Lebanon elections

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday held a phone call with billionaire businessman and former senior figure in the Trump administration Elon Musk, during which the two discussed the potential of Musk entering Lebanon’s telecom and internet sectors. What happened: A statement from the Lebanese presidency said that in their phone call, Musk “expressed his deep interest in Lebanon and its telecommunications and internet sectors.” Musk also expressed his desire for his companies to “have a presence

Elon Musk calls Lebanon’s Aoun, signals plans to bring Starlink to Beirut

A senior Starlink official met with Joseph Aoun last month for ongoing talks on bringing the technology to Lebanon.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

First in 8 years: Abbas visits Lebanon amid push to disarm Palestinian camps

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is en route to Beirut, where authorities have intensified pressure on Hamas operatives.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Aoun Sisi

After Kuwait, Lebanon’s Aoun visits Egypt seeking reconstruction support

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Egypt on a tour seeking support for Lebanon’s reconstruction.

People drive on a street past portraits of slain Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and buildings damaged in Israeli strikes in the recent war in the Ghobeiry neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburb on May 4, 2025.

Analysis

Lebanon’s municipal elections: Hezbollah holds, Sunnis splinter, Christians rebalance

Two rounds of municipal elections reveal a clear win for the Lebanese Forces at the expense the rival Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah maintaining support in its strongholds.

Beatrice Farhat

By Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Latest News

Lebanon's first municipal elections in nearly 10 years: What to expect

Commuters drive past a newly-installed billboard bearing the image of a Lebanese flag and a statement that reads in Arabic "Lebanon a new era", replacing a Hezbollah billboard, on the road leading to Beirut's Rafic Hariri International airport on April 10, 2025. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE lifts Lebanon travel ban, signals support for $11B reconstruction in sign of thaw

UAE/LEBANON

Lebanon's Aoun heads to UAE seeking economic support, reconstruction aid

France s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanon s President Joseph Aoun during an official visit of the President of Lebanon, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on March 28, 2025. (Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon secures initial World Bank approval for $400M loan

Commuters drive past a newly-installed billboard bearing the image of a Lebanese flag and a statement that reads in Arabic "Lebanon a new era", replacing a Hezbollah billboard, on the road leading to Beirut's Rafic Hariri International airport on April 10, 2025. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam walks among Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the southern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on Feb. 28, 2025.

US green lights $95 million in aid for Lebanon’s army

The Trump administration made an exception to its foreign assistance freeze for a $95 million aid package headed to Lebanon's armed forces.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (L) is welcomed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) upon his arrival in at al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, on March 3, 2025.

Lebanon’s Aoun in Saudi Arabia seeking army support, $3 billion grant

Saudi Arabia is pleased with recent political developments in Lebanon, said one expert, and the president wants the kingdom to bolster aid to the Lebanese army amid the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

A gathering on Feb. 15, 2025 blocks the road to the airport in Beirut, Lebanon. The protests were organized by Hezbollah against the Lebanese government's refusal to allow planes from Iran to land on its territory.

Lebanon seizes $2.5M in cash intended for Hezbollah at Beirut airport

Lebanese officials say a traveler from Turkey was detained and $2.5 million in cash was confiscated at the Beirut airport.

President Joseph Aoun (C) chairs the first meeting of Lebanon's new government at the Baabda Palace, east of Beirut, on Feb. 11, 2025.

Lebanon’s government wins confidence vote ahead of Aoun’s visit to Saudi Arabia

The Lebanese parliament gave their backing to the new government's ministerial statement, which excluded acknowledgement of Hezbollah, days before President Aoun is set to visit Saudi Arabia.

Teargas fumes erupt during clashes between supporters of the Lebanese Shiite Islamist movement Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army amidst a Hezbollah-organised rally to block the road to Beirut International Airport over a decision to bar two Iranian flights from landing there, in Beirut on February 15, 2025. An AFP correspondent said tear gas was fired to disperse crowds on February 15 after again blocking amidst calls by the Iran-backed group for a sit-in. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/

Lebanon extends Iran flight ban, will close airport during Nasrallah funeral

The flight suspensions come as Hezbollah supporters had been organizing daily protests around Lebanon’s only civilian airport in protest against a ban on Iranian flights to and from Beirut.

A commercial aircraft takes off from the runway of Beirut's international airport near the city's southern suburbs on Aug. 9, 2024.

Lebanon bars Iranian flight from landing in Beirut, sparking protests

The incident marks the latest in a series at the Beirut airport, which has been a key point of tension between Iran and people within Lebanon’s government who are cautiously distancing themselves from Iran’s influence.

Lebanon government

Meet the 5 women in Lebanon's new government

Lebanon’s prime minister on Saturday announced the formation of a new government cabinet, including five women who will serve as ministers of education, environment, social affairs, tourism and youth and sports.

People place a picture of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the rubble of the shrine of Shamoun al-Safa, built within a castle in the village of Shamaa in southern Lebanon's Tyre governorate on January 31, 2025, that was heavily damaged by Israeli bombing. The hilltop castle houses the Muslim Shiite pilgrimage site over a tomb said by some to be that of Simon the Zealot, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, and by others of Simon, second son of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. (Photo by Mahmoud Z

Analysis

Why Hezbollah, Amal want to control Lebanon's Finance Ministry

The ministry's strategic role in financial decision-making and postwar reconstruction has intensified political disputes, with opposition groups and international actors resisting Hezbollah's dominance.

Dario Sabaghi

By Dario Sabaghi

Saudi's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud attends the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Kuwait City, Kuwait, Dec. 26, 2024.

Saudi FM set to travel to Lebanon, will press Beirut for 'real reform'

Prince Faisal said he would meet Lebanon's new leadership to gauge potential for Saudi investment and noted that Trump's reelection lessened the prospect of war in the region

The destroyed grain silos and a sculpture made from salvaged steel following the explosion stand in the port of Beirut as the sun sets on Lebanon, Jan. 11, 2024.

Analysis

Eyeing reconstruction, port investment, UAE resets Lebanon ties

A weakened Hezbollah and a new government in Beirut give room for the Emirates to play a big role, politically and economically, in Lebanon.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut on Jan. 9, 2025.

Top US general in Mideast meets Lebanon's Aoun in bid to shore up ceasefire with Israel

CENTCOM commander Gen. Erik Kurilla's final diplomatic tour of the region under President Joe Biden came as the outgoing president defended his foreign policy legacy in a speech from Foggy Bottom.

Nawaf Salam

Nawaf Salam secures enough votes to be Lebanon's next prime minister

The ICJ president is not a Hezbollah favorite, but has secured the backing of more than 70 parliamentarians to be Lebanon's next prime minister.