English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For May 14/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.may14.26.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Go into all
the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16/15-18:”‘Go
into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who
believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be
condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name
they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up
snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt
them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on 13-14 May/2026
Elias Bejjani/Video Link to my interview on Al-Hawiya Youtube platform
Israel targets 7 cars from Saadiyat to south Lebanon
Lebanon says Israeli strikes on cars kill 12
Lebanon decries 'systematic' attacks on civilians despite truce
Hezbollah launches 'most significant drone attack' on Israel
Israeli strikes on coastal highway kill 8 people including 2 children
Hezbollah drones unsettle Israel as new tactical race begins — the details
Drone warfare and diplomacy: Hezbollah-Israel tensions rise ahead of Washington
talks
2026 figures reveal scale of Israeli strikes on Lebanon
Reports: Karam wants Israel talks not open to the press, sidelines Moawad
The veteran envoys leading Lebanon-Israel direct talks
Netanyahu presented with solutions to Hezbollah drones, army asked for plan to
deepen ground op
Saudi envoy to visit Lebanon next week
Report: Aoun asks Hezbollah through Berri to cease fire if Israel does
Aoun reportedly says arms monopoly decision is 'final and irreversible'
Lebanon responds to Iranian letters sent to UN
Lebanon says over 10,000 homes destroyed or damaged since Israel truce
UAE adds 21 Lebanese people, entities to 'terror' list
UNIFIL Reports Escalating Drone Activity Near Its Positions in Southern Lebanon
Israel Intensifies Strikes in Lebanon on Eve of Washington Talks
Israel Says 350 Hezbollah Operatives Killed in Over 1,100 Post-Ceasefire Strikes
How Hezbollah used criminal enterprises to turn Europe’s legal gaps into a
financial lifeline/Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/May 13, 2026
Lebanon and Israel Agree on Peace, Disagree on Sequence/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This
is Beirut/May 13/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on 13-14 May/2026
Trump arrives in China for superpower
summit with Xi
US Senate backs Trump on Iran war despite deadline lapse
Iran military says control over Hormuz to bring significant economic revenues
Vance says US making progress in Iran talks
Iran says has 'right to respond' after Kuwait arrests four citizens
Netanyahu says held 'secret' meeting with UAE president during Iran war
UAE denies reports of Netanyahu visit
UAE reaffirms diplomacy, rejects confrontation with Iran, Gargash says
MBS, UAE president discuss efforts to enhance regional security and stability
Not a Special Honor for Iran: Vatican Award Was Given to 13 Ambassadors — and
the Pope Did Not Attend
Iran executes man convicted of killing policeman in unrest: Report
Drone strike hits Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil: Reuters
Israel ruling coalition proposes dissolving parliament for early elections: PM
party
UAE-owned tanker leaks some fuel off Oman following Iranian strike
Swiss considering rival air defenses after Washington delays Patriots over Iran
war
Envoy says stalled Gaza ceasefire has failed to meet expectations of Israel,
Palestine
UK’s Starmer faces biggest challenge yet as resignation report overshadows
King’s Speech
Zelenskyy urges Trump to raise Russian invasion during China summit
Amnesty calls for ‘war crimes’ probe into Israeli destruction of south Syria
homes
Iran Releases Prize-Winning Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
Titles For The Latest
English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on 13-14 May/2026
Sweden Drops 'Islamophobia', Votes for
Free Speech/Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/May 13/2026
NATO, Please Help. Trump Has No Strategy for Iran/Thomas L. Friedman/New york
times/May 12, 2026
Trump Can Stare Down a Weak Xi Jinping This Week/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone
Institute./May 13, 2026
UK bracing for yet another political storm/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 13,
2026
International climate law needs teeth/Ralph Regenvanu/Arab News/May 13, 2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 13/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published
on 13-14 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
Israel targets 7 cars from Saadiyat to
south Lebanon
Naharnet/May 13/2026
Israeli strikes targeted Wednesday seven cars, three of them on a major highway
linking Beirut to southern Lebanon, killing 8 people, including 2 children. The
attacks on the coastal highway south of Beirut took place in Jiyeh, Barja and
Saadiyat. On Saturday, two similar strikes targeted two cars on the same
highway, despite a truce reached on April 16. In south Lebanon, Israeli strikes
targeted cars on the Naqoura, Shaatiyeh and Maaliyeh roads and a fourth car near
the Municipal Stadium of Sidon. A person was killed and another wounded in the
strike on Sidon.
Lebanon says Israeli strikes on cars kill 12
LBCI/May 13/2026
Israel intensified strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday, with the health ministry
reporting 12 people killed in attacks targeting cars, mostly south of Beirut,
despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The fresh raids, which also
targeted various areas of the country's south, came on the eve of a new round of
direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, brokered by the
United States, as Hezbollah remains strongly opposed to the move. Lebanon's
health ministry said three strikes on cars along or near the coastal highway
around 20 to 30 kilometres (12-19 miles) from the capital Beirut, "resulted in
eight martyrs, including two children."Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said
two strikes hit cars on the busy highway linking Beirut to the country's south,
while a third struck nearby. An AFP photographer saw a burnt-out car and
rescuers carrying a body at one of the sites, near Jiyeh. A fourth strike hit a
car in Sidon, southern Lebanon's largest city, around 40 kilometres south of
Beirut, with the health ministry reporting one dead there. The ministry also
said Israeli strikes on another three cars in south Lebanon's Tyre district
killed three more people. AFP
Lebanon decries 'systematic' attacks on civilians despite
truce
Agence France Presse/May 13/2026
Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told a press conference on Tuesday that since
the ceasefire, "380 people have been killed and 1,122 wounded". That toll
includes 39 women and 22 children. Nassereddine decried a "systematic, ongoing
attack on civilians", and described the ceasefire as "fragile and ineffective".
Save the Children said in a statement that "more than four children have been
killed or injured every day on average in Lebanon in the first 25 days" of the
truce. Its Lebanon country director Nora Ingdal said "attacks on civilians have
not stopped -- it has simply continued under another name". In addition to its
ongoing air raids, Israel's troops are operating behind a "yellow line" that
runs around 10 kilometers inside Lebanon and have issued evacuation warnings for
dozens of villages in the south and east ahead of strikes, including on Tuesday.
The overall toll from Israeli attacks since the war erupted on March 2 has
reached 2,882 people, including 279 women and 200 children, Nassereddine said.
Some 108 emergency and health workers were also among the dead, he noted, before
the latest civil defense deaths.
"It's a massacre... there are no armed men or fighters in these (ambulance)
vehicles, just paramedics, medical equipment and wounded," he added. Israel has
accused Hezbollah of using ambulances and medical facilities for military
purposes, an accusation the group denies.
Hezbollah launches 'most significant drone attack' on
Israel
Naharnet/May 13/2026
Hezbollah launched Tuesday a massive drone swarm attack on north Israel, Israeli
media said, adding that it is the first time multiple drones target a single
target inside Israel. An Israeli security source described the attack as the
most significant drone attack on Israel to date. Israel's military said it
intercepted several drones before they crossed the border, but some explosive
ones detonated in Israel, near the border, though no injuries were reported.
Hezbollah has been carrying out attacks, both against Israeli troops who have
invaded south Lebanon and across the border, saying they are in response to
Israeli ceasefire violations.
Israeli strikes on coastal highway kill 8 people including
2 children
Naharnet/May 13/2026
Israeli strikes targeted Wednesday three cars on a major highway linking Beirut
to southern Lebanon, killing 8 people, including a woman and her two children,
ahead of talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington. The attacks took place
in Jiyeh, Barja and Saadiyat. On Saturday, two similar strikes targeted two cars
on the same highway, despite a truce reached on April 16. In a statement, the
ministry said "the three raids carried out by the Israeli enemy on the Saida-South
coastal highway -- specifically in Barja, Jiyeh and Saadiyat -- resulted in 8
martyrs, including two children". Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army ordered
the resident of six southern towns -- Maashouq, Burj Shmali, Hallousieh, Debaal
and Abbasiyeh -- to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes. In south Lebanon,
Israeli strikes also targeted cars on the Naqoura, Shaatiyeh and Maaliyeh roads.
Other strikes targeted Mansouri, Baraashit-Shaqra, Majdalzoun, Kounine,
Arabsalim, Burj Shmali, Yanouh, Siddiqine, Abbasiyeh-Deirqanoun, Debaal, Harees,
Beit Yahoun, Aita al-Jabal, Kfar Rumman, Kfarhatta, al-Henniyyeh and Hallousieh.
The Israeli military said it targeted "Hezbollah terror infrastructure in
several areas in southern Lebanon," hours after issuing the evacuation warnings.
Hezbollah claimed attacks, including with suicide drones, on Israeli troops and
equipment in Wadi al-Ouyoun, Sarbine, Deir Seryan, Bint Jbeil, al-Qawzah, Blat
and Rshaf in south Lebanon. Israeli media said Hezbollah launched a massive
drone swarm attack on north Israel Tuesday, in what a security source described
as the most significant drone attack on Israel to date. Israeli strikes killed
13 people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, including a soldier, a child and two
rescue workers, the health ministry said. "A strike on the city of Nabatieh left
five dead, including two Civil Defense rescuers," the ministry said, while
another strike in around Jebchit left four dead "including a soldier and a
Syrian national" and a third strike in Bint Jbeil killed "four civilians,
including a child and a woman".
Hezbollah drones unsettle Israel as new tactical race
begins — the details
LBCI/May 13/2026
In the three weeks following the April 17 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel,
the Israeli army acknowledged that 39 soldiers were wounded in southern Lebanon.
More than 94% of those injuries were caused by Hezbollah drones, according to
Israeli Army Radio. Drones worth only a few hundred dollars have alarmed
Israel’s security, military, and political leadership, with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu himself acknowledging the threat. Footage showing fiber-optic
FPV drones pursuing Israeli soldiers, armored vehicles, and military positions
in southern Lebanon and northern Israel without an effective countermeasure
prompted the Israeli army to quickly seek alternatives to confront them. A
correspondent for Israeli Army Radio reported that the Israeli military decided
to establish a factory to produce thousands of FPV drones each month. Just as
Hezbollah uses these drones for attacks, they can also be used defensively,
meaning one drone can intercept and explode another drone. The Israeli army is
developing this capability and has already tested it on the battlefield, though
it is not yet available on a sufficient scale. Israel has also introduced
another tactic inspired by the Russia-Ukraine war to counter Hezbollah drones:
rotating barbed wire connected to iron stakes and powered by an electric motor
that continuously spins the wire at a slow speed. Under this method, when a
drone flies overhead while trailing a fiber-optic cable, the rotating wire
catches the cable, wraps around it, and cuts it. Once the drone’s fiber-optic
connection is severed, it loses communication and crashes. However, this
technique can cover only a very limited geographic area. As a result, a senior
Israeli officer said the most effective tactic against such drones is combining
all available measures, including installing protective nets over armored
vehicles and military positions, deploying various radar systems in the field
and integrating their data, using rotating barbed wire, deploying interceptor
drones against Hezbollah drones, and equipping fighters with shotguns and
frangible ammunition for individual weapons.
