Etiket arşivi: Lebanon

Iran-US Negotiations

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June 8, 2026

Today marks the 100th day of the Israeli-US war with Iran, which President Trump had said would last “four to six weeks”. Despite the ceasefire, both sides remain engaged not only in exchange of fire but also in a battle of words. Nonetheless, the Iran-US talks are continuing, and the main challenge for the US negotiators is to reach a deal that can be presented to US public opinion as a better one than President Obama’s. In other words, they are after “JCPOA plus”. The difference is that the problem is no longer just Iran’s nuclear program. Linked to that are the questions of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the world’s oil and fertilizer trade, and the war in Lebanon.

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Operation Regime Change (2)

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March 9, 2026

On March 1, the next day of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, President Trump stated that the US military intends to sustain its assault on Iran for “four to five weeks” if necessary, insisting that it “won’t be difficult” to maintain the intensity of the battle, even as he warned of the possibility of further American casualties.

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Lebanon’s Vicious Circle

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July 5, 2021

On August 4, 2020, Beirut experienced its own Hiroshima. After the explosion thousands took to the streets in Beirut, once called the “Paris of the Middle East”, to express their anger with Lebanon’s leaders. On August 10, the government resigned.

The BBC reported that Mr. Hassan Diab, who was appointed prime minister in January 2020 after months of deadlock, said his government had “gone to great lengths to lay out a road map to save the country”. But corruption in Lebanon was “bigger than the state” itself, and “a very thick and thorny wall separates us from change; a wall fortified by a class that is resorting to all dirty methods in order to resist and preserve its gains”, he added.

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Lebanon and Middle East’s Vicious Circle

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August 15, 2020

On August 4, only two days before the 75th anniversary of the dropping of world’s first atomic bomb, Beirut experienced its own Hiroshima. Exactly a month ago Turkey had its own tragedy when 6 were killed and 97 injured in a fireworks factory blast. Although the devastation and the death tolls are incomparable, underlying reasons are the same: mismanagement and negligence.

These, of course, are only part of the fundamental problem of the Middle East, the lack of democracy with its many subtitles. Prominently among them are: Okumaya devam et →

Syria: “Cessation of Hostilities”

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February 29, 2016

On February 22, the United States and the Russian Federation, Co-Chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), issued the “Joint Statement on Cessation of Hostilities in Syria”. As a first reaction, even the most optimistic observers remained cautious. Pessimists were easier to find. Indeed, on the one hand this is a positive development, at least an effort to bring some but not yet enough specificity to the hitherto broadly expressed concept of a ceasefire. And, most importantly, this is the first time since the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons that Russia and the US have a detailed agreement regarding the Syrian conflict. On the other hand, the complexity of the situation on the ground with nearly a hundred fighting groups, shifting alliances, lack of monitors are huge challenges. Some analysts believe that some groups would use this lull as an opportunity to regroup, rearm and get reorganized. One could say, therefore, that the Joint statement marks the beginning of what may prove to be a frustrating “ceasefire process” with many violations, ups and downs and with more than one devil in the details. Okumaya devam et →