Iran spent $16B to destabilize Middle East, US State Department says
The U.S. State Department recently published an unprecedented report detailing the financial resources Iran invests in destabilizing the Middle East.
Lebanon
Israel strikes Iranian weapons delivery in Syria
Israel struck in Syria on Saturday night, targeting an area near the airport in Damascus, Syrian state media reported. According to the report, several Israeli missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defenses.
Iran’s secret weapons-smuggling air routes to Lebanon revealed by intel sources
An Iranian civil aviation company is suspected of smuggling arms into Lebanon, destined for the militant group Hezbollah and Iranian weapons factories — and western intelligence sources said Monday they’ve uncovered the unexpected routes that Iran apparently took to try avoiding detection.
UN: Ceasefire violations may spark Lebanon-Israel conflict
The UN Security Council warned Thursday that violations of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to a new conflict and urged international support for Lebanon’s armed forces and their stepped-up deployment in the south and at sea.
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah: Israel cannot avoid defeat
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech marking the first anniversary of the liberation of the Syrian border from the ISIS and Jabhat Al Nusra control, and claimed that it could not embark on another fight in Lebanon.
Top Iranian cleric threatens Tehran will target Israel if US attacks
A senior Iranian cleric on Wednesday warned that Tehran would target Israel if the United States harmed the Islamic Republic, continuing an escalating war of words over sanctions reimposed by Washington.
Hezbollah chief claims terror group stronger than IDF, ready for war
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said Tuesday that US sanctions against Iran and his Iran-backed group will not have major effects on them and will not lead to regime change in Tehran.
Israeli UN Envoy Urges New Head of South Lebanon Peacekeeping Force to Push Back Harder Against Hezbollah
Italian Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col replaced Irish Maj. Gen. Michael Beary as the new commander of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon on Tuesday — a development that was welcomed by a top Israeli diplomat.
Iran-backed Yemen rebels expose limits of U.S. strategy
Iran-backed militant control over key areas of Yemen, despite a blistering assault by U.S.-backed Saudi and Emirati military forces, has sent a difficult message to Washington: Arab powers armed with American weaponry and targeting intelligence isn’t going to be enough to crush Tehran’s armed proxies around the Middle East.
Muslim refugees from Syria are coming to faith in Jesus, says ministry leader
A Christian ministry assisting Syrian refugees in Lebanon who have lost everything has said that many Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, which lifts them out of depression, even as they face great struggles.
Netanyahu: Iran has brought 80,000 Shiite fighters into Syria
Israel has attacked Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militias in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, casting such actions as potentially helping to stem a Syrian Sunni Muslim refugee exodus to Europe.
Hezbollah is helping Hamas build rocket factories, training camps
Israel has complained to the UN Security Council, saying that Hamas is working with Hezbollah to establish missile factories and training camps in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria reported Saturday.
In rare face-off, Russian jets reportedly intercept Israeli planes over Lebanon
In a rare incident, Israeli warplanes were reportedly intercepted by Russian fighter jets over Lebanon early Monday morning, despite an understanding in place between Moscow and Jerusalem to avoid conflict between the two countries.
Netanyahu: We won’t allow Iran to manufacture weapons in Lebanon
Less than a week after the Israel Air Force released pictures of an IAF F-35 Stealth bomber over the skies of Beirut, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that Israel would not tolerate Iran’s manufacture of game-changing weapons in Lebanon.
UN chief urges Lebanon’s Hezbollah to halt military action
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly criticized Hezbollah for operating as the most heavily armed militia and a political party in Lebanon and urged the militant group to halt military activities inside and outside the country, including in Syria.
Mike Pompeo threatens Iran with ‘strongest sanctions in history,’ outlines new nuclear demands
Saying the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration had ‘fatal flaws,’ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced that the Trump administration was preparing ‘the strongest sanctions in history’ if Tehran does not change its destabilizing ways and forever abandon its drive for nuclear weapons.
Gulf states put Hezbollah leadership on their terror lists
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, placed 10 leaders of Lebanon’s Hezbollah on their terrorism lists on Wednesday, including Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy Naim Qassem, Saudi state news agency SPA said.
Moscow says it’s still mulling advanced air defense supply to Syria
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Wednesday that a decision has not yet been made on supplying Syria with advanced air defense systems, a development that Israel fears could hamper its efforts to prevent Iranian military entrenchment in Syrian territory and transfers of arms supplies to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
Hezbollah head hails electoral ‘victory’ as protection from calls to disarm
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday praised provisional parliamentary election results as vindicating his Shiite group’s armed operations.
Hezbollah Growing in Power after Low Turnout in Lebanon vote
Hezbollah was poised to seal its dominance of Lebanon Monday with results for the decade’s first general election expected to confirm the Iran-backed party as the main winner.