Drone warfare and diplomacy: Hezbollah-Israel tensions rise
ahead of Washington talks
LBCI/May 13/2026
As efforts continue, particularly by the United States, to reach a long-term
agreement between Lebanon and Israel, developments on the ground in both
countries have accelerated in recent hours. Hezbollah continued to target the
Israeli military in southern Lebanon and also struck a base inside Israel, in
what Israel described as an unprecedented escalation, not only in terms of the
target but also the number of drones used in the attack and their operational
pattern. These developments coincided with announcements from security agencies
indicating readiness to expand operations inside Lebanon, along with information
suggesting that the Israeli army continues to operate north of the Litani River
and has no plans to withdraw from there. “The army is operating up to 10
kilometers forward, and the best defense is advance,” said the commander of the
91st Division, Yuval Gaz, describing the battlefield in the south amid concerns
over Hezbollah’s drone capabilities, which security agencies are seeking to
reduce. The drones are now being launched from distances exceeding 10 kilometers
inside Lebanon.These challenges form a central part of Israel’s proposals in the
first round of direct talks at the level of delegation heads with Lebanon in
Washington on Thursday and Friday. They include the disarmament of Hezbollah,
rejection of any halt to strikes, and opposition to any future withdrawal from
Lebanese territory unless it is, in Israeli terms, cleared of Hezbollah
presence. While the army confirmed it will continue intensifying strikes on
Lebanon even during the negotiations, security agencies are also considering
cooperation with Ukraine on counter-drone capabilities, with technology expected
to arrive in the country in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the army will
have to continue addressing this threat using rudimentary means in the coming
weeks.
2026 figures reveal scale of Israeli strikes on Lebanon
LBCI/May 13/2026
The Secretary General of Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research,
Chadi Abdallah, announced that 8,200 Israeli attacks were recorded between March
2 and April 16, 2026, while 3,318 violations were documented between April 17
and May 11, in addition to 2,324 airspace violations. Speaking during a press
conference, Abdallah revealed that the 10 villages most heavily affected by
destruction between March 2 and May 8 were Khiam, Bint Jbeil, Zawtar el-Charqiyeh,
Kafra, Yater, Taybeh, Srifa, Mansouri, Habboush, and Majdal Selm.
He added that the total number of fully and partially damaged residential units
during the 2023-2024 war and subsequent violations reached 230,436, while 61,056
damaged units were recorded between March 2 and May 8, 2026.
Click on the below to view the figures.
https://www.lbcgroup.tv/uploadImages/ExtImages/Images2/CNRS%20Presentation.pdf
Reports: Karam wants Israel talks not open to the press,
sidelines Moawad
Naharnet/May 13/2026
The head of the Lebanese delegation to the talks with Israel, Ambassador Simon
Karam, has requested that U.S. State Department officials not open the scheduled
negotiations on Thursday and Friday to the press, preferring to keep the
deliberations behind closed doors, without statements or press conferences after
the meetings, media reports said. Meanwhile, the Lebanese embassy in Washington
is expected to have finalized a dossier that Karam and the Lebanese delegation
will take to the negotiations. This dossier includes documentation of Israeli
violations on the ground, maps illustrating the occupied areas, and figures and
data related to destruction and land confiscation operations, as well as the
number of civilian casualties. According to informed sources, Karam requested
that the Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, refrain from
interfering in the negotiations and limit her role to listening and observing,
al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday. The sources added that Karam is
relying on a support team working from Beirut, while displaying clear caution
toward Moawad, particularly after reviewing the minutes of the two previous
meetings. Reports had said that a "friendly and warm" handshake took place
between Moawad and the Israeli ambassador, before she addressed him, during the
discussion about a ceasefire, saying: "Let the summer pass in Lebanon,"
apparently referring to the country's need for a tourist season.
The veteran envoys leading Lebanon-Israel direct talks
Agence France Presse/May 13/2026
Lebanon's Simon Karam and Israel's Yechiel Leiter, both political veterans with
entrenched views, will come face to face in Washington for talks Thursday after
decades in a state of war. Lebanon and Israel have no formal ties, but U.S.
President Donald Trump is hoping for a historic breakthrough even as Israeli
forces remain deployed in south Lebanon to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah. While
Lebanon is seeking to consolidate a ceasefire in the latest war and to obtain
the withdrawal of Israeli troops, Israel wants to ensure Hezbollah is disarmed.
Here are profiles of the envoys leading their countries' third round of
negotiations:
Karam: the quiet negotiator -
Simon Karam, a lawyer known for his decades in politics and fierce defense of
Lebanon's sovereignty, was appointed by President Joseph Aoun last month for the
thorny task of helming the direct talks with Israel. Beirut insists Israel must
end its attacks before starting negotiations, while Hezbollah rejects outright
any direct engagement between the two countries. A former ambassador to
Washington and independent politician, 76-year-old Karam is known for his
defense of Lebanese unity in a country riven by sectarian divisions. He is also
known for his support for extending state sovereignty across all of Lebanon,
where Hezbollah has long kept a huge arsenal and thrown the country into war
after war. Late last year, Karam was appointed as Lebanon's civilian
representative to a committee comprising Lebanon, Israel, the United States,
France and U.N. peacekeepers that was tasked with monitoring a 2024 ceasefire.
Karam is known for his calm demeanor and makes few media appearances, but those
who know him say he has remained uncompromising in his convictions on a
sovereign, stable Lebanon.
During his participation in two previous ceasefire monitoring committee
meetings, Karam "was a decisive and rational negotiator", a source familiar with
the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity. "He was particularly insistent on
the demand that southern residents return to their towns, and spoke at length
about the emotional ties linking villagers to their lands," the source added.
Political analyst Ali al-Amin, who has known Karam for decades, praised his
upstanding character."He doesn't make deals under the table," Amin said, noting
Karam had not sought high office despite his connections. Karam entered public
life in 1990, first being appointed governor of east Lebanon's Bekaa region and
then Beirut. He was named ambassador to Washington in 1992 but stepped down the
following year, in a move observers said was linked to his diverging views from
authorities who at the time were under the influence of Syria, whose occupation
Karam opposed. Karam, who is fluent in Arabic, French and English, hails from
south Lebanon's Jezzine district and is married with three children.
Leiter: the Netanyahu ally -
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, is a longtime ally of
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Well versed in Israeli settler politics,
conservative activism and hard-edged diplomacy, Leiter, 67, took up his post as
Israel's top envoy to Washington in January 2025.
Born in the United States, he emigrated to Israel at 18 and went on to build
close ties with the U.S. Republican Party. According to Israeli media reports,
he served as a combat medic in the military in 1982, when Israel invaded
Lebanon. Leiter, who is also a historian and ordained rabbi, first gained
prominence in the 1990s as a leading figure in the Yesha Council, the umbrella
organization representing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. During
some of the most divisive years of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Leiter
became a forceful advocate for the settlement movement and a prominent
nationalist.
His influence later extended into government. Leiter served as chief of staff to
Netanyahu when the latter served as finance minister in the early 2000s, helping
cement a longstanding political alliance.A member of Netanyahu's Likud party, he
also worked as a strategist and adviser to several right-wing Israeli think
tanks.
The war in Gaza struck him personally.
In November 2023, his son, Moshe Leiter, was killed in combat in the Gaza Strip,
a month after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. Leiter was also an outspoken
critic of President Joe Biden, before Trump returned to the White House. In a
2024 interview with Israel's Channel Tov, he denounced what he described as
"American pressure" on Israel under Biden during the war in Gaza. After being
appointed ambassador, Leiter renounced his U.S. citizenship. In May 2025, he was
called back to Israel for a disciplinary hearing after accusing Netanyahu's
opponents of spreading "blood libels" against the prime minister -- breaching
norms against Israeli diplomats making political statements. Leiter has
positioned himself as an advocate for a broader regional realignment, and
following talks in Washington with his Lebanese counterpart in April, he praised
what he called a "wonderful exchange".
Netanyahu presented with solutions to Hezbollah drones, army asked for plan to
deepen ground op
Naharnet /May 13/2026
The heads of the Israeli defense establishment on Wednesday presented Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a number of technological solutions for the
threat of Hezbollah's fiber-optic drones, the Israel Hayom newspaper said. In
addition, the Israeli army was asked to "present a plan to deepen the ground
operation in Lebanon," Israel Hayom added, on the eve of two days of direct
Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington.
Saudi envoy to visit Lebanon next week
Naharnet/May
14, 2026
Saudi special envoy for Lebanon, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, intends to visit
Beirut early next week to monitor political developments related to the
Washington negotiations and the 'anticipated escalation of internal and regional
disputes and pressures," al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
According to the report, bin Farhan has requested meetings with President Joseph
Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in addition to
meetings with prominent political and party figures, as well as meetings with
Arab and foreign diplomats.
Report: Aoun asks Hezbollah through Berri to cease fire if Israel does
Naharnet/May
14, 2026
Direct contacts have taken place between Baabda Palace and Ain el-Tineh, and
indirect contacts have been made with Hezbollah, through Speaker Nabih Berri, to
persuade the Iran-backed group to agree to a ceasefire if Israel does in the
Thursday-Friday talks in Washington, a media report said. As of last night,
Berri had not received a response from Hezbollah, so Baabda's internal and
external contacts will intensify today, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on
Wednesday. "The Lebanese state is attempting to pressure Hezbollah to commit to
this process, while contacts with Washington are focused on persuading it to
de-escalate the situation," the daily added.
Aoun reportedly says arms monopoly decision is 'final and irreversible'
Naharnet/May
14, 2026
President Joseph Aoun expressed "deep concern" following the latest Israeli
ground incursion north of the Litani River and made "direct contact with senior
officials in the U.S. administration, as well as with the Lebanese ambassador to
Washington, Nada Moawad, with the aim of pressuring Israel and compelling it to
establish a ceasefire before any negotiations can begin," media reports said. In
other leaks, sources in the Baabda Palace stated that Lebanon "insists that a
ceasefire be the mandatory prerequisite for negotiations and refuses to
negotiate under fire," noting that the Lebanese delegation, headed by Ambassador
Simon Karam, "is considering delaying its entry into the negotiating table if a
ceasefire is not established beforehand."However, the same sources added that
"if Washington exerts pressure to begin negotiations, the delegation may respond
positively, while insisting on including the establishment of a ceasefire as a
fundamental item on the agenda."The sources also spoke of what they described as
an “American question regarding guarantees to compel Hezbollah to adhere to the
ceasefire,” adding that Aoun “is personally handling indirect communications
with Hezbollah through Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.”The president was
quoted as saying that “the decision to restrict weapons is final and
irreversible,” and that “this restriction is linked to reaching a comprehensive
security agreement with Israel, guaranteed by the United States, that ends the
state of hostility between the two countries.”According to the same leaks, Aoun
emphasized that “this path does not imply moving towards a peace agreement, as
Lebanon remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative.”
The sources also indicated that “disarming Hezbollah must be accompanied by
practical Israeli steps on the ground,” and that “a complete Israeli withdrawal
eliminates the pretexts the party uses to justify retaining its weapons.”The
also sources reiterated that the president informed those concerned that
“Lebanon refuses to allow its negotiations to be held hostage to the outcome of
negotiations between Washington and Tehran.”
Lebanon responds to Iranian letters sent to UN
Naharnet/May
14, 2026
Lebanon has responded to Iranian letters sent to the U.N., accusing Tehran of
violating the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, interfering in Lebanese
sovereign affairs, and embroiling the country in a devastating war against its
will. Independent Arabia had earlier reported that Lebanon had filed a U.N.
complaint against Iran. But the Lebanese Foreign Ministry clarified Wednesday
evening that it has not complained against Iran but rather responded to Iranian
letters sent to the organization. The Lebanese response challenges the Iranian
narrative regarding the assassination of Iranian diplomats in Beirut. The
Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that the Iranian embassy had
coordinated with it regarding their transfer to the Ramada Hotel in Raouche and
revealed that some of the victims were not officially registered as diplomats,
in violation of the Vienna Convention. The letter also documents a series of
"blatant violations committed by the Iranian embassy in Beirut against the 1961
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations." The response, submitted by the
Lebanese Ambassador to the United Nations, Ahmed Arafa, asserts Lebanon's right
to demand that Iran be held accountable under international law and bear "the
consequences of its repeated violations of its international obligations." The
Lebanese response also accused Iranian agencies, including the Revolutionary
Guard, of carrying out illegal acts in flagrant defiance of Lebanese government
decisions, and of dragging Lebanon into a devastating war that resulted in the
death and injury of thousands, the displacement of more than a million citizens,
the infliction of unparalleled material losses, Israel's occupation of parts of
Lebanese territory, and the establishment of security zones.
