English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  May 21/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them
John 12/37-43: “Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfil the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 20-21 May/2026
Deifying Politicians Corrupts Them and Turns Their Followers into Sheep and Slaves/Elias Bejjani/May 21, 2026
The May 17, 1983, agreement between Lebanon and Israel was a fair opportunity for peace that Lebanon lost/With the Agreement/Elias Bejjani/May 17/2026
Video link to an interview with Dr. Charles Chertouni:
Hezbollah says fierce resistance in Haddatha forced Israeli troops to retreat
Death toll of Deir Qanoun strike rises to 12
Seven killed in Israeli strikes on south as Hezbollah resists advancing Israeli troops
Hezbollah clashes with soldiers near Haddatha as Israel strikes on south persist
Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanon Kill 19, Including Children and Women
Hezbollah Rejects Lebanon-Israel Talks While Backing Negotiations Between Iran and the US
Lebanon Limits Security Delegation’s Role to ‘Technical’ Talks with Israel
Salam says he will not allow anyone to bypass the state, from now on
Berri postpones amnesty session after 'sectarian' protests
Families of Beirut strike victims vow to fight for justice
Why Hezbollah’s Use of FPV Drones Against Israel Will Backfire/Seth J. Frantzman/This Is Beirut/May 18, 2026
Lebanon in the Lens of Structural Theory/Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
UAE sanctions Hezbollah-linked financial network, reflecting US designations/David Daoud and Ahmad Sharawi/FDD's Long War Journal/May 20/2026

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 20-21 May/2026
Israel army chief says military ‘on highest alert’ as threats over Iran war escalate
Trump says negotiations with Iran in final stages, warns of attacks if deal fails
Trump, Vance wax optimistic about end to war as domestic politics loom large
Report: US-Iran agreement may be announced within hours
Report: Israel fumes as Iran, US to formally end war, hold 30 days of talks
Iran Threatens War 'Beyond the Region' if US Attacks
Iran chief negotiator Ghalibaf says US ‘seeks to start new war’
US Marines intercept Iranian-flagged oil tanker, order it to redirect course
Iran seeking mechanism with Oman over Hormuz, foreign ministry spokesperson says
Iran’s newly-created strait authority discloses ‘controlled maritime zone’ at Hormuz
Saudi Arabia welcomes Trump decision to ‘give diplomacy a chance’ with Iran
Trump weighed Ahmadinejad as Iran’s next leader: Report
Pakistan minister in Tehran amid US-Iran impasse
UAE urges Iraq to prevent attacks from its territory 'immediately'
Turkey’s Erdogan tells Trump issues with Iran can be resolved
Launch of strikes on UAE nuclear plant from Iraq puts more pressure on Zaidi
Israeli far-right minister’s flotilla video sparks international criticism
Sumud Flotilla boats intercepted by Israel, slammed by US as ‘pro terror’
Italian PM says Israel's treatment of Gaza flotilla activists 'unacceptable'
Trump’s Board of Peace faces disbursement ‘gap’ in its $70 billion Gaza plan
Syria reasserts anti-Israel stance through sweeping customs law
Trump’s Kurdish gambit leaves Iranian exiles exposed to Tehran’s firepower
Former Cuban President Raul Castro charged with murder in US

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 20-21 May/2026
What the Awadi controversy tells us/Oussama Romdhani/The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
Post-Assad Syria Is Mending Fences With Russia/Ahmad Sharawi/Policy Brief/May 20/2026
Is Europe Ending Up as One Big No-Go Zone?/Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute./May 20, 2026
Putin in China... Pragmatism, Not Ideology/Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 20/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 20-21 May/2026
Deifying Politicians Corrupts Them and Turns Their Followers into Sheep and Slaves
Elias Bejjani/May 21, 2026
One of the most dangerous, disastrous, and destructive misfortunes facing a large part of our "forgiving" Lebanese people—as the late Philemon Wehbe called them in a Rahbani play—is that some people sanctify politicians and clergymen. They treat them as followers, henchmen, slaves, and tools. This submissiveness does not serve the leaders; instead, it corrupts their minds, fills them with illusions of grandeur, and infects them with a pathological arrogance that detaches them from their community and their humanity.
As a result of this unhealthy, unfaithful, and deeply humiliating deification, these leaders turn into greedy, insatiable, and tyrannical creatures. In their actions, they surpass the cruelty of wild predators. Here, the Holy Bible’s warning against trusting humans and raising them to the status of gods rings true:
"Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish." (Psalm 146:3-4)
An objective review of all Lebanese politicians and leaders—the owners of family and commercial "party corporations," both Muslim and Christian—reveals a clear fact to anyone who still has their sanity, critical thinking, and a living conscience. These leaders—and by that, I mean "all of them means all of them"—are eternal on their feudal thrones. They never think of leaving them unless they are forced to by death. Then their sons, daughters, or family members inherit the leadership of these shops that are falsely called political parties, without any exception.
Worst of all, most of these leaders, especially the Maronites among them, have been sanctified and deified in total violation of all Christian values and principles. In a supreme heresy, these corrupt individuals are portrayed as if they were righteous saints. Praise poems are sung for them, and foolish chants like "With our soul and blood, we sacrifice ourselves for you" are shouted. This empty talk perfectly summarizes this state of voluntary slavery. These people have forgotten the clear divine teaching:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord." (Jeremiah 17:5)
We boast—or rather, the majority boasts with disgusting arrogance and foolish pride—that we are among the smartest, most civilized, and cultured people in the world. We blindly repeat empty slogans like: "We gave the alphabet to the world, and Hannibal, Cadmus, and Gibran came from our blood." Meanwhile, in reality, we practice the exact opposite with a deadly selfishness and a shameful short-sightedness. In the twenty-first century, we accept living submissively among piles of garbage, unable even to clean our own country!
At the same time, we see large groups praising and glorifying the Iranian occupier that is devouring our country and stealing our sovereignty. They sanctify its invading weapons and mini-states, letting it destroy the entity and message of Lebanon over skulls that are empty of everything except hypocrisy, pretense, and submissiveness. Where do these people stand regarding the truth and freedom given to us by the Creator? Jesus Christ warned us clearly:
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
How can anyone who accepts the slavery of men ever taste freedom or truth?
Because he who stays silent about his illness will be killed by it, we ask: How can we correct the actions and alliances of any politician or clergyman if we have already raised them to the level of gods and accepted the roles of henchmen and sheep for ourselves?!
Indeed, our homeland, Lebanon, is in existential danger that threatens its entity, identity, and message. It is our sacred duty to resist and push back the wild beasts, whether they are local or foreign. But to be able to face them, we must first free ourselves from the disease of dependency and blind followership, and stop trying to be overly clever while hiding behind hypocrisy.
The most important thing today is to repent, make amends for the sin of sanctifying humans and deifying politicians and clergymen, and bring forward humble, faithful, and non-narcissistic leaders. True leadership in Christian thought is service and sacrifice, not arrogance and enslavement, in line with what Jesus Christ said:
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant." (Matthew 20:25-26)
Only then can the journey of a thousand miles toward salvation begin... Otherwise, it is a hopeless case.

The May 17, 1983, agreement between Lebanon and Israel was a fair opportunity for peace that Lebanon lost/With the Agreement
Elias Bejjani/May 17/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/118293/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHNz-oADuiw&t=1s
Today, we recall the May 17 Agreement, signed between the Lebanese Republic and the State of Israel on May 17, 1983, after months of difficult negotiations in Naqoura under American sponsorship. The Lebanese negotiating delegation, with remarkable national skill and professionalism, succeeded in asserting all elements of Lebanese sovereignty and rights, and in securing a full, peaceful, and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories.
The agreement was approved by Parliament by a majority (65 votes) on June 14, 1983, and was cancelled on March 5, 1984, after President Amin Gemayel refused to sign it out of fear of Assad and as a result of his lack of vision for the future. His action was the greatest sin committed against Lebanon.
At the time, the agreement received widespread support from the Presidency, the Parliament, and the Cabinet, and was welcomed by the majority of the Lebanese people. It was also endorsed by most Arab countries and all nations of the free world, who saw it as a bold and realistic step on the path to peace. In truth, it represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lift Lebanon out of the cycle of war, occupation, and proxy conflicts, and to put it on the track of peace and stability—just as Egypt had done in 1979, and Jordan would later do in 1994.
However, the Syrian Baathist regime, which had effectively occupied Lebanon since 1976, rushed to sabotage the agreement by force through its local proxies—mercenaries, fake “resistance” profiteers, extremist Islamists, and leftist chameleons who wore a thousand disguises but had no loyalty to Lebanon’s identity, history, or sovereignty. These groups served hostile regional agendas and were merely tools of Syrian influence. The Syrian regime and its agents resorted to assassinations, terrorism, and defamation campaigns to silence those who supported the agreement and to block its implementation.
The May 17 Agreement was a golden key to restoring sovereignty and ending the crime of “Lebanon the battlefield.” It could have brought an end to the destructive myths of “resistance” and “defiance,” which produced nothing but ruin, collapse, poverty, isolation, and chaos for Lebanon. Instead of embracing the opportunity, Lebanon surrendered to the will of the Syrian regime and its apparatuses, forfeiting a rare and invaluable chance for peace, development, and prosperity.
Ironically, President Amine Gemayel—under pressure from his father, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, certain Kataeb leaders, and Arab states that feared early normalization with Israel—ultimately decided to suspend, and later cancel, the agreement. This was despite the fact that international powers did not pressure him to reverse course, as he himself confirmed in his memoirs. Sheikh Pierre Gemayel was known to repeat his famous phrase: “We don’t want to close 21 doors (Arab countries) just to open one (Israel),” reflecting the fear of Arab isolation—a fear that heavily influenced the cancellation decision.
But today, after Israel has dismantled Iran’s military arm in Lebanon—namely the terrorist group Hezbollah—eliminated its commanders, and forced it to sign a humiliating ceasefire… After the fall of the Assad regime… After the empty slogans of “resistance and defiance” were exposed as tools of destruction, takfir, and displacement… After Iran’s agents were expelled from several Arab countries… The time is ripe for Lebanon to reassess its strategic choices with a realistic and patriotic mindset.
Lebanon must sign a full peace agreement with the State of Israel—an agreement that ends the chronic state of war and grants the Lebanese people their rightful chance to live in peace and dignity, just as Egypt, Jordan, and most Arab nations have already done.
Enough hypocrisy. Enough trading in innocent blood. Enough gambling with Lebanon’s future in the name of a false and imaginary resistance that has brought nothing but devastation. Enough hollow slogans that have proven to be mere delusions, hallucinations, and fantasies.
The time has come for Lebanon to break free from the rule of the mini-state, from Iranian occupation, and to build a future that reflects the hopes and aspirations of its people.

Video link to an interview with Dr. Charles Chertouni: Lebanon has an opportunity, but the positions of Salam, Metri, and Aoun are hindering it and turning Lebanon into a scorched earth. The situation in Lebanon will not be resolved as long as Hezbollah remains an Iranian military and subversive force, and Israel is the only power capable of confronting it. A warning about the spread of chaos and the possibility of Hezbollah completely taking control of Beirut if the state collapses.
Interview conducted by journalist Abdul Rahman Darnika from Al-Hawiya website
May 20, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154606/
Title: Lebanon Officially Falls.. Charles Chartouni Reads the Scenario of Terror: Hezbollah Will Occupy Beirut!
Description:
Has Lebanon reached the point of no return? Are we witnessing the final and total collapse of the Lebanese state?
In this explosive and highly controversial episode of #Power_of_Logic, host Abdul Rahman Darnayka sits down with academic and researcher Dr. Charles Chartouni for a raw, unfiltered, and shocking reading of the complex Lebanese reality. Dr. Chartouni dismantles the current political and military landscape, warning of terrifying scenarios awaiting Lebanon as the state loses its sovereignty and decision-making power.
The interview provides a deep dive into the “scorched earth” policy currently at play, asks bold questions about the reality of ongoing diplomatic negotiations, and explores the grim possibility of an open clash that could lead either Isr**ael or Hez*bollah to take full control of the capital, Beirut!
Key Highlights of the Episode:
The Hostage State: How the Lebanese authority has turned into a “false witness” facilitating the country’s ruin.
The Illusion of Negotiations: Why Dr. Chartouni views current diplomacy as a mere waste of time against regional agendas.
Scorched Earth: An analysis of the systematic destruction of Southern Lebanon and the fallout of an “absurd war.”
Israel as a Counter-Force: A bold analysis of the balance of power, and whether Isr**ael has become the only tool to neutralize regional disruptive capabilities.
The Scenario of Terror: A grave warning about the spread of chaos and the potential for Hez*bollah to fully occupy Beirut if the state collapses.
Don’t forget to Subscribe to the channel, hit the Notification Bell, and share your thoughts in the comments: Do you agree with Dr. Chartouni’s harsh assessment of Lebanon’s reality?

Hezbollah says fierce resistance in Haddatha forced Israeli troops to retreat
Naharnet/May 20/2026
Hezbollah said Wednesday its fighters were engaged in clashes with a force of Israeli soldiers that repeatedly tried to advance from the southern border town of Rshaf towards Haddatha. The group said in a statement that the Israeli force had tried to enter Haddatha three times in one week amid fierce resistance.Hezbollah said its fighters targeted the soldiers and their tanks Wednesday despite heavy Israeli strikes and shelling. Hezbollah's artillery unit later targeted Israeli reinforcements with mortar shells, and another force and tank trying to advance toward Aita al-Jabal.
"Faced with this heroic confrontation and the scale of losses within its ranks, the enemy army was forced to retreat at dawn toward the town of Rshaf," the statement said. Israel for its part said it targeted Hezbollah fighters in the town of Haddatha with "intensive airstrikes and artillery shelling."The Israeli army was meanwhile striking and shelling other regions across south Lebanon, including Yohmor, Zawtar, Ali Taher, Kfarsir, Seer, Yater, al-Sultaniyeh, Jibal al-Botom, Kafra, and Siddiqine.Hezbollah said in a seperate statement that it targeted troops in Rshaf, Debel, Deir Seryan, and al-Taybeh.

