October 7th, 20180On Wednesday, an Israeli official played down the Russian upgrading of Syria’s air defenses, saying the newly supplied S-300 missile system could be defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground.
Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300, a decision it took after accusing Israel of...
September 21st, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Thursday, Sept. 20, that his group had obtained precision rockets despite Israeli strikes in recent years aimed at cutting the supply route through Syria.
“No matter what you do to cut the route, the matter is over and the resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets...
September 19th, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, a key Damascus ally, said on Wednesday that his group will keep its military presence in Syria until further notice, commending the Idlib Russian-Turkish agreement as a step toward reaching a political solution in the country.
“We will stay there (in Syria) even after the...
August 17th, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Party, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Tuesday his group was stronger than ever and would “very soon” celebrate victory in Syria, where it has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad government.
Nasrallah was speaking on live television to mark the anniversary of a 2006 war...
May 23rd, 20180BEIRUT — Politician Nabih Berri, a close ally of the Hezbollah group, was re-elected for a sixth term as speaker of Lebanon’s parliament in an uncontested vote on Wednesday.
Reflecting a shift in Lebanon’s political landscape in favor of the heavily armed Shi’a Muslim group, another Hezbollah ally, Elie Ferzli, was elected...
May 11th, 20180"The poor turnout was due to the limited time many voters had to register and prepare necessary documents, as they had not initially expected that elections would be held outside Lebanon." -Salim Sassin, a Free Patriotic Movement leader
DEARBORN – Lebanese Americans in Metro Detroit are proud to have participated in their...
May 11th, 20180BEIRUT — Hezbollah and its political allies won just over half the seats in Lebanon's parliamentary elections, unofficial results showed, boosting an Iranian-backed movement fiercely opposed to Israel and underlining Tehran's growing regional clout.
Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, called it a "political and moral...
May 11th, 20180"The poor turnout was due to the limited time many voters had to register and prepare necessary documents, as they had not initially expected that elections would be held outside Lebanon." -Salim Sassin, a Free Patriotic Movement leader
DEARBORN – Lebanese Americans in Metro Detroit are proud to have participated in their...
May 4th, 20180By Farah Harb and Hassan Khalifeh
The Arab American News
DEARBORN — On April 29, the Lebanese community in the U.S. voted for the first time in the Lebanese Parliamentary elections, which will be held in that country on May 6.
In Michigan, Lebanese expatriates came out in droves to the three voting centers located at...
April 23rd, 20180By Farah Harb
The Arab American News
DEARBORN — In a town hall meeting at the Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn on Wednesday, April 18, Suzan Mouzi-Yassine, the Lebanese Consul General of Lebanon in Detroit, joined with other speakers in addressing Lebanese Americans on the process of voting in the upcoming Lebanese...
April 13th, 20182Is voting for Hezbollah candidates considered material support?
DEARBORN – Some Lebanese Americans who are seeking to vote in Lebanon’s May 6 parliamentary elections for the first time are concerned that casting their ballots will label them as supporters of terrorism and lead to their facing persecution and extra...
March 30th, 20180BRUSSELS/PARIS — France, Britain and Germany are struggling to persuade their E.U. partners to back new sanctions on Iran to preserve its nuclear deal, diplomats said, with Italy doubting whether the measures can stop the United States from pulling out in May.
At a closed-door meeting of E.U. ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday,...
March 23rd, 20180BEIRUT/DAMASCUS — Syrian rebels withdrew in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta on Thursday and handed it over to the Syrian army, the first such surrender since one of the fiercest campaigns of the seven-year war began more than a month ago.
The Ahrar al-Sham group's decision to accept the army's terms and abandon the town of...
March 21st, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Wednesday that the deeply indebted country faced disaster if it continued on the same financial path.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is part of Lebanon’s coalition government and wields extensive influence in Lebanese politics. Nasrallah was...
March 16th, 20180BEIRUT — Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah does not expect its arch foe Israel to launch a war for now in Lebanon but is prepared for one, the deputy leader of the group told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
As the war in Syria enters its eighth year, Sheikh Naim Qassem also said there was no end in sight to the conflict which would...
March 16th, 20180ROME — Lebanon plans to increase its military presence along its southern border with Israel, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday at a meeting in Rome, where he is seeking financial support for the armed forces.
Some 40 countries participated in the meeting, along with United Nations Secretary General Antonio...
March 9th, 20180NAQOURA, LEBANON — Lebanon and Israel have been holding talks nearly every day over a border dispute that has raised tensions between the two enemy states, according to the U.N. peacekeeping force on the frontier that is mediating their discussions.
"There is a full engagement from all the sides and there have been meetings almost...
February 16th, 20180BEIRUT — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Lebanon on Thursday that Hezbollah's growing arsenal and involvement in regional conflicts threatened Lebanon's security.
Speaking alongside Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in a Beirut news conference, Tillerson also said the United States was engaging with Lebanon and Israel...
February 13th, 20180DAMASCUS - Israel will face “more surprises” should it again attack Syrian territory, Damascus said on Tuesday, after Syria’s air defenses shot down an advanced Israeli warplane during the fiercest flare-up between the old foes in 36 years.
The F-16 jet was hit over northern Israel on Saturday as it returned from a raid on a...
February 9th, 20180BEIRUT — A U.S. envoy has assured Lebanon that Israel does not seek an escalation between the countries following a surge in hostile rhetoric, Lebanese and Israeli officials said on Thursday.
Lebanon and Israel have exchanged threats and condemnation over a border wall being built by Israel, a tender issued by Beirut for oil and gas...
February 2nd, 20180BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun said on Thursday that Lebanon was using diplomatic means to counter Israel's stance regarding an offshore energy block in disputed territory on their maritime border.
On Wednesday Israel described as "very provocative" Lebanon's first offshore oil and gas exploration tender and said it would be a...
February 2nd, 20180BEIRUT — On Tuesday, President Michel Aoun called for forgiveness and stability in Lebanon after a political row involving his son-in-law triggered street protests and deepened a rift with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri a "thug" in a closed meeting.
Berri...
February 2nd, 20180In the last decisive moments, Lebanon avoided the edge of a cliff and perhaps saved fragile peaceful coexistence among its people, which for the past few days has been hovering over that fine edge.
A telephone call from President Michel Aoun to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was enough to defuse a potential civil war that would have...
January 31st, 20180BEIRUT — The United States pledged continued support for Lebanon’s military on Wednesday, calling it a potential counterweight to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, even as Israel said the two forces were indistinguishable and fair game in any future war.
Such a public difference of opinion between the allies was remarkable enough, but...
January 12th, 20180BEIRUT — Fighting raged in Idlib, where the Syrian government forces offensive has gathered pace in the last two weeks, according to rebels and a military media unit run by Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is fighting on the Syrian government side.
Idlib province is the biggest chunk of Syria still held by rebels fighting the Syrian army,...
January 3rd, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Wednesday played down protests in Iran as economic discontent, saying they were not rooted in the political issues which spurred huge numbers to demonstrate in 2009 and were expected to end soon.
“In Iran there is nothing to worry about and the issue is being taken...
December 28th, 20170BEIRUT - Lebanese politicians on Thursday criticized Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over a television interview in which he was shown saying that Lebanon did not have an ideological problem with Israel and was not against it having security.
The comments, made to al-Mayadin satellite channel during a long interview on Tuesday, had...
December 8th, 20170On Wednesday, Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.
The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at President Trump's decision to...