Lebanon says over 10,000 homes destroyed or damaged since Israel truce
Agence France Presse/May
14, 2026
More than 10,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Lebanon since a
ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the head of the country's
National Council for Scientific Research said on Wednesday. "Since the current
ceasefire... we have witnessed 5,386 housing units that were completely
destroyed, and 5,246 housing units damaged," CRNS chief Chadi Abdallah told a
news conference broadcast by local media. Israel has kept up heavy airstrikes
despite the April 17 ceasefire, and Israeli soldiers are operating inside an
Israeli-declared "yellow line", which runs around 10 kilometers (six miles)
north of the Israel-Lebanon border where troops have been carrying out broad
demolition operations.
UAE adds 21 Lebanese people, entities to 'terror' list
Agence France Presse/May
14, 2026
The UAE on Wednesday branded 21 Lebanese people and organizations as
"terrorists", ordering the freezing of their assets as it accused them of ties
to Hezbollah, the official Emirati news agency reported. The United Arab
Emirates, home to a large Lebanese community, was the main target of Iranian
missile and drone attacks during the regional war sparked by U.S. and Israeli
strikes on the Islamic republic. Hezbollah is a Lebanese militant movement
backed by Iran, which entered the Middle East war by launching attacks on Israel
to avenge its killing of the Iranian supreme leader. The WAM agency published
the names of 16 Lebanese nationals and five organizations based in the
Mediterranean country that have been put on a list of supporters of groups
designated as terror organizations. "The United Arab Emirates has designated 21
individuals and entities on its Local Terrorist List over their links to
Lebanon’s Hezbollah," the agency said. "All regulatory authorities are required
to identify any individuals or entities connected through financial or
commercial relationships with those listed, and to take the necessary measures
in line with the applicable laws in the UAE, including freezing assets within
less than 24 hours."In March, Abu Dhabi announced the arrest of five members of
what it said was a "terrorist network" linked to Hezbollah and its backer Iran
aiming to threaten the UAE's financial stability.
The Lebanese militant group denied having any presence inside the UAE "under any
cover or commercial designation or otherwise".
UNIFIL Reports Escalating Drone Activity Near Its Positions in Southern Lebanon
This is Beirut/May 13/2026
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has expressed growing
concern over intensified military activity involving both Hezbollah-linked
elements and the Israeli military near its positions in southern Lebanon,
warning that recent drone incidents have placed peacekeepers at direct risk. In
a statement issued on Wednesday, UNIFIL said it has observed an increase in
drone operations in proximity to its bases, several of which have resulted in
explosions near or inside UN facilities. According to the mission, on 11 May
three presumed drones linked to Hezbollah detonated in an area where Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) personnel could have been present, within metres of
UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura. A further drone detonated in the same area the
following day, on 12 May. UNIFIL added that minutes after the second incident,
another drone exploded inside its Naqoura headquarters. While no casualties were
reported, several buildings sustained damage. In a separate incident on 10 May,
a drone crashed into an open area inside the same UN compound. UNIFIL said an
explosive ordnance disposal team later confirmed the device was not armed, and
an investigation is underway to determine its origin. However, preliminary
findings suggest the drone was of Iranian manufacture, raising the possibility
it was launched by Hezbollah. Earlier, on 5 May, an armed fibre-optic guided
drone, also presumed to be linked to Hezbollah, crashed through the roof of a UN
position near Al-Hinniyah. The device did not detonate, and no injuries were
reported. UNIFIL said it continues to remind all parties to avoid operating in
close proximity to United Nations positions and personnel, stressing that such
actions place peacekeepers in danger. The mission noted it has formally
protested IDF activity and movements near its headquarters, while also raising
concerns with the Lebanese Armed Forces regarding the presence of non-state
armed actors near UN positions.
Despite what it described as increasingly challenging conditions, UNIFIL said
its peacekeepers continue to impartially document developments in southern
Lebanon and report them to the UN Security Council.
UNIFIL says Hezbollah drone exploded at its Naqoura headquarters
Associated Press/May 13/2026
The U.N. peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL said
Wednesday it is increasingly concerned about fighting between Hezbollah and
Israeli soldiers near its positions, putting peacekeepers at risk, including
with explosions of drones in and around U.N. bases. UNIFIL said that a presumed
Hezbollah drone detonated inside its headquarters in the coastal town of Naqoura
on Tuesday, following earlier presumed Hezbollah drone detonations on Monday and
Tuesday. No one was injured, but some buildings were damaged.
Israel Intensifies Strikes in Lebanon on Eve of Washington
Talks
This is Beirut/May 13/2026
Israeli forces escalated their military operations in southern Lebanon on the
eve of anticipated diplomatic discussions in Washington, striking dozens of
targets linked to Hezbollah, according to the Israeli military.The Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) announced that more than 40 infrastructure sites belonging
to Hezbollah were targeted over the past 24 hours across several areas in
southern Lebanon. The military said the strikes included weapons storage
facilities and buildings allegedly used for military purposes, which it claimed
were being used to plan and facilitate attacks against Israeli forces and
civilians. The IDF also said that operatives posing an “immediate threat” were
eliminated and that rocket launchers prepared for firing toward Israeli
territory were struck during the same wave of operations. In parallel, IDF
Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued urgent warnings to residents
in several southern Lebanese towns and villages, including Kfarhata, Arabsalim,
and Deir Ez-Zahrani, urging evacuation ahead of imminent strikes targeting what
Israel described as Hezbollah infrastructure. He also previously issued an
additional urgent warning to residents in other southern Lebanese locations,
including Maashouq, Yanouh, Bourj el-Shemali, Halousiyeh al-Fawqa, Debaal, and
Abbassiyeh, amid ongoing Israeli strikes in those areas. Lebanon’s National News
Agency (NNA) reported multiple airstrikes across the south, noting an escalation
in targeted assassinations. Israel struck three cars on a highway south of
Beirut on Wednesday, killing eight people, including two children, Lebanon's
health ministry said. The escalation comes as diplomatic attention shifts toward
Washington, where direct discussions involving Israeli and Lebanese counterparts
are expected to focus on reducing cross-border hostilities and addressing
Lebanese demands for a halt to Israeli strikes and incursions. The timing of the
strikes underscores the continued volatility on the Israel-Lebanon front,
despite ongoing international efforts to contain the conflict.
Israel Says 350 Hezbollah Operatives Killed in Over 1,100 Post-Ceasefire Strikes
This is Beirut/May 13/2026
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.
How Hezbollah used criminal enterprises to turn Europe’s legal gaps into a
financial lifeline
Jonathan Gornall/Arab News/May 13, 2026
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2643499/middle-east
LONDON: A car dealership in Germany. A Belgian trading company. A restaurant in
Austria. An art dealer in London. Charities in several countries.
These are just some of a multitude of front entities — some innocent dupes but
many overtly criminal enterprises — that are part of a mind-bogglingly complex
financial network that is raising and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars
for Hezbollah in Europe.
The full extent of the group’s fundraising operation, which is fueled largely by
running drugs into Europe on behalf of Latin American cartels, is laid out in a
new report by the Austrian Fund for the Documentation of Religiously Motivated
Political Extremism.
With Iran under extreme economic pressure because of its conflict with the US,
some commentators have concluded that Iranian proxy Hezbollah has been
significantly weakened by the disruption of the flow of cash and other support
from Tehran.
In fact, as one of the report’s authors told Arab News, “Hezbollah is not solely
dependent on Iran for funding as it generates at least 30 percent of its funding
from illicit financial activities worldwide. Weakening Hezbollah comprehensively
must address this factor too.”
Lina Khatib is an associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa program
at policy institute Chatham House and a previous director of the SOAS Middle
East Institute.
“I decided to work on the report as far back as March 2023 because I realized
that there was no major publicly available study on Europe’s role in Hezbollah’s
financial operations, when Europe is a key money laundering hub for the group,”
she said.
Since the 1980s, in a bid to destroy Hezbollah, Israel has attacked Lebanon
multiple times and launched countless thousands of airstrikes against targets in
the country. Tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens have been killed in the
process.
On Tuesday Israeli airstrikes killed at least 13 people in southern Lebanon,
including two paramedics trying to help victims of an earlier attack. More than
2,860 people have been killed since March 2, when Israel and the US attacked
Iran and Hezbollah responded with rocket fire. At least 380 people have been
killed since the shaky ceasefire came into force on April 16.
Khatib said her report carried a clear message: “Hezbollah is not only an armed
group it is a financial system. Disrupting it requires going after the system,
not just the commanders.”
The report was co-authored by Anrike Visser, an independent investigator and
police adviser specializing in the illicit movement of money.
“They are professional, organized and hard to detect due to fragmentation across
Europe.”
The report concludes that Hezbollah is able to exploit Europe so effectively as
a hub for money laundering and a wide range of other illicit financial
activities in part because of “the fragmented designation of Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization across European jurisdictions, allowing elements of its
network to continue operating legally.”
This is compounded by the lack of consistency over the status in Europe of
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which works hand in glove with
Hezbollah on a range of financial operations. This “makes it difficult to trace
IRGC-related financial activities across European borders and allows entities in
Europe masquerading as charities or religious organizations to conduct financial
transactions for Hezbollah’s benefit.”
The report highlights the key role of the Business Affairs Component of
Hezbollah’s External Security Organization in its international drugs and
weapons trafficking and money laundering operations. The BAC was founded in the
early 2000s by Imad Mughniyah, the then head of international operations for
Hezbollah, who was killed in 2008 by a car bomb in Damascus. According to a
subsequent investigation by the Washington Post, the bomb was made by the CIA
and triggered remotely from Tel Aviv by Mossad agents. But the operation he had
set up continued, uninterrupted, emphasizing the point that simply targeting the
Hezbollah leadership is not sufficient to fatally disrupt the group. To this day
“BAC works with Latin American cartels, helps move cocaine into Europe and the
United States and then launders the proceeds through trade,” Khatib said.
This is how the system works:
The cash from cocaine sales is used to buy legitimate goods in Europe, such as
luxury cars and watches. Those goods are then shipped to West Africa, sold and
the proceeds moved onward to Lebanon or elsewhere, “with Hezbollah taking a fee
and in some cases using the money to purchase weapons for itself and affiliates
in Syria and Iraq.”
Hezbollah, Khatib said, found it ridiculously easy to pour drugs into Europe.
The BAC buys drugs, mainly cocaine, from South American drug cartels such as La
Oficina de Envigado in Colombia. “Drugs are shipped to Europe using diversified
transport methods, embedded in normal trade and travel,” Khatib said.
“It is hard for Europe to turn off (the flow of drugs) because only 2-10 percent
of containers at European ports are inspected, because goods and proceeds are
mixed with legitimate commerce and because the chain crosses several
jurisdictions with different legal and enforcement standards.”The part of the
BAC organization specifically focused on operations in Europe is called The
Cedar Network, which works to convert cocaine proceeds into apparently
legitimate trade. But not all of the individuals and entities it draws into its
complex web are knowing collaborators. “Some actors are clearly part of
Hezbollah-linked networks, some are professional criminals who work with
Hezbollah because it is useful to them and some gatekeepers may be witting or
unwitting facilitators,” Khatib said.
