Arabia carried out several undisclosed attacks on Iran in response to Iranian strikes on the kingdom during the Middle East war, according to two Western officials familiar with the matter and two Iranian officials. Reuters

Trump says he doesn’t need Xi’s help on Iran
Reuters/12 May ,2026
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will have a long talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Iran during his upcoming trip to China, but added that he does not think he needs Xi’s help. “I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” Trump told reporters when departing the White House for China. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies will hold their first face-to-face talks in more than six months as they try to stabilize ties strained by trade, the US and Israeli war with Iran and other areas of disagreement. Trump is heading to China amid an unresolved Iran war with diplomatic negotiations to end it at an impasse. Beijing maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington and end the conflict that began when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. The Republican president is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday, ahead of talks set to take place Thursday and Friday. It will be his first trip to China since 2017. Trump later told reporters: “We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”
Iran Reacts with Concern to Reports of Clandestine Israeli Base in Iraq
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Iran has reacted with concern to media reports of a clandestine makeshift Israeli military that was used during the recent war on Iran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday: “We are not ruling out anything related to the Zionist entity in the region.”
“Anything must be taken seriously and this issue is important and will certainly be discussed with Iraq,” he added.Israeli forces established a makeshift base using an old airstrip in Iraq's desert during the war against Iran, two security officials told AFP on Sunday, confirming a report by The Wall Street Journal. Early in the war, which was ignited by joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, the troops were detected in the Najaf desert in the country's southwest and clashed with Iraqi forces, killing one soldier and wounding two others. Iraq has scrambled to address the reports. The parliamentary security and defense committee said it will meet with security leaders to probe “foreign military breaches and activities.”Iraq’s security media cell denied that a new airdrop had taken place in the Karbala desert in what seen as an attempt to avoid directly addressing the reports about the alleged Israeli base. Commenting on the western reports, head of the cell Saad Maan said they tackled an incident that took place on March 5. “Iraqi security and military forces engaged in combat with an unlicensed force at a time, leading to the death of a member of the security forces and injury of two others,” he said. WSJ had not spoken about a new military deployment in the area. Maan continued: “A search of the area last month and this month did not reveal traces of any unlicensed forces or equipment. Our forces will continue to carry out their duties.”There are no “unlicensed forces” in any other region in Iraq, he added. Hussein Allawi, advisor to outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, offered a different account of what happened. Speaking to Al Arabiya, he said that the airdrop “aimed at collecting something that had fallen from the sky over the Iraqi desert during the US-Israel war on Iran.”A shepherd who was in the area informed security forces of unusual activity. The forces then headed to the scene, which thwarted the airdrop, he explained.
He denied that Israel had set up a base in Iraq, saying the WSJ report was “inaccurate and aimed to stir up certain issues.”On Sunday, the parliamentary security and defense committee said it will host security leaders to investigate “foreign military breaches and activities” in the border regions between Karbala and al-Anbar. It stressed its “categorical” rejection that Iraq become an arena for settling scores or that it be turned into a platform for attacks against neighboring countries. Committee member Karim Aliwi Al-Muhammadawi told the Iraqi News Agency that he had previously warned of the presence of US forces in the region between Karbala and al-Anbar. He confirmed the shepherd report of foreign forces in the area. “Preliminary reports found that efforts had been made to turn the region into a support point for military operations against Iran,” he revealed, saying the drone and rocket attacks would have been launched from there. The committee will meet with the security leaders to further investigate the issue, he said. The government will take the necessary measures to tackle the violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Iraqi Authorities Make Late Admission of Makeshift Israeli Base in Desert
Baghdad: Fadhel al-Nashmi/Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Iraqi authorities are still trying to contain the embarrassment caused by reports that an Israeli force was stationed in a desert area between Najaf and Karbala in early March, taking what observers describe as belated security measures while issuing conflicting accounts of the incident.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Israel had set up a secret makeshift military base in the Iraqi desert to support its war against Iran, which began on Feb. 28, 2026. Citing US officials, the newspaper said Israel built the site to support its air campaign against Iran and carried out airstrikes on Iraqi forces that nearly uncovered it early in the war. On Tuesday, Iraqi army Chief of Staff General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah arrived in the Al-Nukhaib district of Karbala with a senior military delegation to review security conditions. The Defense Ministry said the visit was aimed at following up on security preparations and assessing the latest developments in the area. The statements by security bodies and officials appeared increasingly contradictory. On Tuesday, Karbala Operations Commander Ali al-Hashemi acknowledged that an Israeli force had been present inside Iraqi territory in early March. Media outlets quoted Hashemi as saying the force in the Najaf desert in March was Israeli and “did not remain for more than 48 hours.”Tahseen al-Khafaji, the Defense Ministry’s media director, said the “unknown force” had been carrying American weapons and had been in the area for only a few hours. He denied that it had set up a military base.
‘Imposing sovereignty’
In a related move, the Popular Mobilization Forces announced on Tuesday the launch of an operation to “impose sovereignty” the Najaf and Karbala desert. The operation was ordered by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is being supervised by Yarallah, according to a statement. Ali al-Hamdani, commander of the PMF’s Middle Euphrates operations, said the operation began along four axes in the Najaf and Karbala desert to secure the road linking the city of Karbala to Al-Nukhaib. He said the forces were conducting search-and-comb operations as deep as 70 kilometers, under strict military plans and with a high level of professionalism.
Denial
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command on Monday denied the presence of any unauthorized bases or forces on Iraqi territory. “We are closely following statements and reports about the presence of unauthorized bases and forces on Iraqi territory, specifically in the Karbala desert east of Al-Nukhaib and Najaf,” it said. It said the issue stemmed from an incident on March 5 when Iraqi security forces from Karbala and Najaf moved into the area and clashed with unknown, unauthorized detachments backed at the time by aircraft. One Iraqi security fighter was killed, two others were wounded, and a vehicle was disabled. It said its units and commands, under the direction and planning of the Joint Operations Command, were continuing regular searches of all sectors, especially desert areas, up to Iraq’s international borders. It stressed that no unauthorized bases or forces had been present since the March incident.
Criticism
The revelation that an Israeli force had been present on Iraqi territory triggered criticism of the government and security leadership. The Joint Operations Command said some parties were trying to exploit the incident politically and were making “one-upmanship” statements without knowing the facts. It said such statements harmed Iraq’s reputation and that of its security leadership, which “confirms, indeed asserts,” that there are currently no unauthorized forces or bases on Iraqi territory. Former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sharply criticized authorities on Monday over the breach. “A state in whose name slogans of sovereignty and security preservation are raised must not be surprised by incidents of this scale on its territory, nor should it be run according to the logic of media images and propaganda victories. Reality reveals a dangerous fragility in control, decision-making, and oversight,” Kadhimi said in a post on X. He said Iraq’s protection cannot be secured through speeches or political promotion campaigns, but by building a state that owns its decision, imposes its authority over all its territory, subjects weapons to the law, and prevents the country from becoming an open arena for settling regional and international conflicts.

