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Lebanon

Lebanon

April 4, 2025

Beirut 4:00 pm

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (C) listens to Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (L) during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 24, 2025. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli FM says indirect US-Iran talks likely, hails 'common objective' with France

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said France shares the same concerns as Israel on the Iranian nuclear plan and predicted that Washington would soon launch indirect talks with Tehran.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Analysis

As Senate bill advances, can Congress pressure Latin America to root out Hezbollah?

Senators advanced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would threaten foreign governments with visa bans if they fail to contain Hezbollah activity in their territories.

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

While some Israeli leaders hope for normalized ties with Lebanon and Syria, others warn that the uncertainty of the current situation could become permanent or deteriorate.

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

AFP via Getty Images

Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire: What to know

Hezbollah denied involvement in rocket fire targeting Israel as the strikes threaten the already fragile ceasefire between the two.

Latest News

Meet Karim Souaid, Lebanon’s new central bank chief with daunting mission

Karim Souaid

Saudi Arabia hosts defense chiefs of Syria, Lebanon as border heats up: What to know

A composite image shows Lebanese Minister of Defense Michel Menassa (L) and Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra.

Lebanese president heading to France on first Europe visit since election

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun greets his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon on January 17

Agence France-Presse

Feature

Fearing for safety, Syria's Alawites who fled to Lebanon have no plans to return

Members of a family riding a motorcycle drive past a charred car in the town of Jableh in Syria's coastal province of Latakia on March 12, 2025. At least 1,383 civilians, the vast majority of them Alawites, were killed in a recent wave of violence that gripped Syria's Mediterranean coast, a war monitor said on March 12. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

By Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

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

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

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

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.

Lebanese army soldiers stand on an earthen barrier constructed by Israeli forces in the town of Yaroun, Lebanon, on Feb. 2, 2025.

France says Israel-Lebanon deconfliction holding — but for how long?

The mechanism charged with controlling the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah proves efficient, say French senior officials.

TOPSHOT - UNIFIL vehicles drive past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun near the border with Israel on February 19, 2025. Israeli forces withdrew from a series of border villages including southeast Lebanon's Odaisseh, Kfar Kila, Mais al-Jabal, Markaba and Hula under an extended ceasefire deadline that expired on February 18, but remained in five points near the border. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP) (Photo by FADEL ITANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Lebanon faces IMF test as new cabinet prioritizes economy, reconstruction

Lebanon's new president has a 15-month window to make progress on reforms able to attract much-needed financial support, but will traditional power brokers help or hinder him?

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

usaid

Feature

How Trump's USAID cuts threw Lebanon's education system into tailspin

Students benefitting from USAID programs in Lebanon have been left in limbo after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze of international aid.

Mayah Hamadeh

By Mayah Hamadeh

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.

TOPSHOT - Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-35 fighter aircraft fly over Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025 during the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. Tens of thousands of mourners dressed in black vowed support for Hezbollah at the Beirut funeral of slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, after the group was dealt major blows in its last round of hostilities with Israel. The September killing of the charismatic leader, who led He

Analysis

Israel flexes muscles in Syria, Lebanon in warning to Sharaa, Hezbollah

The flyover during Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral and the warnings this week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reflect Israel’s concerns over its borders with both Lebanon and Syria.

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

Israeli soldiers walk along the buffer zone between northern Israel and southern Lebanon, Feb. 18, 2025.

Analysis

Israel facing 3 options after extending military presence in south Lebanon

Israeli forces remain at five outposts after their deadline to withdrew, and the parameters for their departure remain unclear.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Beirut

In Lebanon, Hezbollah prepares for Nasrallah's funeral: What to know

Preparations for Sunday’s funeral for Hassan Nasrallah are underway as massive crowds are expected to attend.

Fighters loyal to the interim Syrian government deploy at a position along the Anti-Lebanon mountain range near al-Qusayr.

Syria arrests Hezbollah-linked smugglers in Damascus: What to know

A crackdown on smuggling operations between Lebanon and Syria has intensified since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

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.

Lebanese children hold their national flag as they walk above the rubble of a destroyed building as families return with the Lebanese army to the southern village of Marwahin, near a border fence with Israel, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Trump admin appears to relax Israel's deadline to withdraw from Lebanon

A Trump administration official put the onus of Israel's withdrawal on the Lebanese Army, questioning whether its forces were up to the task of backfilling positions vacated by the Israeli military.