Death toll of Deir Qanoun strike rises to 12
Associated Press/May 20/2026
The death toll of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr rose Wednesday to 12, including four women and three children of the same family and a Syrian national. Three were wounded, including a child. Israel's military did not immediately comment on the casualties or specific incidents, but said that between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, it had targeted more than 25 sites of "Hezbollah infrastructure" in southern Lebanon. The Israel-Hezbollah latest fighting began on March 2 with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group firing rockets at Israel, two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. The ministry provided no further details about the strike but state-run National News Agency said it destroyed a house, leaving several people under the rubble. Their bodies were pulled out later in the day. According to the ministry, another airstrike — this one on the southern city of Nabatieh — killed four people and wounded 10 others Tuesday, including two women. A third strike in the nearby village of Kfar Sir killed five people, including one woman.The latest deaths came a day after the death toll in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah surpassed 3,000, and two days after the U.S.-brokered truce that has been in place since April 17, was extended for 45 days. Israel has since invaded southern Lebanon and bombarded its capital, Beirut, and other areas, saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah, both a militant group and a powerful political organization in Lebanon, has resisted pressure to disarm, including by the Lebanese government. More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the fighting, with some sheltering in tents along roads and the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut. Israel, meanwhile, has struggled to halt frequent Hezbollah drone attacks targeting its troops on Lebanese soil and northern Israeli border towns. Israel's military said one of its soldiers was killed on Tuesday in battle in southern Lebanon, raising the Israeli troops' death toll to 21 since the latest conflict started.

Seven killed in Israeli strikes on south as Hezbollah resists advancing Israeli troops
Naharnet/May 20/2026
An Israeli strike on several houses in the southern town of Dweir killed five people Wednesday and wounded two others. Two other people were killed in a strike on Tebnine, and several were wounded across south Lebanon, despite the truce.
The Israeli army struck overnight into Wednesday several southern towns and villages including Jebshit, Habboush, Kherbet Selem, Kafra, Toura, al-Ghandourieh, Burj Rahhal and Siddiqine, as Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli soldiers and equipment in south Lebanon. Israeli artillery shelled Harees, Aita al-Jabal, Baraashit, Shaqra, Safad al-Battikh, Jmayjmeh, Majdal Selem, Touline, Qabrikha, and Haddatha -- where Hezbollah said it was clashing with Israeli soldiers trying to advance deeper into south Lebanon.

Hezbollah clashes with soldiers near Haddatha as Israel strikes on south persist
Naharnet/May 20/2026
The Israeli army struck overnight into Wednesday several southern towns and villages including Jebshit, Habboush, Kherbet Selem, Kafra, and Toura, as Hezbollah reported clashes with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon despite a truce. Hezbollah said its fighters "clashed.. with a force of the Israeli enemy army that tried to advance towards the vicinity of the town square of Haddatha," and targeted soldiers and equipment in the border towns of Bayyada and Rshaf. An Israeli soldier "fell in combat" in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, bringing to 21 the number killed since the start of the war. Israeli strikes on south Lebanon Tuesday killed 19 people, four of them in Nabatieh. A separate strike on Kfarsir killed five, including a woman. An Israeli strike on the town of Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district killed at least 10 people including three women and three children. Three others were wounded, including a child.

Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanon Kill 19, Including Children and Women
Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed at least 19 people, including four women and three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, US-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the casualties or specific incidents, but said that between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, it had targeted more than 25 sites of Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The Israel-Hezbollah latest fighting began on March 2 with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group firing rockets at Israel, two days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. In Beirut, the government said a single strike on the village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed 10 people, including three children and three women. Three were wounded, including a child. The ministry provided no further details about the strike, but state-run National News Agency said it destroyed a house, leaving several people under the rubble. Their bodies were pulled out later in the day. According to the ministry, another airstrike — this one on the southern city of Nabatieh — killed four people and wounded 10 others, including two women. A third strike in the nearby village of Kfar Sir killed five people, including one woman. The latest deaths came a day after the death toll in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah surpassed 3,000, and two days after the US-brokered truce that has been in place since April 17, was extended for 45 days. Israel has since invaded southern Lebanon and bombarded its capital, Beirut, and other areas, saying it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Hezbollah has resisted pressure to disarm, including by the Lebanese government. More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the fighting, with some sheltering in tents along roads and the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut. Israel, meanwhile, has struggled to halt frequent Hezbollah drone attacks targeting its troops on Lebanese soil and northern Israeli border towns. Israel's military said one of its soldiers was killed on Tuesday in battle in southern Lebanon, raising the Israeli troops' death toll to 21 since the latest conflict started.

Hezbollah Rejects Lebanon-Israel Talks While Backing Negotiations Between Iran and the US
Beirut: Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Hezbollah’s position on negotiations tied to the war in Lebanon has exposed a growing contradiction - the group fiercely opposes direct talks between the Lebanese state and Israel, yet supports Iranian-American negotiations that Tehran says include Lebanon.
The discrepancy has fueled political debate over whether Hezbollah truly rejects negotiations in principle or simply opposes talks led by the Lebanese state that could threaten its weapons and influence inside Lebanon. The issue resurfaced Tuesday after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran’s proposal includes “ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.”His remarks revived questions about Lebanon’s role in any broader regional settlement and Hezbollah’s selective approach to diplomacy.
Different Standards for Beirut and Tehran
Hezbollah has repeatedly condemned direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations as a dangerous path leading to concessions. At the same time, it has portrayed Iranian-American talks as a possible route to ending the war. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem previously described a potential Iran-US agreement that includes Lebanon as “perhaps the strongest card” for stopping Israeli attacks, while thanking Iran for its support of Lebanon. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah similarly praised what he called the “Islamabad track,” saying Iran had suspended negotiations “for Lebanon’s sake,” even as he denounced direct Lebanese negotiations with Israel as “a dead-end.”Another Hezbollah lawmaker, Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, argued that direct talks conducted by Lebanese authorities had placed the government “in a deadlock that will produce only concessions without results.”The discrepancy has raised a main question in Lebanon: Is Hezbollah opposed to negotiations themselves, or only to talks carried out by the Lebanese state? A ministerial source close to the Lebanese presidency described Hezbollah’s position as “clearly contradictory,” arguing that “what is permitted for Iran appears forbidden for Lebanon,” despite the fact that Beirut is negotiating exclusively over Lebanese sovereignty and Israeli occupation. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source said Lebanon’s negotiations concern practical issues imposed by Israeli occupation, including withdrawal from Lebanese territory and restoring state authority. The source stressed that President Joseph Aoun and the government have maintained one principle from the outset: “No one but the state negotiates on behalf of Lebanon.”Responding to arguments that Iran negotiates with the United States rather than directly with Israel, the source said Lebanon’s situation is fundamentally different because Israeli forces occupy Lebanese land. “Any country facing occupation negotiates to secure withdrawal and end that occupation,” the source underlined.
Hezbollah’s Deeper Concern
Imad Salamey, head of the Department of Political and International Studies at the Lebanese American University, said Hezbollah fears that any direct negotiations led by the Lebanese state, particularly with Arab and international backing, would gradually shift control of the conflict with Israel away from the party and back to state institutions. He noted that such a process would likely involve tighter border controls, security arrangements, and ultimately limiting arms to the state while placing decisions on war and peace exclusively in official hands. “That would effectively end Hezbollah’s independent military status and reduce Iranian influence inside Lebanon,” Salamey remarked. By contrast, Hezbollah accepts Iranian-American negotiations because Tehran approaches them as part of a broader regional framework linking Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Yemen to wider security and US interests. According to Salamey, Hezbollah believes Iranian-led negotiations are more likely to preserve its role within Lebanon and the region, whereas direct Lebanese negotiations could place the group against a growing domestic and international consensus favoring a stronger Lebanese state with a monopoly on arms.

Lebanon Limits Security Delegation’s Role to ‘Technical’ Talks with Israel
Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Hezbollah threatened on Tuesday to attack any armed force that coordinates with Israel if such a force were ever created. The warning came ahead of a planned security meeting between Lebanese and Israeli military representatives in Washington on May 29, even though Lebanese officials insist that no proposal to establish such a force exists. According to official Lebanese sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the upcoming meeting will focus strictly on technical and logistical matters between representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies under US sponsorship and mediation.
Still, MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the party’s parliamentary bloc, issued a sharp warning against what he described as “American-Israeli talk” of creating a proxy armed force similar to the “Free Lebanon Army” established in 1978 and the “South Lebanon Army” formed in 1984, both of which collaborated with Israel.Fadlallah said Hezbollah would confront any such force “as we confront the enemy.” At the same time, he praised the relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army, describing it as “excellent.”Lebanese sources dismissed the MP’s remarks as reactions to “speculative media reports about the upcoming talks”.Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the sources said the idea of creating a pro-Israel Lebanese force “has never been discussed” in negotiations in Washington and has not been raised by any international envoy visiting Lebanon. They added that the Lebanese Army categorically rejects any proposal to establish an independent force, an idea that had also circulated in local media reports.
Trilateral committee and expanded UN monitoring
The May 29 meeting is expected to focus on two proposals. The first involves establishing a trilateral committee made up of representatives from the Lebanese Army, the Israeli military, and the US Army. It would monitor ceasefire violations, oversee the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and coordinate the deployment of the Lebanese Army in those areas. The talks are also expected to address expanding the role of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), the UN’s first-ever peacekeeping mission, founded in May 1948 to monitor ceasefire agreements between Israel and neighboring states, including Lebanon. UNTSO observers are limited to monitoring and reporting duties rather than combat operations. The sources said one proposal under discussion is to strengthen the observer mission by increasing the number of personnel and expanding its operations.
Unlike the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is expected to fully withdraw from Lebanon later this year, the UNTSO maintains only a small presence in Lebanon. Its observers, numbering only in the dozens, operate within the “Observer Group Lebanon” along the Blue Line to monitor the truce agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
Strictly military and technical files
The sources emphasized that the May 29 meeting will remain strictly technical and military in nature. Diplomatic negotiators, including Lebanon’s chief negotiator Ambassador Simon Karam and Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, are not expected to participate directly in the military discussions. The agenda is likely to center on the ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, and mechanisms for deploying the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon. The sources stressed that the meeting will not address Hezbollah’s weapons or any cooperation regarding its disarmament, saying those matters fall under the authority of the diplomatic negotiating team.
Hezbollah criticizes Lebanese leadership
Despite those assurances, Hezbollah continued to criticize the political and diplomatic approach pursued by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to resolve the crisis. Relations between the party and Aoun remain strained. Although Hezbollah appointed MP Fadlallah to coordinate with the presidency, Lebanese sources said he has neither met nor spoken with Aoun. The party has effectively suspended dialogue with the president, even though the presidential palace remains open, said the sources. During a press conference in parliament, Fadlallah accused the government of breaking its commitment not to enter negotiations before a ceasefire was secured. He questioned “how anyone can sit at a table with those continuing their crimes while Israel boasts of support from its allies in pursuing a destructive project.” Fadlallah insisted that Lebanon’s only viable option is continued “resistance combined with indirect diplomacy backed by national unity and strength,” arguing that “no political alternative could compel Israel to halt the war and withdraw from Lebanese territory.”
In contrast, the Lebanese Kataeb Party called for broad national support for the negotiations in Washington, saying the process aims to consolidate the ceasefire, secure an Israeli withdrawal, end hostilities, free detainees, and allow displaced residents to return home. The party accused Hezbollah of trying to keep Lebanon “a card in Iran’s hands” at the expense of South Lebanon and its residents.

Salam says he will not allow anyone to bypass the state, from now on
Naharnet/May 20/2026
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the Lebanese government "is moving forward with steady steps and will not back down from any decision it takes to rescue the country from the crises it is floundering in."In remarks published Wednesday in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa, Salam reiterated his commitment to the Taif Accord and the ministerial statement. "From this day forward, we will not allow anyone to bypass the state," he said. "In Lebanon, we have one state, one law, and one army. The exclusivity of weapons in the hands of legitimate forces is an irreversible path to guarantee the state’s sovereignty over all its territory," he added. Salam voiced his support for negotiations with Israel as a gateway to a solution to end the war on Lebanon, "so that stability, security, growth, prosperity, and reconstruction may return to it."

Berri postpones amnesty session after 'sectarian' protests
Naharnet/May 20/2026
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri postponed Wednesday a parliamentary session that was scheduled for Thursday to discuss the amnesty draft law, after "sectarian" protests across Lebanon. "Despite the efforts made by the parliamentary departments and joint committees to reach a national consensus (on the amnesty law), it has been decided to postpone tomorrow’s session to another date," Berri's office said, adding that Lebanon needs now solidarity and consensus "more than ever". Sunni Muslim protesters had protested against the draft law across Lebanon, holding portraits of the imprisoned hardline Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir.

Families of Beirut strike victims vow to fight for justice
Agence France Presse/May 20/2026
Standing before their devastated building in central Beirut, childhood neighbors Wael Sabbagh and Ghida Krisht vow to fight for justice after an Israeli strike killed their family members. On April 8, hours after a ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran, Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes across Lebanon including the heart of the capital, killing more than 350 people. Sabbagh's mother and brother, and Krisht's parents and another relative, were killed in a strike on a building in central Beirut's well-off Tallet al-Khayat district, on what Lebanese now refer to as Black Wednesday.
Their parents had lived there for decades and thought they would be safe.
"I lost my mother, my brother, my home, my childhood," said Sabbagh, 52, a businessman who now lives in Mexico. Through images online, he came to the heart-wrenching realisation that his family's building had been struck.
"Nine people were killed in the building... It gets talked about as if they were just numbers, but they were our loved ones," he said, lighting one cigarette after another.
Sabbagh said he and Krisht are putting together a legal file to demand justice even though "the road will be long". "There are people that do not have the emotional capacity... the financial ability, people that are not connected in any way to be able to reach any accountability," he said. "We do have a voice, we are connected, we are emotionally strong, in spite of everything that's happened to us, to demand accountability."
- 'My brother's bracelet' -
In the ruins, Sabbagh picked out bits of his family's shattered life -- a scrap of his mother Afaf's bedspread, chunks of wooden furniture from their dining room, a red sofa cushion.
"This is my brother Hassan's bracelet," he said, showing it on his wrist, his voice trembling. It took three days to identify the body of his brother, who was wearing the bracelet at the time.
Krisht's mother -- well-known poet Khatoun Salma, 70 -- was killed along with her father Mohammad, 72, and a relative who had fled Israeli bombardment on south Lebanon's Tyre region. "As soon as I learnt about the strike, I called my father but the line was off. I called my mother, but her phone rang out," said Krisht, 41, who works for a humanitarian organisation and lives in another Beirut district that was also hit that day.
Rescuers did not let her see her parents disfigured faces -- just their hands and feet.
She said she recognised her mother's from her red nail polish. "We want to gather all the testimonies and evidence we can to document this and have a complete case. We can't be silent about what happened," she said. "We want to pursue the path to international justice" and be an example for other victims' families, she added.
Until now, only French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri has launched legal action in France after parents were killed in a 2024 Israeli strike on their residential building in Beirut.
Lebanon says Israeli attacks since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2 have killed more than 3,000 people.
- 'Did you see the smoke?' -
"There were no weapons in the building. There was no political activity. There was no reason to destroy this building and its inhabitants," Sabbagh said.
Shortly after the Tallet al-Khayat strike, Israel's army said it had "struck a Hezbollah commander in Beirut". Krisht's parents and their relative were on the sixth floor, while Sabbagh's mother and brother lived on the seventh. Sabbagh said the owner of the building, who lived on the eighth floor, was also killed, as well as an elderly man, his son and their Ethiopian housekeeper who lived on the third. The man and his son had the same surname as a Hezbollah official who Israel a day after the strike said it killed in Beirut on April 8, without specifying where.
Israel's army identified the official as Ali Youssef Harshi, saying he was the "personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem".
Hezbollah never confirmed his death.
With part of the nine-story building still standing, Sabbagh was able to use a crane to reach one of his mother's cupboards and retrieve a photo album.
Krisht managed to find a purse with her mother's last hand-written poem inside.
"Did you see the smoke?
Did you smell the fire?
Did you gather up my weakness?
Did you gather up my weariness, or see how pieces of me are scattered?"