“Hezbollah uses a layered ecosystem of front companies, intermediaries, proxies,
accountants, lawyers, art dealers and other gatekeepers but some such actors
play unwitting roles in facilitating financial crime.”
Containers are seen stacked up on the container ship MSC Maria Elena at the port
of Antwerp, Belgium September 23, 2022. Because only up to percent of containers
at European ports are inspected, the flow of drugs from Latin America and
elsewhere remain undisrupted, say analysts. (Reuters/file photo)
In particular, the network exploits the regulatory frailties of the markets in
art and diamonds to launder money. It is a complex but highly rewarding process.
“Someone can buy or sell an artwork or diamond at an artificial price, hide who
really owns it through relatives or front companies and use the transaction to
move or disguise illicit money under the cover of normal high-end commerce,”
Khatib said.
“Aliases, family members, associates and front companies are used to conceal
beneficial ownership while exploiting the fact that art prices are subjective
and diamonds can gain legitimacy and value through grading, certification and
cross-border handling.”
One individual at the center of Hezbollah’s global network of money laundering
and sanctions evasion, named in the report, is Nazem Said Ahmad, designated a
global terrorist by the US in 2019 and on whose head the US Rewards for Justice
scheme has placed a $10 million bounty.
Ahmad remains at liberty. None of this has stopped him operating, with apparent
impunity. The US State Department describes Ahmad, who is based in Lebanon and
Belgium, as “a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer and significant Hezbollah
financier,” who generates funds “through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood
diamond’ trade.”
He “stores some of his personal funds in high-value art in a preemptive attempt
to mitigate the effects of US sanctions and he opened an art gallery in Beirut
as a front to launder money.”
In Lebanon, Ahmad is famous for his wealth and opulent lifestyle. His extensive
art collection, worth tens of millions of dollars, is said to include works by
Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, “many of which have been on display in his
gallery and penthouse in Beirut.”
Matters have been complicated further for Europe’s financial authorities by
Hezbollah’s enthusiastic embrace of cryptocurrencies, including the hugely
profitable Tether.
According to its website, Tether “works to disrupt the conventional financial
system via a more modern approach to money” and “has made headway by giving
customers the ability to transact with traditional currencies across a
blockchain, without the inherent volatility and complexity typically associated
with a digital currency.”
READ MORE:
• Interactive map exposes shocking scale of Hezbollah’s global crimes
• Opinion: World should not overlook Hezbollah’s illegal activities
• Opinion: Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a narco-state
• Opinion: Hezbollah’s multipurpose drug trade
• Hezbollah associate pleads guilty to money laundering conspiracy in US
The report said that, unlike with Bitcoin, global law enforcement agencies were
less experienced in tracing transactions in Tether and similar cryptocurrencies.
Hezbollah also makes use of more traditional money transfer systems, such as
hawala broker networks but there is a clear overlap between practices old and
new.
The report highlights the case of Lebanon-based Syrian hawala operator Tawfiq
Muhammad Said Al-Law, “who provided Hezbollah with digital wallets for
cryptocurrencies in order to receive funds from IRGC commodity sales.”
In March 2024 Al-Law was among individuals sanctioned by the US Treasury’s
Office of Foreign Assets Control “for having materially assisted, sponsored or
provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services
to or in support of Hezbollah.”
Yet Hezbollah’s European operators and operations and their Lebanon-based
enablers have proved largely immune to sanctions regimes.
“The US is at the forefront of tracking and countering Hezbollah’s finances and
US sanctions matter especially because of the global role of the US dollar,”
Khatib said.
“But many sanctioned actors and companies continue transacting. Sanctions are
undermined by inconsistent scope, by the fact that many Hezbollah-linked
facilitators remain unsanctioned and by the mismatch between US designations and
European legal practice.
“So sanctions bite but they do not by themselves dismantle the network.”
There was, she said, no silver bullet solution to the problem. Cutting off the
flow of funding to Hezbollah from its European operations is as complex a
proposition as the operations themselves.
But the recommendations of the report can be summed up in one simple phrase:
Europe needs to get its act together.
“The problem is not that there is no international collaboration,” Khatib said.
“There is some, including US-Europol cooperation and the Law Enforcement
Coordination Group.”
The LECG, convened by Europol and the US State and Justice departments, is
focused on countering Hezbollah’s terrorist and illicit activities and brings
together law enforcement, prosecutors and financial practitioners from across
the Middle East, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
Lina Khatib, associate fellow, MENA program at Chatham House. (Supplied)
“The problem is that collaboration is still outmatched by legal fragmentation,
limited enforcement capacity, weak jurisdictions and the social embeddedness of
Hezbollah’s networks.”
Europe must move toward “a single, unified designation of Hezbollah as a whole,
because the current split between political and military wings in some countries
creates an obvious enforcement gap,” Khatib said.
Financial authorities “should tighten beneficial ownership transparency and
scrutinize not just Hezbollah operatives but the family members, nominees and
front companies around them.”
They should also apply “much more pressure to gatekeepers — lawyers,
accountants, art dealers, company service providers and others — because these
are the bridges between illicit money and legitimate markets.”
On the trade side, Europe must use “much more aggressive risk-based container
targeting and customs cooperation, because the present inspection rate is
plainly too low for this level of threat,” she said.
Finally, European authorities “should treat Lebanon’s governance and financial
opacity as part of the European security problem rather than as a separate
regional issue … Once money reaches Lebanon, it moves into a system marked by
political interference and weak oversight.”
Lebanon and Israel Agree on Peace,
Disagree on Sequence
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is
Beirut/May 13/2026
The Lebanese and Israeli governments are fully aligned on the goal of their
diplomatic talks. When all is said and done, Hezbollah will be fully disarmed,
Israel will have ended its security actions in Lebanon and fully withdrawn, and
the border will be demarcated. The two countries will then have reached a
bilateral peace agreement. The challenge is how Lebanon and Israel get there,
and in what order.
Lebanon wants Israel to first completely stop its military campaign against
Hezbollah, fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, and engage in border
demarcation. Once these steps are concluded, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will be ready to travel to the White House to sign a
bilateral peace treaty with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Salam has
explained how he interprets peace with Israel. For him, it would be a treaty
without people-to-people normalization, a “cold peace” modeled on Egypt and
Jordan’s peace treaties with Israel. Let the Lebanese people demonstrate to
Salam and the Arab world whether they will engage with Israelis. My bet is on a
very warm peace, with people-to-people normalization between Lebanese and
Israelis, but I digress.
Israel wants a different sequence of steps to reach peace with Lebanon. Israeli
officials and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio have repeatedly said that
Jerusalem has no plans to control or annex any Lebanese territory. Instead,
Israel will happily return all occupied territory and ratify a peace treaty with
Lebanon. But first, Hezbollah must be verifiably disarmed. Then the sky is the
limit. Israel would stop the war, withdraw from every meter of Lebanese land,
and engage in whatever form of bilateral peace Lebanon and its people choose.
When Ambassador Simon Karam and his Lebanese delegation meet with Israeli
negotiators in Washington on Thursday and Friday, the challenge will be how to
reconcile the two different sequences for achieving the bilateral peace both
nations seek.
In making their case, the Lebanese often cite their domestic political
complications in an effort to persuade Israel to be generous once more by
withdrawing before Hezbollah’s disarmament. Israel, for its part, responds that
the “withdraw first, disarm Hezbollah second” approach has been tried at least
three times in the past quarter-century. After each withdrawal and Lebanese
commitment to disarm the militia, the Iranian proxy has remained armed and has
even expanded and rearmed.
In 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally, and the UN certified that it was in
compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 425. The rationale for the
withdrawal was that, as a “resistance” movement, Hezbollah would have no raison
d’être once Israel’s occupation ended. However, Hezbollah continued its
cross-border attacks after Israel’s withdrawal, culminating in the 2006 war.
Israel stopped its military campaign and withdrew from Lebanese territory in
return for Lebanon’s promise to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and
disarm Hezbollah. Beirut never did. Instead, Hezbollah expanded from a local
militia into one rivaling a medium-sized European army. On October 8, 2023, it
launched a war on the Jewish state, presumably “in support of Gaza.” Once again,
Israel had to expend blood and treasure to counter the Hezbollah threat to its
territory and its citizens.
On November 27, 2024, for the third time since 2000, Beirut committed to
disarming Hezbollah if Israel stopped warring with the militia and withdrew its
troops. Once again, Israel conceded Lebanese territory, save for five strategic
hilltops that it promised to release once Lebanon completed disarmament of the
militia. Again, Beirut never disarmed Hezbollah, which on March 2, 2026, went to
war with Israel. Later this week, the Lebanese government will promise Israel,
yet again, to disarm Hezbollah if Israel ceases fire and withdraws first. Given
its past experience, as recently as November 2024, Israel has no reason to
believe that Beirut will deliver. Perhaps a midway solution would be to do
things simultaneously, with U.S. guarantees. Washington can announce the
following: If Beirut verifiably disarms Hezbollah—with all the U.S. and
international assistance it requires in this regard—the U.S. will guarantee
Israel’s withdrawal to the Blue Line. Talks over border demarcation can then
begin. From there, the path to signing a peace treaty becomes very short.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 13-14 May/2026
Trump arrives in China for
superpower summit with Xi
Agence France Presse/May 13/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes
summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping aimed at easing deep tensions between the
rival superpowers.
Giving a fist pump, Trump descended the steps of Air Force One after touching
down at Beijing Capital International Airport, kicking off the first visit to
China by a U.S. president in nearly a decade. Right behind him were Tesla boss
Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang -- potent symbols of the business deals
that Trump hopes to sign between the world's biggest economies.
Trump was greeted with a bunch of flowers and then walked along the red carpet,
which was lined with 300 Chinese youth in white uniforms chanting "welcome" and
waving small Chinese and U.S. flags in unison. While en route to Beijing, Trump
said on social media he would "be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary
distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their
magic". Nvidia's Huang was a surprise late addition to the trip, joining the
plane at a stopover in Alaska. China is currently banned under U.S. national
security rules from buying the cutting-edge AI chips that the company produces.
But Iran, trade and Taiwan loom over the highly anticipated meeting, which Trump
had already delayed from March because of the war the United States and Israel
started in the Middle East.
China 'welcomes' Trump visit -
Visiting China for the first time since 2017 during his previous term, Trump is
expected to receive a lavish welcome from Chinese authorities. Trump and Xi will
hold talks at 10:00 am (0200 GMT) on Thursday in Beijing's opulent Great Hall of
the People. The U.S. president will also visit the historic Temple of Heaven, a
world heritage site where China's emperors once prayed for good harvest. The
leaders will then enjoy a state banquet in the evening. On Friday, they are set
to have tea and a working lunch before Trump heads home. As he departed the
White House, Trump said he expected a "long talk" with Xi about the joint
U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which sells most of its U.S.-sanctioned oil to
China. But he also downplayed disagreements, telling reporters that "I don't
think we need any help with Iran" from China and that Xi had been "relatively
good" on the topic. The Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday it "welcomes"
Trump's visit and that "China stands ready to work with the United States... to
expand cooperation and manage differences". Yet Beijing is growing impatient for
peace, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday
to step up mediation efforts between Iran and the United States.
'Big deal' -
The long-simmering trade war between the two countries will also be top of the
agenda, after Trump's sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat levies
that exceeded 100 percent.
Trump and Xi are set to discuss extending a one-year tariff truce, which the two
leaders reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October, although a
deal is far from certain.
China's controls on rare earth and agriculture exports are also expected to be
on the menu.