ISIS Claims Deadly Attack on Syrian Government Forces
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack in eastern Syria that killed two Syrian army soldiers, the militant group's first deadly operation against the Syrian government since February. Monday's attack in the eastern province of Hasakah points to the lingering threat posed by ISIS as President Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks to consolidate government authority over the country, nearly 1-1/2 years after he ousted Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Monday that two Syrian army soldiers were killed and others wounded in an attack by unknown assailants on a bus in the Hasakah countryside, Reuters reported. ISIS, in a brief statement posted on its Amaq News Agency, said its fighters had killed and wounded six members of "the apostate Syrian army" during an ambush in the same area. ISIS controlled around a quarter or more of Syria at the peak of its power during the Syrian civil war a decade ago, before it was beaten out of the territory by a US-led coalition and other foes. The Syrian government under Sharaa last year joined the US-led coalition to combat ISIS. ISIS in February declared a new phase of operations against Sharaa's government, and carried out a spate of attacks including one that killed four Syrian government security personnel near Raqqa city.

EU Approves Full Restoration of Trade Relations with Syria
Brussels: Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
The European Council announced on Monday that it had adopted a decision ending the partial suspension of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and Syria, thereby fully restoring trade relations with Syria. The Council added that the decision represents an important step toward strengthening bilateral relations between the European Union and Syria, Reuters reported. In a statement, the European Council said the decision sends a clear political signal of the European Union’s commitment to re-engaging with Syria and supporting its economic recovery. EU foreign ministers are set to meet with their Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, to launch a high-level “political dialogue,” a year and a half after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, reported AFP. A Brussels official explained that the EU aims to support Syria’s reconstruction process, despite what he described as a situation on the ground that remains “devastating” after fifteen years of civil war. The official noted that around 13 million Syrians — nearly half the population — are in need of food assistance. In January, the EU pledged €620 million in financial aid for the 2026–2027 period. Earlier this January, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, following her meeting in Damascus with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, pledged that Europe would do “everything in its power” to help rebuild Syria.