Why Hezbollah’s Use of FPV Drones Against Israel Will Backfire
Seth J. Frantzman/This Is Beirut/May 18, 2026
Hezbollah has begun using first-person view (FPV) drones against Israel, causing casualties among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops deployed along the Lebanese border. While the threat is growing, it will also backfire for Hezbollah. Israel is already mobilizing its defense technologies against drones across multiple fronts, which will result in a major setback for Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region.
Hezbollah’s FPV drones fly on fiber optic tether wires, which make them difficult, if not impossible, to jam with current countermeasures. Hezbollah did not invent this new threat but was likely observing the development of drone warfare in the war in Ukraine and adapting its use accordingly.
On May 16, the IDF said that Capt. Maoz Israel Recanati was killed in southern Lebanon, the seventh Israeli military death since a nominal ceasefire—one unobserved by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon—went into effect on April 17. A civilian contractor was also killed during this period in an explosive drone attack. While the IDF does not disclose how many of its recent casualties were inflicted by FPV drones, Israel is focused on confronting and countering the evolving drone threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a weekly cabinet meeting on May 18 that “the best minds in the country” are working on the drone threat, adding that they have “no budget constraint.” To counter drones, Israel will bring together its defense companies and technological capacities, as it has done in the past.
In 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) brought together Israeli companies to confront drone threats. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who was then the director general of the ministry, initiated this effort. The goal was to evaluate different concepts from around two dozen companies.
“Following the analysis of current trial results, the IMOD plans to select several technologies for accelerated development and production processes, aiming to deploy new operational capabilities immediately,” the ministry said at the time.
Zamir has continued to push for solutions. In December 2025, he visited the IDF’s 80th Division, which is responsible for Israel’s border with Egypt and the Eilat area along the Red Sea, which has been targeted by Houthi drones launched from Yemen.
“The drone threat is an evolving threat – we are addressing it, improving the operational response, and will continue to enhance it in the near term and in the multi-year plan. We are building strength and developing strong defensive capabilities,” Zamir said at the time.
Zamir said in early May 2026 that no expense should be spared to stop drones. To that end, Israel is harnessing not only its defense industry but also key parts of its military bureaucracy, such as the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (MAFAT), along with other directorates and commands.
The laser focus from Israel’s prime minister, top defense officials, and the IDF reveals how quickly the country can move to address emerging threats. This is how Israel pioneered the Iron Dome, a defense system that has intercepted thousands of rockets. The Iron Dome has since been upgraded to address other types of threats as well. As a result, Israel now has one of the best defended airspaces in the world. It is likely that Israel will now develop some of the most advanced technology for countering drone threats as well.
As drones come in a wide variety of types and sizes, some may need to be shot down by Iron Dome interceptors, while others may be downed by small drones. Israeli companies have developed a range of systems for countering these threats. For example, Smart Shooter has developed a system that can be mounted on a rifle to shoot down drones. This system has already been used by the IDF in Lebanon, according to a recent video.
As Israel drives headlong to address the emerging Hezbollah FPV threat, its technological innovations will likely inform wider regional efforts to counter drone warfare, including against Iran’s proxy militias. For instance, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have used drones to strike U.S. facilities in the country and target the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, Iran has deployed drones against Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq. Iran has likewise used drones against Gulf states, particularly the UAE. In the latest such attack, an Iranian drone sparked a fire near the UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant on May 17.
Israel’s counter-drone efforts will lead to future security and undermine Hezbollah. Not only will Hezbollah see its wings clipped, but its attacks may also have sown the seeds of a regional counter-drone revolution.
*Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future(Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Lebanon in the Lens of Structural Theory
Antoine Douaihy/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
The current state of affairs in Lebanon is sad and deeply alarming. A dense cloud obscures the reality of profound and sharp divisions amid a chasm that seems impossible to bridge. Two fundamental and irreconcilable views are pulling against one another with great intensity. As for the advocates of a “third path,” their only virtue is their relatively nonviolent rhetoric. At the level of substance, they are riddled with contradictions, ambiguities, and dead-ends in a concealed, exhausting, and futile search for a “half-Lebanese, half-Iranian” solution that cannot be formulated without divine intervention.
What lies behind this thick cloud of dust?
There is no doubt that structural theory presents a pivotal tool for understanding sociological and anthropological realities. Every social structure is formed, lives, and then declines, only to be replaced by a new structure that follows the same path in turn. No social structure is eternal. The constant is perpetual transformation.
The vitality of a structure stems from its contradictions, generated by numerous inherent and external factors around two major opposite views - a thesis and its antithesis, which together drive the structure forward. As long as the structure can absorb the transformations unfolding within it over time, through a dynamic struggle between the thesis and antithesis, it remains capable of regulating itself and endures.
But once the structure can no longer absorb these transformations, it begins to disintegrate, making way for the emergence of a new structure. And so the cycle continues. How, then, can structural theory help us understand the Lebanese situation, its past, present, and future?
If we view the Lebanese entity established in 1861 as a social, political, economic, and cultural structure - and it is indeed such a structure - we find that its contradictions revolved around the permanent conflict between the thesis of a Lebanese project aspiring to a trajectory and its antithesis, a regional project in Lebanon aimed at reintegrating the country into a wider regional framework.
The Lebanese structure was sufficiently solid and dynamic to absorb the immense internal and external transformations it witnessed over the course of 114 years, from 1861 to 1975. Since then, it has been in turmoil. For over half a century, from 1975 to 2026, it has witnessed a fierce battle between the Lebanese project and successive regional projects, whose final outcome has yet to be determined.
Will the Lebanese structure ultimately save itself and survive? Or will it collapse, giving rise to another structure upon its ruins? This is the major question.
Since its establishment in 1861, the Lebanese structure has succeeded in absorbing numerous transformations. Among the most significant of the shifts was the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and the horrors that followed when Türkiye entered the war in 1915 alongside Germany and Austria. The Ottomans suspended autonomous rule, imposed martial law, and erected gallows. Then came the terrible blockade that annihilated one-third of the population of Mount Lebanon between 1915 and 1918. However, the Great War ended with the defeat of the German-Austrian-Ottoman axis, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the disappearance of the Ottoman regional project in Lebanon in favor of the Lebanese project.
Then, in 1920, the Lebanese structure succeeded in absorbing the creation of “Greater Lebanon,” which expanded the entity to its present borders and brought with it major geographic, demographic, and social transformations under the French Mandate. It absorbed the new regional project represented by Faisal’s Kingdom of Syria, with the conflict once again resolved in favor of the Lebanese project. It also absorbed the transition from mandate to independence, the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel and their repercussions on Lebanon, as well as the successive Arab-Israeli wars that followed.
Likewise, it absorbed the regional unification projects- Baathist, Nasserist, and Syrian nationalist. It also absorbed the arrival of the armed Palestinian resistance faction and the establishment of “Fatahland” in southern Lebanese territory, from which these factions began launching operations against Israel in 1969, with the help of strong sectarian and Marxist-socialist popular pressure internally and the efforts led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and Yasser Arafat.
With the slogan “the road to Jerusalem passes through Jounieh” and the clashes of 1975, however, the Lebanese structure was no longer capable of truly absorbing the emerging regional projects. It became home to a sea of death, migration, destruction, bloody internal conflicts, Israeli occupations and resistance operations, and the long period of Assadist hegemony.
Although the Lebanese structure eventually outlasted the Assadist regional project, it found itself confronting a Khomeinist regional project that took the mantle and raised the slogan of liberating Palestine from Lebanon. All of this was accompanied by unprecedented economic and financial collapse, devastating wars, mass migration and displacement, culminating in the ongoing conflict between the Lebanese state and the Iranian Hezbollah over direct negotiations with Israel.
So, what fate awaits the Lebanese structure amid this storm? Is it fated to survive after 165 years, or will it collapse and give rise to a new structure? And what structure would replace it?