The tense buildup to the summit was already visible on the streets of Beijing,
with police monitoring major intersections and checking the ID cards of
passengers on the metro, AFP journalists saw. "It's definitely a big deal," said
Wen Wen, a 24-year-old woman travelling from the eastern city of Nanjing, when
asked by AFP about Trump's visit. Trump has repeatedly touted a strong personal
relationship with Xi, which he insisted on Monday would prevent a Chinese
invasion of Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy claimed by Beijing. While Trump
said on Monday he would speak to Xi about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the move
marks a departure from historic U.S. insistence that it will not consult Beijing
on its support to the island.
His trip will be closely scrutinised by Taiwan and Asian allies for any sign of
weakening U.S. support.
US Senate backs Trump on Iran war despite deadline lapse
AFP/13 May ,2026
US senators on Wednesday narrowly rejected a resolution curbing President Donald
Trump’s power to wage war on Iran -- their first vote on the conflict since a
60-day deadline expired for the White House to seek formal authorization. The
measure, introduced by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, was the seventh failed
attempt by Democrats to rein in Trump’s war powers since the conflict began more
than 10 weeks ago. The vote tally was 50-49. Democrats say that, under the War
Powers Act, the administration had until May 1 to secure congressional approval
for military action after Trump notified lawmakers in early March of strikes
against Iran. They say that Trump is now operating in clear violation of the
law. The administration disputes that interpretation, arguing that the clock was
paused by a ceasefire announced more than a month ago. “I think many of our
colleagues are uncomfortable with where they stand, but they’re also
uncomfortable with being on the wrong side of Trump,” Merkley told reporters.
The legal and political standoff has become a major test of Congress’s authority
over war powers more than 50 years after the law was passed in the aftermath of
the Vietnam War. While most Republicans have continued to back Trump, the
expiration of the 60-day window had been viewed by some lawmakers as a potential
turning point in support for the conflict, which has entered its 75th day amid
rising costs and growing concern over US military readiness. Merkley
acknowledged before the vote that the administration had “complicated” the issue
by declaring the clock paused. Despite the defeat, Democrats have been cheered
by a slowly growing number of Republican defections. Three of Trump’s senators
crossed the aisle to support the resolution -- one more than in the previous
vote in April -- giving the president the narrowest of winning margins, at 50
votes to 49. “They’ll have another chance to vote next week, and the week after
that,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine told reporters, vowing to hold Republican
feet to the fire. “We’re going to force this vote every week until the Senate
says we shouldn’t be at war. And I do believe that day is coming.”The War Powers
Act has historically proven difficult to enforce, with courts generally
reluctant to intervene in disputes between Congress and the White House over
military action. Even if a resolution were eventually to pass the Senate, it
would still face steep hurdles in the Republican-controlled House and would
likely be vetoed by Trump.
Iran military says control over Hormuz to bring significant
economic revenues
Agence France Presse/May 13/2026
Iran's military spokesman said on Wednesday that Tehran's control over the
Strait of Hormuz could generate "significant" economic revenue and strengthen
the country's international position. Iran has largely blocked shipping through
the strait since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on
February 28. In peacetime, the route accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil
and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities. Iran's
grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant
leverage, while the United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian
ports despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8. "Our oversight of the
Strait of Hormuz will generate significant economic revenues for our country --
potentially even doubling our oil income -- and will strengthen our influence on
the international stage," military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said, according
to ISNA news agency. He added that the western part of the strait was controlled
by the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards, while the eastern section was
overseen by the Iranian navy.
Iran's control over the strait remains one of the key sticking points in
negotiations with the United States, which have so far failed to produce a
breakthrough. On Wednesday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's
national security commission, said his committee had finalised a plan to manage
the waterway. "The Islamic Republic of Iran intends to use this strategic
position as a lever of power through strategic management of the Strait of
Hormuz," he said, according to state television. Last month, Iranian deputy
speaker of parliament Hamidreza Hajibabaei said Tehran had received its first
revenues from tolls imposed on vessels crossing the strait.
Vance says US making progress in Iran talks
LBCI/May 13/2026
U.S. President JD Vance said on Wednesday he believes progress is being made in
negotiations with Iran to end hostilities, after President Donald Trump rejected
Tehran's latest proposal as unacceptable. "I think that we are making progress.
The fundamental question is do we make enough progress that we satisfy the
President's red line?" Vance told reporters at the White House. "And the red
line is very simple. He needs to feel confident that we put a number of
protections in place such that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."Reuters
Iran says has 'right to respond' after Kuwait arrests four
citizens
Agence France Presse/May 13/2026
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that Tehran had the right to respond
after he accused Kuwait of attacking an Iranian boat and arresting four of its
citizens in the Gulf, calling for their release. "In clear attempt to sow
discord, Kuwait has unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained 4 of our
citizens in the Persian Gulf. This illegal act took place near island used by
the U.S. to attack Iran," Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. "We demand immediate
release of our nationals and reserve right to respond," he added. Kuwait's
interior ministry said in a statement published by state news agency KUNA 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, the Kuwaiti ministry said. But Iran's foreign ministry called the
allegations "absolutely baseless", and said the four officers had entered
Kuwaiti waters by mistake "due to disruption in the navigation system".
Since the Middle East war began, Kuwaiti authorities have sought to crack down
on individuals and groups with alleged links to Iran.
Netanyahu says held 'secret' meeting with UAE president during
Iran war
Agence France Presse/May
14, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a "secret" meeting with the
president of the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran, his office said
Wednesday. "During Operation 'Lion's Roar', Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
paid a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan," his office said in a statement.
Wednesday's announcement comes a day after U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike
Huckabee announced that Israel had sent its Iron Dome air defense systems and
personnel to operate them to the UAE during the war with Iran. While stopping
short of confirming Huckabee's comments, Netanyahu's office said the visit
"marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab
Emirates". 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.
UAE denies reports of Netanyahu visit
Arab News/May 14, 2026
DUBAI: The UAE denied on Wednesday reports that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu visited the country. The Israeli PM’s office said earlier
on Wednesday that Netanyahu visited the UAE in March, during the war with Iran.
A statement from the UAE’s foreign ministry denied that the visit took place and
also said there had been no visits by any Israeli military delegation. “Any
claims regarding unannounced visits or undisclosed arrangements are entirely
unfounded unless officially announced by the relevant authorities in the UAE,”
the ministry’s statement said.
“The UAE reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and conducted
within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords,
and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements,” it added.
UAE reaffirms diplomacy, rejects confrontation with Iran, Gargash says
Reuters/13 May ,2026
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, said on
Wednesday that the UAE remained committed to political solutions and diplomacy
amid regional tensions, while stressing the country’s right to defend its
sovereignty. UAE said it had not sought conflict and had worked to avoid it,
adding that relations between the Arab states and Iran should not be based on
confrontation.
MBS, UAE president discuss efforts to enhance regional security and stability
Al Arabiya English/May 13/2026
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with UAE President Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported early
Wednesday adding that the leaders discussed latest regional developments. During
the call they “discussed areas of bilateral cooperation,” while they also
“further reviewed the latest regional developments and ongoing efforts to
enhance security and stability in the region,” SPA added. The call came amid the
ongoing US-Iran conflict with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight. Since the
Israeli-US war on Iran started February 28, civilian infrastructure in Gulf
States has repeatedly become the target of indiscriminate Iranian missile and
drone attacks. In addition, Gulf states have dismantled local networks with
connections to the IRGC aiming at destabilizing the country they are operating
in.
Not a Special Honor for Iran: Vatican Award Was Given to 13 Ambassadors — and
the Pope Did Not Attend
LBCI/May 13/2026
Iranian and Arab media outlets circulated reports claiming that Pope Leo XIV
awarded Iran’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, the Knight
Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX, also known as the Ordine Piano / Order of
Pius IX. Some reports presented the move as a notable diplomatic gesture amid
rising international tensions linked to the war between the United States and
Iran. The claim is partly true, but misleading in context.
The Iranian ambassador did receive the award. However, it was not a special or
exclusive honor granted to him personally, nor was it presented in the Vatican’s
official report as a political message related to the war or regional
escalation. According to the official Vatican News report, a ceremony was held
at the Vatican on 12 May 2026 to honor 13 ambassadors accredited to the Holy See
who had completed at least two years of diplomatic service. They were awarded
the title of Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX, one of the Holy
See’s high diplomatic honors. The official report also states that the insignia
and official parchments were presented not by the Pope personally, but by
Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of
State. The official photo published with the Vatican News article shows the 13
ambassadors standing with Archbishop Rudelli, confirming that the ceremony was
collective and protocol-based, not an event dedicated solely to the Iranian
ambassador. As for the circulated photo showing the Iranian ambassador with the
Pope, it does not prove that it was taken during the award ceremony.
Reverse-image checks indicate that similar images have been online for at least
12 months, meaning its use to suggest that the Pope personally handed the award
to the Iranian ambassador is out of context.
Conclusion:
Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari did receive the award, but as part
of a routine diplomatic ceremony involving 13 ambassadors accredited to the Holy
See after completing two years of service. The honor was not exclusive to Iran,
the Pope did not attend the award ceremony, and the Vatican’s official report
does not link the award to the war or to any political position in support of
Iran.
Iran executes man convicted of killing policeman in unrest: Report
LBCI/May 13/2026
Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted of repeatedly stabbing and killing a
police officer during nationwide protests in early 2026, the semi-official news
agency Fars news agency reported. According to a report by rights group HRANA,
a lawyer alleged that authorities did not allow independent lawyers to take
the case. Reuters
Drone strike hits Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil: Reuters
LBCI/May 13/2026
A drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq's Erbil, security
sources said on Wednesday adding that an arms and ammunition depot inside the
camp was targeted.
There was no reports of fatalities. Reuters
Israel ruling coalition proposes dissolving parliament for
early elections: PM party
LBCI/May 13/2026
Israel's ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve the country's
parliament, paving the way for early elections, the party of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
"The 25th Knesset shall be dissolved before the end of its term. Elections (to
form the next parliament) will be held on a date determined by the Knesset
Committee, which may not be set earlier than 90 days after the passage of this
law," the draft legislation released by Likud said.
According to Israeli media reports, the dissolution bill could be put to a vote
on May 20. AFP
UAE-owned tanker leaks some fuel off Oman following Iranian strike
Reuters/13 May ,2026
A unit of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Wednesday that one
of its tankers struck by Iranian drones last week has leaked a small amount of
fuel off the coast of Oman, underscoring the ecological risks stemming from the
Iran war.
Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made navigating the vital
shipping corridor a precarious task. Hundreds of vessels remain trapped in the
Gulf. ADNOC Logistics & Services said it was monitoring the situation concerning
its vessel, the M.V. Barakah, and was working “closely with the relevant
authorities and specialist response teams.”“The ADNOC Logistics & Services
vessel Barakah remains at anchor off the coast of Oman after being impacted by
two Iranian drones on May 4,” a company spokesperson said. “A small amount of
what is understood to be bunker fuel was unfortunately released as a result of
the incident.”The spokesperson did not say how much fuel was believed to have
leaked. At the time of the attack, ADNOC L&S said no crew members were injured
and the tanker was not carrying any cargo. Oman’s Maritime Security Centre did
not immediately respond to a request for comment. Aerial images from Copernicus’
Sentinel satellites on May 7 and 9 showed a white streak trailing from a vessel
identified by TankerTrackers.com as the M.V. Barakah near Oman’s Musandam
Peninsula. “The white trail ... is definitely consistent with oil and is clearly
coming out of the tanker,” said Louis Goddard, co-founder of consultancy Data
Desk, which focuses on climate and commodities. The slick was no longer visible
in more recent imagery, Elizabeth C. Atwood, Earth observation senior scientist
at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, told Reuters. Separately last week, satellite
images showed a suspected oil spill covering dozens of square kilometers of sea
near Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island. Iran’s top environmental official said
on Tuesday it was likely caused by a tanker dumping waste water and not a leak
from oil facilities.
