Trump says ‘disarm’ Hezbollah – Beirut says ‘contain’ Hezbollah
Lebanon must choose: They either force the pro-Iran militia to surrender their weapons or accept that Israel will handle it for them
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
U.S. Approves $230 Million Package to Lebanese Security Forces After Pledge To Disarm Hezbollah
The United States reportedly approved a $230 million aid package for Lebanon’s security forces after the state vowed to disarm nonstate armed groups, including the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization. Sources told Reutersthat the funding was split between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), with $190 million, and the Internal Security Forces (ISF), with $40 million.
Flash Briefs
Will Lebanon Disarm Hezbollah, or Not?
The Lebanese cabinet heard, on Friday, a presentation from Army Chief Rodolphe Haykal on a confidential plan to monopolize arms, as tasked by the government on August 5. The cabinet then issued a statement,...
Op-eds
As Lebanese Cabinet Meeting on Disarmament Ends Without Clear Commitments, Hezbollah Praises its ‘Wisdom and Reason’
Government Disarmament Plan is an “Opportunity”: A senior Hezbollah official has responded positively to the Lebanese cabinet’s meeting to discuss a Lebanese Armed Forces...
Flash Briefs
What if Israel Was Right and the Arabs Were Wrong?
For over five decades, many Arab leaders have blamed Israel’s alleged intransigence, belligerence, and unfulfilled promises for the persistent failure to achieve Arab-Israeli peace. Yet, Lebanon’s...
Op-eds
Lebanese Government Claims Disarmament of Armed Palestinian Groups Underway
LAF Begins Process of Consolidating Arms: The Lebanese government claimed on August 21 that it had begun disarming Palestinian factions in the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut,...
Flash Briefs
U.S. and European Allies at Odds Over UN Security Council’s UNIFIL Mandate Extension
U.S., Europe Diverge: The UN Security Council is debating whether to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which expires on August 31, highlighting disagreement...
Flash Briefs
Hezbollah Is a State within the State, Not Only “Heavy and Medium” Weapons
In policy, simplicity is valuable; naiveté is catastrophic. Lebanon has by now diluted UNSCR 1701 from dismantling Hezbollah’s militia, arms production, and illicit funding to merely surrendering “heavy and medium” weapons, or as U.S. Envoy Tom Barrack frames it: Hezbollah must hand over weapons that threaten Israel. Such oversimplification misses the root issue: Hezbollah’s very existence as a state within a state is an existential threat to the Lebanese state.
Op-eds
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...
Op-eds
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...