UAE sanctions Hezbollah-linked financial network, reflecting US designations
David Daoud and Ahmad Sharawi/FDD's Long War Journal/May 20/2026
On May 12, the United Arab Emirates’ official news agency, Emirates News Agency, announced that Abu Dhabi had designated 16 Lebanese nationals and five Lebanon-based entities to its terrorism list over their ties to Hezbollah. The designated entities include Hezbollah’s financial institution, Al Qard Al Hassan (AQAH), alongside affiliated financial and accounting entities operating in Lebanon. In its statement, the Emirati government repeatedly emphasized that the designations are intended to fight global terrorism and its financing streams. It further stated that all national regulatory authorities are required to identify any individual or entity maintaining financial or commercial relationships with those designated and to take the necessary measures against them, including freezing assets within 24 hours.
The individuals designated by the UAE are Ali Mohammad Karnib, Naser Hasan Neser, Hassan Shehadeh Osman, Samer Hassan Fawaz, Ahmad Mohammad Yazbeck, Issa Hussein Kassir, Ibrahim Ali Daher, Abbas Hassan Gharib, Imad Mohammad Bezz, Izzat Youssef Akar, Wahid Mahmoud Subayti, Mustafa Habib Harb, Mohammad Sleiman Badir, Adel Mohammad Mansour, Ali Ahmad Krisht, and Nehme Ahmad Jamil. The designated entities are Al Qard Al Hassan, Beit Al Mal Lil Muslimeen, Al Tashilat Company, The Auditors for Accounting and Auditing, and Al Khobara for Accounting, Auditing, and Studies. The UAE designations largely mirror prior US Treasury actions targeting Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure. All 16 individuals designated by Abu Dhabi have previously appeared on US sanctions lists tied to Hezbollah and its financial institution, Al Qard Al Hassan. Similarly, all five entities designated by the UAE had already been sanctioned by the United States.
The following individuals appear on both the UAE and US Treasury designation lists:
Ali Mohammad Karnib, now also designated by the UAE, was previously designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting on behalf of AQAH. Treasury stated that Karnib is a senior AQAH employee and “serves as the head of AQAH’s purchase department.” By July 2024, Treasury claimed he had overseen the purchase of 1,000 ounces of gold for AQAH. In February 2026, the Treasury Department also described him as a “co-owner and managing partner of Jood” SARL, a Lebanese gold-exchange structure created by AQAH to monetize gold holdings and evade sanctions.
Ahmad Mohammad Yazbeck was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH and serving as AQAH’s financial director. Treasury also said that Yazbeck, alongside Hassan Shehadeh Osman, Abbas Hassan Gharib, Mustafa Habib Harb, and Izzat Youssef Akar, “maintain joint bank accounts in Lebanese banks that have allowed them to transfer more than $500 million within the formal financial system over the past decade.” Treasury also stated that Yazbeck is a co-owner of Tashilat SARL alongside other designated AQAH figures, adding, “Tashilat SARL provided mortgage loans after the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war and served part of the operations of AQAH and designated Hezbollah financial entities Yousser Company and Bayt Al Mal.”
Abbas Hassan Gharib was designated by the Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH, where Treasury said he served as AQAH’s “informatics manager.” Gharib and Yazbeck held several “shadow accounts” through which Hezbollah-related transactions were conducted, and Gharib was among the AQAH officials who, according to Treasury, “maintained joint bank accounts in Lebanese banks that have allowed them to transfer more than $500 million within the formal financial system over the past decade.” As the informatics manager, Gharib’s significance is not only account-holding but also possible access to AQAH’s internal systems/records within its financial architecture.
Wahid Mahmoud Subayti was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH. Subayti has facilitated financial transactions through covert accounts on behalf of Hezbollah. According to Treasury, he “had previously played a similar role maintaining bank accounts in his own name along with other senior Bayt al-Mal officials.” Treasury describes Bayt Al Mal, together with Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit, as acting as Hezbollah’s “finance ministry.”
Mustafa Habib Harb was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Harb was part of the scheme to facilitate financial transactions through covert accounts on behalf of Hezbollah. He was among the officials whose joint bank accounts allegedly moved more than $500 million through Lebanese banks over the prior decade, despite sanctions against AQAH.
Izzat Youssef Akar was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Akar was part of the scheme to facilitate financial transactions through covert accounts on behalf of Hezbollah and was among the Hezbollah officials whose joint bank accounts allegedly allowed more than $500 million to be transferred through the formal financial system over a decade.
Hassan Shehadeh Osman/Othman was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Othman had facilitated financial transactions through covert accounts on behalf of Hezbollah. Treasury also said that Othman, alongside Ahmad Mohammad Yazbeck, Abbas Hassan Gharib, Mustafa Habib Harb, and Izzat Youssef Akar, “maintain[ed] joint bank accounts in Lebanese banks that have allowed them to transfer more than $500 million within the formal financial system over the past decade.”
Issa Hussein Kassir was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting on behalf of AQAH. Treasury claimed that Kassir was a senior AQAH official who oversaw supply and logistics for AQAH branches. Treasury also said that he “opened bank accounts in the formal financial system to conduct business activities for AQAH” and “was documented sending nearly a million dollars to OFAC-designated AQAH shadow bankers Yazbeck, Gharib, and Othman between 2007 and 2019.”
Samer Hassan Fawaz was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting as a senior administrator on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Fawaz “is responsible for administration and liaising between AQAH and various companies that assist the organization with logistics and procurement” and has served as AQAH’s administrative director since at least 2010. In 2026, Treasury also said Jood SARL, which was established by AQAH officials, was overseen by Fawaz.
Imad Mohammad Bezz/Bazzi was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Bezz is the director of AQAH’s evaluation and storage division and oversees the institution’s gold transactions. Treasury also said he “transacted extensively with AQAH officials previously involved in shadow banking activities, including sending more than $2.5 million to an account held by three other AQAH officials.” In his role as a gold-side operator within AQAH, Bezz’s responsibilities complement Karnib’s purchasing role and Fawaz’s management and oversight of Jood SARL. Mohammad Sleiman Badir was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Badir is the deputy director of AQAH at the Nabatiyeh branch, working under the designated AQAH official Subayti. Treasury stated that Badir previously held a joint account with Subayti that was opened as part of a plan by Hezbollah to circumvent the formal financial system. Badir effectively directly links AQAH’s Nabatiyeh branch to Hezbollah’s personal/joint bank account evasion scheme.
Adel Mohammad Mansour was designated by the US Treasury Department in December 2022 for acting on behalf of Hezbollah. According to Treasury, Mansour served as AQAH executive director for years and used personal bank accounts to conduct transactions with various Hezbollah institutions. Treasury also said Mansour owned, controlled, and directed Al Khobara for Accounting, Auditing, and Studies. Per Treasury, Al Khobara allegedly provided accounting services to AQAH and was managed by senior AQAH officials.
Ali Ahmad Krisht was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2025 for acting on behalf of AQAH. According to Treasury, Krisht is the branch manager of AQAH in Tyre and “previously held at least three bank accounts on behalf of Hezbollah and worked” closely with AQAH director Adel Mansour and other AQAH officials. Treasury also alleged that “Krisht was associated” with senior Hezbollah financial adviser Hassan Moukalled, whom it designated in 2023.
Nehme Ahmad Jamil was designated by the US Treasury Department for acting on behalf of AQAH, stating that Jamil is a senior official who leads the institution’s auditing and commercial/business divisions. Treasury also stated that Jamil jointly owns Tashilat SARL with designated figures Ahmad Yazbeck and Husayn al-Shami.
Ibrahim Ali Daher was designated by the US Treasury Department in May 2021 for acting on behalf of Hezbollah. Treasury said he was the head of the group’s Central Finance Unit, “which oversees the group’s budget and spending,” and has been a key figure in Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure for more than a decade. In 2022, Treasury also said Daher was a majority owner and managing partner for Auditors for Accounting and Auditing and had held a senior managerial role there for years.
Naser Hasan Neser/Nasr was designated by the US Treasury Department in December 2022 for acting on behalf of Auditors for Accounting and Auditing, which provides financial services to Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit. Treasury said Nasr was a managing partner, minority owner, authorized signatory, manager, and legal representative of The Auditors Accounting and Auditing. The designation also said he managed this firm alongside Ibrahim Ali Daher and reported to senior Hezbollah Executive Council and Central Finance Unit officials.
All five organizations proscribed by the UAE this month are also designated by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list as Special Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entities:
Bayt Al Mal Lil Muslimeen is one of Hezbollah’s older designated financial organs. Treasury designated it in September 2006, describing it as a Hezbollah-controlled organization that performs financial services for the group and operates under the direct supervision of then-Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Treasury characterized Bayt Al Mal as Hezbollah’s main financial body — effectively a bank, creditor, investment arm, and intermediary between Hezbollah and mainstream banks. Hezbollah-aligned sources describe Bayt Al Mal as part of the earlier financial and social infrastructure from which AQAH developed. The Hezbollah-owned Al Ahed newspaper, recounting AQAH’s origins, said that Bayt al Mal had a shura/consultative structure, collected religious dues and deposits, and served as an early financial node before AQAH’s expansion. A separate Al Ahed piece framed Bayt Al Mal as a precursor that later developed into AQAH, presenting it as a “financial alternative” that financed education, small projects, and social burdens. The Central Bank of Lebanon issued Circular no. 170 in 2025, which explicitly barred licensed financial institutions from doing business with several Hezbollah entities, including Bayt Al Mal. Al Qard Al Hassan Association was designated by the US Treasury Department in July 2007, with Treasury stating that Hezbollah used it as a cover to manage financial activity. Treasury said that after Bayt Al Mal and Yousser Company were designated in 2006, AQAH assumed a more prominent role in Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure. By February 2007, Bayt Al Mal and Yousser accounts had allegedly been changed and re-registered in the names of senior AQAH employees, giving Hezbollah access to the international banking system. Treasury’s later designations added that AQAH functions as a Hezbollah “quasi-financial institution” and that its officials used proxy/personal bank accounts and mirrored transactions to disguise Hezbollah-linked financial activity through Lebanese banks. In 2025 and 2026, Treasury also emphasized AQAH’s gold-related activities, stating that senior AQAH officials created Jood SARL to trade gold and convert gold reserves into usable funds, with Jood branches planned or opened near AQAH branches in Shiite-majority areas. A 2022 Al Ahed report claimed that AQAH had around 500 employees, 31 branches, 300,000 clients, and 1.9 million loans/beneficiaries since its founding, and $4 billion in loans through 2021. The Central Bank of Lebanon’s Circular No. 170 in 2025 also barred licensed Lebanese financial institutions from dealing directly or indirectly with AQAH.
Tashilat SARL was designated by OFAC in 2007, and Treasury presents it as part of the AQAH/Bayt Al Mal/Yousser financial ecosystem. Treasury stated that Nehme Jamil, a senior AQAH official and the head of AQAH’s auditing and business departments, jointly owned Tashilat with Yazbeck and Shami. Treasury said Tashilat provided mortgage loans after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war and later served as an integral part of operations for AQAH and the already-designated Hezbollah financial institutions Yousser Company and Bayt Al Mal. The Central Bank of Lebanon’s Circular No. 170 barred supervised financial institutions from dealing with internationally sanctioned entities, including Tashilat.
The Auditors for Accounting and Auditing is a Lebanon-based company designated by OFAC in December 2022. Treasury says it was owned, controlled, or directed by Ibrahim Ali Daher, whom it identified as the chief of Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit, the sub-body of the Executive Council that oversees Hezbollah’s budget. Treasury also claimed that Auditors provides financial services to Hezbollah’s Central Financial Unit.
Al Khobara for Accounting, Auditing, and Studies was designated by OFAC in 2022 for being owned, controlled, and/or directed by longtime AQAH director Adel Mohammad Mansour, whom it said also served as Al Khobara’s CEO. Treasury placed Al Khobara physically and operationally within the AQAH ecosystem, stating that it was located in the AQAH building, provided accounting services to AQAH, and was managed by senior AQAH officials, including Mansour.
Open-source material and leaked AQAH documents point to additional entities operating within Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure that remain undesignated. Among the most notable is the “Center for Developmental and Statistical Studies” (CDSS), which appeared in leaked AQAH documents published by a hacking team called TeamSpiderZ in 2020. The documents described an agreement between AQAH and CDSS, represented by sanctioned AQAH official Ahmad Mohammad Yazbeck and CDSS CEO Haitham Salloum, and categorized the center among entities maintaining accounts and an institutional relationship with AQAH. CDSS also appears to be linked to the Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation (CCSD), a research and strategic institution affiliated with Hezbollah. CDSS may have originally operated as a separate entity before being absorbed as a division within CCSD, which may explain why the former organization maintains almost no independent online footprint.
The only figure tied to CDSS in open-source documents is engineer Ramez Yassin, who was identified in a 2012 article as the director of CDSS. Notably, Yassin also appeared publicly in connection with Arch Consulting, a Lebanon-based engineering and consulting company sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2020 for being “owned, controlled, or directed by Hezbollah.” In 2025, local Lebanese outlets identified Yassin as speaking on behalf of Arch Consulting during a Hezbollah-backed municipal solar-water project event in Shaath in the Bekaa Valley.
**David Daoud is senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs. Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the Levant.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 20-21 May/2026
Israel army chief says military ‘on highest alert’ as threats over Iran war escalate
AFP/20 May ,2026
Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir on Wednesday said the military was at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington traded threats of war. “At this moment, the IDF (military) is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development,” Zamir said at a meeting of all division commanders, according to a statement issued by the military. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had earlier warned that the war would expand beyond the region if the US and Israel resumed attacks, after President Donald Trump said he would strike again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

Trump says negotiations with Iran in final stages, warns of attacks if deal fails
Reuters/20 May ,2026
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran were “in the final stages,” while warning of further attacks unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal. Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress. Trump said this week he came close to ordering more attacks, but held off to allow time for negotiations. “We’re in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen,” he told reporters. “Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way.”Speaking later at the US Coast Guard Academy, Trump reprised his either/or rhetoric –“We may have to hit them very hard... but maybe not” – and reiterated his determination not to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Tehran, for its part, accused Trump of plotting to restart the war, and threatened to retaliate for any strikes with attacks beyond the Middle East. “If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top peace negotiator, said in an audio message on social media that “obvious and hidden moves by the enemy” showed the Americans were preparing new attacks.
‘Suspicion over America’s performance’
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei later said the US had to end its “piracy” against Iranian ships – a reference to the US blockade of Iranian ports. “Despite the negative record of the other side over the past year and a half, Iran is pursuing the path of negotiations with seriousness and good faith, but it has strong and reasonable suspicion over America’s performance,” Baghaei said. In the latest diplomatic push, the interior minister of Pakistan – which hosted the only round of peace talks so far and has since been the conduit for messages between the sides – was in Tehran on Wednesday. Baghaei said Washington and Tehran continued to exchange messages through the Pakistani minister’s mediation. Iran submitted a new offer to the United States this week. Tehran’s descriptions suggest it largely repeats terms previously rejected by Trump, including demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of US troops from the area. Trump has said he called off attacks this week at the last minute in response to requests from several of Iran’s Gulf neighbors. On Tuesday he said he had been an hour away from ordering strikes.
Chinese tankers cross strait
Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all ships apart from its own since the US-Israeli campaign began in February, causing the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history. The US responded last month with its own blockade of Iran’s ports.
Iran says it aims to reopen the strait to friendly countries that abide by its terms. That could potentially include fees for access, which Washington says would be unacceptable. Baghaei said late on Wednesday that Iran was ready to establish with Oman a mechanism to ensure sustainable security in the Strait of Hormuz. Two giant Chinese tankers laden with a total of around 4 million barrels of oil exited the strait on Wednesday. Iran had announced last week, while Trump was in Beijing for a summit, that it had agreed to ease rules for Chinese ships.
South Korea’s foreign minister said on Wednesday a Korean tanker was crossing the strait in cooperation with Iran. Shipping monitor Lloyd’s List said at least 54 ships had transited the strait last week, about double the previous week. Iran said 26 ships had crossed in the past 24 hours, still only a fraction of the 140 per day before the war.
Pressure to end war
Trump is under pressure to end the war, with soaring energy prices hurting his Republican Party ahead of congressional elections in November. Since the ceasefire, his public comments have veered from threats to restart bombing and claims that a deal is close.
The fluctuating US stance has sent oil prices swinging. Benchmark one-month Brent crude futures dropped to $105.76 per barrel late on Wednesday, down 4.95 percent on the day on revived hopes of a deal. “Investors are keen to gauge whether Washington and Tehran can actually find common ground and reach a peace agreement, with the US stance shifting daily,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities. The US-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April. Israel has also killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Iranian strikes on Israel and neighboring Gulf states have killed dozens of people. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when they launched the war that their aims were to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities and make it easier for Iranians to topple their rulers. But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbors with missiles, drones and proxy militias. Its clerical rulers, who put down a mass uprising at the start of the year, have faced no sign of organized opposition since the war began.

Trump, Vance wax optimistic about end to war as domestic politics loom large
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
With the showdown with Tehran looming large in the US political scene, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the war would be over “very quickly” while Vice President JD Vance talked up progress in talks with Tehran about an agreement to end hostilities. “We’re in a pretty good spot here,” Vance told a White House press briefing.
Trump made his comments a day after saying he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the conflict. “I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal, he said, adding that a new US attack would happen in coming days if no agreement was reached. The United States has been struggling to end the war it began with Israel nearly three months ago. Trump has repeatedly said during the conflict that a deal with Tehran was close, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if it did not reach an accord. The conflict has caused the worst-ever disruption to global energy supplies, blocking hundreds of tankers from leaving the Gulf while damaging energy and shipping facilities across the region.
In a potential sign of de-escalation, two Chinese ships, among a handful of supertankers carrying Iraqi crude, exiting the Gulf this month, passed through the narrow strait carrying around 4 million barrels of crude, according to data from LSEG and Kpler.
Oil prices eased on the positive signals from the White House and in the Gulf, with Brent crude falling to as low as $110.16 a barrel, before regaining much of its losses. Speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, Vance acknowledged difficulties in negotiating with a fractured Iranian leadership. “It’s not sometimes totally clear what the negotiating position of the team is,” he said, so the US is trying to make its own red lines clear. He also said one objective of Trump’s policy is to prevent a nuclear arms race from spreading in the region. Ebrahim Azizi, the hawkish president of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on X that Trump’s pausing of an attack was due to the realisation that any move against Iran would mean “facing a decisive military response.”Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of USforces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the US-Israeli attacks. Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and an end to the US marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNA news agency. The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage.” Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said they launched the war to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy its missile capabilities and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers. But the war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium or its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.
Electoral shadow
Vance reassured Americans on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s war with Iran will not become a “forever war,” using a White House briefing to defend the US president’s policies as speculation about his potential successor builds.Vance fielded questions from journalists for nearly an hour in a mostly measured manner, a contrast to Trump’s more confrontational style. The White House briefing room has emerged this month as an informal audition stage in the race to succeed President Donald Trump in 2028. Vance’s appearance at the podium came about two weeks after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his possible future rival, drew wide attention for his debut briefing. “Marco’s right, this really is chaos,” Vance quipped as reporters who packed the room shouted for his attention. When a reporter referred to Vance as “a potential future candidate,” he rushed to correct her. “I’m not a potential future candidate,” he said. “I’m a vice president, and I really like my job, and I’m going to try to do as good of a job as I can.”
Vance, 41, a former Marine who has long argued against US entanglements in foreign wars, on Tuesday said any escalation with Tehran in the absence of a diplomatic solution would serve long-term US security interests. “This is not a forever war,” he said. “We’re going to take care of business and come home.” The US president is under intense political pressure at home to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global supplies of oil and other commodities. Gasoline prices remain high and Trump’s approval rating has plummeted with congressional elections looming in November. The Iran conflict is also likely to loom over the political futures of both Rubio and Vance. Since it began on February 28, it has shut down a large chunk of the global oil trade, sending US gas prices about 50% higher and raising alarm among Republicans defending congressional majorities in the November midterm elections. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday, Trump’s presidential approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the White House, with many Republicans souring on his handling of Americans’ cost-of-living concerns. The poll, conducted between May 15-18, showed some 34% of Americans have a favourable view of Vance and 33% said the same of Rubio. In January 2025, 42% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they had a favourable view of Vance. Just 62% of Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the situation in Iran, while 28% disapprove, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove, as do two-thirds of independents. Overall, only one in four respondents in the poll – and about half of Republicans – said the US military action in Iran has been worth it.