Swiss considering rival air defenses after Washington delays Patriots over Iran
war
Reuters/13 May ,2026
Switzerland said on Wednesday it will look into whether to buy air-defense
systems from other suppliers, after the United States informed it that
long-delayed Patriot missile systems will be held up further because of the war
in Iran. Switzerland ordered the five Patriot missile-defense systems in 2022
with an initial expectation they would be supplied in 2026-2028, a timeline that
has already slipped by four to five years because of the war in Ukraine. The
government said it had now been told by Washington that the Iran war would lead
to additional delays and cost increases, with a delay of five to seven years now
to be expected. “All options would lead to delivery delays as well as
substantial additional costs,” the government said. Switzerland expects to
receive feedback by the end of the month from five additional suppliers of
long-range ground-based air-defense systems, the government said. It did not
identify the suppliers but said they came from Germany, France, Israel and South
Korea. It said it would prefer if the systems are produced in Europe. The
governing Federal Council is expected to decide on next steps in the coming
months, the statement added. The Swiss government said in April that terminating
the Patriot purchase was an option. The price for the five Patriot systems could
double from 2.3 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion) to 4.6 billion francs, Swiss
newspaper Tages-Anzeiger said, citing informed sources. Swiss procurement agency
armasuisse and the Pentagon did not immediately reply to requests for comment on
the report. Reuters reported last month that the US had informed European
counterparts of likely delays in previously contracted weapons deliveries, as
the Iran war continues to draw on weapons stocks.
Envoy says stalled Gaza ceasefire has failed to meet expectations of Israel,
Palestine
The Associated Press/13 May ,2026
Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for the International Board of Peace
overseeing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, acknowledged on Tuesday that little
progress had been made.
“Seven months since the ceasefire, the door to the future of Gaza is still
closed. It is not what the Palestinians were promised and it is not what they
deserve. And it is not giving Israel the security to move forward, as the
Israeli people also want,” he said. Since the Board began convening last year,
little progress has been made on key tenets of the phased ceasefire, including
disarming Hamas and other militant groups and starting to reconstruct the mostly
destroyed enclave after two years of war. “We have a ceasefire. It is holding.
It is not perfect. It is far from perfect. There are violations every day, and
some of them are very serious,” Mladenov said during a press conference in
Jerusalem.
UK’s Starmer faces biggest challenge yet as resignation
report overshadows King’s Speech
Reuters/13 May ,2026
Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health
minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest
to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his
government’s agenda.
The report in the Times newspaper that health minister Wes Streeting was
preparing to resign as early as Thursday to mount a formal leadership challenge
overshadowed the King’s Speech, when the government formally sets out its
agenda. British government bond futures fell sharply on the report, erasing
their day’s gains, as did 20- and 30-year government bonds, which showed a small
rise in borrowing costs on the day. Earlier, Streeting briefly met Starmer at
his Downing Street office but said he would not comment on that meeting. His
office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Starmer has tried
to brush off challenges to his authority and will press on with unveiling plans
to boost economic growth, energy security and defense in a King’s Speech which
could be his last and might never be implemented.
Leadership race could be triggered
But a direct challenge from Streeting would signal a deeper crisis for Starmer,
which could trigger a new leadership contest if the health minister has the
support of 81 Labor lawmakers to launch a bid. That could encourage other rivals
to enter the race, although two potential challengers, Greater Manchester mayor
Andy Burnham and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, have to overcome
hurdles before they would be able to run. Burnham does not have the necessary
seat in parliament to mount a challenge and Rayner has yet to fully resolve the
tax issues that prompted her resignation from office last year. Streeting is
viewed as being on the right of the Labor Party, while both Burnham and Rayner
hail from its “soft left.”
Some investors are nervous over the possible election of a more traditional
left-wing, tax-and-spend Labor prime minister.
Zelenskyy urges Trump to raise Russian invasion during
China summit
AFP/13 May ,2026
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged his US counterpart Donald Trump
to discuss ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during meetings this week with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping. China is a close economic and political partner of
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022. Beijing has said it takes a neutral
stance on the Ukraine war, and has never condemned the invasion. “We are in
constant contact with our American partners,” Zelenskyy told a summit in
Romania. “We are thankful, and we are expecting that the issue of ending of the
Russian war against Ukraine will be raised now as well, while the president of
the United States is in China,” he added. Zelenskyy’s comments come as US-led
efforts to end the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II falter, with
Washington distracted by the Middle East conflict. Trump last week brokered a
three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine which was marred by allegations
of violations by both sides. Moscow and Kyiv launched large-scale attacks
immediately after.
Amnesty calls for ‘war crimes’ probe into Israeli
destruction of south Syria homes
AFP/May 13, 2026
DAMASCUS: Amnesty International said on Thursday that the Israeli army’s
destruction of civilian homes in southern Syria since the fall of longtime ruler
Bashar Assad should be investigated as “war crimes.”Israel moved its forces into
a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights
after Assad’s December 2024 toppling by Islamist forces whom it considers
jihadists. It has also launched hundreds of strikes on Syria and carries out
regular incursions into the country’s south where it demands a demilitarized
zone.
“The Israeli military’s deliberate destruction of civilian homes” in southern
Syria’s Quneitra province since December 2024 “with no absolute military
necessity, should be investigated as war crimes,” Amnesty said in a statement.
“Israel has an obligation to make reparations for these serious violations of
international humanitarian law,” the rights group added. Amnesty said that the
day Assad fell, Israeli forces entered three villages and towns in the
UN-demilitarized zone in Quneitra province, “conducting home raids and ordering
residents to leave.”
“Over the following six months, the Israeli military destroyed or damaged at
least 23 civilian structures in three villages,” Amnesty said, adding that
witnesses described the buildings as “their and their neighbors’ homes.”The
rights group said it used satellite imagery to verify damage and destruction to
23 structures in the villages. “Securing Israel’s border cannot be used to
justify bulldozing and blowing up people’s homes and villages on the territory
of another country,” Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for
the Middle East and North Africa said in the statement. Israeli operations in
south Syria have continued even as the new Islamist authorities in Damascus have
held talks with Israeli officials in recent months as they edge toward a
security agreement after decades of hostilities. Israel has occupied most of
Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967, annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognized
by most of the international community.
Iran Releases Prize-Winning Rights Lawyer
Nasrin Sotoudeh
This is Beirut/May 13/2026
Iranian authorities on Wednesday released on bail the prize-winning rights
lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh following her latest arrest last month, her daughter
said. Sotoudeh was arrested at her home on April 1 as part of what activists say
is a crackdown on civil society during Iran's war with Israel and the United
States. "Mum was temporarily released on bail a few hours ago," her daughter
Mehraveh Khandan wrote on Instagram. Sotoudeh, who has won awards including the
2012 Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament and the 2020 Right Livelihood
Award, has repeatedly been arrested over her work in the past. Her husband and
Mehraveh's father, Reza Khandan, has been held in an Iranian prison since
December 2023. It remains unclear what charges Sotoudeh may face. Her release
comes after fellow Iranian rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Narges Mohammadi was released on bail on Sunday and transferred to Tehran for
medical treatment, with supporters saying her life is in danger. Sotoudeh has
for years campaigned on some of the most sensitive issues in the Islamic
republic, notably working to prevent the execution of youths convicted of
crimes. She has also won prominence thanks to appearances in film. She made a
memorable cameo as a passenger in Jafar Panahi's 2015 movie "Taxi Tehran" and
was the subject of a warmly received 2020 documentary, "Nasrin."Rights groups
say thousands have been arrested in a crackdown on civil society since the
U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28. The arrests follow protests
across Iran in January in which thousands were killed as security forces
suppressed the demonstrations, according to activists.
on 13-14 May/2026
Sweden Drops 'Islamophobia', Votes for Free Speech
Robert Williams/Gatestone
Institute/May 13/2026
"[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.
NATO, Please Help. Trump Has No Strategy for Iran.
Thomas L. Friedman/New york
times/May 12, 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/opinion/israel-united-states-iran-hormuz-nato.html
Dear NATO Members: I get it. You despise President Trump for all the right
reasons. He has walked away from Ukraine. He has threatened to seize Greenland
and annex Canada. He has coddled Vladimir Putin. He is eroding America’s
democratic institutions and norms. He insulted each of you so much that the
German chancellor recently barked back that Trump’s America was being
“humiliated” by Iran. I get it.
Now get over it.
Get all your navies together and proceed to the Persian Gulf immediately to join
the American armada to make clear that Iran will never, ever be allowed to
decide who shall pass and who shall not through the Strait of Hormuz. And, if it
insists on trying to do so, it won’t just be taking on the United States and
Israel, it will be taking on the entire Western alliance.
For you to sit on the sidelines and let Iran’s malign regime, with its poisonous
ideology, take hostage the Strait of Hormuz — as well as the modernizing Arab
Gulf states lining it — would keep the world’s most critical oil lifeline in a
state of permanent instability. This is not a small matter for Europe, which is
highly dependent on gas from the Gulf to heat and power its economies, unless it
wants to return to dependency on Russia.
I know this is a big ask, and it would be a lot easier if either Trump or the
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would ever summon the integrity to
apologize for launching this war without NATO consultation, without any strategy
for the morning after if things did not go as planned and without even a fig’s
leaf of international legitimation from the United Nations.
Alas, these two reckless egomaniacs, who are nowhere near as smart as they think
they are, have now boxed themselves in. Unfortunately, we are all in the box
with them.
The situation they have created is bad enough. Worse, it is difficult to see how
this war ends in a peace deal that doesn’t give a new lease on life to Iran’s
Islamic regime. Any deal that requires Iran to give up its enriched uranium —
and sets limits on future enrichment — would also require Trump to give Tehran
an injection of cash by lifting sanctions.
But the last thing we should want is for those concessions to include any
special right for Iran to set up a tollbooth to shake down ships that want to
pass through the Strait of Hormuz. That is exactly what the Iranians are trying
to engineer.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which monitors global shipping, Tehran
has already set up a new agency called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority. With
it, Iran is “positioning itself as the only valid authority to grant permission
to ships transiting the strait,” Lloyds said. It added that the new Iranian
authority had emailed it an application form for ships seeking passage, in order
to approve transit and collect tolls from each ship passing through the strait.
If that or anything like that becomes the new normal for shipping through the
Strait of Hormuz, who knows which other countries will add tollbooths on
critical sea lanes off their shores?
Trump and Bibi have done nothing to earn such high-minded NATO support even
though the future of Hormuz so directly impacts every member of the alliance.
This leads to my sad conclusion: Our NATO allies will almost surely reject this
appeal.
The necessary may now be impossible. Trump has so regularly denigrated NATO,
undermining the alliance’s deterrence against Russia, launched the Iran war
without an iota of consultation and been utterly indifferent to the devastating
inflationary impacts and energy shortages the war has inflicted on NATO members
that the people in these countries may simply not allow their leaders to help
us.
That is especially likely at a time when Trump sounds more and more unhinged
every day. Who wants to stand with him, other than the sycophants in his cabinet
and party?
On Sunday, in a Truth Social post, Trump denounced the response to his peace
proposal from “Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives’” as “totally unacceptable.”
Mr. Trump, if they are “so-called Representatives,” why have you been
negotiating with them for weeks and what good would a positive response have
been? And maybe they are “so-called” because you and Netanyahu killed their
“so-called” superiors, who might have had the authority to cut a serious deal.
You thought the regime would collapse, but instead you hardened it.