Israeli MPs Set Up Special Tribunal and Allow Death Penalty for Hamas-Led 2023 Attackers
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Israeli lawmakers approved a bill on Monday setting up a special tribunal that would try and have the authority to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza. The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting. Rights groups have criticized the measure, saying it makes the death penalty too easy to impose while also doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial. Defendants can appeal their sentences but the appeals have to be heard by a separate, special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts. Because the bill empowers a panel of judges to hand down the death penalty by a majority vote — and requires the trials to be conducted in a livestreamed Jerusalem courtroom — it has drawn comparisons to the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which was broadcast live on television. Eichmann was executed by hanging, the last time the death penalty was carried out in Israel, though technically capital punishment remains on the books for acts of genocide, espionage during wartime and certain terror offenses. Opponents of the bill also say that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacle. They have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented, saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methods. The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 as hostages. Israel’s ensuing blistering offensive on Gaza has killed over 72,628 Palestinians, including at least 846 killed since a ceasefire took hold last October. That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says around half the deaths were women and children. The figures by the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Israeli forces also killed hundreds of fighters in battles in the coastal enclave and took an unknown number of suspects into Israeli custody where they now await trial. Simcha Rothman, one of the bill’s sponsors who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, said the overwhelming consensus for the bill in the Knesset shows Israeli lawmakers can come together "around a common mission."Several Israeli rights groups, including Hamoked, Adalah and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said on Monday that while "justice for the victims of October 7 is a legitimate and urgent imperative," any accountability for the crimes "must be pursued through a process which includes rather than abandons the principles of justice."The bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane.That law applies to future cases and is not retroactive so it could not apply to the October 2023 suspects. According to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, the country still holds about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza without charge in its detention facilities. At least 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza had been held in Israeli custody since October 2023, and 5,000 of them were later released. The 1,300 number does not include those held on suspicion of attacking Israel on Oct. 7 or involvement in holding the hostages.

Kuwait Says Four People Affiliated with Iran’s IRGC Arrested Trying to Enter by Sea
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Kuwait said on Tuesday that four people arrested earlier this month as they attempted to enter the country by sea confessed to belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The four men -- two navy colonels, a captain and a lieutenant commander -- admitted they had been tasked by Iran's ideological army with "infiltrating" Bubiyan Island, Kuwait's interior ministry said in a statement published by state news agency KUNA. The island is Kuwait's largest and is located near the Iranian coast. The group attempted to enter on May 1 "aboard a fishing boat specially chartered to carry out hostile actions against Kuwait", the ministry said. A Kuwaiti serviceman was wounded during an exchange of fire with Kuwaiti forces on the island, and two of the Revolutionary Guard members managed to escape, it added. The Kuwaiti foreign ministry later said it had summoned the Iranian ambassador, Mohammad Toutounji, to hand him "a letter of protest following the infiltration on the island of Bubiyan of an armed group belonging to the Revolutionary Guards and their involvement in clashes with the Kuwaiti Armed Forces". The ministry denounced it as a "hostile act" and a "flagrant attack" on Kuwait's sovereignty, adding that it reserves "the right to self-defense". It marks the fourth time that the ambassador has been summoned since the Middle East war began and Iran launched its retaliation against Gulf countries in late February.

Former Ecuadoran Top Diplomat Enters Race for UN Chief
Asharq Al Awsat/12 May 2026
Ecuadoran former foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa has become the fifth candidate to enter the race for the next head of the United Nations, the UN General Assembly spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday. Espinosa was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda, and joins four other candidates already nominated to succeed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who stands down at the end of the year. "We received materials from Antigua and Barbuda yesterday (Monday) afternoon," said the spokesperson, La Neice Collins. The Ecuadoran, who was also her nation's defense minister, served as president of the General Assembly from September 2018 to September 2019. The other contenders to become the next UN chief are Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal's Macky Sall.
Those four were publicly interviewed by member states in April, and any new candidate will also undergo this process. Following a tradition of geographical rotation that is not always observed, Latin America is in line to provide the next UN chief. Many states are also advocating for a woman to hold the position for the first time. The General Assembly, where all UN member states are represented, elects the secretary-general for a five-year term, renewable once. But they can only do so on the recommendation of the UN's highest decision-making body, the Security Council, which is due to begin its selection process by the end of July. Particular power rests with the council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France -- which each can veto decisions.
Whoever is selected for secretary-general will begin their term on January 1, 2027