Report: US-Iran agreement may be announced within hours
Naharnet/May 20/2026
A final agreement between the U.S. and Iran may be announced within hours, unnamed sources told Al-Arabiya television on Wednesday. "Serious efforts are underway to put the final touches on the text of the agreement," the sources said, adding that the Pakistani army chief may visit Iran tomorrow to announce the final agreement. "A new round of negotiations will be held in Islamabad after the Hajj season," the sources added.

Report: Israel fumes as Iran, US to formally end war, hold 30 days of talks
Naharnet/May 20/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources told U.S. news portal Axios, with one source saying Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the call. A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal. Netanyahu is highly skeptical about the negotiations and wants to resume the war to further degrade Iran's military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure. Trump continues to say he thinks a deal can be reached, but that he's ready to resume the war if it isn't. "The only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Let's see what happens," he said on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy. Trump also said Netanyahu "will do whatever I want him to do" on Iran, though he also said they had a good relationship. The two leaders have had temporary disagreements on Iran before but have remained closely coordinated throughout the war. Iran has confirmed it's reviewing an updated proposal. Pakistan, Qatar and the other mediators — Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt — have been working over the last several days to refine the proposal to bridge the gaps, the three sources told Axios. According to two Arab officials and an Israeli source, Qatar recently presented the U.S. and Iran with a new draft. A fourth source said there is no separate Qatari draft, but that Qatar is just trying to bridge the gaps from the previous Pakistani proposal. One Arab official said the Qataris sent a delegation to Tehran earlier this week for talks with the Iranians about the latest draft. Iran's foreign ministry said Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing "based on Iran's 14-point proposal," and that Pakistan's interior minister was in Tehran to help the mediation. That's the second visit by the interior minister in less than a week. The goal of the new effort is to get more tangible commitments from the Iranians over steps regarding their nuclear program, and more specifics from the U.S. as to how frozen Iranian funds will be gradually released, an Arab official said. All three sources stressed it's unclear whether the Iranians will agree to the new draft or to shift their positions significantly. "As stated previously, Qatar has been and continues to support the Pakistan led mediation efforts, we have been consistently advocating for de-escalation for the sake of the region and its people," a Qatari diplomat said.
On Tuesday evening, Trump held a lengthy and "difficult" call with Netanyahu.
Trump told Netanyahu that the mediators were working on a "letter of intent" that both the U.S. and Iran would sign to formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations on issues like Iran's nuclear program and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. source briefed on the call said. Two Israeli sources said the two leaders were in disagreement about the way forward, while the U.S. source briefed on the call said "Bibi's hair was on fire after the call."Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said that in order for talks to succeed, the U.S would have to end its "piracy" against Iranian ships and agree to release frozen funds, while Israel would have to end its war in Lebanon.
An Israeli source told Axios that Netanyahu wants to come to Washington in the coming weeks for a meeting with Trump.

Iran Threatens War 'Beyond the Region' if US Attacks
Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Iran threatened on Wednesday to spread war beyond the Middle East if the United States attacks again, after President Donald Trump said he had come within an hour of restarting the military campaign. Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have largely stalled. Iran submitted a new offer to the United States this week, but its public accounts of it repeat terms previously rejected by Trump, including demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of US troops from the area. Trump said on Monday, and again on Tuesday, that he had come close to ordering a new bombing campaign but had put it off at the last minute to give more time for diplomacy. "I was an hour away from making the decision to go today," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate for any new attacks by striking countries in the Middle East that house US bases. On Wednesday it suggested it would also hit targets further afield. "If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the ⁠region this time," ⁠the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried on state media. Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all ships apart from its own since the US-Israeli campaign began in February, causing the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history. The United States responded last month with its own blockade of Iran's ports. Two giant Chinese tankers laden with around 4 million barrels of oil exited the strait on Wednesday, the latest signal that Iran is willing to ease its blockade for countries it considers friendly. Iran had announced last week, while Trump was in Beijing for a summit, that it had reached an agreement to ease rules for Chinese ships. South Korea's foreign minister said on Wednesday a Korean tanker was crossing the strait ⁠in cooperation with Iran. Shipping monitor Lloyd's List said at least 54 ships had transited the strait last week, around double the number from the week before. But that is still only a tiny fraction of the 140 or so each day that typically crossed before the war.
Trump is under pressure to end the war, with soaring energy prices hurting his Republican Party ahead of congressional elections in November. Since the ceasefire in late April, his public comments have veered from threats to restart bombing to declarations that a peace deal was at hand, often in the same breath. On Tuesday he said the war would be over "very quickly". Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation last month at the only round of peace talks so far, also talked up progress: "We're in a pretty good spot here," Vance told a White House press briefing.

Iran chief negotiator Ghalibaf says US ‘seeks to start new war’
AFP/20 May ,2026
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday said the United States was seeking to restart the war and hoping Tehran would surrender. “The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said in an audio message on his official website. Ghalibaf’s remarks came as Tehran and Washington escalated threats while swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on February 28. A ceasefire has been in place since April 8. On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the war would expand beyond the region if the US and Israel resume attacks after President Donald Trump said he would strike again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.
Ghalibaf said the US was still hoping Iran would surrender and respond favorably to Washington’s “excessive demands,” by maintaining economic pressure and a naval blockade in place since April 13. “We must strengthen our preparations for an effective and forceful response to any potential attacks,” he said, adding that “Iran will never give in to intimidation, under any circumstances.” Ghalibaf acknowledged the economic pressure on Iranians, while appealing for “national unity.”“Today it is clearer than ever that we are engaged in a war of wills. Whoever wins this war will write Iran’s history and determine its future,” he said.

US Marines intercept Iranian-flagged oil tanker, order it to redirect course
Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2026
US Marines intercepted an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday before releasing it and ordering it to alter course, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The US military has now redirected 91 ships to ensure compliance with the US-imposed blockade ordered last month, CENTCOM said. Earlier on Wednesday, Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) boarded the M/T Celestial Sea, which was suspected of trying to violate the blockade. CENTCOM said the oil tanker was transiting toward an Iranian port. “American forces released the vessel after searching and directing the ship’s crew to alter course,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

Iran seeking mechanism with Oman over Hormuz, foreign ministry spokesperson says
Reuters/20 May ,2026
Iran is seeking to establish a mechanism with Oman to ensure sustainable security in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state TV on Wednesday. He said Iran was ready to develop protocols for safe shipping traffic in cooperation with other coastal states, without providing further details. Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all ships apart from its own since the war with the US and Israel began in late February, causing the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history. The United States responded last month with its own blockade of Iran's ports.

Iran’s newly-created strait authority discloses ‘controlled maritime zone’ at Hormuz
Reuters/21 May ,2026
Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X on Wednesday there will be a “controlled maritime zone” at the Strait of Hormuz.
The authority, which was set to manage the strait, set the zone as the “line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern side of the strait, to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western side of the strait.”It said transit through the area to pass through the strait would require coordination and authorization from the authority.Read more: Iran seeking mechanism with Oman over Hormuz, foreign ministry spokesperson says.

Saudi Arabia welcomes Trump decision to ‘give diplomacy a chance’ with Iran
Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2026
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s decision to “give diplomacy a chance” with Iran and urged Tehran to seize the opportunity to avoid further escalation. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the Kingdom “highly appreciates” Trump’s decision to “give diplomacy a chance” in an effort to reach an “acceptable” agreement that would end the war, restore security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to pre-February 28 conditions, and resolve outstanding disputes in a way that supports regional stability. Writing on X, Prince Faisal also praised Pakistan’s ongoing mediation efforts. “Saudi Arabia looks forward to Iran seizing the opportunity to avoid the dangerous implications of escalation, and urgently responding to the efforts to advance the negotiations leading up to a comprehensive agreement to achieve lasting peace in the region and the world,” he said. Trump said on Monday that he had suspended a planned military strike on Iran after leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates urged him to allow negotiations a chance to succeed.

Trump weighed Ahmadinejad as Iran’s next leader: Report
Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2026
A failed Israeli strike on the Tehran home of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the start of the war was intended to free him from house arrest, The New York Times reported, citing US officials briefed on the operation.
According to the report, the strike was part of a broader Israeli plan, known to the United States, aimed at weakening Iran’s leadership and creating the conditions for regime change. US officials said Israel and the United States had considered Ahmadinejad, despite his hardline anti-Israel and anti-American record, as a potential figure who could help lead Iran after a leadership collapse. The plan quickly unraveled. Ahmadinejad was injured in the first day of Israeli strikes, according to the report, and later became disillusioned with the regime-change effort. He has not been seen publicly since, and his current whereabouts and condition remain unknown. US officials told the newspaper that the strike, carried out by the Israeli Air Force, was designed to kill the guards stationed around Ahmadinejad’s home and free him from confinement. The report said the house itself was not significantly damaged, but a security outpost near the entrance to the street was destroyed. The former Iranian president, who led Iran from 2005 to 2013, has in recent years clashed with Iran’s leadership, accused senior officials of corruption, and was repeatedly blocked from running again for president. Iranian authorities had increasingly restricted his movements at his home in the Narmak district of eastern Tehran, according to the report. The Times also reported that questions remain over how Ahmadinejad was recruited for the alleged plan. People close to him have previously faced accusations in Iran of having overly close ties to the West or even spying for Israel. Iranian media initially reported that Ahmadinejad had been killed in an Israeli strike on his home. His political party later denied the reports, while official Iranian outlets said he had survived and that his guards had been killed.

Pakistan minister in Tehran amid US-Iran impasse
Agence France Presse/May 20/2026
Pakistan's interior minister headed to Iran on Wednesday for the second time this week amid an impasse between Tehran and Washington over a proposal to end the war, Iranian state media reported. "Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic republic," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad. Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States, with Naqvi previously in Tehran on Saturday to "facilitate" the process between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media.

UAE urges Iraq to prevent attacks from its territory 'immediately'
Agence France Presse/May 20/2026
The UAE demanded on Wednesday that Iraq "immediately" prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there. The foreign ministry in a statement called on "Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory urgently and without conditions", saying there was a "need to address those threats promptly, immediately, and responsibly".On Sunday, an unclaimed drone attack struck an electrical generator near the Arab world's only nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries or radiation leak. Two other drones were intercepted.

Turkey’s Erdogan tells Trump issues with Iran can be resolved
Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2026
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told US President Donald Trump in a call on Wednesday that he welcomed the extension of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding that he believed contested issues between the sides could be resolved, according to the Turkish presidency. NATO member Turkey, which neighbors Iran, has been in close contact with Washington, Tehran, and mediators Pakistan to seek an end to the war. It has called for an end to the conflict and passed messages between the sides.
Trump said earlier that negotiations with Iran were “in the final stages,” while warning of further attacks unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal. “During the meeting, our President stated that he viewed the decision to extend the ceasefire in the conflict zone in our region as a positive development (and) that he believed a reasonable solution to the disputed issues was possible,” the presidency said in a statement. It added that Erdogan called renewed stability in Syria an “important gain” for the region, adding that he urged for steps to prevent the situation in Lebanon worsening amid the continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Erdogan also told Trump preparations for the NATO Summit, to be held in Ankara in July, were continuing and that Turkey was working for the meeting to be “a success in every aspect,” the presidency said. The two also discussed bilateral ties, it added. Trump said he had a “very good” call with Erdogan, adding that the pair have a very good relationship.With Reuters

Launch of strikes on UAE nuclear plant from Iraq puts more pressure on Zaidi
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
The Iraqi government faces a major test to its authority after the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that six drones had been launched against it from Iraq in the past 48 hours, including one that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in the Gulf state on Sunday. In a statement on Wednesday, the UAE ministry of foreign affairs called on the Iraqi government to “immediately and unconditionally prevent all hostile acts emanating from its territory and to address these threats urgently, promptly and responsibly, in accordance with relevant international and regional laws and conventions”. The UAE’s defence ministry pointed out in a statement on Tuesday that it had intercepted all but one of the drones. It said three in total had been targeting the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which is the Arab world’s first commercial nuclear power station. The ministry also said that “the United Arab Emirates reserves its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and national security in accordance with international laws and conventions”.It stressed “the full readiness of the (UAE) Armed Forces to confront any threats targeting the country’s security and national assets”. The drone that penetrated the Emirati defences hit an electric generator outside the inner perimeter of the plant, the ministry said. After the drone strike, the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation said the plant remained safe and that no radioactive material had been released due to the attack. The attacks originating from Iraqi territory will sorely test the credibility of the new government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, say analysts. Iraq is home to heavily-armed Iranian-backed militia groups which have claimed attacks against “enemy bases in Iraq and the region” during the US-Israeli war on Iran. Baghdad did not do much about the actions of the pro-Iranian militias beside announcing formal probes and issuing statements of condemnation. On Tuesday, the Iraqi government expressed “strong denunciation” of the attacks on the UAE and its keenness to continue a path of “constructive co-operation for everything that serves joint Arab action and the higher interests of both Iraq and the UAE”. But most regional experts were sceptical about the Zaidi administration’s ability to rein in Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Rudaw on Sunday that Baghdad has been unable to curb pro-Iran armed groups, citing their military and political influence. “They also have power; they have military power, organizational power, and parliamentary power,” he said. At the United Nations in New York, the UAE ambassador to the world body, Mohamed Abushahab, told a Security Council meeting called to discuss the attack on the Barakah plant, on Tuesday, that it was not an isolated incident.
He did not identify a perpetrator, but said it occurred “in a wider regional context, in which persistent cross-border attacks by one state and its proxies have pushed the region toward heightened escalation and dangerous confrontation.”Russia and China, which have long been supportive of Iran, criticised the attack at the Security Council, with China’s envoy expressing “great concern” and Russia’s UN ambassador saying that strikes on peaceful nuclear facilities in any country were “categorically unacceptable.”
The head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, told the meeting the attack threatened the nuclear safety of the UAE and caused great concern throughout the Gulf. “In case of an attack on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, a direct hit could result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” he said.
“A hit that disabled the lines supplying electrical power to the plant could increase the likelihood of its reactors’ cores melting, which could result in a high release of radioactivity.”Iran and its regional proxies have attacked the UAE and other Gulf nations since the US and Israel launched strikes on the country on February 28.But the nuclear site had been off limits until Sunday. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, described the strike as a “terrorist attack” on a peaceful energy project. UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said the “terrorist” targeting of the Barakah nuclear power plant, “whether carried out directly by Iran or through one of its proxies, represents “a dark development that violates all international laws and norms, reflecting criminal disregard for the lives of civilians in the UAE and its surroundings.”“No one will twist the UAE’s arm, nor succeed in undermining its vision, success, and inspiring message to the peoples of the region centered on security, stability, development, and prosperity,” he added. The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is the country’s largest source of electricity and produces around a quarter of national power. While hostilities during the Iran conflict have scaled down since a ceasefire came into effect in April, drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had intercepted three drones coming from Iraqi airspace and that it would take any necessary measures in response to efforts to violate its sovereignty and security. Iraq said its air defences had not detected any drones being launched from its airspace.