Not surprisingly, Trump has called the new leaders of Iran “lunatics.” It took
you that long to discover that, Mr. President? Did you not know that one of
Ayatollah Khomeini’s most famous declarations was that Iranians did not topple
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979 “to get cheaper melons”?
Trump is so sure that everyone is corrupt because so many around him seem to be,
either financially or ethically, that he can’t believe it when a pope or an
ayatollah won’t bend to his will. They must be “lunatics,” he says. No. They are
actually in it for their beliefs.
It is not only our NATO allies that I worry about. It’s also our Arab Gulf
allies, who may be the biggest losers from this war. Two dominant models are
struggling for the future of the Middle East today. “The choice is either the
Dahiya or Dubai," Nadim Koteich, an Emirati Lebanese writer and strategist, told
me. The Dahiya is the name of the Shiite-dominated southern suburb of Beirut, a
stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which seeks to impose on
Lebanon the same kind of anti-democratic, anti-modern, anti-pluralistic,
puritanical Islamic fundamentalism that the Iran regime has imposed at home. The
Iranians are trying to do the same in Iraq and Yemen after failing to do so in
Syria. Anything this Dahiya vision touches “is a kiss of death for a country,”
as Koteich put it. “It turns it into another mediocre version of Iran.”
The United Arab Emirates pioneered a different model, originally built around
the port city of Dubai. It proclaimed that the future belongs to those
governments that produce noncorrupt, responsible bureaucracies, and that support
moderate Islam, religious pluralism and an openness to the world and anyone
eager to bring their talents. For the past few decades people from all over the
Arab world, and beyond, flocked to Dubai for jobs, tourism and opportunity. And
it worked. The Emirates and the modernizing Saudis, Bahrainis, Kuwaitis and
Qataris are far from perfect. They do very bad stuff sometimes. But compared to
their predecessors and others in the region, this new generation of Gulf leaders
offers a model of modernity that is envied and increasingly emulated throughout
the Arab world.
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors,
tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills
to deter Iran after the United States is gone. All that money will be diverted
from economic development. Even though there has been a supposed cease-fire
between the United States and Iran, Iran has reportedly been striking the
Emirates with missiles and drones, which Iran denies.
The Dubai model is precisely the one Tehran wants to destroy.
“If you are a young person in the Arab world, you saw in the U.A.E. a country
that respected the rule of law, worked hard to avoid this war and opened its
doors to everyone who wanted to prosper — even to Iranians,” Mina Al-Oraibi, the
editor of The National, the Emirates’ English-language daily, which is based in
Abu Dhabi, told me. “There was even an Iranian-run hospital, an Iranian
community school and an Iranian community club.” Meanwhile, she added, down the
street in the very same Dubai, “Israelis were having weddings.”
“If that model gets damaged without anyone batting an eye,” Oraibi added — and
if the Global South in particular starts to look at Iran as the only country
that stood up to Trump and Netanyahu, and held them accountable for the
destruction of Gaza — it will be a tragedy that will diminish the whole region.
So, I end where I began. I understand why our NATO allies want to watch Trump
and Netanyahu reap what they sowed. But these two awful leaders have sowed the
wind — and we will all reap the whirlwind if Iran comes out of this stronger.
The Times is committed to publishing
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**Thomas L. Friedman is the foreign affairs Opinion columnist. He joined the
paper in 1981 and has won three Pulitzer Prizes. He is the author of seven
books, including “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” which won the National Book Award.
@tomfriedman • Facebook
Trump Can Stare Down a Weak Xi Jinping This Week
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute./May 13, 2026
Xi Jinping's inward-facing actions, however, betray a deep sense of insecurity.
Trump can take advantage of it. China's people — to the regime "building
material" — are now extremely unhappy in the Communist Party "engineering
state." Gloom, as a result, has descended over Chinese society. Xi has responded
to the unhappiness in society by initiating a censorship campaign against
"excessively pessimistic sentiment." Most significantly, he is not willing to
implement structural changes to put more money in the pockets of the laobaixing,
the common folk. No wonder China's intellectuals and social media users refer to
this moment as their country's "garbage time of history." Unfortunately, Xi
considers the United States an existential threat not because of anything
Americans say or do but because of who they are. An insecure ruling organization
in Beijing is afraid of the inspirational impact of American values and form of
governance on the Chinese people. This means, try as Americans might, their
democracy will never have amicable relations with China as long as it is ruled
by the Communist Party.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's inward-facing actions betray a deep sense of
insecurity. US President Donald Trump can take advantage of it.
The Washington Post this week reported that Xi Jinping, on the eve of his summit
with President Donald Trump, is "confident in China's power." The country, from
the outside, looks strong.
Xi's inward-facing actions, however, betray a deep sense of insecurity. Trump
can take advantage of it. As Yanzhong Huang of the Council on Foreign Relations
wrote in the New York Times on May 10, Xi has created and reinforced ridiculous
narratives of American decline inside the "information cocoon" the Communist
Party has created. For instance, the notion of an "American kill line" —
millions of American families are "teetering on a precipice" where they are "one
lost job, illness, or unexpected expense away from ruin" — has taken hold in
China.
"Insular, nationalist voices are amplified more than ever," Huang writes. "Zhang
Weiwei, a university professor who served as Deng Xiaoping's interpreter and has
millions of online followers, absurdly claimed in a viral video in January that
China is the only country in the world whose people eat well."
Why the hostility?
The Communist Party is in defensive mode. Its leaders have no other way to
justify their failures than to denigrate others, primarily the United States.
China's people have largely lost hope, and it is not hard to see why. The
regime's leaders, says Dan Wang, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer
the Future, "treat society as a big engineering project, where people are yet
another building material that the leadership just want to tweak and destroy if
necessary."
China's people — to the regime "building material" — are now extremely unhappy
in the Communist Party "engineering state." Gloom, as a result, has descended
over Chinese society.
"As a leader of a totalitarian—not simply authoritarian—regime, the Communist
Party controls narratives domestically," Piero Tozzi, senior director for China
Policy of the America First Policy Institute, told Gatestone on May 10. "It is
increasingly difficult for it to dispel the nationwide awareness of malaise."
The pervasive pessimism has resulted in people "lying flat" — embracing a
"low-desire life" — or "retiring" — leaving cities to work on farms. In one way
or another, the Chinese are opting out of society. The University of
Pennsylvania's Victor Mair has collected other words and phrases for leaving
society, including "Buddha whatever," "Kong Yijiism," and "involution." "China
today has so many memes for opting out," he wrote in July 2023. Young educated
Chinese constantly find new ways to show discontent. People with resources, not
surprisingly, are leaving China.
The gloom is most fundamentally reflected in the country's collapsing
demography. Beijing reports the county's population was 1.4 billion at the end
of last year. The UN's median estimate for turn-of-the-century population is
633.4 million. Others, such as Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
have issued far lower numbers. "Left unaddressed," Yi wrote, "China's
demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse."
"China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return," wrote Wang Feng of the
University of California, Irvine. Xi Jinping has responded to the unhappiness in
society by initiating a censorship campaign against "excessively pessimistic
sentiment." Most significantly, he is not willing to implement structural
changes to put more money in the pockets of the laobaixing, the common folk.
Xi's control and surveillance mechanisms, in their totality, are especially
merciless. Those people with low social-credit scores have been completely cut
off from society and must sleep in the streets.
No wonder China's intellectuals and social media users refer to this moment as
their country's "garbage time of history."
"These days, there is a sense of bitter anger among the people at being the
voiceless victims of the state's obsession with world power and beating the
United States," wrote Helen Gao in the New York Times in November 2025.
What does Huang of the Council on Foreign Relations suggest? Deterrence and
"restoring the human connections that once helped hold the relationship
together."
Xi, however, has been determinedly cutting links with foreign parties, a tactic
Chinese leaders have used through millennia when they felt pressure from the
outside threatened their rule. There is little the U.S. can do in this
situation. It cannot force Xi to reestablish these links.
Unfortunately, Xi considers the United States an existential threat not because
of anything Americans say or do but because of who they are. An insecure ruling
organization in Beijing is afraid of the inspirational impact of American values
and form of governance on the Chinese people. This means, try as Americans
might, their democracy will never have amicable relations with China as long as
it is ruled by the Communist Party.
When Xi is worried about contact with the outside, it is hard to engage his
regime or society. Trump is confronting a brittle China in Beijing this week.
Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America, a
Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory
Board.
**Follow Gordon G. Chang on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
UK bracing for yet another political storm
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 13, 2026
Is it the end of the road for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the poor
performance of his party at last week’s local elections?
Less than two years ago, Starmer promised to replace the years of Tory
turbulence with competence, stability and growth. But it seems today that
neither Britain’s voters nor many of his ministers and backbench MPs are
convinced. Labour under Starmer scored a landslide victory in the July 2024
general election, but his leadership style and lack of charisma have not cut it
with an impatient electorate that desires instant and radical change.
Last week’s elections delivered a double blow: both to Starmer and the
long-established political duopoly that has led the country for the past 100
years. Starmer might even prove to be the last leader to win a general election
with an outright majority, as the electorate is showing further evidence of
splintering in search of smaller parties.
It was long thought that the UK’s electoral system was more immune to populism
than most, but last week’s results showed that British voters are drifting
toward the extremes — on the right, Reform UK and its anti-Europe,
anti-immigrant populism, and, on the left, the Green Party with its new
eco-populism. Their current share of support, if translated into a parliamentary
election, would mean the end for Britain’s two-party system dominated by Labour
and the Conservatives.
The UK, like elsewhere, should be craving stability and survival amid a complex
geopolitical landscape. This would not be good news for Starmer, the people or
the political system. The UK, like elsewhere, should be craving stability and
survival amid a complex geopolitical landscape. There is no time for internal
strife and party-political warfare on top of the wars in the Middle East and
Ukraine, which came after the difficult years of the pandemic, and the recent
unprecedented strangling of the world’s economy by the closure of the Strait of
Hormuz.
Domestically, societies everywhere are reeling under the pressures of the rising
cost of living, increased insecurity and weaponized migration, which are further
polarizing populations. The financial problems Labour inherited have limited the
government’s maneuverability and added to Starmer’s woes thanks to
higher-than-ever care costs and rising health and welfare bills.
Time is running out for Starmer. But also for the UK’s historic two-party
system. Starmer’s efforts to steady the ship ahead of Wednesday’s crucial king’s
speech — the address that sets out the government’s priorities for the year
ahead — is unlikely to change much. Even a reversal of Brexit might not deliver
the shock needed to make voters rethink.
Starmer was never a great orator, let alone a charismatic leader, but he was
chosen to turn things around for the country after the turbulent Tory years,
with the likes of Boris Johnson collapsing trust in politics and Liz Truss
nearly collapsing the economy.
There is a norm in the UK that political earthquakes are saved for general
elections and that local elections do not bring down prime ministers. But times
have changed and maybe the voters are now ready to do away with the century-old
Labour-Conservative duopoly.
Last week’s elections delivered change for scores of councils in England and the
parliaments of Scotland and Wales. In Scotland, Labour’s weakness enabled the
Scottish National Party to extend its 19 years as head of the devolved
government in Edinburgh. And Labour lost control of the Welsh Senedd for the
first time since devolution took effect in 1999.
Times have changed and maybe the voters are now ready to do away with the Labour-Conservative
duopoly
However, it is Reform UK’s results that will cause the most consternation and
have the greatest adverse impact on the country’s political landscape going
forward. Its overall share of the vote remained stable at about 20 percent and
that is a grave concern. But its path to power will remain uncertain unless it
starts scoring vote shares in the mid-to-high 30s.