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 12-13 May/2026
The Muslim Brotherhood and “Unattended Wealth”
Mishari Al-Zaydi/ Asharq Al-Awsat / May 12, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
There is a famous saying in the world of criminal investigations: “Follow the money.” This saying also applies to understanding the divisions and mergers of movements and parties. Money unites and divides even a single family, and it can fracture the strongest bonds of kinship and brotherhood. Indeed, some families have disowned their own branches in order to keep money, whether real estate or other assets, exclusively for themselves. Hence the saying: “Money is the lifeblood.” God Almighty says in His Holy Book, describing the vices of humankind: “And you devour inheritance, all of it, and you love wealth with immense love.” This temptation increases when money is unattended and unmonitored, moving in secret. This applies to money generated from illegal activities, including the activities and “business” of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. A few days ago, Al-Arabiya.net and Al-Hadath.net reported that Turkish authorities refused to extend the residency permit of a Muslim Brotherhood leader due to his involvement in illegal fundraising, dealings with foreign entities and Iran, and disputes with another leader over the organization's financial assets and investments. Weeks earlier, this leader faced accusations of fraud and misappropriation of $200,000 from a colleague, allegedly to establish a private school in Istanbul, but he refused to implement the project or return the funds. The group and its leaders, who fled to Turkey during the Arab Spring, have been experiencing significant upheaval since 2019, following leaked audio recordings that revealed the involvement of leaders in financial scandals and the misappropriation of donations to purchase luxury properties in Turkey and abroad in the names of their relatives. In Egypt, funds originating from donations to the group were frequently misappropriated. These funds were registered in the name of a trusted individual, known to the group's leaders, and kept out of the public eye. After the man's death—he had, of course, never informed his family of the source of these funds—a dispute would erupt between representatives of the group and his heirs. This occurred in Egypt and elsewhere. In the Gulf states, some donations intended for "preaching," "jihad," and other purposes ended up in the accounts of certain preachers or their associates. More recently, precise monitoring and control mechanisms have been implemented to prevent a return to the initial stages of conflict with these groups. Money tempts even the most resolute, leading them to succumb to its allure. What then of the weak-willed, who constitute the majority of humanity? Furthermore, to understand the nature of the current divisions and mergers within the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which is present in Turkey, Britain, Malaysia, and elsewhere, we say: "Follow the money." This applies to the Brotherhood in Egypt, the Brotherhood in the Gulf states, and others.

