Reports on the progress of the security talks between Israel and Syria continue to be heavily conflicting. Last week, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa seemed optimistic about the possibility that a deal could be reached in a matter of days. In comments late Tuesday,...
Barrack Says Lebanon Not Taking ‘Concrete Action’ on Hezbollah, Israel Won’t Withdraw
In a Sunday interview, US envoy Tom Barrack accused Lebanon of not taking “concrete actions” to disarm Hezbollah, saying that all they do is talk, and that Israel will absolutely not withdraw from locations inside southern Lebanon that they’ve occupied since last...
Israel Arming, Bankrolling Druze Fighters in Syria’s Suwayda, Commanders Confirm
With tensions continuing to simmer in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate, senior Druze commanders are reporting that the Israeli government has been arming and financing Druze militias that are seeking a large amount of autonomy over the area. Suwayda is the historic...
US Envoy Barrack Cuts Tour of South Lebanon Short in Face of Protests
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack continues to make headlines in Lebanon. Yesterday, it was for lambasting Lebanese journalists as “animalistic” at a press conference in Beirut, and today it was during his planned tour of southern Lebanon. Barrack helicoptered into...
US Envoy Barrack Berates Lebanese Reporters, Insists Behavior Is Indicative of Regional Problems
US envoy Tom Barrack has had more than a few unusual exchanges in the course of his visits to Lebanon, but today seemed to spark a higher level of annoyance among the locals by lashing out at the press conference he was attending and berating the reporters as...
US Envoy Asks Israel to Comply With Lebanon Ceasefire as Drone Strikes Continue
Last month, US envoy Tom Barrack insisted the US had no business asking Israel to stop attacking Lebanon. In keeping with Barrack’s ongoing inconsistency, he today insisted that Israel should comply with the ceasefire, withdraw from Lebanon and stop attacking them. “I...
Turkey FM Warns He Won’t Tolerate Syrian Kurds Becoming Israeli Pawns
Syria’s Foreign Minister was in Ankara today meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, and Fidan took the opportunity, as Turkish officials so often do, to rail about the Kurds threatening regional stability. This time, the warnings were directed at the...
Jordan-Hosted Talks on Suwayda End With Statement Backing Syrian Sovereignty
Talks were held Tuesday in Amman, Jordan related to the ongoing situation in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate. No Druze were permitted to attend to the talks, which were between the Jordanian FM, the Syrian FM, and US envoy Tom Barrack. The sides discussed the tentative...
Lebanon Agrees to Disarm Hezbollah, But US Plan Hinges on Israeli Compliance
After weeks of US demands and conflicting narratives about what is actually being proposed, the Lebanese cabinet has accepted the US proposal to fully disarm Hezbollah by year’s end. Hezbollah ministers as well as other Shi’ites walked out of the cabinet vote. The US...
Hezbollah Rejects Lebanese Disarmament Scheme, Will Act ‘As if it Does Not Exist’
Yesterday, the Lebanese cabinet met to discuss the US demands that they impose a disarmament on Hezbollah by November. The exact order to disarm wasn’t agreed to, but they did agree to charge the Lebanese Army with drawing up plans to disarm everyone in the country by...