Armed Militias and Extremist Groups

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan before their meeting in Beirut on Jan. 23, 2025.

Saudi Arabia lifts 5-year ban on Lebanon imports: What to know

Saudi Arabia had been a main donor for Lebanon before ties strained during Hezbollah’s rising influence in the country.

KAWNAT HAJU / AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah calls on Lebanon to 'correct' relations with Iran

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently told Iran to stay out of the country’s affairs, drawing a rebuke from Tehran.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on December 29 for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities the United States wo

Analysis

'We are already hearing the bus': Israeli insiders fear Netanyahu is losing Trump’s backing on Iran

“He couldn’t afford a confrontation with Trump, who was the last asset he had left,” a Netanyahu associate told Al-Monitor, describing the prime minister’s struggle to balance pressure for retaliation against Iran with the need to preserve his alliance with the US president.

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

Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on June 7, 2026.

US military helped Israel intercept Iran's missiles: What to know

Iranian barrages targeting Israel came after Israeli warplanes struck the outskirts of Beirut, despite the White House publicly signaling its opposition to such strikes.

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Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon endgame remains elusive despite ceasefire deal

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon close to the Beaufort Castle as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel on June 4, 2026.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Why Israel sees Lebanon’s 'pilot zones' as path to containing Hezbollah

A portrait of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is visible in heavily damaged building in the border town of Ayta al-Chaab, southern Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2026.

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

Tom Barrack addresses criticism over his remarks on Hezbollah, Turkey: What to know

Tom Barrack testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 01, 2025, in Washington, DC.

What’s in new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal — and what’s missing?

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli strike that hit near a hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on June 1, 2026.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Day 40 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 15

AFP via Getty Images

Day 39 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 14

US-made armoured vehicles bearing markings of the US Marine Corps are seen on a road north of Raqa in northern Syria on March 27, 2017. US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should r

Four attacks against US troops in Syria hours after strikes on IRGC facilities

New rocket and drone attacks targeted US bases in Syria in the hours following the latest US airstrikes designed to dissuade the IRGC and its militias from continuing their attacks on American personnel.

Israeli military tanks take up a position during a drill in the annexed Golan Heights, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 9, 2023.

Syria front on edge as Israel targets airports, US hits Iran-linked groups

Israel's continued airstrikes targeting Damascus and Aleppo airports arise from the threat Israel feels following attacks from within Syria on border areas led by Iranian-backed groups.

A girl runs past a U.S. Army Oshkosh M-ATV Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle on May 26, 2021 near the Turkish border in northeastern Syria.

Day 38 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Nov. 13

TOPSHOT - An Israeli soldier carries a comrade as they train while keeping a position in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on November 8, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel as fighting continues in the south with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Day 37 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Sunday, Nov. 12

AUDI-ARAB-OIC-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT Arab Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (L), Saudi Foreign Minister and session chair Prince Faisal bin Farhan (C), and assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Hossam Zaki (R) attend a preparatory meeting with the Arab foreign ministers ahead of the extra-ordinary Arab League summit in Riyadh on November 9, 2023.

Day 36 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 11

AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria as conflict with Israel rages

Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah are continuing, though the Iran-backed group has signaled that it is being deterred from engaging in a full-blown war with Israel.

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Day 35 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 10

The Iraqi government is trying to avoid becoming a battleground in the Israel-Hamas war as Iran-backed militias continue to attack US forces there, but Baghdad has limited options to deter them.

Analysis

Iraq struggles to thwart Iran proxies' attacks as US ups rhetoric

The Iraqi government is trying to avoid becoming a battleground in the Israel-Hamas war as Iran-backed militias continue to attack US forces there, but Baghdad has limited options to deter them.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

People carry an injured person after Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 7, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

Day 34 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Nov. 9

NORTHEASTERN SYRIA - MAY 26: U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter gunners scan the desert while transporting troops on May 26, 2021 over northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from remote combat outposts in northeastern Syria, coordinating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

US launches new airstrikes against IRGC facility in Syria as attacks continue

US F-15s bombed a facility in eastern Syria as the Pentagon's Middle East policy director openly warned that the US military may target Iranian IRGC personnel in a bid to halt militia attacks on American troops.