Erdogan's Turkey: The NATO Member That Sponsors Terrorism
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 12/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154423/
New revelations emerging from Israeli security investigations have shattered any illusion that Turkey's relationship with Hamas is limited to "political support" or "diplomatic engagement." The evidence increasingly points to a situation far more alarming: Turkey has become a primary operational, logistical, and financial hub for Hamas's global terror infrastructure.
Countries that enable terrorism cannot at the same time be treated as indispensable partners in the fight against terrorism.
By allowing Hamas members to develop drone capabilities on Turkish soil, Ankara is deliberately grooming terrorists for future wars against Israel.
Turkey, rather than simply hosting Hamas officials, is willfully cultivating the next generation of Hamas terrorists and making sure that the geographical reach of Iran's jihadist axis continues to expand.
Turkey's pivotal financial role is especially significant because it provides Hamas with access to the international financial system through the territory of a NATO member state. That reality should deeply alarm both Washington and European capitals.
Ideologically -- as well as militarily and financially -- Erdogan has openly embraced Hamas leaders. He has repeatedly refused to designate the group as a terrorist organization... and characterized its members as "resistance fighters" and "liberation group" warriors fighting to protect Palestinian lands.
Erdogan's alignment with Hamas seems rooted in his broader ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and other Islamist groups. His government has consistently supported radical Islamist groups in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and other countries.
For years, Western governments have clung to the fiction that countries such as Turkey and Qatar can serve as neutral mediators between Hamas and Israel. That assumption has always been deeply flawed.
Qatar, meanwhile, continues to try to undermine the United States by donating, over decades, many billions of dollars to influence education from K-12 through graduate schools throughout America. Cornell University has received $10 billion over the years; Carnegie Mellon "just under $2 billion"; Texas A&M University "over $1 billion" (which gave Qatar full ownership of more than 500 research projects in fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, biotech, robotics and weapons development); and Georgetown University $971 million. Why do Qatar and Turkey continue embracing Hamas while demanding the trust of the US and the West? Why does the West keep accepting this duplicity?
The Trump administration faces a crucial test. If Washington is genuinely serious about dismantling the infrastructure of Hamas and confronting the Iranian regime, it cannot continue overlooking Turkey's commitment to doing the exact opposite: safeguarding and supporting Hamas.
A NATO member state, Turkey, is facilitating the activities of an Iranian-backed terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of civilians, including many Americans.
Turkey, a NATO member state, has become a primary operational, logistical, and financial hub for Hamas's global terror infrastructure. Ideologically -- as well as militarily and financially -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly embraced Hamas leaders.
For years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been playing a sleazy double game: presenting himself to the West as a regional mediator and responsible NATO ally while simultaneously transforming Turkey into a sanctuary for Hamas terrorists outside the Gaza Strip.
New revelations emerging from Israeli security investigations have shattered any illusion that Turkey's relationship with Hamas is limited to "political support" or "diplomatic engagement." The evidence increasingly points to a situation far more alarming: Turkey has become a primary operational, logistical, and financial hub for Hamas's global terror infrastructure.
Countries that enable terrorism cannot at the same time be treated as indispensable partners in the fight against terrorism.
A recent report by Israel's public broadcaster KAN revealed that Hamas operatives have been openly participating in combat training exercises at shooting clubs across Turkey.
The Hamas members, according to the report, have been training in civilian clothing to avoid suspicion while learning firearms tactics and advanced combat techniques. More disturbing are reports that Hamas members have been enrolling in professional drone-pilot courses and receiving official Turkish licenses to fly drones.
The training, according to Israeli officials cited in the report, is intended to prepare the Hamas members for deployment to Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank for possible future attacks on Israel.
This is not "symbolic" support for the Palestinian cause. It is military assistance, equivalent to the support the Iranian regime has been providing to Hamas for decades.
Drones are now among the most important tools used by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, in their jihad (holy war) against Israel. Hamas used drones extensively during its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, as well as in attacks on Israeli surveillance systems and military bases.
By allowing Hamas members to develop drone capabilities on Turkish soil, Ankara is deliberately grooming terrorists for future wars against Israel.
Turkey, rather than simply hosting Hamas officials, is willfully cultivating the next generation of Hamas terrorists and making sure that the geographical reach of Iran's jihadist axis continues to expand.
In addition, Turkey has emerged as a crucial financial artery for Hamas and its sponsors from Iran.
In December 2025, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security agency exposed what they described as a major Iranian-directed money-laundering network operating inside Turkey. Internal Hamas documents revealed a sophisticated financial system managed largely by Hamas-linked Gazan expatriates who have relocated to Turkey.
The IDF and Shin Bet publicly identified at least three individuals involved with the financing network in Turkey. Tamar Hassan reportedly works directly under the leadership of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya. Khalil Farwana and Farid Abu Dayir were also named as key facilitators working within the broader network of exchange companies.
"Hamas agents in Turkey channel funds for terrorist purposes," said IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee, adding, "One wonders what a member of NATO is doing helping to facilitate terrorism."
Turkey's pivotal financial role is especially significant because it provides Hamas with access to the international financial system through the territory of a NATO member state. That reality should deeply alarm both Washington and European capitals.
Ideologically -- as well as militarily and financially -- Erdogan has openly embraced Hamas leaders. He has repeatedly refused to designate the group as a terrorist organization. Instead, he has strongly defended Hamas and characterized its members as "resistance fighters" and "liberation group" warriors fighting to protect Palestinian lands.
Senior Hamas officials, including Khaled Mashaal and the late Ismail Haniyeh, have always been welcomed in Turkey as honored guests. Some Hamas officials have reportedly received Turkish passports, residency permits, and freedom of movement.
Erdogan's alignment with Hamas seems rooted in his broader ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and other Islamist groups. His government has consistently supported radical Islamist groups in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and other countries.
It was predictable that Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, became one of Ankara's closest ideological allies.
For years, Western governments have clung to the fiction that countries such as Turkey and Qatar can serve as neutral mediators between Hamas and Israel. That assumption has always been deeply flawed.
Qatar has long functioned as Hamas's principal financial patron, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip while hosting Hamas leaders in Doha. Turkey, meanwhile, has provided operational sanctuary, logistical training, and access to financial systems.
The continued Western reliance on Turkey and Qatar as intermediaries has simply strengthened Hamas and protracted the instability in the Middle East.
How can the West keep regarding Turkey and Qatar as credible allies while they insist on supporting terrorist groups committed to conquering not just Israel but also other UN member states, such as with Turkey's designs on Cyprus and Greece?
Qatar, meanwhile, continues to try to undermine the United States by donating, over decades, many billions of dollars to influence education from K-12 through graduate schools throughout America. Cornell University has received $10 billion over the years; Carnegie Mellon "just under $2 billion"; Texas A&M University "over $1 billion" (which gave Qatar full ownership of more than 500 research projects in fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, biotech, robotics and weapons development); and Georgetown University $971 million. Why do Qatar and Turkey continue embracing Hamas while demanding the trust of the US and the West? Why does the West keep accepting this duplicity?