But the danger from the populism of Reform is that it is clawing support from
both an effectively defunct Conservative Party and the Labour heartland known as
the “red wall,” where voters are disappointed by this government’s performance.
Meanwhile, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats are taking progressive votes
away from Labour in key cities and counties like never before. Yes, there may be
many reasons to question Starmer, from his ambiguous approach to key questions
to his failure to make the moral case for socialism, as well as his failure to
clean up politics. All that against the backdrop of a continued rise in the cost
of living. Even his opposition to the US’ war with Iran did not help him, after
the so-called abdication of his moral authority in the eyes of some traditional
Labour supporters concerning Gaza.
The rancor and hatred for him, however, is alarming and reflects an electorate
that is more polarized, impatient and unreasonable than ever. Many believe it is
reflective of the political moment, with public opinion magnified by a tech
realm that delivers digital consensus over single issues that are then adopted
as a trend. It is scary how a negative view of Starmer is shared on both the
right and the left, and with equally toxic fervor.
One wonders, after scrolling through social media feeds, if Starmer’s
premiership can be saved. He is maybe a leader for another age and, regardless
of how well he delivers on stability and growth for the nation, it will not be
enough. Once judged in the current court of social media-driven public opinion,
there is no going back and Britain should brace itself for yet another period of
political instability. His demise as PM could also spell the end of the historic
Labour-Conservative duopoly, which has been a steady hand on the tiller for the
UK for many years.
*Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years of
experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.
International climate law needs teeth
Ralph Regenvanu/Arab News/May 13, 2026
The International Court of Justice last year delivered a legal opinion on
climate change with a clarity of purpose not seen since the 2015 Paris
Agreement. It left no doubt that states have a legal obligation to prevent
significant harm to the climate system and that failure to do so carries legal
consequences.
My own country, Vanuatu, brought this question to the world and to the court.
But we were not alone. We built a coalition of countries spanning every region
and gained sustained support from youth movements. Ultimately, 132 countries
co-sponsored a motion for a UN resolution asking the International Court of
Justice to rule on the matter, which then passed by consensus. It was a historic
moment and one that did not happen by accident.
Now we are back at the UN General Assembly, presenting a resolution to give the
world court’s advisory opinion practical effect and calling on the world to
support it. It is normal practice for such advisory opinions to go back to the
UNGA, where resolutions give member states an opportunity to amplify their
political and normative authority. This new resolution not only calls on the UN
to endorse the opinion but also urges all member states to uphold the
obligations that the court identified. It sets the stage for follow-up action
within the UN system, such as a formal request to the secretary-general to find
ways to advance compliance.
This is a critical moment, not just for the climate but also for the future of
international cooperation
We believe this new resolution is the best way to ensure that legal obligations
to deal with climate change do not just sit on a shelf. They must be reflected
in the real world, even if certain states would rather pretend that the ruling
did not happen.
We are under no illusions that the ruling will be difficult for some countries
to implement. But we cannot ignore the costs of inaction. This is a critical
moment, not just for the climate but also for the future of international
cooperation. The entire postwar, postcolonial multilateral order is under
significant pressure. Large states are withdrawing from international agreements
and withholding funding from multilateral organizations. Bilateral deals are
replacing collective frameworks. Many fear that the global architecture of
rules, norms, courts and international accountability is crumbling before our
eyes.
In this context, reaffirming the role of institutions like the International
Court of Justice would be a shot in the arm for multilateralism. What Vanuatu, a
country of only about 340,000 people, has accomplished shows that the system can
still function. We took a legal question to the appropriate institution and that
institution did its job. The process was slow and we faced plenty of resistance
along the way. But justice prevailed. All states had a chance to argue before
the court, whether they were for or against the motion, and the outcome was
clear.
The ruling gave vulnerable people around the world hope and lent new momentum to
multilateral climate action, especially the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change — the process that has organized the international response to climate
change for more than 30 years. Everyone participating in the annual UN Climate
Change Conferences now knows where the world court stands. The obligation to
cooperate on meaningful solutions is not merely political and moral, but legal.
Following weeks of negotiations, our new resolution has been shaped by input
from almost every UN member state and facilitated by a core group of countries
from every region of the world. That breadth of engagement is no accident. It
shows that the appetite for a truly global response to climate change remains
strong, even at this fraught geopolitical moment.
What Vanuatu, a country of only about 340,000 people, has accomplished shows
that the system can still function
There is no defensible reason for states to vote against the resolution. If we
fail here, we will be signaling to current and future generations that we have
moved from a system built on cooperation to one governed by power alone. We will
be conceding that pressure from vested interests can derail the progress we have
made toward guaranteeing our collective survival.
It is no secret that powerful vested interests want to delay the transition away
from fossil fuels. Despite the rapidly falling costs of renewables, they have no
problem leveraging their money and influence to frustrate efforts to mitigate
climate change. Small island states like Vanuatu are particularly vulnerable to
these bad-faith actors.
Still, the world is now witnessing the consequences of relying on a fossil fuel
economy. While Vanuatu has long been vulnerable to growing climate-related risks
like cyclones and drought, we are currently experiencing a different kind of
storm. Those fueling up at gas stations in Port Vila are seeing the same high
prices as hundreds of millions of others around the world. We are all learning
the hard way what a failure to phase out fossil fuels looks like.
The conflict in the Middle East reminds us that fossil fuels do not just heat
the planet; they also inflame conflicts. The sooner all of us move away from
such volatility, the better.
We all have a duty to keep fighting for international cooperation, because the
alternative — a world that stops trying to solve its hardest problems
collectively — would be worse than the current one. Vanuatu and its many
like-minded partners will continue to push forward, not only on behalf of our
own communities but on behalf of yours, too. Billions of people are already
facing, or will soon face, rising seas, intensifying storms, deadly wildfires
and the relentless erosion of everything we have built.
The law has spoken. The question confronting every state is simple: We know the
rule of law applies to climate change, but do you intend to act on it?
**Ralph Regenvanu is Vanuatu’s Minister of Climate Change.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
Selected Face
Book & X tweets for
May 13/2026
Nadim Koteich
Glad to have shared my 'Dahiya or Dubai' framework with @tomfriedman,
two models competing for the future of the Middle East, in his column today: @nytimes
Two dominant models are struggling for the future of the Middle East today. “The
choice is either the Dahiya or Dubai," Nadim Koteich, an Emirati Lebanese writer
and strategist, told me. The Dahiya is the name of the Shiite-dominated southern
suburb of Beirut, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which
seeks to impose on Lebanon the same kind of anti-democratic, anti-modern,
anti-pluralistic, puritanical Islamic fundamentalism that the Iran regime has
imposed at home. The Iranians are trying to do the same in Iraq and Yemen after
failing to do so in Syria. Anything this Dahiya vision touches “is a kiss of
death for a country,” as Koteich put it. “It turns it into another mediocre
version of Iran.” The United Arab Emirates pioneered a different model,
originally built around the port city of Dubai. It proclaimed that the future
belongs to those governments that produce noncorrupt, responsible bureaucracies,
and that support moderate Islam, religious pluralism and an openness to the
world and anyone eager to bring their talents. For the past few decades people
from all over the Arab world, and beyond, flocked to Dubai for jobs, tourism and
opportunity. And it worked.
Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري
BREAKING: In an unprecedented move, Lebanon has filed an official complaint with
the UN and the Security Council against Iran, alleging "violation of the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations, by interfering in Lebanon's sovereign
decision-making and dragging the country into a devastating war against the will
of the Lebanese state."
As published today on the British news site "Independent Arabia," which is
published in Arabic in partnership with Saudi institutions.
Shadi khalloul שאדי ח'לול
I am a Maronite Aramaic Christian, Catholic from North Israel, Galilee. For the
last 7 decades, the Vatican failed to protect Christians in our Middle East
region, their appeasement policy as in this photo and their deplomacy weakened
Christianity in the holyland and led Muslims to continue their oppression
against all Christians specifically in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Bethlehem. In
the past, Vatican acted against our Syriac Maronite Patriarch Anton Arida who
pushed for peace with Israel. Now I hear many people in the ground here say, we
lost our hope in this type of leadership and we look for Trump as a defender of
our existence as Christians in this region. I call the Pope to collaborate with
President Trump instead of appeasing Iranian Islamic evil regime and be in the
same page with President Trump instead of clashing with his leadership.
This would benefit all Christians, from all sides, from all backgrounds.
Thank you for your attention.
MAGGA
Paul Salem
After thirteen rewarding years with the Middle East Institute, and before that
seven years with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, I am thrilled
to be joining the Center For Strategic and International Studies @CSIS Middle
East Program led by @Mona_Yacoubian as a Non-Resident Senior Associate based in
Beirut.I look forward to working with Mona and the outstanding CSIS team on
critical issues related to Lebanon and the broader Middle East.
Dr Walid Phares
"L'arroseur arrose'? "So Iraq and Pakistan cut separate deals with "Iran" to
move oil and energy? It is not far to expect that Turkey may also cut its own
deal. We are blockading Iranian ports in the Gulf, and our "partners" are
leaking cash to the regime? There is one strategic option left. Stop the talks,
partner with the Iranian opposition to crumble the so called "Islamic Republic,"
And cut the mother of all deals with the next Iranian Government. "L'arroseur
sera arrose"
Only a President @realDonaldTrump can do it.
Iran International English
Iraq and Pakistan cut separate deals with Iran to move oil and liquefied natural
gas through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing five sources with
knowledge of the matter.
Iraq secured safe passage for two very large crude carriers, each carrying about
2 million barrels of crude, that passed through the strait on Sunday, according
to the report.
Iraq is seeking Iran’s approval for more transits to protect oil revenues that
make up 95% of its budget, the report added, citing an Iraqi oil ministry
official.
Two tankers loaded with Qatari LNG are also heading to Pakistan under a separate
bilateral agreement between Islamabad and Tehran, the report said, citing two
unnamed industry sources.
The sources said neither Iraq nor Pakistan made direct payments to Iran or
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over the transits, and Qatar was not directly
involved in the bilateral deals.
POLARIS National Security
https://x.com/i/status/2054243535256191463
@LindseyGrahamSC calls out Pakistan for helping Iran's military while mediating
negotiations:
"I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them! No wonder this damn thing is
going nowhere!"
"If they're protecting Iranian assets, we should look for somebody else to
mediate."
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
All the Arabs needed was another non-Arab Medieval state — this time Pakistan,
after Iran and Turkey — to tell the Arabs how to conduct their relations with
America and Israel.
The irony is that these non-Arab Muslims speak on behalf of Islam, the Arab
religion.
Elissa el Hachem
Peace Born Dead— my latest in @NOW_leb
Tehran negotiates with its enemies without apology when its interests demand it.
“We will never bow our heads before the enemy…”That was not Hezbollah speaking.
That was Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian — while openly negotiating with
Washington.
So why is Lebanon forbidden from doing the same?Why can Iran sit openly across
the table from Washington, while Lebanon is accused of betrayal for considering
direct talks with Israel?
This is the contradiction at the heart of the Lebanese crisis:the state carries
responsibility without power, while power exists outside the state. Lebanon is
no longer negotiating peace.
It is negotiating survival between paralysis, collapse, and another war.
#Lebanon #Iran #Hezbollah #israel #israel
Nadine Barakat
Abbas Ibrahim, tied to Hezbollah/ IRGC proxy , with the help of his bestie
Celine Atallah (US lawyer) also conspired against a US citizen (myself- evidence
in hand). A network of US lawyers is being used in the US to silence and extort
activists against Hezbollah. Last thing we need is having our US courts used by
foreign terrorists &their financial networks.Amer Fakhoury paid the price. We
won’t let this happen again. Enough is enough.