Lebanon - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 7, 2026

Beirut 5:34 pm

29°C

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

The court stands at the start of the first hearing at the International Court of Justice in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, in the Hague on January 12, 2026. The Gambia filed the genocide case in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2019. Myanmar's military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in a bid to destroy the community, Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the International Court of Justice Mond

Explainer

Does provision 13 of Lebanon-Israel deal bar Beirut from pursuing war crimes claims?

Part of the Israeli-Lebanese agreement has led to calls for Beirut to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in Lebanon or sign the Rome Treaty to allow prosecutions.

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting.

Latest News

Culture

Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

An activist takes part in a demonstration against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 7, 2019. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

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

Newly elected Lebanese president Michel Aoun sits on the president's chair inside the presidential palace in Baabda, near Beirut, Lebanon October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTX2R7JE

Lebanese president provokes outcry with Hezbollah comment

President Michel Aoun stated in an interview that Lebanon needs Hezbollah’s arms to defend the country from potential Israeli aggression, stirring harsh criticism from his political opponents.

Hezbollah members on motorbikes and vehicles parade during a procession ahead of the day of Ashura, in the Saksakieh village, in southern Lebanon, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RTSRH2G

Will Hezbollah join Palestinian factions in confrontation with Israel?

Amid calls to unify fronts between Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, experts envision many difficulties in this possibility of coordination.

Armed members of Shi'ite militia Hashid Shaabi ride a motorbike near Qayyara, south of Mosul, Iraq October 27, 2016. Smoke in the background is from burning oilfields set ablazed by Islamic State fighters. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RTX2QNPU

Benghazi blowback hamstrings US role in post-IS Iraq

Congress is weighing America's role after Mosul amid looming budget cuts and paralyzing partisanship.

Graphic novel illustrates life of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

A French NGO launched a project, with the help of five artists from Syria, Lebanon and France, to publish a graphic novel on the financial, emotional and social struggle of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Activists from of the Lebanese LGBT community take part in a protest outside the Hbeish police station in Beirut on May 15, 2016, demanding the release of four transsexual women and calling for the abolishment of article 534 of the Lebanese Penal code, which prohibits having sexual relations that "contradict the laws of nature". / AFP / ANWAR AMRO (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Lebanon on the path to decriminalizing homosexuality?

Education and awareness seem to be the solutions to creating a society and legal system that are more tolerant toward the LGBT community in Lebanon.

Lebanon's Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (L) shakes hands with Maronite Christian leader Samir Geagea (R) during a meeting of Lebanese rival politicians at the parliament in downtown Beirut, May 16, 2006. REUTERS/Hassan Ibrahim /Pool - RTR1DF3M

How Iran-Saudi rapprochement is impacting Lebanon

Iran has been hinting at potential rapprochement with Saudi Arabia for quite some time now, and in Lebanon, historical rival parties are showing signs of consensus as well.

Sunni Muslim Salafist leader Ahmad al-Assir addresses his supporters during a protest against Hezbollah arms in Sidon, southern Lebanon, December 2, 2012. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3B4SV

Radical sheikh still wields influence from Lebanese prison

A suspect in the failed Jan. 21 suicide attack on a Beirut coffee house has reportedly admitted to being a homegrown terrorist aligned with the Islamic State and a follower of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir.

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters carry flags and gesture during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTSRWNQ

Hezbollah torn between local, regional roles

In light of the raging regional crises, Hezbollah has been intervening outside Lebanon's border in support of its foreign allies in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, raising controversy inside the country about the movement’s local and regional influence.

A car drives past burning garbage set on fire by residents, in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon August 24, 2015. Lebanese protest organisers called for a fresh demonstration against the government on Saturday after two days of rallies that turned violent in central Beirut and wounded scores of people. The "You Stink" campaign has mobilised against the government's failure to solve a garbage disposal crisis, bringing thousands of people onto the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the cabinet

Lawyers struggle to pursue legal action over trash burning in Lebanon

Even though trash burning is illegal in Lebanon, judges have failed to hold municipal heads accountable for allowing the burning of waste.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Baghdad, July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1M0DA

Will Iraq succeed in bringing Iran, Saudi Arabia closer?

Iraq has been stepping up its mediation efforts to achieve a Saudi-Iranian reconciliation amid a conducive political and economic environment.

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters carry a replica of Hezbollah emblem during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTSRWQ6

After Aleppo victory, what's next for Hezbollah?

With recent military victories in the Syrian war, Hezbollah has consolidated its political power and influence in Lebanon as well as in the greater region.

People inspect a site hit by airstrikes at a parking garage in the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTSW2U6

Is Turkey’s shift on Assad beginning of the end of Syria’s war?

Turkish deputy prime minister says "we just have to work with what we have"; no sectarian divide in Aleppo; the Syrian Kurdish fault line.