The Trump administration faces a crucial test. If Washington is genuinely serious about dismantling the infrastructure of Hamas and confronting the Iranian regime, it cannot continue overlooking Turkey's commitment to doing the exact opposite: safeguarding and supporting Hamas.
A NATO member state, Turkey, is facilitating the activities of an Iranian-backed terrorist group responsible for the mass murder of civilians, including many Americans.
By allowing Hamas and other terrorist groups to operate freely on its soil, Turkey is undermining the very security architecture that NATO was created to defend.
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Sweden Drops 'Islamophobia', Votes for Free Speech
Robert William/Gatestone Institute/May 12, 2026
"[T]here are people who suffer genuine anti-Muslim hatred, bigotry, and discrimination based on their faith or perceived identity. This must always be challenged and addressed, as it undermines pluralism and social cohesion. On the other hand, Islamist organizations have deliberately weaponized the term Islamophobia to shut down scrutiny of their ideology and political activities. By labeling criticism of Islamist ideas or networks as 'Islamophobic,' they deliberately blur the line between protecting people and protecting an ideology. This is why Islamophobia is the wrong term—it places an ideology beyond criticism rather than safeguarding individuals from hatred." — From "The Muslim Brotherhood's Strategic Entryism Into the United States: A Systemic Analysis," a report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, 2025.
In May 2025, a French Interior Ministry report, "Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France," cited evidence attesting "to [the organization's] active presence" in Sweden.
"This influence, the report states, 'is explained by the supply of funding from Qatar, the great tolerance of Sweden's multiculturalist policies, and the good relations between the movement and local political parties, particularly the Swedish Social Democratic Party.'" — Le Monde, May 30, 2025,
"We see that political Islam has gained a foothold and is being allowed to take over neighborhoods, schools, welfare, and even risks taking over political parties. Then we need to fight back.... Islamism does not want constitutions but Sharia law. It does not want integration but segregation. It wants men to have control over women and that you are not allowed to love whoever you want.... There are many Islamists who think they know better and that they have taken control of society, and we have let it be. We have not fought back." — Swedish Education and Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson, Expressen, October 1, 2025.
Sweden's generosity has been rewarded by a raft of problems: parallel Islamic societies, no-go zones, and one of the highest reported rape rates in Europe. In addition, migrant gangs have for years been laying waste to Swedish cities by rampant violence, bombings and shootings. All of these problems were probably allowed to spiral out of control from a fear of being called "racist" or "Islamophobic."
Europe should take notice that Sweden -- once a country where naming the multitude of problems linked to Muslim immigration was considered the greatest taboo -- has become the first to name one of the greatest obstacles to having an honest public conversation about the roaring Islamic takeover of Europe. It is urgent that other countries follow suit.
"Islamism does not want constitutions but Sharia law. It does not want integration but segregation... There are many Islamists who think they know better and that they have taken control of society, and we have let it be. We have not fought back." — Sweden's Minister for Education and Integration Simona Mohamsson. Pictured: Mohamsson speaks in Visby, Sweden, on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Bene Riobó/Wikimedia Commons)
Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard recently announced that the Swedish government would be dropping not just the word but the entire concept of "Islamophobia," out of a preference for freedom of speech.
"We are pushing for the term 'Islamophobia' to be replaced with what is called 'anti-Muslim racism' or 'anti-Muslim hatred' in English," Stenergard said in response to a question from the Sweden Democrats party. Charges of "racist" or "Islamophobe" are being used worldwide to shut down anyone who questions or criticizes Islam or Islamist doctrines.
Sweden's decision is long overdue.
"[T]he term Islamophobia is deeply problematic, as it conflates two very different phenomena," wrote the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) in a 2025 report titled "The Muslim Brotherhood's Strategic Entryism Into the United States: A Systemic Analysis."
"On the one hand, there are people who suffer genuine anti-Muslim hatred, bigotry, and discrimination based on their faith or perceived identity. This must always be challenged and addressed, as it undermines pluralism and social cohesion. On the other hand, Islamist organizations have deliberately weaponized the term Islamophobia to shut down scrutiny of their ideology and political activities. By labeling criticism of Islamist ideas or networks as 'Islamophobic,' they deliberately blur the line between protecting people and protecting an ideology. This is why Islamophobia is the wrong term—it places an ideology beyond criticism rather than safeguarding individuals from hatred."
The Swedish initiative should be viewed as part of a historic attempt to deal with the Islamist infiltration of the country.
In May 2025, a French Interior Ministry report, "Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France," cited evidence attesting "to [the organization's] active presence" in Sweden.
According to Le Monde:
"The report asserts that the Swedish branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, 'though small in size, is characterized by its influence over the movement's European structures.' This influence, the report states, 'is explained by the supply of funding from Qatar, the great tolerance of Sweden's multiculturalist policies, and the good relations between the movement and local political parties, particularly the Swedish Social Democratic Party.'"
The French report led to the launch of a Swedish government investigation in October 2025 into the Islamist infiltration of Swedish society.
In an interview with the Swedish daily Expressen published on October 1, Sweden's Education and Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson said:
"We see that political Islam has gained a foothold and is being allowed to take over neighborhoods, schools, welfare, and even risks taking over political parties. Then we need to fight back.... Islamism does not want constitutions but Sharia law. It does not want integration but segregation. It wants men to have control over women and that you are not allowed to love whoever you want.... There are many Islamists who think they know better and that they have taken control of society, and we have let it be. We have not fought back."
Stenergard also noted that Sweden's government would be working towards pushing the European Union and the United Nations to follow the Swedish example of stopping the use of "Islamophobia." It is a most praiseworthy ambition considering the extreme extent to which the concept of Islamophobia has been allowed to become entrenched over the globe, as an entire industry of organizations pumps out material about the perceived offenses against Islam and Muslims -- even as bloody attacks meanwhile escalate against Christians and Jews (such as here, here, here, here and here). Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of 57 Muslim-majority countries, operates an "Islamophobia Observatory," that has published no fewer than 17 reports on Islamophobia in roughly the past two decades. In 2022, the UN General Assembly established an official "International Day to Combat Islamophobia," which is observed annually on March 15. In the UK, every November, an entire "Islamophobia Awareness Month " is observed -- including at universities. There are no international UN days to combat Christian-hate or Jew-hate. The Swedish announcement came in response to inquiries by the Sweden Democrats, who for years have been condemned as "racist" and "Islamophobic" for criticizing the destructive effects that the influx of Muslims into Sweden has had on the country. Sweden is among the countries that have accepted the most Muslim migrants per capita in Europe. Sweden's generosity has been rewarded by a raft of problems: parallel Islamic societies, no-go zones, and one of the highest reported rape rates in Europe. In addition, migrant gangs have for years been laying waste to Swedish cities by rampant violence, bombings and shootings. All of these problems were probably allowed to spiral out of control from a fear of being called "racist" or "Islamophobic."
Europe should take notice that Sweden -- once a country where naming the multitude of problems linked to Muslim immigration was considered the greatest taboo -- has become the first to name one of the greatest obstacles to having an honest public conversation about the roaring Islamic takeover of Europe. It is urgent that other countries follow suit.
**Robert Williams is based in the United States
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

