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Lebanon

Lebanon

April 15, 2025

Beirut 6:01 am

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Sharaa

Lebanon’s PM Nawaf Salam makes first Syria visit, meets Sharaa as border tensions loom

The visit is the latest sign of an apparent effort to improve ties between Syria and Lebanon after the fall of the Assad regime.

A general view shows the northern collapsed section of the silos in the Port of Beirut, on Aug. 23, 2022 in Beirut, Lebanon.

Lebanon grills former security chiefs over Beirut port blast: What we know

The probe into the explosion caused by thousands of tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate at the port has stalled for the past four years due to political interference in the judiciary.

A protester holds a framed portrait of Hassan Nasrallah.

Lebanon's Hezbollah ready to talk 'defense strategy' amid calls to disarm

A Hezbollah parliament member has shown willingness to begin talks on what he called a "national defense strategy," stressing that the Lebanese government must fulfill its responsibilities in ending the Israeli attacks in the country.

US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on February 8, 2025. Ortagus warned on February 7 against any Hezbollah presence in Lebanon's new government, saying the Iran-backed group was "defeated" in its war with Israel. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Ortagus back in Lebanon to press for Hezbollah disarmament timetable, demarcation

US envoy Morgan Ortagus is expected to firmly tell Lebanese officials they need to establish a clear timetable for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Latest News

Israeli FM says indirect US-Iran talks likely, hails 'common objective' with France

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (C) listens to Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (L) during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 24, 2025. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Senate bill advances, can Congress pressure Latin America to root out Hezbollah?

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire: What to know

AFP via Getty Images

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

Karim Souaid

Meet Karim Souaid, Lebanon’s new central bank chief with daunting mission

The appointment of a new central bank governor comes nearly two years after the term of embattled governor Riad Salameh ended in July 2023.

A composite image shows Lebanese Minister of Defense Michel Menassa (L) and Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra.

Saudi Arabia hosts defense chiefs of Syria, Lebanon as border heats up: What to know

The Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers will meet soon as the border between the two countries remains volatile following clashes between Lebanese tribal members and Syrian security forces.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun greets his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon on January 17

Lebanese president heading to France on first Europe visit since election

Agence France-Presse

Members of a family riding a motorcycle drive past a charred car in the town of Jableh in Syria's coastal province of Latakia on March 12, 2025. At least 1,383 civilians, the vast majority of them Alawites, were killed in a recent wave of violence that gripped Syria's Mediterranean coast, a war monitor said on March 12. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Fearing for safety, Syria's Alawites who fled to Lebanon have no plans to return

More than 30 members of one family spoke to Al-Monitor after fleeing into northern Lebanon from Syria amid a spasm of sectarian violence in the country. Many remain skeptical that it's safe to return.

Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

By Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian

A Lebanese soldier sets up barbed wire at the Lebanon-Syria border in Al-Arida on Dec. 9, 2024.

After ceasefire, Lebanon and Syria patrol border as top US commander calls Haykal

Lebanon and Syria reached a ceasefire late Monday evening after another incident of deadly border clashes.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

6 killed in Lebanon-Syria border clashes as Hezbollah denies role: What we know

Clashes erupted along the Lebanon-Syria border after three Syrian security personnel were reportedly killed, prompting shelling by Syrian forces and retaliatory fire from the Lebanese military.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a briefing on US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan on February 11, 2020 in New York. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the world should reject President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which he said would limit Palestinian sovereignty in a "Swiss cheese" deal. "We reject the Israeli-American plan," which "throws into question the legitimate rights of the Palestinians," Abbas said, brandishing a large map of

Interview

In break with Netanyahu, Olmert urges Israel to recognize Syria’s Sharaa, open dialogue

Former Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert believes Israel should recognize the legitimacy of the Syrian interim administration, telling Al-Monitor in an interview that he believes that the two countries should open dialogue.

Lebanese army soldiers stand behind barbed wire fence demarcating the Blue Line, near the village of Kfar Shuba, southern Lebanon, June 11, 2023.

Analysis

Hezbollah’s shadow looms over Israel-Lebanon border talks: What to know

The announcement of discussions has sparked speculation about the possibility of a shift in bilateral ties and Hezbollah's possible disarmament.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli army forces patrol in the village of Kfarshuba, southern Lebanon, Feb. 17, 2025.

Analysis

Israel’s two-pronged Lebanon strategy: Pursue border deal, strike Hezbollah

Israel is trying to negotiate a border demarcation with the Lebanese government while continuing to keep Hezbollah in check.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Lebanese government meets

Meet Lebanon's new military, security chiefs after leadership shake-up

Lebanon's government has approved the appointment of new heads of security and military institutions.

A general view shows a burnt out vehicle next to a banner bearing the Islamic State group's flag in the village of Dibsiafnan on the western outskirts of the Islamist's Syrian bastion of Raqa, after Syrian pro-government forces entered the area on June 11, 2017.

Exclusive

Turkey to host regional summit in April on counter-ISIS operations

Technical talks for the formation of a joint regional operation center against ISIS have begun as efforts to create an alternative to US-led coalition Syrian Democratic Forces against the Islamic State take shape.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

UNIFIL peacekeeping troops patrol the southern Lebanese village of Ramia near the southern border on March 5, 2025. Lebanese official media said two people were wounded on March 5 when Israeli drones attacked a vehicle in the south, a day after a deadly raid and despite a November 27 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon, Israel agree to border talks under US mediation: What to know

A military meeting in southern Lebanon on Tuesday led to an agreement between Israel and Lebanon regarding the next steps on the Blue Line.