Has America Reversed Itself on Hezbollah?
US Envoy to Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack has reversed three decades of US policy by no longer labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The shift de-internationalizes the issue of the...
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
UNIFIL Was Intended to Be a Temporary Force, and It Has Now Outlived Its Utility
After nearly five decades, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) mission may be ending. Israel supports the Trump administration’s decision not to extend the force’s mandate, according...
Policy Briefs
Naim Qassem encourages voting in upcoming Lebanese municipal elections
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem gave a speech on Wednesday, April 28, addressing Lebanon’s upcoming municipal elections. The fate of Hezbollah’s arms is now the top question...
Op-eds
Qassem’s speech on Lebanon’s national defense strategy indicates Hezbollah will remain armed
Lebanon has a unique opportunity to disarm Hezbollah, which most Lebanese hope their government can seize. They see a chance in President Joseph Aoun’s insistence on monopolizing force in the hands of...
Op-eds
Hezbollah Open to Discussing its Weapons if Israel Vacates Lebanon, Senior Official Says
Willing To Discuss ‘National Defense Strategy’: Officials with the Iran-backed Hezbollah signaled on April 9 that the terrorist group would be open to discussing disarmament...
Flash Briefs
Israel assassinates Hamas official in Lebanese city of Sidon
Israel assassinated senior Hamas official Hassan Ahmad Farhat on Friday, April 4. At 3:05 am, Lebanese media outlets reported an Israeli airstrike in the city of Sidon in the south...
Op-eds
A ‘Ticking Bomb’: Israeli Eliminates Iran-Linked Terrorist in Beirut
‘A Real and Immediate Threat’: Hassan Ali Mahmoud Bdeir — a member of both Hezbollah’s intelligence Unit 3900 and of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force...
Flash Briefs
Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: March 24–March 31
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous activities and operations throughout Lebanon against Hezbollah between March 24 and 30, 2025. On Friday, unknown actors again fired rockets at northern...
Op-eds
Iran’s Nuclear Disarmament
The Only Deal That Protects U.S. and Allied Security
Monographs
Hezbollah’s Comeback Plan and How to Counter It
If the glass at your house got shattered during Hezbollah’s war with Israel, the Iran-backed militia would pay you $1,200 to fix it, a hefty sum by Lebanese standards. Reports, perhaps exaggerated, suggest...
Op-eds
Lebanon’s new government, the absent “resistance” Clause, and Hezbollah’s fate
Lebanon officially has a new government. On January 13, 2025, Nawaf Salam was appointed prime minister-designate and tasked with cobbling together a cabinet. He accomplished this task by February...
Op-eds
A comparison of IDF and LAF activities in Lebanon post-November 27 ceasefire
The state of ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which went into effect on November 27, 2024, has now officially expired. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has withdrawn from almost all areas occupied...
Op-eds
Lebanon seizes funds bound for Hezbollah at Beirut airport
On February 28, Reuters, quoting three anonymous and unidentified sources, reported that authorities at Lebanon’s Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport seized $2.5 million in cash destined for Hezbollah.
Op-eds
Lebanon May Be Ready for Peace With Israel. Both Sides Need to Prepare
With Hezbollah sidelined, both Israelis and Lebanese must start thinking beyond security and cease-fire arrangements and start saying the word peace, louder and louder. The more the P word is uttered, the more normal it becomes
Op-eds
Lebanon’s prime minister-designate is unlikely to confront Hezbollah
After a two-year vacancy, Lebanon finally has a president. On January 9, Joseph Aoun was swept into office as its fourteenth holder to Lebanese and international acclaim. More importantly, if...
Op-eds
Israel’s Dilemma in Lebanon
The 60-day ceasefire in Lebanon will end on January 26, six days after President Trump takes office. While Hizbullah suffered heavy losses during the two months of fighting from late September to...
Op-eds
Biden Administration Reallocates Egyptian Aid to Fund Lebanese Armed Forces
State Department Withholds $95 Million From Egypt: The outgoing Biden administration will withhold $95 million of its foreign military aid to Egypt and redirect it to Lebanon to...
Flash Briefs
Lebanon is not serious about disarming Hezbollah
Topping the list of reasons for lack of Lebanese interest, all presidential hopefuls need Hezbollah votes
Op-eds
Naim Qassem on Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon and about-face on Syria
On Saturday, Hezbollah’s recently minted Secretary-General Naim Qassem offered his group’s first comment on the downfall of the regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria. The Assad regime was one of Hezbollah’s...
Op-eds
Don’t bet on the Lebanese Army to restrain Hezbollah
The Assad regime has fallen. Meanwhile, the dreaded Third Lebanon War, during which Israel gave Hezbollah an unprecedented drubbing, is either over or in a ceasefire-induced lull. But the Iranian-backed...