Israeli far-right minister’s flotilla video sparks international criticism
Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2026
A video posted by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday on X showing him taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground sparked international outrage.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the treatment of the activists, calling it “unacceptable.”“It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity,” she said in a statement. Meloni further added that the Italian foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to request a formal clarification of the events. France equally criticized the video demanding that French citizens be treated with respect and freed as soon as possible. “Mr. Ben Gvir’s actions towards the passengers of the Global Sumud flotilla, denounced by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote in a post on X. He added that he had summoned the Israeli ambassador to Paris. The video also caused outrage in Spain. “That treatment is monstrous, disgraceful and inhumane,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said while in Berlin, adding that the Israeli charge d’affaires in Madrid had been summoned. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said images showing Israeli minister Ben-Gvir taunting members of the Gaza-bound aid flotilla are unacceptable. “We will not tolerate anyone mistreating our citizens,” Sanchez said on X, adding his government would push for Ben-Gvir’s ban to enter Spain to be extended to the whole European Union urgently. Furthermore, it provoked critical reactions from Ireland whose Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said that she was “appalled and shocked” by the video. She demanded the immediate release of the “illegally detained” activists. Among the activists are Irish citizens, including the sister of President Catherine Conolly. In addition, the video also drew sharp criticism from Turkey. The foreign ministry in Ankara said that Ben-Gvir “has once again openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mentality of the Netanyahu government.”The video was further met with disdain in the Netherlands, as Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen called it “shocking and unacceptable.”“This treatment of detainees violates basic human dignity. I raised this directly with my Israeli colleague Gideon Saar and will summon the Israeli ambassador,” he wrote in a post on X. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week with the purpose of breaching the Israeli blockade on Gaza. It was intercepted by Israeli security forces and the 430 activists taken to Israel. British foreign minister Yvette Cooper also said was “truly appalled” by the video. In a statement on X, Cooper said Britain was in contact with the families of several British nationals involved and was providing consular support. “We have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities and made clear their obligations to protect the rights of our citizens and all those involved,” Cooper said.Meanwhile, Canada says it will summon the Israeli ambassador. “What we’ve seen, including the video shared by Itamar Ben-Gvir, is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable,” she told reporters on a conference call. “This is a matter we take very, very seriously. It's a matter of humane treatment of civilians, and I can assure you that we are acting with absolute urgency.”With agencies

Sumud Flotilla boats intercepted by Israel, slammed by US as ‘pro terror’
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels in an aid flotilla sailing towards Gaza on Tuesday, according to video footage and flotilla organisers, but Israel said no live ammunition was used and there were no casualties. The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to Gaza after earlier missions were intercepted by Israel in international waters. Video from the flotilla’s live-stream showed soldiers firing shots at two of the boats. The type of ammunition fired was not clear. “At no point was live ammunition fired,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. “Following multiple warnings, non-lethal means were employed toward the vessels – not toward protesters – as a warning. No protesters were injured during these events,” it added. The Global Sumud Flotilla later said that all 50 boats in the flotilla had been intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean, with 428 participants from more than 40 countries detained, including 78 Turks. Israel’s foreign ministry said all 430 activists had been transferred to Israeli vessels and were en route to Israel. It said the activists would be allowed to meet their consular representatives. It was not immediately clear why Israel and the flotilla offered differing numbers for those on board. The foreign ministry had said on X on Monday that it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.
Speaking in Ankara late on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the intervention against the “voyagers of hope” in the flotilla and called on the international community to act against Israel’s actions. Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters. The group said previously there were 426 people taking part in the flotilla from 39 countries. The United States Treasury said on Tuesday it was imposing sanctions against four people associated with what it described as a pro-Hamas flotilla. “The pro-terror flotilla attempting to reach Gaza is a ludicrous attempt to undermine President (Donald) Trump’s successful progress toward lasting peace in the region,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
US authorities said the sanctioned individuals were associated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group that Washington says works as a front for armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas. Some were accused of association with the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which Israel and the United States accuse of being a front for armed groups. The sanctioned individuals include Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin who was detained in Israel for several days earlier this month after Israeli forces seized him from a previous flotilla off the coast of Greece. He was deported on May 10. Israel’s foreign ministry has accused Abu Keshek of being a leading member of PCPA. An Israeli rights group that represented him in court denied this, arguing that he had resigned from the group more than a year ago. The others to be sanctioned in connection with the aid flotillas included Belgium-based Mohammed Khatib, and Spain-based Hisham Abdallah Sulayman Abu Mahfuz and Jaldia Abubakra Aueda. As part of the same announcement on Tuesday, the United States also sanctioned several individuals and entities it accuses of supporting Hamas. These included Marwan Abu Ras and the Palestinian Scholars Association that Washington said he leads. Abu Ras is accused of leading a body that aligns religious discourse in Gaza with Hamas’s ideology. Three individuals accused of being operatives of Hamas or HASM, an Egypt-based group accused of being a “violent offshoot” of the Muslim Brotherhood, were also sanctioned. US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said those being sanctioned were “enablers” that Hamas uses “to sustain its position in Gaza, finance its operations, and engage in terrorist violence beyond its borders.”Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel and the US wrongly conflate their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for Hamas militants. Palestinians and international aid bodies say supplies reaching Gaza are still insufficient, despite a ceasefire agreed in October that included guarantees of increased aid. Most of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings. Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents.

Italian PM says Israel's treatment of Gaza flotilla activists 'unacceptable'
Agence France Presse/May 20/2026
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed as "unacceptable" the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel, after an Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel. "It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity," Meloni said in a statement, referring to the video posted by far-right national Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir had posted a video showing detained activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground. The footage, published on Ben Gvir's X account and captioned "Welcome to Israel", shows dozens of activists on the deck of a military boat with the Israeli national anthem blaring, and in detention in Israel, where the firebrand minister is seen waving an Israeli flag.

Trump’s Board of Peace faces disbursement ‘gap’ in its $70 billion Gaza plan
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
The gap between funding pledges and disbursement for Donald Trump’s Gaza rebuilding plan must be closed urgently, the US president’s “Board of Peace” has said in a report, identifying a potential cash crunch in a plan estimated to cost $70 billion. Trump set up the Board of Peace to oversee his ambitious plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza and rebuild the shattered territory. The UN Security Council has recognised the board, though many major powers have not joined Washington’s main Middle Eastern allies and some middling and smaller states in signing up. Reuters reported in April that the board had only received a small fraction of the $17 billion pledged by members for Gaza, preventing the president from moving ahead with his plan.The board denied that report, saying in a statement it was an “execution-focused organisation that calls capital as needed” and that there “are no funding constraints.”In a May 15 report to the United Nations Security Council, the board said that “the gap between commitment (to the Board of Peace) and disbursement must be closed with urgency”. It added: “Funds committed but not yet disbursed represent the difference between a framework that exists on paper and one that delivers on the ground for the people of Gaza.” The board also called on countries and organisations that are not part of the Board of Peace to make contributions to Gaza’s reconstruction without delay.
The report did not say how much money it had received or how big the gap was, though it said that the amount pledged remained $17 billion. The Board of Peace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to Reuters, a Board of Peace official said the board had been consistent in urging UN member states and international organisations to fulfill pledges and contribute funding for the reconstruction of Gaza. It did not address the gap in funding pledges to the Board of Peace and disbursement.Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, is expected to update the Security Council on the report on May 21, the official said. The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are among states to have pledged funds to the board. Others include Morocco, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. Despite an October ceasefire, Hamas is refusing to lay down its weapons and Israel has kept troops in a large swathe of Gaza while continuing to conduct air strikes. In its report, the board said that 85% of Gaza buildings and infrastructure had been destroyed and that an estimated 70 million tonnes of rubble would need to be cleared. Reuters reported on May 15 that the US was considering asking Israel to give some tax money it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority to the Board of Peace to fund reconstruction. Many states are hesitant to finance Gaza’s reconstruction through Trump’s board over transparency and oversight concerns and would rather fund efforts through traditional institutions like the United Nations, European and Asian officials say. Under the board’s charter, member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership. It is unclear whether any state has paid the fee.

Syria reasserts anti-Israel stance through sweeping customs law
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has issued a new customs decree banning the entry of Israeli goods into Syria, reaffirming Damascus’s long-standing policy of economic boycott against Israel despite sweeping political and diplomatic shifts across the Middle East in recent years. The decree, published by Syria’s official news agency, reflects the Syrian leadership’s determination to preserve what it describes as a position of political and economic confrontation with Israel, even as several Arab states have moved toward varying forms of engagement or normalisation with Tel Aviv. Under Article 112 of the new customs law, Syrian authorities prohibit the entry of goods into the joint free zone with Jordan if they violate boycott laws against Israel or are deemed contrary to public order. The legislation goes further in Article 206, stipulating that customs courts apply “immediate enforcement” procedures in cases involving narcotics, weapons and Israeli goods, effectively placing Israeli products in the same category of offences treated by the Syrian state as direct threats to national security. The move underscores Syria’s continued adherence to anti-Israel boycott laws dating back to the 1950s, when the Arab League adopted a series of measures aimed at preventing economic and commercial cooperation with Israel. While many Arab states gradually relaxed or froze parts of those policies over the past decades, Syria remained among the countries maintaining one of the region’s most hardline positions against economic engagement with Israel. In Syria, the issue extends beyond simply banning direct imports. The entry of Israeli products into Syrian markets or free trade zones is treated as a major smuggling offence with political and security implications that transcend ordinary commercial regulations. The decree comes at a highly sensitive regional moment marked by the ongoing war in Gaza, escalating regional tensions and shifting diplomatic alignments across the Middle East.
For Damascus, reaffirming the boycott appears aimed at reinforcing its traditional “resistance” narrative at a time when regional politics are undergoing rapid transformation. Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, relations between Syria and Israel have remained deeply hostile, despite the existence of indirect contacts on some security issues. Over recent years, Israel has carried out repeated air strikes inside Syrian territory targeting sites linked to Iran and allied armed groups. Against that backdrop, Syrian authorities appear to be using the economic boycott as part of a broader effort to consolidate domestic political legitimacy after years of war, sanctions and international isolation. The leadership in Damascus is aware that maintaining a confrontational stance toward Israel still carries strong symbolic and emotional resonance among large sections of Arab public opinion. The decree also comes as Syria seeks to reorganise its battered economic and trade infrastructure after years of collapse caused by war, sanctions and institutional fragmentation.
The introduction of a revised customs law reflects an attempt to tighten control over trade routes, border crossings and free zones, many of which became major hubs for smuggling and informal commerce during the conflict years. Syrian authorities are also increasingly concerned about indirect economic penetration through intermediary markets, particularly as regional supply chains and commercial networks have become more intertwined and difficult to monitor. Observers say the decision carries a political message to the Syrian public that the state remains committed to its traditional positions despite changing regional and international dynamics. Damascus is seeking to project itself as one of the few Arab capitals that has not altered its official stance toward Israel, contrasting itself with countries that have pursued diplomatic normalisation in recent years.
Still, some analysts argue the practical economic impact of the boycott remains limited, given the near absence of direct trade between Syria and Israel and Syria’s broader economic isolation. The significance of the decree therefore lies less in economics than in symbolism. It demonstrates that the Syrian state continues to frame any economic engagement with Israel as an issue of national sovereignty and security rather than a matter of commercial pragmatism. The move also comes amid reports of difficult indirect negotiations between Damascus and Israel under US mediation. According to recent statements by Sharaa, talks with Israel have not collapsed but remain stalled because of disagreements over Israeli military presence on Syrian territory and arrangements linked to the 1974 disengagement line in the occupied Golan Heights. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said earlier this month that negotiations had yet to produce concrete results, though Damascus still hoped to reach a “calm and stable relationship” with Israel.
In that context, the customs decree highlights the dual-track strategy emerging in Damascus: maintaining a hardline public posture against Israel while cautiously exploring diplomatic channels under mounting regional and international pressure.

Trump’s Kurdish gambit leaves Iranian exiles exposed to Tehran’s firepower
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
Three of the most prominent Iranian Kurdish opposition groups on Tuesday denied accusations by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that they were attempting to smuggle American weapons and ammunition from northern Iraq into Iran, as tensions continued to mount along the volatile frontier between the Islamic Republic and Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The denials came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had targeted armed groups in Iran’s western Kurdistan province, claiming they were acting on behalf of the United States and Israel and attempting to transfer a large cache of US-made weapons across the border. The accusations have deepened fears among Iranian Kurdish opposition factions, many of which have been based for years in camps and remote mountain areas inside Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. The groups say they are increasingly vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone strikes after being thrust into the spotlight by US President Donald Trump during the recent US-Israeli confrontation with Tehran. At the outset of the conflict earlier this year, Trump publicly floated the idea of Iranian Kurdish fighters launching attacks against the Islamic Republic, portraying them as a possible pressure point against Tehran. Although he later appeared to retreat from that position, Kurdish factions say his remarks effectively exposed them to intensified Iranian retaliation without providing meaningful political or military backing. Ahwan Chiako, a member of the leadership council of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), dismissed Iran’s allegations outright. “The claims promoted by the Iranian regime regarding seized weapons and ammunition have absolutely nothing to do with us,” he said. “We did not send weapons, and no arms or equipment belonging to us were confiscated by the Islamic regime.”Amjad Hossein Panahi, spokesman for the Komala party, similarly rejected the accusations, calling them “completely false” and describing them as a pretext for Tehran to continue missile and drone attacks against Kurdish opposition camps in Iraq. An official from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) also denied any involvement in arms transfers, saying the allegations were designed to legitimise Iranian military operations targeting Kurdish dissidents across the border. Iran has long accused Kurdish opposition groups operating from northern Iraq of carrying out attacks inside Iranian territory and serving the interests of hostile foreign powers, particularly the United States and Israel. Tehran designates many of the factions as terrorist organisations. The latest accusations followed an IRGC statement claiming that “groups from northern Iraq acting on behalf of the US and the Zionist regime” were attempting to smuggle a large shipment of American weapons and ammunition into Iran. Iranian authorities said they had confiscated a large quantity of arms in Baneh county near the Iraqi border, although no evidence was publicly presented.
The IRGC added that intelligence operations were ongoing to identify alleged collaborators linked to the operation. The confrontation has unfolded despite a ceasefire between Tehran and Washington that has technically been in place since April 8 following weeks of conflict involving US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region. Although many Kurdish opposition camps in Iraq were largely evacuated after repeated Iranian bombardments during the war, the sites have continued to face intermittent strikes attributed to Tehran. Iranian Kurdish factions say they have been caught in an increasingly dangerous geopolitical struggle. Trump’s statements accusing Kurdish intermediaries of withholding weapons allegedly intended for Iranian protesters have further complicated their position. “We sent guns to the protesters,” Trump said in April. “And I think the Kurds took the guns.”Kurdish groups across Iraq, Syria and Turkey have strongly denied the allegations. Several Kurdish officials and analysts described Trump’s remarks as politically reckless and detached from realities on the ground. Fariba Mohammadi, deputy secretary-general of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, called the accusations “psychological warfare,” insisting no such weapons had ever reached Kurdish organisations. Other Kurdish figures argued that heavily militarised borders, close Iranian surveillance and security agreements between Baghdad and Tehran make such operations virtually impossible. The controversy has also placed Iraq’s Kurdistan region in an increasingly delicate position. While the autonomous Kurdish administration hosts Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, it maintains complex political and economic ties with both Tehran and Ankara, neither of which would tolerate the emergence of another heavily armed Kurdish entity on their borders. Baghdad, dominated by Iran-aligned political factions and armed groups, has likewise shown little willingness to allow Iraqi territory to become a launchpad for military action against Tehran. Analysts say Washington’s apparent attempt to use Iranian Kurdish groups as leverage against Tehran underestimated both the operational limitations facing the factions and the regional backlash such a strategy would provoke.
Instead, Kurdish opposition groups and their families now find themselves exposed to mounting Iranian military pressure while lacking the resources, organisation or international backing necessary to confront the IRGC and Iran’s Basij forces directly.
For many Kurdish dissidents sheltering in Iraq’s mountains, the brief moment of international attention has quickly turned into a dangerous liability.

Former Cuban President Raul Castro charged with murder in US
Reuters/20 May ,2026
Former Cuban President Raul Castro has been indicted in the United States on murder charges, court records showed on Wednesday, in a major escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against the island’s communist government. Cuba’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Castro, 94, last appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month, and there is no evidence that he has since left the island or that the government would allow him to be extradited. The indictment comes as US President Donald Trump has pushed for a regime change in Cuba, where Castro’s communists have been in charge since his late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959. The details of the charges were not immediately available. A US Justice Department official told Reuters last week on the condition of anonymity that the charges against him are expected to be based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles. Trump in a statement earlier on Wednesday called Cuba a “rogue state harboring hostile foreign military” and framed his administration’s actions regarding the Caribbean island as part of a broader effort to expand US influence in the Western Hemisphere. “From the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment,” Trump said at a Coast Guard Academy event in New London, Connecticut. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday that the island does not represent a threat. The indictment marks a new low in relations between the longtime Cold War rivals. After taking power, Fidel Castro struck an alliance with the Soviet Union, then seized US-owned businesses and properties. The US has since maintained an economic embargo on the nation of about 10 million. The two sides have talked intermittently over the years. Diplomatic relations briefly improved during former Democratic President Barack Obama’s second term, but Trump, a Republican, has taken a harder line.
Miami ceremony
The Miami US Attorney’s office is planning to host an event starting at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) to honor victims of the 1996 incident. The Justice Department said on Tuesday it would make an announcement in conjunction with the ceremony, but did not provide details about the announcement. Members of Miami’s large Cuban-American community gathered outside the city’s freedom tower, where the ceremony is due to take place.“We all hoped for a long time, for many years that this would happen,” said Bobby Ramirez, a 62-year-old musician who left Cuba in 1971 when he was 7 years old. The ceremony is due to take place on the anniversary of the end of a four-year US military occupation of Cuba on May 20, 1902, which itself followed centuries of Spanish colonial rule. Cuba’s government does not consider the date to mark the country’s independence day, arguing that it remained subservient to Washington until the 1959 revolution. In a post on X, Diaz-Canel said that in Cuban history, May 20 signified “intervention, interference, dispossession, frustration.”

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 20-21 May/2026
What the Awadi controversy tells us
Oussama Romdhani/The Arab Weekly/May 20/2026
The controversy around the diet proposed by Dr Diaa al-Awadi, an Egyptiananesthesiologist-turned-nutritionist,shed light on Arab public’s mindsets on issues beyond health and food. In his TV and social media appearances, Dr Awadi promised his viewers thatby following his nutritional regimen, which divided foods into two categories, tayyibet (wholesome) and Khabayeth (impure), thatthey would ensure their wellness and even reverse chronic conditions. Some of Dr Awdi’s ideas werejust plain commonsense. Others were just unconventional. But many were plain hazardous. The Egyptian Medical Syndicate rejectedmany of Dr Awadi’s teachings, including his recommendation that children with type 1 diabetes should discontinue insulin injections andkidney transplant patients stop taking immunosuppressive drugs.
The Egyptian influencer even claimed cigarette smoking was “not necessarily harmful”. In his home country, Dr Awadi ultimately losthis medical license and was evenbanned from social media and TV. Still, many continue to defend Dr Awadi and his controversial diet, as having been unfairly disparaged. The food guru’s recent death at the age of 47, prompted more conspiracy theories about his premature demise, despite medical evidence that he died of natural causes.
Some of the conspiracy theorists alleged the pharmaceutical industry was to blame for his death. This is a far cry from the regular criticism levelled at the pharmaceutical companies for charging steep prices for its products. Questions were raised about the economic motivations of Big Pharmaafter the profitsreapedby vaccine manufacturers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Sinovac’s income in two years amounted to about $90 billion. In their defence, the companies point to the huge cost of research and development. True or false, the alleged greed of pharmaceutical companies has no bearing on the debate about the Awadi diet and his push to make medicines expandable. In the Arab region, prohibitive cost and inadequate health systems hinder the very access to proper medical care. Dr Awadicompounded the issue by giving people the illusion they can second-guess their doctorsand substitutesimple food regimen to conventional healthcare. As a result, medical doctors across the Arab world have been reporting many cases of patients suffering a serious deterioration of their medical conditions after they chose to believe that their doctor’s prescription to be useless if not harmful. Trust in health authorities and medical practitioners is crucial in an era where the threat of diseases and pandemics is never far off people’s minds. Recent alarm about the Hantavirusand the Ebola outbreak are cases in point. The silver lining in the Awadi episode, however, is that it prompted public health authorities in many Arab countries to snap off their lethargy in order to counter the false claims disseminated by the diet’s apologists. But beyond the Awadi diet itself, most concerning is the willingness of large segments of the public to be swayed by ideas that in reality put their health and welfare in harm’s way. Social media has been a huge new factor at play.
Many websites have continued to spring up in recent weeks around the region over Dr Awadi’s ideas. One such a site noted that the Egyptian doctor reached an audience that few medical figures in the Arabic-speaking world have matched. His YouTube channel, it said,“gathered 341 000 subscribers, his Facebook page nearly 2 million followers, and several large groups around the system added another 500 000 active members across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and the wider diaspora”. The massive flow of unchecked information can make it difficult to distinguish true facts from fallacies. Nowhere can it be more dangerous than when it comes to public health.Even if false notions are eventually debunked, any questionable theory can still make an impression on people when smooth-talkers take to the online pulpit. There is a history, everywhere, of oil-snake salesmen, before and after 19th century America. The legacy of unverifiable traditional cures lives on, in certain many parts of the Arab world, especially in rural areas where access to modern medical care is lacking and where illiteracy rates remain relatively high.In the age of social media, any well-arguedclaim, especially when cloaked in religious tradition, can win a following. Schools should be immunising young people against fallacies and misleading claims. But there is still a long way to go for educational systems in the Arab world to anchor Reason as the guiding principle in life and the prism through whichpeople perceive the world. The stakes are high for governments who must fill the gap separating them from the citizenry they are supposed to serve. Distrust between the two sides can constitute a serious handicap which can take whole nations to the brink of total failure. All-the-more so in a region plagued by wars and endless crises.

