IUJ condemns ‘heinous’ killing of journalists in southern Lebanon

The International Union of Journalists (IUJ) has issued a strongly-worded statement condemning the targeted killing of two journalists in southern Lebanon, calling the incident a grave violation of international humanitarian law and an attack on press freedom.

By Sondoss Al Asaad

Lebanon: IMEC pressures, the fading ‘mechanism,’ and the open debate on normalization

SOUTH LEBANON — Lebanon today stands at the intersection of three converging tracks: the collapse of the ceasefire supervisory “Mechanism,” mounting geopolitical pressure through the India–“Middle East” –Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and deep uncertainty surrounding parliamentary elections.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Mounting strategic tensions: The escalating military buildup along Lebanon’s eastern frontier

SOUTH LEBANON — It is no coincidence that Lebanese anxieties have intensified amid growing reports of military preparations along the Syrian-Lebanese border. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Hamat Air Base: A critical test of Lebanese sovereignty

SOUTH LEBANON — The growing controversy surrounding Hamat Air Base has ignited urgent questions about sovereignty, transparency, and Lebanon’s potential entanglement in a broader regional war.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Blood in the Bekaa and Ain al-Hilweh: Who protects Lebanon’s sovereignty?

SOUTH LEBANON — The Israeli enemy has escalated its aggression against Lebanon, committing a massacre in the Bekaa Valley and launching a deadly strike on the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

West Asia on the brink: Lebanon caught between elections and regional escalation

SOUTH LEBANON — Lebanon’s unusual political stillness reflects more than routine paralysis; it mirrors a regional storm gathering beyond its borders.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

U.S. involvement in Lebanon’s economic policymaking

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s ongoing financial collapse has reopened fundamental questions about sovereignty, foreign intervention, and the country’s strategic choices.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Saad Hariri and the future of his Future Movement

BEIRUT — On the 21st anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafic Hariri, thousands gathered in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square in a scene that blended remembrance with political anticipation.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Enforced disappearances and escalation: Israel’s expanding security pressure in Lebanon

BEIRUT — Amid rising regional tensions, a troubling pattern has begun to take shape inside Lebanon: a series of abductions attributed to Israeli occupation forces, leaving Lebanese citizens in a state of uncertainty and fear.

Israel’s post-ceasefire strategy: Systematic obstruction of reconstruction in Southern Lebanon

TEHRAN – Since the November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israel has repeatedly violated the truce, turning what was meant to be a moment of relief for southern Lebanon into yet another chapter of fear, uncertainty, and displacement. What should have been the beginning of reconstruction has instead become a continuation of destruction.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Lebanon’s 2026 budget: A state between social anger, political confusion, and regional fire

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Parliament has approved the 2026 state budget by 59 votes in favor, 34 against, and 11 abstentions, closing three turbulent days of debate that exposed far more than fiscal disagreements. 

By Sheida Sabzehvari

Iran will not fight alone this time

From Baghdad to Beirut, Tehran’s partners signal a wider war if US strikes

TEHRAN – As U.S. naval deployments in the Persian Gulf intensify and Washington hints at the possibility of renewed aggression, a constellation of Iran’s allied forces across West Asia are issuing coordinated warnings that a second war against the country would ignite a region-wide confrontation — one that neither the United States nor Israel, they say, is prepared to contain.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Lebanon: Rising pressures amid Syria’s instability and Israeli threats

BEIRUT — With the Israeli enemy maintaining continuous attacks from the south and the resurgence of ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria, Lebanon faces unprecedented security challenges. 

Israel carries out another deadly attack in Lebanon in violation of 2024 ceasefire

TEHRAN – Israel’s airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday once again exposed what many in Lebanon describe as the regime’s entrenched disregard for international law and ceasefire agreements. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that one civilian was killed and several others wounded after an Israeli strike hit the area near Kfardounin in the Bint Jbeil District, a region that has endured repeated bombardment despite the 2024 ceasefire.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

The US and Lebanon’s trilateral trap

BEIRUT — The United States is intensifying pressure on Lebanon to abandon the existing military “mechanism” overseeing the southern front and move instead toward a Washington-sponsored trilateral committee that would pave the way for political-security arrangements with Israel. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

From ceasefire to coercion: How Lebanon is dragged into a surrender framework

BEIRUT — What is unfolding around Lebanon’s so–called “ceasefire oversight mechanism” is not a misunderstanding nor a technical dispute—it is a deliberate campaign of pressure. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Hezbollah’s rational sovereignty in the face of imperial subjugation

BEIRUT — Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem's speech on Saturday, addressed to Israel’s and America’s tools in Lebanon under the striking declaration, “We are the most rational,” was not a rhetorical flourish, but rather a political indictment.