No US-Iran deal yet: How long can Tehran endure?
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/English Al Arabia/May 12/2026
No deal has yet been reached between Iran and the United States as Iran’s economy has entered one of the most dangerous and unstable periods in decades. Even before the latest military confrontation and intensified US pressure campaign, the Iranian economy was already suffering from severe structural weaknesses, high inflation, corruption, sanctions, declining foreign investment, unemployment, and a collapsing national currency. But the last few months have dramatically worsened the situation and pushed the country into a far deeper economic crisis. Recent reports indicate that inflation has surged to extraordinary levels.The Iranian rial has continued its historic collapse. Reports indicate that the currency has fallen to record lows against the US dollar, reaching approximately 1.8 million rials per dollar in recent weeks. The collapse of the currency affects the purchasing power of people. Prices of goods have surged dramatically. Inflation has reportedly exceeded 50 percent annually.
This economic situation resembles a dry forest waiting for a spark. The conditions inside Iran are highly combustible. Economic grievances have historically played a central role in triggering uprisings and nationwide protests in Iran. Previous demonstrations erupted over inflation, unemployment, corruption, and deteriorating living standards. The current economic crisis is significantly worse than many of those earlier periods of unrest. The combination of inflation, currency collapse, declining living standards, and public frustration creates conditions in which another major uprising could emerge at any moment.
Internet shutdowns and deepening economic crisis
The Iranian government’s prolonged internet restrictions and shutdowns over the past two months have further intensified the country’s economic crisis and public frustration. Internet disruptions have severely damaged online businesses, digital commerce, banking transactions, and communication networks that millions of Iranians rely on for their livelihoods.
Small businesses, freelancers, technology companies, online retailers, and entrepreneurs have suffered major financial losses as connectivity disruptions paralyzed economic activity and weakened already fragile consumer confidence. In a country already struggling with inflation, unemployment, sanctions, and currency collapse, the continued internet shutdowns have added another layer of economic hardship and instability.
Beyond the economic damage, the internet restrictions have also deepened public anger toward the government. Many Iranians increasingly view the shutdowns as an attempt to suppress dissent, prevent the spread of information, and control public discourse during a period of growing social and economic discontent. The longer these restrictions continue, the more they risk fueling resentment among ordinary citizens, particularly younger generations and urban populations who depend heavily on digital communication and online economic activity. At a time when the government urgently needs economic recovery and social stability, prolonged internet shutdowns may instead further isolate the country economically, undermine productivity, and increase the possibility of wider unrest and demonstrations.
A society on edge of social unrest
Even Iranian officials and analysts have acknowledged that recovering from the current crisis could take years. The economic damage is not temporary or superficial; it affects the foundations of the country’s financial system, production capacity, and public confidence. Policymakers themselves recognize the scale of the deterioration and the enormous difficulty of restoring stability. It is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how the Iranian government can continue indefinitely under these economic conditions without facing deeper domestic instability and broader social unrest.
The Trump administration still has approximately a little over two and a half years remaining in office, a reality that may significantly shape Tehran’s calculations; If Iranian leaders believe they can simply endure the pressure until the end of President Trump’s term, it is increasingly unlikely that the country’s economy can withstand three more years under the current conditions without severe consequences. Inflation, currency collapse, declining oil revenues, sanctions, internet shutdowns, and growing public frustration are already placing enormous strain on the Iranian economy and society. If US sanctions and economic pressure continue to intensify, Tehran faces mounting challenges that may become increasingly unsustainable over the long term.
Mounting pressure on Tehran to change course
As a result, the only realistic path forward for Iran is to seriously address US demands regarding its nuclear program and regional policies. This would require Iran to take substantial steps to reduce nuclear tensions, including addressing concerns surrounding its enriched uranium stockpile and broader enrichment activities; this includes the transfer or surrender of highly enriched uranium stockpiles. In addition, Iran needs to fundamentally reconsider its regional approach. Continued confrontation with Gulf states and attempts to expand regional influence through military pressure and proxy networks have imposed enormous economic and geopolitical costs. Tehran increasingly needs regional economic cooperation, investment, trade, and stability rather than continued confrontation.
Economic survival depends on major policy changes
Ultimately, both Iran’s military position and its economy have deteriorated significantly under the current pressure campaign. The economic crisis now represents one of the greatest threats facing the Iranian government internally. The continuation of inflation, currency collapse, unemployment, and declining living standards could eventually trigger widespread unrest and major rebellion inside the country.Under these circumstances, the Iranian leadership may increasingly conclude that it cannot continue on its current path indefinitely. Issues such as serious engagement on the nuclear issue, reducing regional tensions, ending policies of confrontation toward neighboring states, and pursuing a constructive foreign policy are not merely diplomatic choices anymore, but economic necessities for the survival of the state itself.

Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 12/2026
charles chartouni
@thebridge1982
Translated from French
Helena Alamil, daughter of the priest of Rmeich, Father Nagib Alamil (Doctor in Life and Health Sciences, toxicologist-researcher at Paris-Saclay), singing Psalm 65 at Notre Dame de Paris during the Days of Eastern Christians organized by the Œuvre d'Orient....

Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري
The plot thickens; we're talking about a lawyer named Celine Abdel Allah. And he even bought her a house in the US and one in Lebanon.
It's claimed that she was close to the Biden administration and that Abbas used his connections with her so that sanctions wouldn't be imposed on him.
Listen, this is a Turkish series at this pace.

Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري
The profile of Major General Abbas Ibrahim, who served as the Director General of Lebanon's General Security Service and currently acts as Hezbollah's advisor, has been hacked, and right now, a profile picture of an unknown girl is displayed there.
The man who defined his career as a security expert fell into the trap

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Lebanon Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is leading the charge against Lebanese peace with Israel. Even though he knows that the absolute majority of the Druze want peace with Israel, Druze popular sentiment doesn't change his opinion because his leadership is cemented and guaranteed. Deep down, I'd say Jumblatt himself wants Lebanese peace with Israel. Yet publicly, he's saying the exact opposite. This is why: Jumblatt thinks that Lebanon is following in the footsteps of Syria, that if Hezbollah or Iran collapse, the next hegemon in Lebanon will be Turkey and the Sunnis. This is why, Jumblatt is now positioning himself as the conduit who's trying to being Hezbollah and Syrian autocrat Sharaa closer to each other. Whoever prevails in Lebanon from these two will reward Jumblatt for his friendship. Should Jumblatt oppose either one of these two rival factions and one of them prevails, the victor might cut him out and undermine the Druze and Jumblatt's leadership. Jumblatt also knows that if neither Iran nor Turkey end up dominating Lebanon, that if Lebanon signs peace with Israel and becomes an ally of America, neither Israel nor America will threaten his Druze leadership or cut him out. This is why he bets on the bad guys, aware that betting against the good guys is cost free.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Today marks 5 years and two months since Hezbollah assassinated Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim by hijacking his car and killing him with five bullets from a silencer. Nasrallah's son praised the murder. Hezbollah prohibited clerics from praying at his funeral and stonewalled the investigation.@ChrisVanHollen not only never said his name, the Senator from MD has been actively pushing for America to stop the war to disarm Hezbollah and the war to topple Hezbollah's sponsor, the Islamic Iran regime. When Van Hollen pretends to be ethical, remember that his is selective justice, not a comprehensive one.

Nadim Koteich
@NadimKoteich
https://x.com/i/status/2054093818333667654
The @WSJ report is yet to be confirmed by UAE’s military or diplomatic entities.
However, the content completely aligns with the character of the country, and its President MBZ
@MohamedBinZayed , who won’t tolerate Iran attacking the UAE this way without retaliating.
It also matches Iran’s own impression that the UAE is already part of this war, in the most active and kinetic way. Below is what I told @MiddleEastInst a few weeks ago when he asked about the probability of UAE retaliation against Iran.

Riad Kahwaji
The Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington “will empower the state and bring more force and support to help it fulfill its mission,” Kahwaji said. “The question is whether President Aoun is willing to go all the way.
More details in the article: