English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  May 29/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son
John 14/08-14: "Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."

Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 28-29 May/2026
The Absurdity of the Salam Government’s Crocodile Tears Over Beaufort Castle and Tyre’s Ruins—While Hezbollah Turned Them Into Military Barracks and Warehouses/Elias Bejjani/May 29/2026
There is no hope and no promise from the rulers of Lebanon and its subservient political parties salvation, if it is destined to come, will be through the State of Israel and its army/Elias Bejjani/May 27/2026
Video & Text: The “South Liberation Day” Is a Heresy and a Falsification of History; It Must Be Abolished and Erased from the Memory of Lebanon and the Lebanese/Elias Youssef Bejjani/May 25, 2026
Israel carries out strike on Beirut suburbs, first near capital in weeks
A telegram from the Pope to President Aoun... Support and prayers
Prime Minister Salam: Nothing Justifies Attacks and Threats; We Insist on an Immediate Ceasefire
UNIFIL Concerned About Escalation in Southern Lebanon: It Threatens Regional Stability
Washington: Lebanese Arrangements Ahead of Military Session
Israel: We Will Work with the Lebanese Government to Reach a Peace Agreement
The army mourns a soldier killed by Israel in Nabatieh!
Israeli Threat: 10 Buildings in the Southern Suburbs for Every Hezbollah Drone
Israeli airstrike targets apartment in Choueifat, south of Beirut / Israeli media: Target in Beirut strike was Ali al-Husseini, Hezbollah missile unit commander
Ministry of Health: Woman and Two Children Killed in Shweifat Raid
11 Killed and Five Wounded in Israeli Raids on Southern Lebanon
Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes on Tyre in Southern Lebanon...Lebanese Army Death Toll Rises to 3 in 24 Hours
Six killed in dawn raid on Adloun
Three martyrs and five wounded in the targeting of Qiyaa, Sidon
Drones, Sirens, and Exchanges of Airstrikes… Rapid Escalation on the Southern Front
After the death of an Israeli soldier... Katz: "Heavy price" awaits the party
US Veto Freezes Beirut Strike… Israeli Army Complains of Netanyahu's Restrictions
Heavy airstrikes rock southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley; Israeli warnings issued to southern residents
Netanyahu Announces Crossing the Litani River: Israel Speaks of “Peace” with Lebanon
From Shaqif to Shweifat: Israel Draws the Lines of Negotiation
Minister Raji Conducts Intensive Diplomatic Contacts in Defense of Tyre
Mufti of Tripoli and the North Condemns Attack on Greek Orthodox Cemetery
Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc: We Call on the Authority to Withdraw from Negotiations and Return to the Embrace of its People
Arnoun Municipality: Save Beaufort Castle/Laura Yammine/Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 28-29 May/2026
US and Iran reach deal but need Trump’s final approval: Report
US, Iran send mixed signals on potential deal after latest attacks
Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar to visit Washington on Friday, meet Rubio
Iran claims it downed US aircraft after missile launch from southern region: Agencies
US to shut down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling: Bessent
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran’s military oil sales, Treasury says
Kuwait calls Iranian drone, missile attack ‘dangerous escalation’
India says 10 sailors released by Iran
Israel breaks all contact with UN chief
Israel PM says orders army to take control of 70 percent of Gaza Strip
EU says won’t be ‘neutral mediator’ between Ukraine and Russia
Kenya approves US plan to open Ebola quarantine facility, US officials say
Man stabs three at Swiss train station in what authorities call an ‘act of terror’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 28-29 May/2026
The Pitfalls of Negotiations/Dr. Charles Chartouni /Ici Beyrouth/May 28/2026
Travers de négociations/Dr. Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/28 mai 2026
Why Any Deal with Iran Is a Mistake/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 28, 2026
Iran: Repression of the People... and Missiles for the Neighbors/Khalil Ali Haidar/Al-Jarida/May 28, 2026
Political Exclusion of Syrian Kurds Threatens SDF-Damascus Deal/Ahmad Sharawi/FDD-Policy brief/May 28/2026
Khamenei's rhetoric remains unchanged: A genuine agreement or a pause between wars?/Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026
Effect of the Iran war on the global economy/Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 28-29 May/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on 28-29 May/2026
The Absurdity of the Salam Government’s Crocodile Tears Over Beaufort Castle and Tyre’s Ruins—While Hezbollah Turned Them Into Military Barracks and Warehouses
Elias Bejjani/May 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154894/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlKn43r3g3M&t=718s
Beaufort Castle
Beaufort Castle, or Qalaat Shaqif Arnoun (known in French as Château de Beaufort), is a historic fortress located in Lebanon, about one kilometer from the village of Arnoun. Originally built by the Romans, its structures were later expanded by the Crusaders and restored by Emir Fakhreddine II. The castle is built on a high, sheer cliff overlooking the Litani River, the Marjayoun plain, and the Nabatieh region. Its unique design bends along with the mountain, and its walls—built from local rock—make it look hidden among the cliffs, even though its grand silhouette can be seen from miles away. In historical references, it is known as Beaufort, meaning "the beautiful fortress."
The Trojan and Submissive Comedy in Occupied Lebanon
The ridiculous "Trojan" and submissive theater continues in occupied Lebanon, accompanied by a chorus of silent weeping and public mourning. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government—which is completely castrated of any national pride—alongside a bunch of accidental and submissive ministers, are stepping up today to shed crocodile tears over the ancient city of Tyre and weep for the fate of the historic Beaufort Castle following Israeli military strikes.
The tragicomic irony is that this so-called "state," falsely named the Lebanese Republic, is actually just an occupied province belonging to the "State of Hezbollah"—with all the terror and hostage-taking that implies. This regime begs the international community and the world's conscience to protect historical stones. Yet, it has openly conspired and collaborated to hand over the people, the land, and history to an Iranian terrorist militia that has turned Tyre, its surroundings, and the towers of Beaufort Castle into military barracks and rocket warehouses!
Minister Raji and Idle Diplomatic Contacts: Much Ado About Nothing
In a highly dramatic scene, Foreign Minister Youssef Raji releases a statement dripping with "deep pain and profound anxiety," talking about Tyre’s ancient neighborhoods, its churches, and its mosques that survived for thousands of years. The minister boasts about his "intensive diplomatic contacts" to save this human heritage. In the exact same context came a notable statement by the Arabist and Nasserist Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salameh.
What heritage are Raji and Salameh even talking about? Their sweet diplomatic words are completely worthless and lack any credibility. With full intent, premeditation, and blatant submission, they choose to ignore the naked truth: the Iranian-backed, jihadist Hezbollah is the one that turned these ancient neighborhoods and historic sites into military outposts and security zones right under the cover of Nawaf Salam’s helpless government. Their diplomatic calls are nothing but an exercise in stupidity, serving as a cover-up for a clear Iranian occupation that is holding Tyre and its people hostage, while turning Beaufort Castle into an Iranian military barracks.
The Arnon Municipality and "Enhanced Protection" for a Rocket Arsenal!
Equally detached from reality is the statement issued by the Arnon Municipality. The municipality condemns the shelling of Beaufort Castle by hiding behind the 2024 Hague Convention protocol, which granted the castle "enhanced protection." The municipality and the "Green Southerners" association call the strikes a "systematic cultural genocide" and a war crime.
How short-sighted can these local officials be! International laws and heritage treaties automatically lose their validity the moment a terrorist militia transforms a historic site into a strategic military outpost to launch rockets, dig tunnels, and store weapons. Beaufort Castle, with its strategic location overlooking the Litani River and the Galilee, stopped being a tourist landmark the moment Hezbollah decided to resurrect its military "glory" there. Your talk about the "resilience of its people" over centuries is just a cheap excuse to justify the presence of Iranian weapon depots. Your statement is completely meaningless and worthless because you chose to ignore how the castle was booby-trapped with the spirit of the Mullahs. You stripped it of its cultural identity and dressed it in a yellow military uniform.
The Baalbek Theater Repeated in the South
This official hypocrisy reminds us of the exact same ridiculous plays staged by Hezbollah, its submissive state, and its media puppets during the COVID-19 era when they exposed the Baalbek ruins to the danger of destruction. Back then, they openly bragged about their military control while the state remained completely silent. Today, the exact same scenario is repeated in the South: the militia plants weapons among the ruins, and the government cries over international law!
Nawaf Salam: Political Coma and Intentional Blindness
As for Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, he treats us on the "X" platform to worn-out clichés like "nothing justifies these attacks" and demands for a full Israeli withdrawal and the return of state authority.
Mr. Prime Minister, where is this state authority you are talking about? What sovereignty are you weeping for when you know damn well that every single inch of Lebanon—not just Tyre or Beaufort Castle—is a military barracks and a weapons depot hijacked by the Iranian Supreme Leader (Wali al-Faqih)? How can you act surprised by these strikes while you cowardly turn a blind eye to the real occupation sitting inside your government offices and controlling your military and security institutions?
Conclusion: Shut Up and Accept the Truth
The puppets of this government, the cheerleaders of Hezbollah, and all the complicit ministers and officials in Lebanon should just shut up, swallow their tongues, and go away. Stop your cheap media campaigns that claim to protect history and heritage.
This is a state falsely called a "Republic," but in reality, it is an Iranian province ruled by a terrorist faction that holds the sole decision over war and peace. It controls the necks and the tongues of everyone in power. The world will not believe you, and treaties will not protect you, as long as Lebanon’s history and present are used as wooden shields to protect Hezbollah's arsenal. Your screaming has no credibility, and your tears are nothing but waste water running down the face of a state that has no sovereignty and no dignity.

There is no hope and no promise from the rulers of Lebanon and its subservient political parties salvation, if it is destined to come, will be through the State of Israel and its army.
Elias Bejjani/May 27/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154855/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE4KSTqfiVM
What the "Land of the Cedars," the land of holiness and saints, is currently suffering from is not only the Iranian occupation with its debauchery, obscenity, terror, jihadism, hallucinations, delusions, and the culture of death it promotes; rather, the bitter truth that must not be ignored lies also in this: all the rulers of Lebanon and the so called falsely political parties are nothing but diabolical tools operated by the "Party of Satan" via remote control. No president has any authority of his own, and no official exercises his responsibilities. They are merely Trojan horses, stripped of both will and decision-making power, and no hope or promise can be expected from them.
It clearly remains that salvation and liberation as is clear even to the blind—will not come, if it is ordained to come, except by way of the State of Israel and its army. Therefore, to uphold facts and reality, it is the duty of every sovereign Lebanese who realizes that the cancerous "Hezbollah" occupies Lebanon and is destroying it, to thank Israel; because it is executing militarily what the Lebanese lack the capacity to do themselves.
In summary, the actual reality shows us clearly that the evil Iranian terrorist Hezbollah continues to occupy Lebanon; the state is its state, the decision-making is its own, and all institutions are under its command, as it drives rulers and politicians with a whip. It is a bitter and shocking truth, yet it is the very reality that Lebanon lives and the Lebanese endure.

Video & Text: The “South Liberation Day” Is a Heresy and a Falsification of History; It Must Be Abolished and Erased from the Memory of Lebanon and the Lebanese
Elias Youssef Bejjani/May 25, 2026
“Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.” (Isaiah 33:01)
May 25, 2000, was a pivotal moment in the history of South Lebanon—or so it seemed. The Israeli army withdrew, fulfilling a campaign promise made by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. However, what followed was not a true liberation. Instead, it was a betrayal resulting from a secret deal between Israel, Iran, and Syria. This arrangement left the Lebanese residents of the southern border zone and their military, the South Lebanon Army (SLA), at the mercy of the Syrian Ba'athist occupation and the Iranian-backed jihadist proxy blasphemously named “Hezbollah.”
While Ehud Barak's electoral promise appeared noble on the surface, it was overshadowed by shady negotiations prior to the withdrawal. Conducted through intermediaries from Germany, Sweden, and Jordan, this secret deal with the dictatorial regimes in Syria and Iran effectively handed South Lebanon and its population over to Hezbollah. The agreement involved dismantling the SLA and locking the border gates with Israel, leaving the local population completely defenseless against Hezbollah's aggression.
Contrary to Hezbollah’s claims, the withdrawal was not a liberation. It was a calculated geopolitical move orchestrated through political hypocrisy and opportunism, rather than genuine emancipation. The official annual celebration of May 25 as “Liberation Day” by the Lebanese state and Hezbollah since the year 2000 is nothing but a charade built on lies, deception, and manipulation.
It is crucial not to overlook a vital historical fact: just days before the Israeli withdrawal, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah openly threatened the residents of South Lebanon through all media outlets. He instilled terror by warning of horrific acts—slaughtering people, slitting throats, ripping open bellies, and gouging out eyes in their own beds. This is exactly what he stated verbatim in the video attached below:
“By Allah, we will enter your homes and slaughter you in your beds. These criminals and traitors face three options: they either leave with the enemy, surrender to the Lebanese judiciary, or be killed after the enemy leaves. After the enemy departs, if you do not leave with them, we are coming to you—not with peace, but with rifles.”
These terrorist threats forced the majority of the border zone residents to flee and seek refuge in Israel. To this day, they remain unjustly branded as traitors and agents, denied their fundamental right to return to their homeland and homes. Furthermore, the role of the Syrian occupation during that era must be acknowledged. The so-called “Liberation Day” was not the result of heroic efforts by Hezbollah, but rather the product of foreign geopolitical deals. The Syrian occupation imposed this false liberation narrative without any concrete basis on the ground. As we reflect on May 25, 2000, we must strip away this facade and recognize the truth behind Hezbollah’s deceptive narrative.
The people of South Lebanon deserve justice, not manipulation and coercion. It is time to expose the dark realities obscured by political agendas and honor the resilience of those who were unjustly abandoned to terrorism. We firmly believe that this so-called “Liberation Day” must be officially abolished and completely erased from the memory of the Lebanese people.
In conclusion, Hezbollah is a criminal, terrorist, and jihadist military division completely subordinate to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—a treasonous Trojan Horse reality that Nasrallah and his mercenary gang frequently boasted about. Operating on Iranian orders, Hezbollah attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, completely bypassing the will and decision-making of the Lebanese state and its people. Consequently, Hezbollah bears full responsibility for the subsequent killing, destruction, and assassinations carried out by Israel.
Despite its resounding military defeat and the assassination of most of its top leadership, Hezbollah continues to hijack Lebanese state decisions. The group is neither truly Lebanese nor a liberator; it does not represent a legitimate Lebanese faction, nor does it legitimately represent the Shiite community in Parliament. Instead, it holds Lebanon and the Shiite community hostage, sacrifices their youth, destroys the South, displaces its residents, and has caused the devastation of dozens of southern towns and villages.
In reality, this Iranian-controlled proxy is a humanitarian, cultural, and national catastrophe that specializes in crime, smuggling, and global mafia operations. There is no salvation for Lebanon without completely dismantling Hezbollah's political, military, cultural, media, and occupational presence.
Therefore, General Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese government, political parties, and leaders across all factions are called upon to speak the truth. They must explicitly label Hezbollah by its criminal, Iranian, and jihadist reality, strip away its false “resistance” status, and actively support the enforcement of all international resolutions and ceasefire agreements. This is the only way to end its military occupation, free the Shiite community from being held hostage, and halt the destruction of their regions. Most importantly, Lebanon must end the state of war with Israel, recognize it, and normalize relations, just as Lebanon does with the rest of the world. Furthermore, it is critical to bar any Hezbollah elements from integrating into the Lebanese Army or security forces, prosecute its remaining leaders, and ban them from political activity. The heresy of endless “dialogue” must stop. The group must be disarmed and its intelligence apparatus dismantled by all means necessary, including force if required. Ultimately, a draft resolution must be submitted to Parliament to officially abolish the lie of “Liberation Day.”

Israel carries out strike on Beirut suburbs, first near capital in weeks
Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
An Israeli strike hit a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Thursday, the first strike to hit near Beirut in weeks amid a ceasefire that has failed to halt fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had conducted a precise strike in Beirut but did not offer additional details. Two Israeli security sources said the target was Ali al-Husseini, whom they described as head of the missile division within the Imam Hussein Division, a militia that Israeli officials say is aligned with Hezbollah and Iran. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Iran on the attack. A Lebanese security source said it was carried out with two precision missiles targeting a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The strike dealt another blow to a fraying ceasefire announced by Washington on April 16 that was meant to halt the war raging between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since March 2. Exchanges of fire between the two longtime foes have continued, but have been mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon. Apart from a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in early May that killed a Hezbollah commander, the capital and its suburbs had been spared new bombardment during the truce.
Israel put off Beirut strikes due to US, officials say
Israeli officials say the military had held off from striking in Beirut for three weeks due to requests from the administration of US President Donald Trump. Still, Israeli surveillance drones are heard flying over Beirut on a daily basis. The two Israeli security sources said Thursday’s strike came following a “very intense dialogue” with the Trump administration in recent days. Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight and into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area “a combat zone.”The Israeli military said residents should leave any towns south of the Zahrani River, which runs about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Israel’s border with Lebanon. Together with a border zone occupied by its troops, Israel’s evacuation orders over the last three months span about 2,000 sq km of Lebanon – about a fifth of the entire country. An Israeli strike on Thursday morning killed six people including two children and their parents near the southern town of Adloun, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Another strike, on the port city of Sidon, killed five people including two women. Sidon lies outside of the area designated as a combat zone by the Israeli military, and the strike was carried out without warning. Another Israeli strike later on Thursday killed two Syrian nationals, including a child, in the city of Tyre, which falls within the zone Israel said must be emptied. With Reuters

A telegram from the Pope to President Aoun... Support and prayers
Central News Agency/May 28, 2026  (Translated from Arabic)
President Joseph Aoun received a telegram from His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in which he reiterated his sincere love for Lebanon and its people of all faiths, affirming his constant concern for Lebanon and his prayers for its people. He said, "Let us continue to dedicate all our energies to serving peace and the common good," invoking heavenly blessings upon Lebanon and its people. The Holy Father's words came in a reply to the letter President Aoun had sent him on the occasion of the first anniversary of his papacy, following his election by the Congregation as successor to Pope Francis. In his message, the President emphasized that "Lebanon is currently going through exceptionally dangerous circumstances. The tensions and conflicts raging in our immediate surroundings, and their profound repercussions on our internal stability, are exposing our nation to unprecedented challenges. Under these circumstances, the steadfast position of the Holy See, its constant support, and its repeated interventions on behalf of the Lebanese people testify to a solidarity that honors our shared history. Your Holiness's appeals to stop the violence, respect human rights, and protect the most vulnerable groups find deep resonance and gratitude in Lebanon."

Prime Minister Salam: Nothing Justifies Attacks and Threats; We Insist on an Immediate Ceasefire
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on the "X" platform: Nothing can justify the ongoing attacks on the Tyre and Nabatieh regions and the destruction of their historical landmarks, nor the continuous threats against our peaceful citizens there, nor the repeated calls for them to leave their homes and abandon their livelihoods, which amounts to collective punishment condemned by all international norms and laws. This only strengthens our resolve to demand an immediate ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from our country, and the restoration of state authority over all its territory, allowing all displaced persons to return to their homes in safety and dignity. We will continue to mobilize all Arab and international support to achieve this. This is our national duty and our inalienable right, which we will not compromise under any circumstances.

UNIFIL Concerned About Escalation in Southern Lebanon: It Threatens Regional Stability
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed its deep concern regarding the recent escalation in southern Lebanon, warning that the rapidly evolving situation on the ground is further undermining stability in the region. UNIFIL confirmed that it continues to carry out its mandate and monitor the situation on the ground, noting that it recorded approximately 670 projectiles yesterday, the highest number recorded since April 17. It pointed out that hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes in southern Lebanon, often without warning, amid the ongoing military escalation and exchange of fire along the southern border.

Washington: Lebanese Arrangements Ahead of Military Session
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026  (Translated from Arabic)
LBCI reported that a coordination meeting was held for the Lebanese delegation participating in the Washington negotiations, both political and military, headed by Ambassador Simon Karam, in preparation for the first military session at the Pentagon tomorrow, Friday.

Israel: We Will Work with the Lebanese Government to Reach a Peace Agreement
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed the continuation of "striking Hezbollah with great force," noting that "our forces have crossed the Litani River in Lebanon." For his part, the Israeli government spokesperson announced that Israel will work with the Lebanese government to reach an agreement that achieves peace, stressing that "Hezbollah is violating the ceasefire," and that "Iran and Hezbollah are the ones violating the ceasefire, not Israel." He added that Israel has "a responsibility to its people to defend its northern borders," emphasizing that it "responds forcefully to all Hezbollah violations" and is working to "destroy its command and launch centers and tunnels," indicating that "Hezbollah has been targeted." Hundreds of Hezbollah infrastructure targets were struck in recent days. The Israeli government spokesperson confirmed that 24 of their soldiers were killed in recent Hezbollah attacks.

The army mourns a soldier killed by Israel in Nabatieh!
Janoubia/May 28, 2028   (Translated from Arabic)
The Lebanese army announced the death of one of its soldiers as a result of an Israeli airstrike that targeted him while he was traveling on the Zifta-Deir Zahrani road in the Nabatieh district. In a post on the “X” platform, the army explained that the soldier was killed as a result of the hostile airstrike, at a time when Israeli attacks on several southern areas continue, amid escalating fears of a wider confrontation. The targeting of a Lebanese army member is a highly sensitive development, especially as it comes amid a series of ongoing airstrikes and violations of the ceasefire agreement, while the Lebanese army continues to carry out its security duties and monitor developments on the ground in the southern regions. The Nabatieh region and its surroundings have witnessed repeated Israeli escalations in recent days, including airstrikes by warplanes and drones, along with artillery shelling and intensive overflights. This exacerbates fears of security and humanitarian repercussions for civilians, infrastructure, and movement in the area.

Israeli Threat: 10 Buildings in the Southern Suburbs for Every Hezbollah Drone
Nidaa Al Watan/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on his Twitter account: "My heart aches. I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the dearly departed Rotem Yanai, may her memory be a blessing, who was killed by a Hezbollah drone strike. The damned Hezbollah terrorists bear sole responsibility for Rotem's death, and we must destroy them." He continued, escalating his rhetoric: "Mr. Prime Minister of Israel, you know that the only way now to prevent harm to our soldiers is to destroy 10 buildings in the Beirut suburbs for every drone. For every drone that harms one of our soldiers, destroy 100 buildings. It's that simple. That's how we will respond deterrently. Mr. Prime Minister, let the IDF prevail and protect our soldiers." He also posted a picture of the female soldier whose death in a military operation in northern Israel was announced by the Israeli army.

Israeli airstrike targets apartment in Choueifat, south of Beirut / Israeli media: Target in Beirut strike was Ali al-Husseini, Hezbollah missile unit commander
Riyadh: Al-Arabiya.net and agencies / May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
An Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area, south of Beirut, on Thursday, according to a Lebanese military source. This came after an Israeli army spokesperson announced a "precision" attack in the Beirut area. Israeli media reported that the target of the Beirut strike was Ali al-Husseini, commander of Hezbollah's missile unit. This is the second time Israel has targeted southern Beirut since the ceasefire was declared on April 17. Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire, which has not stopped the shelling, airstrikes, and clashes, particularly in southern Lebanon. Live footage from the targeted location showed smoke rising after the airstrike, which the military source said "targeted an apartment in the Choueifat area," located south of Beirut on the edge of the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. These raids come despite a declared ceasefire since April 17, which has achieved little on the ground in terms of halting the shelling, raids, and clashes between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Ministry of Health: Woman and Two Children Killed in Shweifat Raid
National News Agency/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
A statement issued by the Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health announced that the Israeli enemy raid on the town of Shweifat resulted in a final toll of three martyrs, including a woman, her infant daughter, and a Syrian child, in addition to 15 wounded, including three children and five women.

11 Killed and Five Wounded in Israeli Raids on Southern Lebanon
Riyadh: Al-Arabiya.net and DPA/May 28, 2026    (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon on Thursday resulted in the death of 11 people and the wounding of five others. This comes as the Lebanese army announced the death of a soldier in an Israeli airstrike on the Zifta-Deir Zahrani road. Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath correspondents reported that the number of Lebanese army fatalities had risen to three within 24 hours. The National News Agency reported that rescue teams, in cooperation with several other aid organizations, recovered three bodies from under the rubble following an Israeli attack on an apartment in a residential building in the Qiyaa area of ​​Sidon early this morning. The agency added that "rescue teams treated and transported five wounded individuals to city hospitals for necessary medical care, in addition to ensuring the safety of residents and those present in the area and surrounding buildings." It also noted that "the debris from the airstrike was removed, and the road was reopened to traffic after being cleared." The agency had previously reported that Israel committed "a massacre against a civilian family after targeting them as they attempted to flee from threatened villages to a safe location at dawn on the Adloun highway in the Nabi Sari area with a drone strike," resulting in the deaths of six people, including children. She indicated that "a hostile march targeted a motorcycle on the public housing road in Tyre," resulting in two deaths. She also noted that "a missile strike at dawn targeted an apartment in a multi-story building in the Qiyaa area of ​​Sidon, opposite the Medical Relief Society, where a displaced family from southern Lebanon resides," causing several deaths and injuries. Civil defense and ambulance teams transported the wounded to the city's hospitals. The almost daily exchange of attacks continues, despite the fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The death toll from the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has surpassed 3,000, and the US-brokered truce, in effect since April 17, was extended for an additional 45 days last week.

Israel Launches Intense Airstrikes on Tyre in Southern Lebanon...Lebanese Army Death Toll Rises to 3 in 24 Hours
Riyadh: Al Arabiya.net and AFP/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it had begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure around the city of Tyre, after ordering residents of buildings in the southern Lebanese city to evacuate. This comes as the Lebanese army announced the death of a soldier in an Israeli airstrike on the Zifta-Deir Zahrani road. Al Arabiya and Al Hadath correspondents reported that the number of Lebanese army fatalities had risen to three in the past 24 hours. A statement from the Israeli army spokesperson said, "In light of Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it forcefully." The statement, which was accompanied by maps highlighting several buildings in red, added, "You are located near buildings used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you must evacuate them immediately and move north of the Zahrani River." The army later said in another statement on Telegram that it had begun "striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Tyre area." Lebanon's official National News Agency reported two sets of Israeli airstrikes on the city of Tyre and an area to its east on Thursday morning, with one strike targeting a building and causing a fire. The Israeli army also announced on Thursday that a female soldier was killed on Wednesday in a Hezbollah drone attack near the Lebanese border, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the beginning of March to 24.

Six killed in dawn raid on Adloun
Nidaa Al Watan/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
A statement issued by the Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health announced that "the Israeli raid this morning on a car in the town of Adloun, Sidon district, resulted in the deaths of six people, including two children, their mother, and their father."

Three martyrs and five wounded in the targeting of Qiyaa, Sidon
National News Agency/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Ambulance teams from the Islamic Medical Association worked to recover three martyrs from under the rubble, in cooperation with several other ambulance associations, following the Israeli targeting of an apartment in a residential building in the Qiyaa area of ​​Sidon this morning. The ambulance teams also provided first aid and transported five wounded individuals to the city's hospitals to receive necessary treatment, in addition to ensuring the safety of citizens and those present at the scene and in neighboring buildings. The association's workshops department worked to remove the debris from the raid and reopen the road to citizens after cleaning it and ensuring the flow of traffic.

Drones, Sirens, and Exchanges of Airstrikes… Rapid Escalation on the Southern Front
South Lebanon/May 28, 2028   (Translated from Arabic)
Southern Lebanon and Israel’s northern front are witnessing a rapid escalation on the ground, with exchanges of airstrikes and strikes, coinciding with the activation of sirens in northern Israeli settlements following the detection of drones coming from Lebanon. The Israeli Home Front Command announced the activation of sirens in Kiryat Shmona, Manara, and Margaliot in the eastern sector of the border with Lebanon, after detecting drone infiltration from Lebanese territory. On the ground, Israeli drones and airstrikes launched a series of attacks targeting several southern towns, including Jebchit in the Nabatieh district, Touline, Zibqine, Ghandouriyeh, Tibnine, and Zibdine, in addition to two strikes on the Jal el-Bahr area and two others on Burj al-Shamali. For its part, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Hezbollah launched approximately 15 drones in the past 24 hours, noting that at least four of them crashed inside Israel. Hezbollah, for its part, announced that it had targeted a gathering of Israeli military vehicles near the hall in the town of Qusayr with a rocket barrage, as part of the ongoing clashes on the southern front.

After the death of an Israeli soldier... Katz: "Heavy price" awaits the party
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced the death of soldier Rotem Yanai, who served as a social support officer in the Rotem Battalion of the Givati ​​Brigade, during a military operation in northern Israel, offering his condolences to her family. In a post on the X platform, Katz said that the slain soldier "dedicated her service to assisting soldiers and combatants fighting on various fronts over the past two years," wishing a speedy recovery to the soldiers wounded in the same incident. He added that "IDF soldiers continue to bravely defend the citizens of Israel on the northern border against Hezbollah," asserting that the party "has paid, is paying, and will continue to pay a heavy price for its attacks against Israel and its citizens." In the same context, the Israeli Operations Room published a photo and information about the slain soldier on its "X" platform, stating that Sergeant Rotem Yanai, 20, from the town of Givat Ada, "fell during operational activity in northern Israel," adding, "May her memory be a blessing." According to the initial Israeli investigation, Hezbollah launched three explosive-laden drones toward the Shomera area. The first drone exploded, causing a fire in an open area, prompting the intervention of emergency personnel from the nearby settlement of Goren, who used a four-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with a fire tank. Minutes later, two more drones were launched, one of which directly hit the military post, killing Rotem Yanai and seriously wounding two reserve soldiers, who were evacuated to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Three other soldiers sustained minor injuries. Reports also indicated that two soldiers from the Golani Brigade sustained minor injuries from an anti-tank missile that targeted an Israeli force during operations in southern Lebanon, within the eastern sector. With Yanai's death, the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ceasefire in Lebanon rises to 12, including eight killed in Hezbollah drone attacks, in addition to one civilian.

US Veto Freezes Beirut Strike… Israeli Army Complains of Netanyahu's Restrictions
South Lebanon/May 28, 2028   (Translated from Arabic)
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently refraining from ordering airstrikes on Beirut due to what it described as a US veto, which the Israeli army considers to be restricting its military operations. According to the newspaper, postponing any attack on Beirut has turned the city, according to the Israeli perspective, into something resembling a "safe haven" for Hezbollah, amid criticism within the military establishment regarding the nature of the operations. Maariv added that the Israeli army acknowledges that Netanyahu is imposing restrictions on its military movements and preventing it from carrying out operations as it wishes, with the aim of keeping Hezbollah out of the field. The newspaper quoted Israeli army sources as saying, "We are currently in a defensive position, and the ongoing operation behind the fence does not have a real operational objective," indicating a growing divergence between the political and military echelons regarding the management of the confrontation on the Lebanese front.

Heavy airstrikes rock southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley; Israeli warnings issued to southern residents
Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
The Israeli army announced this morning that it had begun striking "Hezbollah infrastructure" around the city of Tyre, following its order for residents of buildings in the southern Lebanese city to evacuate. A statement by Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee said, "In light of the terrorist group Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the army is forced to act against it forcefully." The statement, which included maps highlighting several buildings in red, added: "You are located near buildings used by the terrorist group Hezbollah. For your safety, you must evacuate them immediately and move north of the Zahrani River." Later, the army stated in another statement on Telegram that it had begun "striking Hezbollah infrastructure in the Tyre area." In the afternoon, Adraee issued an urgent warning to residents of the following towns and villages: Haboush, Kfour, Sahmar, Ain Qana, Nabatieh al-Tahta, and Kfar Rumman. He wrote on the "X" platform: "In light of Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it forcefully. The IDF does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must immediately evacuate your homes and move to the north of the Zahrani River. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, and weapons is putting their life at risk!" The IDF spokesperson reiterated the warning to residents of Tyre and the surrounding camps and neighborhoods. Adraee instructed residents of Shabriha, Hamadiyeh (Tyre), Jal al-Bahr, Zaqouq al-Mufdi, al-Bass, al-Maashouq, Burj al-Shamali, Nab'a, al-Housh, al-Rashidieh, and Ain Baal to immediately evacuate their homes and move to the north of the Zahrani River. Targeting Nabatieh Villages: This morning, warplanes launched an airstrike on the Al-Maslakh neighborhood in Nabatieh, targeting a house near the Al-Salam School. The Al-Qalaa neighborhood in the town of Harouf was also targeted, followed by an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Baydar neighborhood, resulting in reported injuries. Three civilians were wounded in an Israeli drone strike on the town of Jebchit. Warplanes also targeted a gas station in Burj Qalawiya, Bint Jbeil district.
The airstrikes also hit several southern towns, including: Tibnin, Kfardounine, Qleileh, Zifta, Touline, Shaqra, Yahmar al-Shaqif, Shoukin, Kfar Tebnit, Mayfadoun, Yater, Kfarjouz, and Jebchit. A bloody dawn: Israeli escalation continued since dawn on Thursday, with intense airstrikes targeting the city of Tyre, causing widespread destruction. At 1:00 AM, an airstrike targeted the Fares building and Najdi Café on Hiram Street in Tyre. Firefighters are working to extinguish the resulting blaze and are clearing rubble in search of missing persons. Another airstrike hit Evangelical Street in Tyre, coinciding with a particularly heavy attack on the city and a series of airstrikes on the town of Maaroub in the Tyre district. Warplanes also launched four airstrikes on the town of Deir Zahrani in Nabatieh, targeting residential buildings and completely destroying them. At 4:30 AM, an airstrike hit Burj al-Shamali, east of Tyre.
Around 2:00 AM, an airstrike using two missiles targeted an apartment in a multi-story building in the Qiyaa'a area of ​​Sidon, opposite the Medical Relief Society. The apartment was inhabited by a family displaced from southern Lebanon. Rescue teams from the Islamic Medical Association, in cooperation with several other relief organizations, worked to recover three bodies from under the rubble. The teams also treated and transported five wounded individuals to city hospitals for necessary medical care, in addition to ensuring the safety of residents and those present in the area and surrounding buildings. The association's workshops department worked to remove debris from the airstrike and reopen the road to traffic. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out a massacre against a civilian family as they attempted to flee from threatened villages to safety at dawn on the Adloun highway in the Nabi Sari area. The attack, launched from a drone, resulted in the deaths of six people, including children. The towns of Ghassaniya and Qaqaiyat al-Sanoubar were also subjected to two intense airstrikes. At 6:00 AM, Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on the Ma'rakah intersection in the Zuqq al-Mufti area of ​​Tyre, targeting a building and completely destroying it. A drone strike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Bazouriyeh. Airstrikes also targeted the town of Touline in the Marjeyoun district, and the town of Mansouri, while the town of Zibqin in the Tyre district was hit by three airstrikes. A motorcycle convoy was targeted on the public housing road in Tyre, resulting in two casualties. Warplanes also struck the outskirts of the town of Ghandouriyeh in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as the towns of Mayfadoun, Ramadiyeh, and Deir Amas. Southern Lebanon, particularly the Nabatieh district, witnessed a series of intense Israeli airstrikes, including strikes on the city of Nabatieh and extending to the towns of Dbeibine, Kfar Tebnit, and Mayfadoun.
Israeli aircraft launched a series of airstrikes targeting several areas in the Nabatieh district and the surrounding areas. Local sources confirmed that two consecutive Israeli airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the town of Yahmor al-Shaqif. The Israeli Home Front Command announced this evening that sirens sounded in several northern towns, including Kiryat Shmona, Manara, and Metula, after a drone suspected of infiltrating from Lebanese territory into northern Israel was detected. Southern Lebanon witnessed a new escalation this evening as Israeli shelling continued on several towns and border areas. Israeli artillery shelled the town of Dbeibine in the Marjeyoun district with several shells, coinciding with intensive overflights by warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft. Israeli aircraft also launched an airstrike targeting the area between Rashidieh and Hosh Sour. In a related development, the town of Yahmar was subjected to renewed airstrikes. Later this evening, an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, with initial reports indicating casualties. A drone also targeted the town of Abba in the Nabatieh district. Simultaneously, Israeli aircraft launched an airstrike on the town of Deir Amas in the Tyre district. In a related development, the town of Mansouri was subjected to Israeli artillery shelling. A drone targeted the town of Abba in the Nabatieh district.
Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike on the town of Deir Amas in the Tyre district.
In a related incident, the town of Mansouri was subjected to Israeli artillery shelling.
Bekaa Valley: Israeli warplanes also launched an airstrike on the town of Sahmar in the Western Bekaa Valley. Casualties: The Ministry of Public Health's Emergency Operations Center issued a statement announcing that "the Israeli enemy's raid yesterday afternoon on Al-Bass in the Tyre district resulted in 3 martyrs and 37 wounded, including 8 children and 13 women."
In another statement, it announced that "the Israeli enemy's raid this morning on a car in the town of Adloun, in the Sidon district, resulted in 6 martyrs, including two children, their mother, and their father." A third statement indicated that "the Israeli enemy's raid on a building in the city of Sidon this morning resulted in 5 martyrs, including two women, and 21 wounded, including 5 children." It also announced that "an Israeli airstrike on a motorcycle near a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre resulted in the deaths of two people, including a child, both of whom were Syrian nationals." It further announced that "an Israeli enemy airstrike on a motorcycle near a Lebanese army barracks in Tyre resulted in the deaths of two Syrians, including a child."
While Israeli Channel 12 reported that Hezbollah launched approximately 15 drones toward Israel in the past 24 hours, with at least four crashing inside Israeli territory, Hezbollah announced in a series of statements that the "Islamic Resistance" targeted:
- A gathering of Israeli military vehicles in the town of Adaysah with two attack drones.
- A gathering of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers on the outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah with an attack drone.
- A gathering of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers near a river in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah with two attack drones.
- A gathering of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers on the outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah with an attack drone.
- A gathering of Israeli military vehicles in the town of Adaysah with two attack drones.
- A gathering of Israeli enemy vehicles and soldiers at the Al-Ajal Hill site was targeted by a drone.
- A gathering of Israeli enemy vehicles and soldiers at Al-Awida Hill was targeted by a drone.
The party also announced that it targeted:
- A gathering of Israeli enemy vehicles near the hall in the town of Al-Qusayr with a rocket barrage.
- A building housing the command of the armored company near the reservoir in the town of Zawtar Al-Sharqiyah with a heavy missile.
- A Namera armored vehicle in the town of Al-Qantara with an Ababil drone, achieving a confirmed hit.
- A Merkava tank near the pond in the town of Zawtar Al-Sharqiyah with an Ababil drone, achieving a confirmed hit.
The Israeli army: Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee announced that the Israeli army had uncovered an attempt earlier this week by several Hezbollah operatives to "tamper with the operations of the Qaraoun Dam," which he described as "national and strategic infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese state." He confirmed that these operatives were targeted from the air. Adraee added that the Qaraoun Dam is "the largest source of water in Lebanon" and "a vital artery for energy, electricity, and agriculture," asserting that "Hezbollah does not hesitate to attempt to damage strategic infrastructure that could severely harm the Lebanese economy."
He also warned that the Israeli army "will not allow any attempt to tamper with the dam," emphasizing that it will act "with great force" against any such attempts. He held the Lebanese state responsible for protecting national infrastructure and preventing its use "for terrorist purposes."
The Israeli army announced this evening that it had carried out targeted operations that killed seven Hezbollah commanders in several southern towns, including Khiam, Shaqif, Yahmar, Jebchit, and Jouya, as part of its ongoing military operations on Lebanon's southern front. The Israeli army stated that the operations, conducted over the past two weeks, resulted in the "elimination of key field commanders" belonging to Hezbollah, noting that the strikes followed field reconnaissance and surveillance of the movements of commanders and operatives in those areas. In a statement, the Israeli army added that since the beginning of the war, it has "eliminated 2,500 Hezbollah members," asserting that the continued strikes aim to undermine the group's military capabilities and prevent attacks launched from southern Lebanon. In a statement, he added: "Following an intelligence investigation and a series of intensive strikes carried out over the past two weeks, the IDF is releasing details of several targeted assassinations of key Hezbollah field commanders responsible for managing combat operations and advancing plans against Israeli forces and Israel." He continued: "The following are seven of the most prominent figures assassinated:
- Commander of the Khiam region – assassinated in the strike on the Khiam command headquarters
- Assistant to the deputy commander of the Badr Unit
- Intelligence officer in the Shaqif region
- Engineering officer in the Yahmar region
- Deputy engineering officer in the Yahmar region
- Commander of the Jibsheet region
- Engineering officer in the Jouya region."

Netanyahu Announces Crossing the Litani River: Israel Speaks of “Peace” with Lebanon
Al-Modon/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Amidst the ongoing Israeli escalation on the Lebanese front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli army had intensified its military operations against Hezbollah in recent hours, confirming that Israeli forces targeted Beirut today, after having targeted the city of Tyre yesterday. Netanyahu indicated that his forces “crossed the Litani River” as part of the ongoing ground operations in southern Lebanon, a development reflecting the expanding scope of Israeli military action on the ground.
Netanyahu: We Will Continue to Strike Hezbollah Hard
Netanyahu stated that Israel “is striking and will continue to strike Hezbollah very hard,” considering that the Israeli army is launching “very powerful strikes in Lebanon” with the aim of “finding a solution to Hezbollah’s threats.” These statements come amidst an expansion of Israeli military operations and an intensification of air and ground strikes against Hezbollah positions and military infrastructure in southern Lebanon and other areas. In the same vein, Israeli government spokesman David Minser claimed that "Iran and Hezbollah are the ones violating the ceasefire, not Israel," asserting that Tel Aviv is acting "in response to Hezbollah's ongoing violations."
Minser added that Israel is "working with the Lebanese government to reach a peace agreement," claiming that Israel has "a responsibility to its people to defend its northern border."
Targeting Command Centers, Launch Sites, and Tunnels
Minser also claimed that the Israeli army is "responding forcefully to all Hezbollah violations," revealing that Israeli forces are working to "destroy the party's command centers, launch sites, and tunnels." He announced that Israel had targeted "hundreds of targets linked to Hezbollah's infrastructure" in Lebanon in recent days, a further indication of a gradual military escalation that Tel Aviv is attempting to portray as a defensive response to the group's threats. These statements coincide with a broad escalation on the southern front, marked by continued airstrikes, artillery shelling, and an expansion of ground operations in southern Lebanon.
This comes amidst increasingly strident Israeli rhetoric about raising military pressure on Hezbollah and linking the ongoing operations to what Tel Aviv describes as an effort to eliminate the threat to its northern border.

From Shaqif to Shweifat: Israel Draws the Lines of Negotiation
Headline/Al-Modon/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Less than 48 hours before the start of the military negotiations at the Pentagon, the Israeli military and security apparatus is rushing to impose new field and strategic realities on the table. While Tel Aviv continues its territorial encroachment in the south, it also continues its "liquidation of leaders" and dismantling of the "operational codes" that have begun to truly confound it. The violent military escalation it is carrying out today is perhaps a large-scale preemptive move aimed at strengthening its negotiating position before any possibility of a swift ceasefire being imposed by the American administration. Benjamin Netanyahu's afternoon announcement was clear: we targeted Beirut after Tyre, and we crossed the Litani River, while his government spokesperson hinted that the goal is to reach peace with Lebanon. This is a clear admission that military aggression will be used in the Washington negotiations as a bargaining chip to impose peace according to the Israeli concept. Today's operation in the Chouf region, targeting the head of Hezbollah's missile unit in the Hussein Brigade, represents a qualitative shift in the rules of engagement. Regardless of the operation's success or failure, the event itself constitutes an Israeli success in breaking the "security sanctity" that the southern suburbs of Beirut and their surroundings have enjoyed for the past three weeks, thanks to the direct American veto. According to Hebrew media reports, the operation was carried out after intensive contacts between Tel Aviv and Washington in recent days to define the "permissible margin" for action within the capital. Israel has replaced its strategy of "demolishing residential buildings" with "targeted surgical assassinations" of cadres and leaders, a formula that Washington appears to have approved under the banner of "neutralizing imminent threats." The targeting of the "Al-Hussein Brigade" official coincides with a wave of concern within Israeli security circles. The Maariv newspaper warned today that "the nightmare coming to Israel from Lebanon is expanding, and drones may appear in the West Bank, Gaza, and everywhere else." These assessments reflect the actual level of disruption caused by suicide drones to both the Israeli army and the residents of the north. Accordingly, the current Israeli plan focuses on exploiting the remaining hours before negotiations to strike the young operational and technical personnel who manage and develop this technology. This is being done in parallel with yesterday's assassination of a Hamas leader, aiming to sever operational coordination and links between the fronts.
On the ground, the plan to seize territory beyond the former "yellow line" is accelerating, confirming the hypothesis that Israel has moved into the "third phase" of its ground operations. The areas of Sidon, Zahrani, Nabatieh, and the Iqlim al-Tuffah region are subjected to intense and continuous attacks aimed at paralyzing life in these vital areas and completely isolating them from their hinterland.
The intensified military buildup on the Shaqif-Arnoun axis is of paramount strategic importance. Control of this historic high ground grants the Israeli army complete geographical oversight of the Litani River and its surroundings, providing it with a commanding foothold that cuts off supply lines between the Western Bekaa and the South, thus placing the entire southern region at the mercy of the Israeli war machine. Israel is moving with a frantic desire to hastily complete these "difficult tasks" before the Pentagon meeting. It wants to go to Washington having established a ground foothold beyond the Green Line via the Arnoun and Nabatieh axes, and a security presence capable of reaching as far as Choueifat and the southern suburbs of Beirut. All this while the Lebanese predicament deepens. While the negotiating delegation goes into talks with virtually no leverage, Hezbollah continues to reject the idea of ​​the state monopolizing weapons and dismantling its military structure, thus depriving the government of any real political maneuvering. The current situation confirms that the "yellow line" has become a fluid and undefined territory.
Pre-Pentagon: Negotiations Under Fire
The raid on Choueifat is not a mere detail in the daily events of the war, but rather a message with a complex timing and content. It comes just before a security meeting in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, specifically at a moment when Tel Aviv wants to convey that the battlefield will not wait for the negotiating table, and that any political agreement will only be formulated on the basis of a new balance of power. Here, the strike does not appear to be merely a limited security targeting, but rather part of a negotiating strategy based on raising the cost, expanding the military margin, and then going to the Pentagon with a pressure tactic, not a mere discussion paper. The Israeli army spokesperson announced that "the army carried out a precise attack in the Beirut area," while Hebrew media outlets presented the operation as an assassination attempt against an official in Hezbollah's missile program. Most importantly, politically, is what Israel's Channel 13 reported: that the raid came after intensive talks with the Trump administration. This information, if true, means that the matter is no longer solely a unilateral Israeli decision, but rather involves a carefully controlled American margin that allows for targeted strikes while simultaneously preventing a complete collapse of the negotiation process. From Demolishing Buildings to Targeting Personnel
The most significant Israeli shift lies not only in the intensity of the bombardment but also in the nature of the target bank. Tel Aviv is moving from a policy of large-scale strikes, which carry a high political price, to a model of "surgical targeting" of personnel. This shift is neither humanitarian nor ethical, but purely operational. Israel understands that demolishing neighborhoods creates rapid international pressure, while assassinating technical minds and field operators produces a direct security outcome with a lower media cost. In this sense, targeting an official in a missile unit or a drone system is not merely an act of revenge or a symbolic strike. It is an attempt to break the knowledge chain within Hezbollah, not just the command chain. Modern wars are no longer decided by the number of missiles fired, but by the ability of the parties to manage technology, link fronts, conceal launch sites, modify flight paths, and operate drones in complex environments. Therefore, Israel sees young personnel and technical expertise as a threat that sometimes surpasses that of traditional leaders. Drones: The small nightmare that baffled the large army
What Maariv revealed about the Israeli military establishment's concern regarding drones is not merely a technical admission of a defensive vulnerability, but rather an acknowledgment of a shift in the nature of the threat. Israel, which built its defense doctrine on countering heavy missiles, tunnels, and elite units, now finds itself facing small, relatively inexpensive, low-signature drones capable of bypassing advanced systems and disrupting the home front. The three-tiered Israeli plan—detection, protection, and interception—reflects the magnitude of the problem, not its ease of solution. Talk of a warning time of no more than twenty seconds means that the battlefield has shifted to a lightning-fast timeline, and that soldiers and armored crews no longer have the luxury of maneuvering. Furthermore, the reliance on Ukrainian expertise, the deployment of protective netting, and the use of fragmentation munitions all indicate that Israel is not dealing with a passing incident, but with a weapon poised to become a mobile strategic threat, stretching from Lebanon to Gaza, the West Bank, and perhaps even within Israel itself. Therefore, the strikes on missile and drone units become understandable within a broader context: Israel doesn't just want to silence a launch platform, but also to prevent the proliferation of a new combat model that could undermine its conventional superiority.
The South as a Pressure Map, Not Just a Battleground
In the south, Israeli operations are progressing with a strategy of gradual encroachment rather than a full-scale invasion. Extensive evacuations, continuous strikes, incursions north of the "Yellow Line," and pressure on Tyre, Nabatieh, and Zahrani. This is not a politically neutral military maneuver, but rather an attempt to redefine the buffer zone by force. Every meter Israel advances before negotiations becomes a bargaining chip later, and every high point it controls becomes a security card to play against the Lebanese delegation. The Shaqif area acquires added significance in this context. Approaching it for the first time in 26 years, according to the Israeli media, is not a mere geographical detail. Shaqif is a strategic command and control hub. Whoever approaches it has their eye on the Litani River, the supply lines between the South and the Western Bekaa Valley, and Hezbollah's ability to transport supplies and maintain communication between the fronts. For this reason, the battle for the highlands appears more dangerous than the battle for the villages, as it will define the boundaries of future control.
Washington: Between Containing the War and Managing its Aftermath
The paradox is that Washington seems to be holding the stick in the middle. It doesn't want a full-blown conflagration that would disrupt its regional calculations, nor does it want to deprive Israel of leverage before negotiations. Therefore, the American role appears more about managing the intensity of the conflict than preventing escalation. Limited strikes are permitted, widespread targeting of Beirut and its southern suburbs is restrained, and a window for military negotiations is opened at the Pentagon, while the battlefield remains ablaze to the extent necessary to maintain the status quo without derailing the talks. As for Lebanon, it enters this round from a position of weakness. According to leaks, the military delegation will present the necessity of a ceasefire and the army's plan to consolidate weapons and extend state authority. However, the problem is that the state is not negotiating from a position of monopoly over security decisions, but rather from a position of division between legitimacy and armed resistance. Herein lies the structural flaw: the government cannot offer full guarantees, and Hezbollah cannot grant the state any real room for maneuver, while Israel exploits this contradiction to the fullest extent.
An Israeli peace or a settlement under duress?
When the Israeli government spokesperson says that Tel Aviv is working with the Lebanese government to reach a peace agreement, the phrase does not carry its traditional diplomatic meaning. Peace here is not a reconciliation project, but rather a coercive security formula that Israel wants to impose after exhausting the battlefield. It is a peace conditional on freedom of military action, the weakening of Hezbollah, and the elimination of the South's ability to threaten northern Israel. This is why Netanyahu's talk of striking Beirut after Tyre and crossing the Litani River seems part of a discourse directed at more than one audience. To the Israeli public, he wants to prove that he is restoring deterrence. To Washington, he wants to say that any negotiation must acknowledge what has been achieved through force. And to Lebanon, he wants to draw a clear equation: either control of weapons according to Israeli conditions, or the continuation of the conflict.
A yellow line with no clear end.
In short, Israel is not going to the Pentagon to back down, but to solidify its gains. It is not entering negotiations as an alternative to war, but as an extension of it by other means. As for Lebanon, it faces its most serious test since the escalation of the conflict: can it transform the ceasefire into a gateway to regaining control, or will the ceasefire itself become an acknowledgment of new borders drawn by fire? What is happening today is not a mere passing round of escalation. It is a struggle over the rules of engagement, over the meaning of sovereignty, and over who has the right to define security in the south. Between the raid in Choueifat, the pressure in Shaqif, the drone threat, and the Pentagon's discussions, it is clear that the "yellow line" is no longer just a line on a map, but has become an open battleground for the future of Lebanon, its borders, and its state.

Minister Raji Conducts Intensive Diplomatic Contacts in Defense of Tyre
National News Agency/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
Foreign Minister Youssef Raji followed with "great pain and deep concern" the ongoing Israeli attacks on the ancient city of Tyre, which targeted its historic neighborhoods, churches, mosques, and heritage sites that have stood for thousands of years. Raji conducted a series of intensive diplomatic contacts, demanding an immediate halt to these attacks and raising his voice in defense of a human and cultural heritage that belongs not only to Lebanon but to the conscience of the entire world.

Mufti of Tripoli and the North Condemns Attack on Greek Orthodox Cemetery
National News Agency/May 28, 2026  (Translated from Arabic)
The Mufti of Tripoli and the North, Sheikh Mohammed Tariq Imam, condemned the attack on the cemeteries and holy sites of the Greek Orthodox community in Tripoli. In a statement, he said: "We were shocked by the news that the people of Tripoli woke up to today, which is the suspicious attack and deliberate vandalism that targeted cemeteries and holy sites belonging to the Greek Orthodox community." The esteemed Orthodox community, which is a fundamental and integral component of the city of Tripoli and all of Lebanon.” He added: “While we strongly condemn and categorically reject these practices, which are alien to the people of Tripoli, their culture, and their history, we express our concern about the instigators of this strife and emphasize the need for awareness and vigilance, especially in these circumstances that we are all experiencing and that our nation is going through. We call upon the security and judicial authorities to act swiftly in arresting the perpetrators and uncovering the motives behind this shameful act.”

Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc: We Call on the Authority to Withdraw from Negotiations and Return to the Embrace of its People
Central News Agency/May 28, 2026  (Translated from Arabic)
The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc held its regular meeting on May 28, 2026, discussed current developments, and issued the following statement:
"Our people continue to be subjected to a criminal Zionist aggression concentrated in the South and extending to areas in the Bekaa Valley and the outskirts of the southern suburbs of Beirut, as happened today in the Choueifat area. Through this, the enemy is attempting to escalate its criminal methods and expand the scope of its aggression to subjugate our country and force it into submission."
The statement added: "This escalation of aggression comes as the Lebanese in general, and Muslims in particular, commemorate their religious and national occasions. In this context, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc extends its congratulations and best wishes to the Lebanese in general, and Muslims in particular, especially the families of the martyrs and our patient and steadfast displaced people, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and the Resistance and Liberation Day." The statement continued: “This year, Eid al-Adha comes amidst the Zionist aggression against Lebanon and Palestine, embodying the true meaning of sacrifice for the sake of God. The highest meaning of this Eid lies in responding to the divine command, even if it requires sacrificing one's children. This is the case for our people today, who offer martyrs willingly and in submission to the divine command that calls for confronting the oppressors and achieving victory for the oppressed. There is no entity on earth more oppressive, arrogant, and tyrannical than the American administration and the occupying Zionist entity. On the 26th anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day, we recall those glorious days in Lebanon's history, which will remain etched in the conscience of our people and our nation. These days are marked by historic achievements attained by the resistance in all its factions, culminating in the wise and courageous leadership of the master of the nation's martyrs, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who achieved this liberation thanks to the sacrifices of the resistance fighters, the support of their people, and the unity of the resistance movement, especially between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.” He pointed out that "this anniversary comes as our land in the South is subjected to a barbaric Zionist aggression targeting all forms of civilian life, with the aim of realizing the historical Zionist dream of occupying the South, separating it from the homeland, and uprooting its people. This is evident in the statements of many officials of the occupying entity. Meanwhile, the will of our people, which liberated the land in 2000, stands today as an insurmountable barrier against this new Zionist attempt. The sons of the generation that launched the Islamic Resistance in 1982 continue on this path to liberate the land and defend the homeland."
The statement also commemorated, on this occasion, "the martyrs who have passed on, the great leaders from Sheikh Ragheb Harb and Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi to Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, the historical leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, along with his companion Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the head of the Southern region during the liberation, Sheikh Nabil Qawouk, and all the martyred leaders and all those who have followed this path."
The bloc recorded the following regarding "this historic juncture we are facing in Lebanon and the region":
1- As the Zionist aggression against our country continues, deliberately perpetrating massacres against civilians, bulldozing villages, and displacing residents—war crimes committed in full view of the world without any condemnation or action—our people remain committed to the option of steadfastness and repelling the aggression through their heroic resistance, in order to achieve the legitimate goals of our people who have sacrificed for their dignity and honor, and to prevent a return to the pre-March 2nd era.
The resistance's qualitative operations and its continuous strikes with drones and various types of weapons have created a real predicament for the enemy, from which it will not be able to extricate itself as long as it occupies an inch of our land. Our people will not relinquish their legitimate right to self-defense until the land is liberated and the displaced return.
2. The authorities insist on continuing their concessions and relinquishing sovereignty and rights under the pretext of being forced to continue direct negotiations with the enemy. In this context, they are dragging Lebanon into military negotiations through which the Israeli enemy is attempting to impose security coordination to further its aggression against our country. While we reiterate our rejection of this course of action in its entirety, we call once again on the authorities to abandon it, return to the embrace of their people, cease their betrayal of the people and national partnership, and stop submitting to the dictates of the American administration, as this will only bring them disappointment and loss.
3. The bloc commends the honorable stance of the Islamic Republic, which insists on making the cessation of aggression against Lebanon a part of its agreement with the United States. This presents an opportunity for Lebanon to position itself among the major powers and obtain international guarantees for achieving its demands: a cessation of aggression, the withdrawal of the enemy, the return of the displaced, and the release of prisoners. Instead of seizing this opportunity, the Lebanese authorities are attempting to undermine and obstruct it, even at the cost of their people's blood. This authority is called upon to move beyond narrow calculations, misguided and irresponsible bets.

Arnoun Municipality: Save Beaufort Castle
Laura Yammine/Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026   (Translated from Arabic)
The Arnoun Municipality condemned the Israeli bombing that targeted Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, considering the attack an assault on "one of the most prominent archaeological and heritage sites of national, cultural, and humanitarian value." In a statement, the municipality said the bombing coincided with "the bombing of residential homes, the destruction of neighborhoods and infrastructure, and the forced displacement of residents from their land and homes," emphasizing that the castle "is not merely an archaeological site, but a living testament to the history of the region and the resilience of its people throughout the centuries." The statement noted that the castle had been granted "enhanced protection" in 2024 under the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, considering its targeting a "clear and explicit violation of international laws and conventions related to the protection of cultural and human heritage." The municipality also called on the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and international organizations concerned with world heritage to take immediate action to stop the attacks and protect the site from further damage.
In this context, the "Green Southerners" association reported that the Israeli shelling came days after the area surrounding the castle was subjected to continuous artillery bombardment. The association considered these actions a "war crime" and "systematic cultural genocide" against the heritage and identity of southern Lebanon. Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, is one of the most prominent historical castles in Lebanon. It sits at an altitude of over 700 meters above sea level near the town of Arnoun, overlooking the Litani River, the Marjeyoun Plain, Nabatieh, and the Upper Galilee. Its geographical location gives it strategic importance, making it a focal point for battles and fortifications for centuries.
Historical accounts indicate that the castle dates back to the Roman era, before the Crusaders expanded it in the 12th century. Prince Fakhr al-Din al-Ma'ni II later restored it. The castle witnessed successive wars from the Crusader period until the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, when it became one of the fiercest battlegrounds between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters during what became known as the "Battle of Beaufort." During the years of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the castle was used as a military center and suffered extensive destruction as a result of shelling, raids and military fortifications, before its restoration began after the liberation in 2000 with Lebanese and Arab support, and it later became a prominent tourist and cultural landmark in southern Lebanon.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on 28-29 May/2026
US and Iran reach deal but need Trump’s final approval: Report
Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
The US and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, but President Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two US officials.
“This is an agreement to get everybody to the table. We will work out the details in the negotiations,” one of the US officials said. The officials said the terms of the deal were mostly agreed to as of Tuesday, but both sides still needed approval from senior leadership.
“The president relayed to the mediators that he wants a couple of days to think about it,” a US official said. Later on Thursday, citing a source close to Tehran’s negotiating team, Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim news agency denied reports that a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington had been finalized and was only awaiting announcement by the two sides. Iran has not yet informed the Pakistani mediator that the text has been finalized, the report said. “If the text is truly finalized, Iran will announce the matter to both the Pakistani mediator and the public. Until then, any claims by Western sources about the issue being finalized are not credible,” the source said. According to the US officials cited by Axios, the 60-day MoU will state that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will be “unrestricted,” with one official saying this means there will be no tolls and no harassment and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days. One official said the naval blockade will also be lifted, but that will happen in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping.
The MoU will include an Iranian commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon, the officials said, and it will also state that the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day window will be how to dispose of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and how to address Iranian enrichment.
The US will also commit to discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of the negotiations. The MoU will also include a discussion of a mechanism to help Iran start receiving goods and humanitarian aid.

US, Iran send mixed signals on potential deal after latest attacks
Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
A US source familiar with the negotiations told Al Arabiya English that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been reached, but said President Donald Trump wanted additional time before making a final decision.
The US and Iran sent mixed signals on Thursday over the status of a potential agreement, with Washington claiming progress had been made while Tehran downplayed reports that a deal was close. A US source familiar with the negotiations told Al Arabiya English that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been reached, but said President Donald Trump wanted additional time before making a final decision. According to the source, the preliminary framework of the agreement would include Iran pledging never to pursue a nuclear weapon and beginning discussions on relinquishing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran would also begin reopening the Strait of Hormuz and start removing naval mines it had placed in the strategic waterway. During the proposed 60-day period, Washington would begin easing sanctions, including restrictions on Iranian oil exports, while also discussing the release of frozen Iranian funds. The US military would end its blockade on Iran, and the Trump administration would work toward ending the ongoing Lebanon war between Hezbollah and Israel. Later Thursday, however, Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim news agency denied reports that a memorandum of understanding had been finalized, citing a source close to Tehran’s negotiating team. According to the report, Iran had not informed the Pakistani mediator involved in the talks that any final text had been agreed upon.
“If the text is truly finalized, Iran will announce the matter to both the Pakistani mediator and the public. Until then, any claims by Western sources that the issue has been finalized are not credible,” the source said.
Lebanon-Israel talks at the Pentagon
Meanwhile, separate talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials are scheduled to take place Friday at the Pentagon. The discussions follow three previous rounds of diplomatic talks held at the State Department and the White House. The Trump administration has been pushing for an agreement to formally end the decadeslong state of war between Lebanon and Israel. Although the two countries have technically remained at war for decades, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have engaged in repeated clashes since 1982. The latest conflict escalated after Hezbollah entered the Gaza war by launching attacks on Israel in support of Hamas. Israel’s response led to the killing of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah and several founding figures of the group. Hezbollah later launched additional attacks on Israel following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader earlier this year. Israel has wiped out dozens of villages in southern Lebanon as a result and is further invading large swathes of the country.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar to visit Washington on Friday, meet Rubio
Reuters/28 May ,2026
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Washington on Friday where he will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The visit comes as Islamabad is attempting to negotiate a peace pact to permanently end the US-Israeli war with Iran. Dar will meet Rubio “to review bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iran claims it downed US aircraft after missile launch from southern region: Agencies
Reuters/29 May ,2026
Iran’s armed forces carried out a missile launch operation from the southern region of the country toward specified targets, semi-official Fars news agency said early on Thursday, before claims that a US aircraft was downed in Bushehr. The report added that the destination of the missiles was not clear. Tasnim news agency said that the sounds coming from the sea were caused by “fire exchange in a warning to ships” in the Strait of Hormuz. Later on, Iran’s state TV said that a US aircraft was destroyed in Iran’s Jam governorate in Bushehr, citing its governor Masoud Tangestani, with no confirmation from the United States.

US to shut down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling: Bessent
Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
The United States will be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X on Thursday. Bessent said the move comes as the US Treasury Department continues what he described as its “Economic Fury campaign against the Iranian regime.”“Their troops are not getting paid, the police are not reporting for work, and Kharg Island is shut down,” Bessent wrote. “The Iranian economy and currency are in free fall.” He also said the Treasury had sanctioned “Iran’s[Arabian] Gulf Strait Authority,” calling it “a joke,” and warned corporate and state entities against paying tolls to the authority or disguising such payments as aid. “We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments,” Bessent said. The Treasury secretary also pointed to the impact of the US naval blockade, saying it had ensured “a record low amount of Iranian crude on the water.”“We will also be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales,” he added. Bessent said only progress in negotiations would halt the pressure campaign. “Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral,” he said.
With Reuters

US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran’s military oil sales, Treasury says
Reuters/29 May ,2026
The US said on Thursday it has imposed new sanctions on Iran’s military oil trade, even as Washington and Tehran reached a tentative agreement to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department said it had sanctioned eight vessels involved in transporting Iranian crude oil and petroleum products to global markets. The vessels included the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Flora, the Comoros-flagged crude oil tanker Hauncayo and the Panama-flagged tanker Ill Gap.
“We will not allow the Iranian government to increase its oil revenue for the purpose of reconstituting its armed forces and military capabilities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a release. President Donald Trump has yet to approve the deal in the war the US and Israel launched on February 28. The conflict has roiled global markets by closing the vital strait off Iran and Oman, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas normally flowed. The US also imposed sanctions on more than 15 entities including Worth Seen Energy Limited in Hong Kong, Symphony Shipping and Maritime Management Inc in Dubai, and Mehdiyev Trading Co, also in Hong Kong.

Kuwait calls Iranian drone, missile attack ‘dangerous escalation’
Agencies/28 May ,2026
Kuwait condemned on Thursday a drone-and-missile attack it blamed on Iran, as the Islamic Republic’s renewed exchanges with US forces heaped pressure on the Middle East war’s fragile ceasefire. A foreign ministry statement voiced Kuwait’s “strongest condemnation and denunciation of the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation.”Earlier on Thursday, Kuwait said that its air defenses were intercepting hostile missile and drone threats, but did not say where they were coming from. The army said any sounds of explosions heard in the country were the result of air-defense systems intercepting the threats, and urged people to follow security and safety instructions issued by authorities. The statement came after US strikes earlier on Thursday on what Washington said was an Iranian drone operation threatening US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran confirmed the US attack and said it had targeted a US air base at 4:50 a.m.(0120 GMT) after what it described as an early morning US strike near Bandar Abbas airport. It did not say where the base was.Kuwait, which is home to a US air base, did not say the threats were Iranian. Gulf countries, including Kuwait, saw missile and drone attacks during the US-Israel war on Iran. Hostilities have largely eased since a ceasefire came into effect in April, though drones have since been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

India says 10 sailors released by Iran
AFP/28 May ,2026
Ten Indian sailors, detained in Iran in July 2025 on an oil tanker, have been released after “sustained diplomatic engagement,” India’s shipping authorities said late Tuesday. The sailors on the MV Harbour Phoenix were “detained, arrested and imprisoned in Iran following the vessel’s interception near Jask Port in July 2025,” the Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement. “The seafarers have now been released and reunited safely,” the shipping authority said. Necessary arrangements are being coordinated for the earliest return of the crew members to India.”New Delhi and Tehran have long-standing diplomatic and energy ties, but India also balances that with close links to the United States and to Israel. Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf. India has pursued a policy of quiet diplomacy and minimal public comment during negotiations for the release of the sailors. It did not give further details on the reason for their arrest or about the vessel, which ship tracking sites list as a Palau-flagged oil products tanker.
India has one of the world’s largest merchant navy workforces, with thousands of Indian sailors operating in Gulf shipping lanes. Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – which normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments – since the United States and Israel launched attacks on February 28. India, the world’s third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the strait.

Israel breaks all contact with UN chief
AFP/28 May ,2026
Israel is breaking all contact with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, the country’s ambassador announced Thursday, saying it was “outrageous” Israel is being blacklisted over alleged sexual violence in conflict zones. “We are done with this secretary-general,” Ambassador Danny Danon said in a video posted on X. “The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,” he said, referring to an upcoming report from Guterres’ office. “The secretary-general and his team continue to spread lies against Israel. To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”The Israeli mission to the UN said in a statement it will have no contact with the secretary-general’s office as long as Guterres serves as head of the organization.
Guterres’s spokesman said they were aware of Danon’s remarks. “For our part, the secretary-general’s door remains open,” Stephane Dujarric said. The UN secretary-general’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence is customarily presented to relevant states ahead of publication. Last August, the report warned that Israel could be added to the list of parties suspected of, or responsible for, sexual violence in situations of armed conflict. Militant group Hamas appears on the list. At the time, the UN cited “credible information” regarding sexual violence allegedly committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinian detainees in prisons and other detention centers, and saying UN inspectors had been denied access to the facilities. “We invited the representative of the UN to come to Israel to check those ridiculous allegations. They chose not to come,” Danon said. Relations between the UN and Israel are fraught and have reached an all-time low since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack that triggered Israel’s war on Gaza. Israeli authorities have reproached Guterres and other UN officials for criticizing devastating Israeli strikes against Gaza. The UN chief was declared “personal non grata” in Israel in 2024.

Israel PM says orders army to take control of 70 percent of Gaza Strip
AFP/28 May ,2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he had ordered the country’s military to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October. “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 percent of the territory in the Strip,” he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video aired by Israel’s Channel 12 network. He said the military had controlled 50 percent of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “My directive is to move to... 70 percent.” “We’re squeezing them from all (sides). We’ll deal with what’s left afterwards.”The first phase of the truce saw the last hostages seized in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza, released in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. The transition to the second phase, which was supposed to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces were to pull back behind a so-called “Yellow Line,” a demarcation between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli army. Netanyahu announced on May 15 that the Israeli army had expanded its grip on the Gaza Strip. “There were those who said: get out, get out. We did not get out. Today we control... how much? 60 percent. Tomorrow we shall see,” he said at the time.Gaza remains gripped by daily violence, with both the Israeli military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce in effect since October 10. Israel has killed more than 900 people since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. Israel said on Wednesday it had killed the new head of Hamas’s armed wing in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, after killing his predecessor earlier this month. Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack, Israel has systematically targeted the group’s leaders, both in Gaza and across the region. Odeh is the fourth head of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades that Israel says it has killed since the start of the Gaza war.On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz repeated Israel’s goal of ending Hamas’s rule over the Palestinian territory and alluded to a plan for the forced displacement of its residents. “The plan for voluntary migration from Gaza will also be implemented - everything will be done at the right time and in the right way,” he said.

EU says won’t be ‘neutral mediator’ between Ukraine and Russia
AFP/28 May ,2026
The EU’s top diplomat on Thursday ruled out Europe acting as a “neutral mediator” between Ukraine and Russia, after foreign ministers from the bloc’s 27 countries debated their terms for possible talks with Moscow. Discussions on re-engaging with Moscow have become louder amid deadlocked US efforts to halt the war in Ukraine while US President Donald Trump’s attention has been consumed by Iran. Ukraine has pushed for Europe – sidelined until now by Washington – to play a bigger role and suggested nominating a representative for talks.
“Europe will never be a neutral mediator between Russia and Ukraine, because we are on Ukraine’s side and we are defending our own core security interests,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told journalists in Cyprus. “We can’t be neutral treating them equally.”Earlier Kallas warned that focusing on who would talk for Europe was a Russian “trap” – as she pushed for the bloc to concentrate on setting clear red lines. Speculation over potential envoys has picked up, with Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his long-time ally, could fit the bill. The idea has been roundly rejected in Europe. Some ministers in Cyprus pushed to designate a representative – including Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who argued that “this is very much what Ukraine expects: that the EU should now get ready.”
Finland’s foreign minister Elina Valtonen said her country’s president Alexander Stubb could be a good option, while Luxembourg’s top diplomat Xavier Bettel said he would float the name of ex-EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker.Kallas said after the meeting that the “broad consensus” among the ministers was to work through the EU’s institutions.
‘Valid demands’
But she said the focus should be fixed on setting the demands for concessions from Russia in any talks and continuing to ratchet up pressure on Moscow through sanctions.The hawkish former prime minister of Estonia has pushed for months to set a series of red lines, seeking to bind countries together and avoid Moscow exploiting any gaps. Those include insisting Russia must cease fire before any talks, demanding curbs on Russia’s military and refusing to recognize the Kremlin’s control over seized territories.
“Europe has valid demands to ensure that any peace is lasting, and the ministers asked me to take this work forward,” Kallas said. European officials say Putin appears weakened as Russia’s economy sags, casualties climb and a long-range drone campaign by Ukraine takes its toll. But there is widespread skepticism that he is serious about negotiating in good faith, with the Kremlin unleashing its nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile at Kyiv in recent days and menacing foreign diplomats. After giving the Kremlin leader the cold shoulder since his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe is extremely wary about the prospect of talking to Putin. “This is not a time when we are discussing who is going to have the negotiations,” said Lithuania’s foreign minister Kestutis Budrys. “We have to discuss what we are doing to put additional pressure on Russia and also give more assistance to Ukraine.”EU countries are currently discussing a fresh package of sanctions on Russia – which would be the 21st round since the all-out invasion began.

Kenya approves US plan to open Ebola quarantine facility, US officials say
Reuters/28 May ,2026
Kenya has provided written approval for the US to open a quarantine facility in the East African nation for Americans exposed to the Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two US officials briefed on the response told Reuters.
The authorization grants the US access to land at an air force base in Laikipia in central Kenya, one of the officials said. Officials at Kenya’s foreign and health ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kenya had been pushing for the facility to be open to all nationalities, not just US citizens. It was not immediately clear if that would be the case. The facility would be staffed by members of the US Public Health Service, a uniformed branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.In a statemen t on Wednesday, Kenya’s health ministry said it was in discussions with the U.S. and other global partners about cooperating on the response to Ebola but did not mention the plan for a quarantine facility. One American doctor infected with Ebola and several other US citizens exposed to the virus have been sent to Germany for treatment and monitoring. Another American doctor exposed to the virus was sent to Czech Republic.

Man stabs three at Swiss train station in what authorities call an ‘act of terror’
The Associated Press/28 May ,2026
A man stabbed and wounded three people in what authorities described as an “act of terror” at the train station in the Swiss city of Winterthur on Thursday before being arrested.
The attack took place shortly before 8:30 a.m. The suspect, who was arrested five minutes after emergency services were alerted, is a 31-year-old Swiss-Turkish dual national who lives in Winterthur, regional police chief Marius Weyermann said.
He had come to authorities’ attention in 2015 for distributing propaganda of ISIS, Weyermann added. In recent days, he was taken to a psychiatric facility after calling the police emergency number and making “confused comments,” but he left on Wednesday after a doctor determined that he wasn’t dangerous.Three Swiss men, ages 28, 43 and 52, were wounded in Thursday’s attack. The first two were discharged or were about to be released from hospitals by mid-afternoon, Weyermann said. The oldest was still hospitalized after an operation on a thigh injury.
Weyermann said investigators believe the man acted alone. Mario Fehr, the Zurich region’s top security official, described the attack as “an evil act of terror.” He said the suspect was born in Switzerland and gained Swiss citizenship in 2009, and apparently had spent much of the last two years in Turkey. Winterthur has about 123,000 residents and is located in northeastern Switzerland, near the country’s biggest city, Zurich.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on 28-29 May/2026
The Pitfalls of Negotiations
Dr. Charles Chartouni /Ici Beyrouth/May 28/2026
(On line translated from French)
The ongoing negotiations are proving to be aporetic (unresolvable) and do not easily lend themselves to course corrections. The Iranian Islamists are engaged in maneuvering, buying time, and a deferred revanchist policy. Their hubris is nothing new; it is an intrinsic part of the mental structures of Islamism, the regimentation strategies of a totalitarian regime, and a warmongering imperial policy engaged for decades in subversive enterprises. It is, by definition, a totalitarian and agonistic (combative) regime with highly visible imperial ambitions.
We are not dealing with an accidental occurrence, but rather with a dynamic of subversion caught off guard by counter-dynamics, just as it estimated itself to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory. This is not merely an optical illusion peculiar to this type of regime; it is, above all, the political and strategic choices of a conquering totalitarianism, akin to the communism and Nazism of the 1930s in Europe. Only by departing from these analytical considerations can the coordinates of this new strategic movement be defined. The ongoing negotiations cannot proceed on a transactional basis that deliberately ignores the ideological and strategic framework from which this imperial policy advances.
The strategic flaws of the current negotiations stem from the ideological obliterations of a transactional diplomacy that believes it can overcome a conflictual dynamic through mutual concessions, even as it stumbles upon non-negotiable ideological prohibitions and identity strategies. Whatever the maneuvers in question, they will ultimately yield to non-negotiable systemic and ideological blockages. It is inconceivable to address the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the mechanisms of conflict militarization—including nuclear armament and the production of ballistic and tactical missiles—without mentioning financial and economic sanctions, destabilization strategies, and strategic alliances. This failure occurs if we adopt a sequenced analytical grid that conceals the ideological and strategic fabric of a conquering Islamist regime. It is no coincidence that the Islamist regime has defined its regional destabilization policy on the basis of an "integrated operational platform" where the strategic and the ideological converge.
The repeated declarations from various branches of this ideological conglomerate have continuously hammered home the intangibility of its ideological premises. The course of negotiations has consistently validated the heuristic nature of this working hypothesis. Any other approach would merely skim the surface of the real stakes of the conflict and its impact on realpolitik. Reviewing the successive topics of the ongoing negotiations reveals the veracity of the aforementioned objections. By reaffirming its control over the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian regime is already placing itself outside the stipulations of maritime law, international law, and any form of diplomacy. The ideological diktat extends beyond the state's own sphere into the international arena and its legal rules.
The militarization of conflicts, far from being induced solely by exclusive national security constraints as some surmise, stems from ideological considerations backed by Quranic prescriptions and Islamic jurisprudence. It is, in fact, a matter of the regime's survival and its sanctuarisation far beyond the state's borders, within the confines of a mutating geopolitical configuration that evolves according to expansionism in action. The authority of the Supreme Leader (Velayat-e Faqih) and his stranglehold on religious jurisprudence throughout the Shia world serve as a powerful lever for the Iranian regime's power politics. It is impossible to see how the Iranian regime's strategies of subversion can be thwarted while its proxies are deeply embedded within the networks of communal and religious power.
Economic and financial sanction regimes are crucial to intercept, contain, and destroy the financing networks that sustain a strategy of regional destabilization. This strategy operates at the intersection of imperial policies and organized crime networks driven by Shia diasporas established across the world. The state variable and its institutional connotations hold no exclusive relevance if one wishes to understand the fabric of this subversive policy. Otherwise, any eventual financial arrangements would end up being recycled into new enterprises of indoctrination and destabilization. Totalitarian regimentation frameworks leave little doubt regarding the means and destinations of their projected policies.
The Iranian Islamic regime initially positioned itself within an alter-globalist perspective to escape the rules of the international community and its assumptions inspired by constitutional states and natural law. It aligned itself with the fault lines legacy of contemporary totalitarianism and its neo-communist variants. We are automatically entering a Cold War matrix punctuated by variable-intensity conflicts that can degenerate at any moment and spark large-scale warfare. With a regime like that of Islamist Iran, the hypothesis of total war is part of the very definition of conflicts in this type of configuration.
A meticulous analysis of the current warfare dynamic cannot ignore the underground undercurrents of these conflicts. Any diplomatic approach that operates purely at the surface level of classical diplomacy, its variables, and its actors, will completely fail. Contenting ourselves with surface-level arrangements regarding maritime navigation, nuclear enrichment thresholds, financial concessions, and strategic positioning only returns us to dead ends, strategic bluffs, and deferred conflict dynamics with their unpredictable imponderables. The actors are called upon to exercise restraint and methodological caution if genuine conflict resolutions are desired. It is impossible to see how a war dynamic driven by a subversive strategy with deep ideological and strategic articulations can be ended without irreversibly changing the balance of power and destroying the operational platforms of a conquering imperialism.

Travers de négociations
Dr. Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/28 mai 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154878/
Les négociations en cours s’avèrent aporétiques et se prêtent mal à des amendements de parcours. Les islamistes iraniens sont dans la manœuvre, le gain de temps, et la politique revancharde reportée. Leur hubris n’est pas une nouveauté, elle fait partie des structures mentales de l’islamisme et des stratégies d’embrigadement d’un régime totalitaire et d’une politique impériale belliciste engagée depuis des décennies dans des entreprises de subversion. C’est un régime totalitaire et agonistique par définition et aux visées impériales hautement affichées.
Nous ne sommes pas dans l’accidentel, nous sommes dans une dynamique de subversion prise de court par des contre-dynamiques, alors qu’elle s’estimait dans une démarche ascensionnelle que rien ne pouvait arrêter. Il ne s’agit pas uniquement d’une illusion d’optique propre à ce genre de régime, il s’agit surtout de choix politiques et stratégiques d’un totalitarisme de conquête, pareil au communisme et au nazisme des années trente en Europe. Ce n’est qu’à partir de ces considérations analytiques que l'on peut définir les coordonnées de cette nouvelle mouvance stratégique. Les négociations en cours ne peuvent aucunement procéder sur une base transactionnelle qui ignore délibérément le cadrage idéologique et stratégique à partir duquel cette politique impériale avance.
Les failles stratégiques des négociations en cours tiennent aux oblitérations idéologiques d’une diplomatie transactionnelle qui estime venir à bout d’une dynamique conflictuelle sur la base de concessions mutuelles, alors qu’elle bute sur des interdits idéologiques et des stratégies identitaires non négociables. Quelles que soient les manœuvres en question, elles finiront par céder à des blocages systémiques et idéologiques non discutables. Il est inconcevable d’aborder la question du détroit d’Ormuz ainsi que celle des régimes de militarisation des conflits, avec l'armement du nucléaire et la production de missiles balistiques et tactiques, sans mentionner les sanctions financières et économiques, les stratégies de déstabilisation, et les alliances stratégiques. Ce si l’on adopte une grille analytique séquencée qui dissimule la trame idéologique et stratégique d’un régime islamiste de conquête. Ce n’est pas un hasard que le régime islamiste ait défini sa politique de déstabilisation régionale sur la base d’une «plateforme opérationnelle intégrée» où le stratégique et l’idéologique se rejoignent.
Les déclarations répétées des diverses instances du conglomérat idéologique n’ont cessé de marteler l’intangibilité des prémisses idéologiques. Le cours des négociations n’a cessé de valider le caractère heuristique de cette hypothèse de travail. Toute autre approche ne ferait que surfer sur les enjeux réels du conflit et ses incidences sur les politiques réelles. En reprenant les sujets successifs des négociations en cours, on s'aperçoit de la véracité des objections susmentionnées. Le régime iranien, en réaffirmant son contrôle sur le détroit d’Ormuz, se met d’ores et déjà en dehors des stipulations du droit des mers, du droit international et de toute diplomatie. Le diktat idéologique s’étend au-delà du champ étatique propre à celui de la scène internationale et de ses règles de droit.
La militarisation des conflits, loin d’être induite par des contraintes exclusives de sécurité nationale comme d’aucuns le supputent, découle de considérations idéologiques étayées par les prescriptions coraniques et la jurisprudence islamique. Il s’agit, en fait, de la survie du régime et de sa sanctuarisation bien au-delà des frontières de l’État dans les confins d'une configuration géopolitique mutante et évoluant au gré de l’expansionnisme en acte. L’autorité du Guide suprême (Vilayet Faqih) et sa mainmise sur la jurisprudence religieuse dans l’ensemble du monde chiite servent de levier puissant à la politique de puissance du régime iranien. On ne voit pas comment on peut déjouer les stratégies de subversion du régime iranien alors que ses relais sont installés dans les mailles du pouvoir communautaire et religieux.
Les régimes de sanction économique et financière sont cruciaux en vue d’intercepter, de contenir et de détruire les réseaux de financement qui irriguent une stratégie de déstabilisation régionale. Celle-ci opère au croisement des politiques impériales et des antennes de criminalité organisée pilotées par les diasporas chiites implantées à travers le monde. La variable étatique et ses connotations institutionnelles n’ont pas de pertinence exclusive si l’on veut comprendre la trame de cette politique de subversion. Autrement, les éventuels arrangements financiers finiraient par être recyclés dans de nouvelles entreprises d’endoctrinement et de déstabilisation. Les régimes d’encadrement totalitaire laissent peu de doute sur les moyens et la destination des politiques projetées.
Le régime islamique iranien s’est positionné au départ dans une perspective altermondialiste afin d’échapper aux règles de la communauté internationale et à ses prédicats inspirés par les États de droit et le droit naturel. Il s’est aligné sur les lignes de clivage léguées par le totalitarisme contemporain et ses variants néocommunistes. On est d’office dans un canevas de guerre froide scandé par des conflits à intensité variable qui peuvent dégénérer à tout moment et démarrer des conflits de grande envergure. Avec un régime comme celui de l’Iran islamiste, l’hypothèse de la guerre totale fait partie de la définition même des conflits dans ce genre de configuration.
Une analyse méticuleuse de la trame guerrière en cours ne peut pas faire l’impasse sur les dynamiques souterraines de ces conflits, et toute démarche diplomatique qui avancerait au ras de la diplomatie classique, de ses variables et de ses acteurs, fera long feu. Le fait de se contenter des arrangements de surface en termes de navigation maritime, seuil d’enrichissement des énergies nucléaires, concessions financières et positionnements stratégiques, nous renvoie à des impasses, à des bluffs stratégiques et à des dynamiques conflictuelles différées et à leurs impondérables. Les acteurs sont appelés à la réserve et à la précaution méthodologique si l’on veut des règlements de conflits réels. On ne voit pas comment mettre fin à une dynamique de guerre impulsée par une stratégie de subversion aux articulations idéologiques et stratégiques. Cela nécessiterait de changer de manière irréversible des rapports de force et de détruire les plateformes opérationnelles d’un impérialisme de conquête.

Why Any Deal with Iran Is a Mistake
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 28, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/05/154882/
There can be no "good" deal with a jihadist regime that openly sponsors terrorism across the Middle East, brutalizes its own people, calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to chant "Death to America."
Tehran sees diplomacy as a tactical weapon: a means to buy time, get intrusive foreign governments off their back, weaken international opposition, divide Western allies, and secure economic relief -- all while continuing its long-term strategic objectives as fast as the circumstances after President Donald J. Trump's term in office will allow.
Even if any new agreement does not contain sunset clauses allowing the Iranian regime eventually to resume advanced uranium enrichment activities legally after restrictions expire, the Iranian regime will view a "deal" as a green light quietly to continue rebuilding its nuclear weapons program. Such provisions do not eliminate the nuclear threat; they postpone them.
Already, Iran has reportedly already restarted much of its ballistic missile production and "could restore significant portions of its offensive drone capabilities within months."
Significantly, the response from the Arab and Muslim world to Trump's latest demand [to join the Abraham Accords] has been largely unenthusiastic. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have shown no public eagerness to comply, while Pakistan flatly rejected the idea. This silence and rejection underscore a larger reality: meaningful peace agreements cannot be manufactured for public relations purposes or used to obscure strategic failures elsewhere.
Worse, many of the supposedly neutral Middle Eastern countries "facilitating" the deal -- Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- have well-worn records of not being even slightly neutral.
Expanding peace agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries is unquestionably a positive goal. Peace and normalization are in the interests of Arabs and Muslims no less than Israelis. The Abraham Accords demonstrated that cooperation with Israel promotes regional stability, security, economic growth, and technological advancement. Genuine peace, however, may not be able to be imposed through pressure or threats. Peace made at gunpoint rarely lasts. Arabs and Muslims might choose peace with Israel because they recognize that coexistence and regional cooperation serve their own national interests, not because they are being publicly pressured by the US president.
[B]y linking the Abraham Accords to the conflict with Iran, Trump risks creating the impression that normalization is being used to compensate for the failure to topple the Iranian regime or halt its nuclear ambitions. It almost appears as if the Trump administration understands that any forthcoming agreement with Tehran will be viewed by many in the Middle East as a weak and dangerous concession, and is therefore searching for a diplomatic achievement elsewhere to offset criticism.
Unfortunately, the Iranian regime, although its top layers of leadership have been eliminated, has not changed. The "terrorists with an oil field" will emerge from a future agreement economically stronger, politically legitimized, and closer than ever to an eventual nuclear breakout capability.
Any agreement that leaves intact the current Iranian regime -- one that has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction and repeatedly violates its own signed commitments, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- cannot be trusted.
The only realistic strategy is one based on sustained maximum pressure -- including kinetic action if necessary -- diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, and decisive measures aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear and ballistic programs permanently. Anything less will simply postpone the next crisis while making the Iranian regime richer, stronger, and more dangerous.
There can be no "good" deal with a jihadist regime that openly sponsors terrorism across the Middle East, brutalizes its own people, calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to chant "Death to America."
Once again, the US appears prepared to negotiate another agreement with Iran in the hope of limiting Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reducing tensions in the Middle East. The negotiations are a dangerous illusion, based on the false assumption that compromise, sanctions relief, and engagement are the only path to regional stability.
There can be no "good" deal with a jihadist regime that openly sponsors terrorism across the Middle East, brutalizes its own people, calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to chant "Death to America."
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum this week called Iran's current Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leaders "terrorists with an oil field."
An agreement will not moderate them. It will embolden them.
The Iranian regime and its terror proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis in Yemen – will interpret any deal as a victory over the US and the West. They will see it as proof that terrorism, missile attacks, hostage-taking, nuclear blackmail, and claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz forced Western powers into concessions.
This is exactly what happened when the Obama administration signed the 2015 "nuclear deal," the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The deal provided Tehran with sanctions relief and access to billions of dollars while merely delaying -- not totally dismantling -- its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The Iranian regime never changed its behavior. There was never any need to. Instead, the regime expanded its ballistic missile program, increased support for terrorist organizations, intensified regional aggression, and steadily advanced its nuclear capabilities. Iran's mullahs repeatedly violated restrictions while exploiting loopholes and enforcement mechanisms that were pitifully weak.
Why should anyone believe that this time will be different?
The Iranian regime does not view negotiations the way Western democracies do. Tehran sees diplomacy as a tactical weapon: a means to buy time, get intrusive foreign governments off their back, weaken international opposition, divide Western allies, and secure economic relief -- all while continuing its long-term strategic objectives as fast as the circumstances after President Donald J. Trump's term in office will allow.
For the Islamist rulers in Tehran, hostility toward the US and Israel is not rhetoric. It is a core pillar of the regime's ideology and identity -- its entire reason for being.
Any agrement that eases sanctions will inject billions of dollars into Iran's economy. That money will not improve the lives of ordinary Iranians suffering under corruption, repression, and economic mismanagement. It will only strengthen the IRGC, finance terrorism, and fuel new wars across the Middle East.
The Iranian regime continues supplying its proxies with weapons and political backing. More money for Tehran means more drones and rockets for Hezbollah in Lebanon, more weapons and training for Hamas, and more drones and ballistic missiles for the Houthis in Yemen.
The Houthis have already demonstrated their ability to threaten vital international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with repeated attacks on commercial vessels and disruptions to global maritime trade.
Any agreement that enriches the Iranian regime will jeopardize global energy security by leaving critical oil chokepoints vulnerable to state-sponsored sabotage wherever countries will end freedom of navigation. Endless negotiations with the Iranian regime -- particularly until the US midterm elections in November to make sure that oil prices stay high and voters stay "madder" -- consume enormous American diplomatic energy and strategic attention that are urgently needed elsewhere. Washington risks becoming trapped once again in a cycle of talks, temporary understandings, violations, and renewed crises with a regime that has consistently acted in bad faith.
Even if any new agreement does not contain sunset clauses allowing the Iranian regime eventually to resume advanced uranium enrichment activities legally after restrictions expire, the Iranian regime will view a "deal" as a green light quietly to continue rebuilding its nuclear weapons program. Such provisions do not eliminate the nuclear threat; they postpone them.
Already, Iran has reportedly already restarted much of its ballistic missile production and "could restore significant portions of its offensive drone capabilities within months."
Every concession made to Tehran weakens America's credibility and emboldens those seeking to undermine Western interests.
Against this backdrop, Trump's demand that Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan, join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel raises additional questions about Washington's strategy in the Middle East. Expanding peace agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries is unquestionably a positive goal. Peace and normalization are in the interests of Arabs and Muslims no less than Israelis. The Abraham Accords demonstrated that cooperation with Israel promotes regional stability, security, economic growth, and technological advancement. Genuine peace, however, may not be able to be imposed through pressure or threats. Peace made at gunpoint rarely lasts. Arabs and Muslims might choose peace with Israel because they recognize that coexistence and regional cooperation serve their own national interests, not because they are being publicly pressured by the US president.
In addition, by linking the Abraham Accords to the conflict with Iran, Trump risks creating the impression that normalization is being used to compensate for the failure to topple the Iranian regime or halt its nuclear ambitions. It almost appears as if the Trump administration understands that any forthcoming agreement with Tehran will be viewed by many in the Middle East as a weak and dangerous concession, and is therefore searching for a diplomatic achievement elsewhere to offset criticism.
Significantly, the response from the Arab and Muslim world to Trump's latest demand has been largely unenthusiastic. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have shown no public eagerness to comply, while Pakistan flatly rejected the idea. This silence and rejection underscore a larger reality: meaningful peace agreements cannot be manufactured for public relations purposes or used to obscure strategic failures elsewhere.
The consequences of a deal with Tehran could extend far beyond Israel and the Middle East.
Worse, many of the supposedly neutral Middle Eastern countries "facilitating" the deal -- Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- have well-worn records of not being even slightly neutral.
Within hours of Hamas's October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khwaja Asif announced that "all Muslim countries should fight united against Israel" and that we "are standing by Iran in every way."
Turkey's antagonism toward Israel after October 7, 2023, has only hardened. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has openly been calling for Israel's destruction.
Saudi Arabia earlier this month refused to grant the United States the use of Prince Sultan Airbase as well as flyover rights for Project Freedom.
Qatar, with its state-owned Al Jazeera media empire that promotes the Muslim Brotherhood, is, along with Turkey, a long-time supporter of Hamas. In October 2023, then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly asked Qatar to "tone down the volume on Al Jazeera's coverage because it is so full of anti-Israel incitement."
Qatar's school textbooks "remain rife with antisemitic content" according to both a 2024 US State Department report and a 2025 ISGAP report.
Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have interests in making sure that Iran's regime survives.
First, a "deal," prevents further Iranian missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which is why the Iranian regime attacked its neighbors in the first place: to pressure Trump into stopping US military operations and instead persuade him to make a deal.
Second, all four countries might well prefer to have Iran ruled by a weakened regime to seeing Israel's stature in the Middle East strengthened.
Third, if the IRGC "terrorists with an oil field" remain ruling Iran, it makes it easier for all of these countries -- after Trump leaves office -- to resume trying to annihilate Israel.
And if they deployed soldiers as part of an "International Stabilization Force" in Gaza, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan would be positioned militarily, right on Israel's doorstep. Apart from Turkey, these countries have never even recognized that Israel even exists.
Unfortunately, the Iranian regime, although its top layers of leadership have been eliminated, has not changed. The "terrorists with an oil field" will emerge from a future agreement economically stronger, politically legitimized, and closer than ever to an eventual nuclear breakout capability.
For Israel, the consequences are especially grave.
Any agreement that leaves intact the current Iranian regime -- one that has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction and repeatedly violates its own signed commitments, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- cannot be trusted.
Any agreement that strengthens the Iranian regime financially and politically also strengthens its network of terrorist organizations that surround Israel on multiple fronts: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
The missile and drone capabilities that Iran is actively rebuilding already enable its proxies to attack Israel with increasingly sophisticated precision weapons. Every sanctions-relief package and every diplomatic concession accelerate this process. Every day of negotiations sees Iran's capabilities rapidly being restored.
The consequences would extend far beyond Israel and the Middle East.
At the same time, a "deal" would send a message that defiance and blackmail eventually produce rewards and economic benefits.
Equally disturbing is the moral message such an agreement would send.
The Iranian regime is one of the world's leading violators of human rights. It brutally suppresses dissent, jails journalists and political opponents, persecutes women and minorities, and executes critics. Rewarding such a regime with sanctions relief and international legitimacy would normalize repression and signal that systematic human rights abuses carry no meaningful consequences.
Finally, a deal with Tehran would undermine American deterrence worldwide. America's enemies would see negotiations and concessions not as diplomacy, but as weakness.
The fundamental problem is not only Iran's nuclear program, but also the nature of the regime itself. This is a revolutionary Islamist regime committed to exporting jihad (holy war), destroying Israel, undermining pro-Western governments, and threatening American interests throughout the Middle East. No "deal" can change that reality.
The only realistic strategy is one based on sustained maximum pressure -- including kinetic action if necessary -- diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, and decisive measures aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear and ballistic programs permanently. Anything less will simply postpone the next crisis while making the Iranian regime richer, stronger, and more dangerous.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22563/iran-deal-mistake
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.

Iran: Repression of the People... and Missiles for the Neighbors
Khalil Ali Haidar/Al-Jarida/May 28, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Many wonder whether the "Supreme Leader" will remain on the throne of Iran regardless of the circumstances, no matter how much the dangers to the country increase, or how much the likelihood of thousands of Iranians dying the most horrific deaths at the hands of the deadliest weapons and bombs increases... and no matter how much Tehran and other cities are destroyed, their landmarks erased, and their interests ruined?! Isn't half a century of controlling the fate of the people, squandering their wealth, spreading poverty and misery, and burning the national revolution by buying weapons, manufacturing missiles, digging trenches, and throwing billions left and right, buying loyalties that were lost and wasted in missile celebrations and controlling the fate of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and Asia, trying to appease Russia and win over China and Venezuela... and almost everywhere... and every hell?! It seems to matter little that thousands are killed, hundreds are hanged, and devastation engulfs every home... for such widespread destruction, in their warped minds, is what hastens the Day of Judgment, brings forth the Mahdi, and brings the hour of victory closer! Experienced and modern Iranian politicians, sidelined from power since 1979, along with the remaining rational members of the current regime, and the young, capable men and women of Iran—both inside the country and in exile, across Europe, America, Turkey, and many other nations—could bring peace and stability to Iran within a few months, if the opportunity arises and the 1979 clique is contained. This would prevent a new war costing another $270 billion, or perhaps even more, and stop missiles and fighter jets from roaming Iran, spreading destruction from north to south due to the regime's endless reckless policies! And where, by the way, are the "devastating responses" and "secret weapons" that were supposedly awaiting America and Israel? Or are they only being launched against neighboring targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia? Why doesn't the Iranian leadership make this Hijri year, which we are witnessing the beginning of, a year of change, stability and peace? What is the real need for any American, Israeli or even Pakistani interference in the lives and destiny of Iranians?

Political Exclusion of Syrian Kurds Threatens SDF-Damascus Deal
Ahmad Sharawi/FDD-Policy brief/May 28/2026
A dispute over Kurdish political representation and cultural rights is emerging as the primary fault line in the Syrian government’s process of integration with the Kurdish-run semi-autonomous region in the country’s northeast. While military integration with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has advanced, Kurdish leaders have argued that Syria’s transitional political system offers little meaningful representation.
On May 24, authorities completed the process of selecting members of parliament from the Kurdish-majority areas of Hasakah province and the district of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), filling 11 seats that had remained vacant since October. Five of the seats went to Kurdish candidates, yet Kurdish officials criticized the indirect process as “nothing more than an appointment process” that failed to reflect the “free Kurdish will,” reigniting concerns over inadequate political representation.
Instead of allowing citizens to vote for their representatives, Syria’s constitutional declaration — in practice, its interim constitution — relies on electors chosen by a set of committees. Specifically, the Higher Committee for Parliamentary Elections, a body created by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, appointed election subcommittees, which in turn appointed local election boards, numbered at around 7,000. Those boards then voted in October to fill two-thirds of the seats in parliament, with the final third reserved for presidential appointees.
At the time, Damascus did not allow the selection of parliamentarians in the SDF-held provinces of Hasakah and Raqqa, nor in Suwayda, the Druze heartland.
Military Integration Contrasts With Persistent Tensions Over Language and Cultural Rights
In January, a U.S.-mediated agreement established a mechanism to integrate both the SDF and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), the governing body overseeing civil institutions in northeastern Syria, into the Syrian state. Since the deal’s signing, Damascus has integrated four SDF brigades into the Syrian army. The Syrian Ministry of Defense appointed senior SDF commander Siphan Hamo as deputy defense minister for the Eastern Region, while naming an SDF-linked member as deputy commander of the army’s 60th Division.
Yet progress on political and cultural issues has been more limited. Despite Sharaa describing Kurdish as a “national language” in a January 18 decree that granted Kurds rights — including citizenship, recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights, and Kurdish-language instruction in public schools in areas with a significant Kurdish presence — disputes over language rights have persisted. Earlier this month, protesters in Hasakah tore down a government billboard at the Justice Palace after Syrian authorities replaced the Kurdish-Arabic text with English and Arabic.
Sharaa’s Centralization of Power Heightens Kurdish Fears
Tensions between the SDF and Damascus are magnified by the fact that Syria’s parliament has yet to convene, leaving political authority during the past 18 months concentrated in Sharaa’s hands.
The prolonged absence of a legislature has enabled Sharaa to govern by presidential decree. Article 30 of Syria’s constitutional declaration assigns parliament the responsibility of “proposing and passing laws” and “granting a general amnesty.” With no parliament in place, Sharaa has exercised these authorities unilaterally. The constitutional declaration does not explicitly authorize the president to exercise these legislative powers in parliament’s absence.
These concerns have deepened the existing distrust between Damascus and the SDF, particularly after Kurdish actors were excluded from the constitutional drafting process in March 2025. At that time, Kurdish organizations rejected the declaration and condemned it for being drafted “without ensuring inclusive participation.”
U.S. Must Press Damascus To Respect Kurdish Rights, Curb Presidential Power
Washington has demonstrated significant trust in Damascus by lifting sanctions and mediating the integration agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF. The United States should pressure Damascus to adhere to Sharaa’s decree recognizing Kurdish rights, and ensure that Sharaa enshrines those protections in Syria’s constitution. The White House should also condition deeper engagement on curbing Sharaa’s concentration of power.
At the same time, Washington should be prepared to use its existing authorities, including Executive Order 13894, against any individual or entity that obstructs the implementation of the integration agreement under provisions targeting those who “threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Syria.”
**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.

Khamenei's rhetoric remains unchanged: A genuine agreement or a pause between wars?
Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/May 28, 2026 (Translated from Arabic)
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that "the region's lands will no longer serve as a shield for American bases." In a message delivered on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of the Hajj season, Khamenei stated that "the clock will not be turned back," emphasizing that "the peoples of the region and their lands will no longer be strongholds for American bases."
He pointed out that "America, in addition to no longer finding a safe haven to practice its evil and establish military bases in the region, is also distancing itself day by day from its former position. Furthermore, the faltering Zionist entity, the cancerous tumor, is also nearing the final stages of its ominous existence." The Supreme Leader of Iran asserted that "the Islamic nation and the peoples of the region possess numerous capabilities and shared interests that will contribute to shaping the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world." He also called on "all Islamic countries and governments to embrace friendship and cooperation for the common good, so that together, through concerted efforts, we may advance the Islamic nation and resolve the problems of the Islamic world." Khamenei is thus threatening that the United States will no longer have a military presence in the region. However, according to diplomatic sources speaking to Al-Markazia, this stance does not threaten America as much as it threatens the Gulf states. Between the lines of Khamenei's words lies a veiled indication that American bases, primarily located in the Gulf states, will not be safe. Iran claimed to be targeting these bases when the American-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic began, but in reality, it was striking civilian, vital, and economic targets in the Gulf states. It seems, therefore, that the Supreme Leader is urging these countries to expel the bases from their territories so that Iran will not be forced to strike them again. This stance comes as the Gulf capitals are making efforts to prevent US President Donald Trump from attacking Iran again. Is this how Tehran repays them? In any case, what is also striking about Khamenei's statements is that there has been no change in his rhetoric or language. While his country is negotiating with the Americans and trying to reach an agreement with them, he still speaks of America as a "cancerous tumor" and of "shaking the Zionist entity." This means that either he is selling illusions to his people and the axis, as Iran has done for decades, or that the agreement will not last long if it is concluded, because Iran still implicitly wants to "throw Israel into the sea and expel America from the region." Therefore, it is simply looking for a respite to prepare for a new war, nothing more, the sources conclude

Effect of the Iran war on the global economy
Cornelia Meyer/Al Arabiya English/28 May ,2026
Wars are terrible. The first casualties are the loss of life and limbs in affected countries, as well as the degradation of infrastructure – both public and civilian. Widespread poverty and migration ensue all too often.
What is unfolding now in the Gulf has ramifications way beyond the affected countries. The closure of the Street of Hormuz is gravely affecting the global economy. Twenty percent of oil and oil products and twenty percent of LNG used to reach markets via the Strait. One third of nitrogen-based fertilizer hails from the other side of Hormuz as does fifty percent of sulfur which is a key input to phosphate-based fertilizer. Eight percent of aluminum originates in the gulf. These numbers are eye watering and show us why energy markets, global food security and the industrial supply chain are intrinsically linked to the Gulf.
No wonder then that the global economy depends heavily on the Strait of Hormuz. In mid-April the IMF downgraded global growth forecasts from 3.4 percent to 3.1 percent due to the Iran war assuming the drones, missiles and cannons were laid down soon. An adverse scenario moved the needle down to 2.5 percent and a severe scenario to 2 percent, which would constitute a global recession. Inflation was similarly forecasted at 4.4 percent, 5.1percent and 6 percent respectively.
The open-ended cease fire was a good development, despite several violations. At least it spared lives. Not so the double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, ships with oil, LNG, fertilizer, etc. could not get to markets pushing the IMF forecasts ever closer to the severe scenario.
Whilst OECD economies will feel this, they will most probably be able to scramble through. Developing economies are hardest hit: Fertilizer prices doubled at times making it unaffordable for the poorest economies. African countries are worst affected. Sudan for example gets 54 percent of its fertilizer from the Gulf. But even countries further afield like Brazil is bracing for unaffordability of fertilizer just ahead of the planting season, which starts in September. This means reduced agricultural land being planted, fewer soybeans being exported to China. Even the premier manufacturer of agricultural machinery John Deere has seen its exports to Brazil fall by 15 percent. Such are the ripple effects reaching each and every corner of the global economy.
Higher prices and inflation are one thing. Scarcity is another: More than 80 percent of energy exports hailing from the Gulf go to Asia. So far, we have seen physical shortage in some Southeast Asian countries. Japan and South Korea each had around 200 days of storage at the start of the war, but those reserves have been depleted rapidly. China has a lot of crude oil underground which was purchased when oil prices were low. Nobody knows quite how big those inventories are. Still China reduced the run rates of its refineries and limited the export of products.
LNG is trickier, because East Asia is lacking adequate storage facilities. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh further would have needed those molecules to produce fertilizer.
Where we are now is inflation and depleted inventories. Where we will be, if the conflict does not get resolved soon is physical shortage of oil, oil products, LNG, fertilizer, etc. Jeffrey Currie, former Chief Commodity analyst of Goldman Sachs and current advisor to the Carlisle Group, recently voiced a strong warning on Bloomberg if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed: He likened the situation in global oil markets under such a scenario to “a rare earths’ momentum of reckoning” down the road. If oil and oil products are not available many industrial applications will come to a standstill and transport will slow down significantly. In the same vein, Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, had warned a few weeks back that as things stood then, the global market had been left short of 1 billion barrels of crude oil.
The constant back and forth between the United States and Iran has also led to heightened volatility. Brent merrily oscillates between $90/b and above $126/b depending on what the perceived state of the negotiations between the United States and Iran is. Traders will love this, because volatility is their life blood. This level of volatility is, however, sheer poison for both producers and consumers. Producers need a reasonable outlook on price development to justify the level of investment and consumers need a certain degree of certainty to gauge the impact of the oil price on their operating expenses. Heightened volatility with no understanding of when it will end and in what price range prices will eventually settle, is daunting despite the availability of hedging products.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has added an unhealthy level of unpredictability, inflationary pressures and potential outright scarcity of supply chains to the global economy. The ripple effects can be felt in every corner of the world and developing countries are worst hit. All we can hope for is for this spook to end soon, for if it does not, the consequences might be considerably more severe than expected.

Selected Face Book & X tweets on 28-29 May/2026
Maya Khadra (PdV)
Often, the Hezbollah problem is presented as an inevitability, because it is "represented in Parliament by a community." The taboo must fall. And the "political branch" must be demystified. To put an end to this scourge, the political formation must be dissolved and candidates must be prevented from running in the next legislative elections under the "Hezbollah" label.This is a matter of respect for democratic culture.
On @BFMTV this morning

David Makovsky
It would help if the IDF could demonstrate a clear correlation between its expanded ground operations in southern Lebanon and tangible success in limiting Hizbullah’s FPV fiber-optic drones. Otherwise, the narrative is bound to grow that Israel is expanding operations mainly to reassure frustrated northern residents that it is “doing something” about the drone threat, but without a coherent plan. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz acknowledged that Israel is not acting in Beirut because of a “complex” situation with the US, while PM Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly implied that Israel needs President Donald Trump aligned on Iran and therefore does not want open friction over Beirut. The US, for its part, has urged Israel to avoid strikes on Hizbullah targets in Beirut so as not to further weaken or embarrass the fragile Lebanese government.

AJ
@YouGet1ShotAtIt
https://x.com/i/status/2059719319635026223
·Where are the Muslim voices that were “outraged” when a IDF soldier smashed a crucifix in Southern Lebanon? Every Cross was smashed in an Orthodox Christian cemetery in the predominantly Muslim Northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.
You simply can’t coexist

Fox News World
Sen. Ted Cruz: "Somaliland promises to be a critical counterterrorism ally for the United States, both because of its strong willingness to partner with us and because of its unique location. We should recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state and, in the