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Lebanon

Lebanon

May 4, 2026

Beirut 11:45 pm

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Members of Lebanese security forces stand guard in the perimeter of the Parliament, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president in Beirut on January 8, 2025. Lebanese political heavyweights held talks on January 8, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president of the tiny Mediterranean country, already deep in economic and political crisis, and which has been without a president for more than two years. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Under US pressure, will Lebanon repeal Israel Boycott Law?

The 1955 law criminalizes all dealings with Israel, raising questions about how far Beirut can even go with its current engagement, currently at the ambassadorial level.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), alongside US State Department Counselor Michael Needham (2L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (2R), speaks during a meeting.

US seeks to train Lebanon army units to disarm Hezbollah: What to know

Funding for such a program remains unclear, though the Pentagon has requested $36 million for fiscal year 2027 to support Lebanon’s army.

Latest News

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

'Treason is war for external interests': Lebanon’s Aoun hits back at Hezbollah

Lebanese president Joseph Aoun (L) stands next to the parliament speaker Nabih Berri as he delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut Jan. 9, 2025.

Why US, Israel are freezing France out of Lebanon talks

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to journalists as he arrives for an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 24, 2026.

In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia pursues quiet diplomacy as Trump pushes Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L) disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

Members of the Lebanese Civil Defence stand in the sea near a Lebanese flag during a protest in Beirut April 9, 2014. Workers from public sectors went on strike on Wednesday to demand more rights. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3KJCX

Lebanon’s new pulse

In the shadow of the Syrian war, Lebanon may be discovering a new social contract.

A protester carries a piece of bread and an anti-government banner during a Hezbollah-backed protest against the government's economic reform programme outside the tax office in Beirut January 9, 2007. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) - RTR1L0JU

Lebanon on wrong economic track

Lebanon is trying to fix structural economic problems by raising taxes, which will make matters worse.

(L-R) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) chat as they arrive to speak at the Tea Party Patriots 'Exempt America from Obamacare' rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13G43

House bill demands tougher line against Hezbollah

Bipartisan legislation introduced Monday in the House Foreign Affairs Committee pushes sanctions against financial institutions and satellite providers that aid Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam after his new government wins a vote of confidence in Beirut March 20, 2014. Lebanon's parliament gave a newly-formed cabinet a vote of confidence on Thursday, ending almost a year of political deadlock during which the country has been pulled further into the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HXY5

Next Lebanese president depends on Tehran, Riyadh

Influential regional players, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, are so far unable to agree on a presidential candidate in Lebanon.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power speaks during a Security Council meeting on the crisis in Ukraine, at the U.N. headquarters in New York March 3, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G02N

Palestinians are right to go UN route

US aid to the Palestinians represents an ongoing effort to deny them access to the United Nations and thus statehood.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a rally on the 7th anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, in Aita al-Shaab village in southern Lebanon, August 16, 2013. Nasrallah renewed his commitment on Friday to the battle in Syria, where the Shi'ite militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was ready to go himself if needed. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST AN

Hezbollah sanctions bill targets central banks

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to unveil a new sanctions bill targeting the Iran-backed militia

Bullet casings are seen on a deserted street in the Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tebbaneh neighbourhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon March 21, 2014. Three people were killed in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday in fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, security and medical sources said. Tripoli, like much of Lebanon, is divided along sectarian lines and is only 30 miles (50 km) from the Syrian border. Its majority Sunni Muslims, who back the Syrian rebels, often

Syria key to Lebanon presidency

The politics of who will be Lebanon’s next president cannot be separated from the war in Syria.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Jerusalem January 8, 2008, in this picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Olmert and Abbas met on Tuesday, the eve of a visit by President George W. Bush, to try to get peace talks moving. REUTERS/Moshe Milner/GPO/Handout (JERUSALEM) ISRAEL OUT. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. - RTX5C98

The tragedy of Ehud Olmert

The chance for a peace agreement with the Palestinians disappeared with the former Israeli prime minister, who has been sentenced to prison for bribery.

Online company offers discreet condoms to Lebanon

Yalla Condoms is selling contraceptives and other products over the Internet, saving its customers embarrassing trips to the drugstore in progressive Lebanon, where sexual taboos still linger.

A general view shows a closed ski resort due to the lack of snow in north of Beirut, Lebanon March 7, 2014. The mountains north of Beirut, usually covered in a heavy layer of snow and brimming with skiers, snowboarders and other winter tourists, are brown, muddy and completely empty this season. An unseasonably warm and dry winter - the mildest in decades - has decimated seasonal tourism in Lebanon and endangered the harvest of its vineyards which export prize-winning wines around the world. Picture taken M

Tourism is Lebanon’s biggest missed opportunity

A new report highlights the wasted potential of the tourism sector in Lebanon.

Damages are seen on a street at Yabroud town in Damascus countryside March 20, 2014, after soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad took control of it from the rebel fighters. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3HYPI

Syria’s victory in Yabrud may be game changer

At least for now, the recapture of Yabrud by Syrian government forces appears to have tilted the military and political balance in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A closed First National Bank branch is seen in Beirut September 4, 2013. Banks and private business corporations saw a one-day strike being held in many parts of Lebanon on Wednesday, organised by economic committees aiming to pressure Lebanese political parties to form a cabinet to maintain the country's economy, local media reported. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX136O5

Lebanon needs drastic steps to avoid bankruptcy

After the growth rate of the public debt and the slow economic growth have reached alarming levels, the new Lebanese government must restore economic confidence in the country.