Post-Assad Syria Is Mending Fences With Russia
Ahmad Sharawi/Policy Brief/May 20/2026
The new Syrian leadership has signaled openness to the West and has even demonstrated cooperation with Ukraine — Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in April. Yet beneath this diplomatic realignment, Syria has continued to depend heavily on Russia for critical needs. Moscow is increasing its military support to Damascus and remains a key supplier of wheat and oil, suggesting that Russia’s influence in Syria did not dissipate with the overthrow of its ally, former President Bashar al-Assad.
Damascus’s growing relationship with Moscow is especially notable given that Russia was a full partner in the mass atrocities the Assad regime committed against its own subjects during the Syrian civil war. Sharaa has apparently concluded that Russia’s primary interest is in maintaining its foothold in Syria, chiefly the Hmeimim Air Base and the Tartus naval facility. “Russia, of course, plays a major role in Syria, in stabilizing the situation, not only in Syria but also in the region,” Sharaa stated appreciatively during a visit to Moscow. In return, Sharaa is positioning Damascus to extract tangible benefits from Russia, including military, energy, and grain imports.
Russian Military Presence in Syria Works to Mutual Advantage
According to Arab media sources, the Syrian Ministry of Defense is transforming the Hmeimim Air Base into a training facility for the Syrian army staffed by Russian advisers. According to the source, the base retains military infrastructure “in excellent condition,” while much of the Syrian military’s surviving equipment remains Russian-made.
Damascus does not want to abandon these remaining Russian weapons systems, especially those that survived Israel’s campaign to degrade Syria’s military capabilities following the fall of the regime. Damascus understands that it needs to maintain the military relationship with Moscow to maintain and train Syrian personnel on legacy Soviet and Russian equipment.
For Russia, sustaining a presence on the Syrian coast, especially at Tartus, remains a priority. The base provides Russia with monitoring capabilities across the eastern Mediterranean and surveillance of military activity by NATO and Western states. Additionally, in November 2025, Israeli sources claimed that Russia “submitted a proposal to Damascus for Russian patrols … to act as a separation force between Syrian and Israeli troops” in southern Syria. Syria Imports Oil From Russia and Grain Stolen From Ukraine. The relationship between Damascus and Moscow has extended well beyond the military sphere.
In May, Reuters reported that Russian oil shipments to Syria “have jumped 75% to about 60,000 barrels per day this year.” Much of this trade has relied on U.S.-sanctioned vessels. In March 2025, Russia delivered diesel to Syria aboard the sanctioned tanker Prosperity. Days later, two additional sanctioned tankers, Aquatica and Sakina, offloaded Russian oil at Syria’s Baniyas port. Open-source maritime research has also identified the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia as primary destinations for grain Russia looted from occupied Ukrainian territories. In one documented case, the Russian bulk carrier Matros Pozynich, which the European Union designated, loaded 27,500 tons of wheat in occupied Sevastopol before arriving in Syria to deliver its cargo.
U.S. Can Use Sanctions To Stymie Syria’s Alignment With Russia
By lifting almost all sanctions on Damascus, Washington has given Syria’s government an opportunity to rebuild the country and align itself with the West, but that opening is not without limits. While the United States has shown some ambivalence toward penalizing countries that maintain economic ties with Moscow, congressional pressure to reimpose sanctions could grow if Syria begins directly acquiring weapons systems from Russia or engaging with Russia’s state-owned arms exporters. Washington should make clear to Damascus that Syrian entities purchasing from and materially supporting Russian actors tied to the war in Ukraine could themselves become targets for sanctions. That warning should extend in particular to Syrian entities involved in the importation and handling of grain looted from occupied Ukrainian territories.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Ahmad and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Is Europe Ending Up as One Big No-Go Zone?
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute./May 20, 2026
Given the enormity of the problem, the authors of the report had to limit their focus to "seven EU countries where no-go zones are most reported: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands."
No-go zones, according to the report, are especially characterized by high rates of crime, violence and terrorist recruitment.
"This institutional reluctance, driven by political correctness, allowed gangs to operate with impunity in NGZs, where cultural segregation and weak policing created fertile ground for such crimes, effectively rendering the state an accomplice through its failure to protect victims." – From "Immigration, Islamisation, and the Rise of Parallel Societies," a report by New Direction – Foundation for European Conservatism.
"In Western Europe, especially in France and the UK... these [Sharia] councils claim to operate within British law, but in practice, they prioritize patriarchal religious norms over civil rights." — From "Immigration, Islamisation, and the Rise of Parallel Societies."
In Germany.... [s]howcasing how extremely poorly equipped authorities are to deal with this sort of torment, the Muslim men were fined symbolic amounts for simply wearing illegal uniforms, but not for their vigilante brutality enforcing sharia law.
"What is happening? This is my home!" – Belinda de Lucy, TalkTV, July 12, 2025.
"Numerous testimonies... describe women facing insults, intimidation, or exclusion for failing to conform to Islamic dress codes. In such contexts, what was once a personal religious expression becomes a communal norm, enforced not by the state but by the collective will of the neighborhood." — From "Immigration, Islamisation, and the Rise of Parallel Societies."
No-go zones, according to the report, are especially characterized by high rates of crime, violence and terrorist recruitment. Given the enormity of the problem, the authors of the report had to limit their focus to "seven EU countries where no-go zones are most reported: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands."
In late March, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, a center-right political group in the European Parliament, published a report about no-go zones in Europe about no-go zones in Europe titled "Immigration, Islamisation, and the Rise of Parallel Societies: Focus on urban areas of Islamist entrenchment and state withdrawal," authored by New Direction – Foundation for European Conservatism
For many years, the existence of no-go zones in European cities was publicly denied by the ruling elites and their spokespersons in the mainstream media. If anyone raised the issue, as US President Donald Trump did in December 2015, when he spoke of no-go zones in London and Paris, or here at Gatestone Institute, they were mocked and denigrated for it (here and here). Meanwhile, the problem exponentiated. According to the report:
"There are now an estimated 900 to 1,000 areas across Europe that exhibit the key characteristics of no-go zones. This includes major urban suburbs as well as districts in medium-sized or smaller cities, reflecting a broad and growing territorial trend."
Given the enormity of the problem, the authors of the report had to limit their focus to "seven EU countries where no-go zones are most reported: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands."
The report noted -- no surprise -- that no-go zones are closely correlated to the mass immigration of Muslims into Europe since the 1970s (more than 40% of the population in the studied no-go zones is "foreign-born"). The report adds:
"The Muslim population is markedly overrepresented in designated no-go zones. In these areas, the average proportion of Muslim residents reaches 29%, significantly exceeding both the EU-wide average of 4,9% and the average in comparable urban areas outside no-go zones....
Since 2000, a disproportionate share of asylum seekers and new EU citizens have come from countries where Islam is the dominant religion. Of the top 15 origin countries among asylum seekers between January 2024 and March 2025, 11 are Muslim-majority... Similarly, the 3 largest nationality groups granted EU citizenship in 2023 were all from Muslim-majority nations (Syria, Morocco, and Albania)."
No-go zones, according to the report, are especially characterized by high rates of crime, violence and terrorist recruitment. In Belgium in 2022, 44% of all robberies took place in Brussels -- home to just 10% of the country's population – and in the no-go zone of Molenbeek. Some of the most notorious Muslim terrorists grew up in Molenbeek or spent time there, including those behind the 2015 Paris attacks, the 2016 Brussels airport and metro attacks, and the 2014 attack at the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Molenbeek was apparently also a breeding ground for terrorist recruitment for ISIS, with Belgium contributing the highest number per capita of Western ISIS fighters.
"Molenbeek is like another world, another culture, festering in the heart of the West," journalist Matthew Levitt wrote in 2016, after the Paris attacks.
Molenbeek, however, is just one example. According to the report:
"Several European neighborhoods have repeatedly played a key role in jihadist networks.... Seine-Saint-Denis [a Paris suburb]... has produced several figures of French jihadism. Samy Amimour, a member of the Bataclan terrorist commando, was born in Drancy. Other members of jihadist networks (such as the 'Cannes-Torcy' cell) came from towns like Clichy-sous-Bois, Aulnay-sous-Bois, or Stains.... In summary, European no-go zones provide an environment where terrorism can more easily take root."
In the UK, states the report, parts of the industrial-scale rape of white girls by predominantly Pakistani Muslim gangs took place "particularly in no-go zones like Rotherham, Rochdale, and Oldham" through "a disturbing pattern of state complicity through silence and inaction."
"This institutional reluctance, driven by political correctness, allowed gangs to operate with impunity in NGZs, where cultural segregation and weak policing created fertile ground for such crimes, effectively rendering the state an accomplice through its failure to protect victims."
No-go zones are also parallel societies that follow Islamic norms predicated on sharia law -- far removed from Western norms -- rather than the law of the land in which they live: "In Western Europe, especially in France and the UK, community-based Islamic structures are establishing parallel normative systems that operate independently of national laws. The most emblematic example is the United Kingdom, where Sharia Councils function as unofficial religious courts. The most well-known, the Islamic Sharia Council in London (established in 1982), handles over 1,000 cases per year, primarily concerning family law (marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody)....
"Investigative reports revealed disturbing practices: women pressured to return to abusive husbands, divorces denied without the husband's consent, and blatant inequality in child custody and property division. Officially, these councils claim to operate within British law, but in practice, they prioritize patriarchal religious norms over civil rights."
These Islamic norms spill over into the "mainstream." In Germany in 2014, Muslims created "sharia patrols" to enforce religious rules in the streets of Wuppertal. Initially the patrol was deemed legal by a local court, but this was later overturned by the federal judiciary. Showcasing how extremely poorly equipped authorities are to deal with this sort of torment, the Muslim men were fined symbolic amounts for simply wearing illegal uniforms, but not for their vigilante brutality enforcing sharia law.
Nowadays, Muslim men in certain neighborhoods simply corner women and harass them. Belinda de Lucy, a British former member of the European Parliament was accosted in the street near her home in west London while walking to pick up her daughters from school. Two Muslim men in Islamic garb blocked her from walking down the street, threatening her, shouting at her, and calling her names for not wearing sharia-conforming dress (she was wearing a large T-shirt and shorts halfway down her knees) until she burst into tears and called the police.
"What is happening? This is my home!" de Lucy said in a television interview, describing how the police's response was as scary as what should rightly be called an assault.
"They sent round a gentleman [police officer] who kept reminding me that he was Muslim... I felt I had to be careful what I say and how I address this... in the end all I got from the local police was 'We'll talk to the local imam and get him to chat with the congregation.' And it really shocked me..."
It is not so shocking, considering that in Muslim-majority countries, which often practice gender apartheid, women have no rights and are regarded as second-class, inferior beings, like property:
"Women have rights similar to those of men equitably, although men have a degree ˹of responsibility˺ above them. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise."
— Quran: 2:228 (Dr. Mustafa Khattab translation)
"Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand."
— Quran 4:34 (Sahih International translation)
"O women, give in charity, for I have been shown that you are the majority of the inhabitants of Hell."
They asked, "Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?"
He replied, "You curse a lot and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect and religion who overcomes the mind of a resolute man more than one of you."
They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the deficiency in our intellect and religion?"
He said, "Is not the testimony of a woman equal to half the testimony of a man?"
They said, "Yes."
He said, "That is the deficiency in her intellect."
— Hadith: Sahih al-Bokhari
"The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?' The women said, 'Yes.' He said, 'This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind.'"
— Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, Hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari 2658, Book 52 Hadith 22; Vol:3, Book 48, Hadith 826
The report continues:
"The rise of Islamic norms comes with a transformation of urban life in immigrant-dense neighborhoods... European traditions and customs give way to conservative Muslim practices..."In suburbs like Sevran, located in the Seine-Saint-Denis departement in France, women have reported being informally excluded from cafés and local restaurants...."Numerous testimonies... describe women facing insults, intimidation, or exclusion for failing to conform to Islamic dress codes. In such contexts, what was once a personal religious expression becomes a communal norm, enforced not by the state but by the collective will of the neighborhood. "In Grenoble, legal and political tensions escalated after the city's ecologist mayor, Éric Piolle, proposed changes to public swimming pool regulations. These included allowing female-only swimming hours and authorizing the wearing of burkinis... Grenoble, a city with a significant Muslim population, became a national focal point in the ongoing debate over religious accommodation in public life.... In the end, the French supreme administrative court... ruled against such accommodations, affirming the principle that public institutions must remain free from religious particularism."
The report concludes:
"Europe now stands at a crossroads. An increasing segment of the European population is now rejecting the values, symbols, and collective identity of their country of citizenship, giving rise to a new class of nationals who feel no allegiance to the nation-state and do not recognize themselves in its cultural roots and project."The real question is whether this shift -- perpetrated by European leaders who seem solely self-interested in wooing votes, can be reversed -- or whether European citizens are looking at a future of inevitable submission to Islam. At present, unfortunately, the second path appears more likely.
*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.

Putin in China... Pragmatism, Not Ideology
Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/2026
Why does Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China come a few days after the departure of Donald Trump? It is difficult to provide a fully satisfactory answer. Without getting into historical conspiracy theories, however, it would be reasonable to assume that the man in the Kremlin is perhaps troubled by the prospect of Uncle Sam driving a wedge into Sino-Russian relations, which would pose grave threats at the present moment. In a statement published on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the visit come at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries. The Kremlin further stresses that the visit is an opportunity for the two presidents to deepen their strategic partnership and cooperation.
That is certainly possible in theory. Nonetheless, the question on everyone’s lips remains whether Xi, during the 48 hours of the visit, will play a decisive mediating role between Moscow and Kyiv and facilitate efforts to end the war that began four years ago.
No answer to this question can be given without a realistic understanding of the nature and strength of relations between Beijing and Moscow, and without determining whether they are ideological strategic allies or merely partners pursuing mutual interests, especially their shared desire to contain American power in particular and challenge Western dominance more generally.
To begin with, China and Russia are not bound by formal alliance treaties, nor are they committed to defending one another. Still, their partnership is a particularly significant concern in Washington, especially after Xi declared in 2022 that his partnership with Putin had “no limits.” Xi has called Putin his “best friend and colleague,” while Putin referred to Xi as a “dear friend,” praising the Belt and Road Initiative and describing it as an attempt to achieve “a more just and multipolar world order.”
Although Russia and China tend to support one another, or at least refrain from opposing one another, in the United Nations Security Council on important issues, deep civilizational barriers separate the Russians and the Chinese. As we have repeatedly noted, they seem philosophically and socially uneasy with one another. Consequently, a climate of mistrust prevails among many officials, business leaders, and ordinary citizens on both sides, with historical grievances and future racial anxieties playing a significant role in this regard. It is striking that while Xi and Putin enjoy cordial relations, the situation among previous leaders was quite different, with discord outweighing harmony.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has also placed China in an awkward position. Although Beijing has not publicly provided military support for Moscow’s war effort, NATO continues to accuse Beijing of complicity in Russia’s military campaign. Xi’s statements during his March 2023 visit to Moscow did little to dispel such accusations, even after he strongly warned against the possibility of the Russians resorting to nuclear weapons.
On another level, Sino-Russian military cooperation appears constrained by ongoing structural issues. One such constraint is Russia’s concerns around Chinese theft of intellectual property from Russian firms, fears rooted in repeated past cases in which China reverse-engineered Russian technology.
In the geopolitical competition between the two great Asian neighbors, Russia has devoted fewer military resources to its Far Eastern borders, achieving short-term security gains. In the long run, however, this reduction may be offset by expanding Chinese economic and political influence in areas Moscow has long regarded as its sphere of influence, particularly in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Moreover, China is unhappy with Russia’s close ties to India and Moscow’s transfer of weapons to New Delhi.
Returning to the primary purpose of the visit and the question of whether Putin seeks to preempt Chinese-American rapprochement, one could say that every square inch of confidence between Beijing and Washington, and every step toward easing tensions, could be seen by Russia as coming at the expense of its relationship with China.At this point, it must be said that Putin’s ambitions depend on consolidating Russia’s status as a great power, with Moscow remaining a strategic asset to both Beijing and perhaps Washington as well.
In any case, Putin still holds valuable cards in major global issues: the war in Ukraine, Iran, energy security, and the future of the international order. Despite this, it is not inconceivable that he fears waking up one day to find China leaning toward Washington out of pragmatism, especially in the absence of any ideological bond with Moscow. For that reason, we must follow the visit and its eventual outcomes.

Selected Face Book & X tweets for May 20/2026
M-Michèle Hayek
https://www.facebook.com/aboali.souhad/videos/994205709688839
Please share this video so everybody will know how much the Lebanese from the South are enduring from not returning to their land. It is a MUST that Hezbollah should be DISARMED so the displaced can return peacefully to their homes in the south of Lebanon and rebuilt it all to live a decent life!

George Deek
https://x.com/i/status/2056732332967526586
I come from an Arab Christian family that has lived in the Holy Land for centuries.
Today, I have the honor of representing Israel to the Christian world.
This is my message to Christians everywhere.

Dr Walid Phares
Lebanese majority anti Hezbollah and peace with Israel
Polls are now saying a majority of Lebanese communities want a peace process with Israel and are opposed to Hezbollah. We have been explaining since 2005 that a majority of Christians and large segments of Druse and Sunnis have adopted an anti Hezbollah stand since the Cedars Revolution that year. We were criticized for 20 years.
And as of October 7, a large majority of Christians and Druse have been seeking a peace agreement with Israel. We were also criticized. Now finally we are vindicated...
**The border between Lebanon and Israel must be opened regardless of the Washington talks. The shutting of the border in 1948 was against the aspirations of a large majority of Lebanese and a catastrophic mistake by bourgeois elites in Beirut.
**If the US doesn't defeat the Islamic Regime in Iran and free the Iranian
**Mahmoud Ahmedinijad or no Mahmoud, top IRGC commanders or business Khomeinist tycoons, no one from the regime's deep state will be able to lead a new free Iran. No fantasies based on contracts and half baked shadows will work for Iran.
Cold war trickster tactics are over...

Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري
https://x.com/i/status/2056826853738889253
Israelis and Lebanese are very similar. Also in the discourse and the issues that occupy us.
There, too, they don't just talk about war, and this time the LGBTQ issue came up in the air in the debate program "Not a Show".
I talked about it on @lucyaharish's show today.

Mark Elian | مارك اليان
@mark_elian_
In the near future, links between Lebanon and Israel could eventually be facilitated through René Moawad Airport in Qlayaat, North Lebanon.
One key factor is that Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport lies relatively close to the Israeli border - around 60 to 70 km in a straight line, so 1h to 1h30 by road - and is also located in Beirut’s southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.
By contrast, Qlayaat Airport, located in Akkar near the Syrian border, offers far greater strategic depth and distance from the southern front. Its reopening is expected in the coming months after government-approved rehabilitation works.
Beyond its strategic importance, Qlayaat could become a major source of economic vitality for northern Lebanon and even parts of Syria’s southern coast.
The airport could generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs in tourism, logistics, cargo, and transport, while helping revive one of Lebanon’s most neglected regions and reducing pressure on Beirut Airport.

أحمد الشرع
@AH_AlSharaa
Some meetings leave an impression; ours apparently left a fragrance.
Thank you, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump, for your generosity and for topping up this precious gift. May the spirit of that meeting continue to shape a stronger relationship between Syria and the United States.

LF Foreign Affairs
https://x.com/i/status/2056736999797596338
Lebanese Forces leader @DrSamirGeagea met with @KSAembassyLB @bukhariwaleeed at the party's headquarters to discuss the latest political developments on both the domestic & regional levels. The meeting was attended by the head of LFFA Department & former minister,
@RKouyoumjian

Ronen Bergman
A NYTimes Exclusive: Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, President Trump mused publicly that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Believe it or not, in 1958, Lebanon almost plunged into civil war because its president Chamoun (far right in the pic) wanted to align his country with Iran under Shah Pahlavi (standing next to Chamoun in his 1957 visit to Lebanon) under the US-sponsored Baghdad Alliance.
Iran was the leading Westernizing/modernizing country in the region. It had a powerful economy and army. Tehran was the envy of cities. Everyone wanted to move and live there. Until 1969, Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the East.
Now check out war-torn Lebanon, trying its best to distance itself from Islamic Iran, the fastest unravelling economy and nation state in the region over the past half century.
See, policies should never be about chauvinist nationalism, but rather about national interests, policies and good life for citizens. See less