- 2d ago
US forces declare Strait of Hormuz demined as Treasury targets Iranian oil networks
US Central Command declared international transit lanes open after clearing Iranian sea mines, while the Treasury Department launched a new campaign targeting illicit oil revenues flowing to Tehran.
- Aug 16
Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah threatens retaliation
Israeli airstrikes on the villages of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani in southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people on Saturday, August 15, the deadliest attacks since a fragile ceasefire took effect at the end of June. Hezbollah threatened an 'appropriate response' as civilians fled north.
- Aug 15
Israeli strikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon in deadliest attack since June ceasefire
Israeli warplanes bombed villages in the Nabatieh district on August 15, killing at least 11 civilians including women and children, in the worst single attack since the US-brokered June ceasefire framework between Lebanon and Israel.
- Aug 12
Lebanon abolishes death penalty, becoming first Middle East country to do so
Lebanon's parliament voted on August 12 to abolish the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour and becoming the first country in the Middle East to take the step.
- Aug 9
Netanyahu rejects Trump's 15-point Gaza peace plan, demanding Hamas disarm first
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump's 15-point Gaza peace plan on August 9, insisting Hamas fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawal, a stance that reverses the plan's core mechanism of simultaneous disarmament and pullback.
- Aug 5
Israeli strikes hit south Lebanon after soldier deaths shatter two-month ceasefire
Two Israeli soldiers died in a booby-trap explosion in Majdal Zoun on 5 August, prompting retaliatory strikes across southern Lebanon and cutting short the seventh round of Rome negotiations.
- Aug 4
Israel and Lebanon hold Rome talks as Hezbollah tunnel network takes centre stage
Direct political talks between Israeli and Lebanese representatives resume in Rome today, with the implementation of their security agreement and Hezbollah's extensive tunnel system in southern Lebanon as the central agenda items.
- Aug 2
US tells citizens to leave Middle East as Trump threatens new Iran strikes and Tehran readies retaliation
The United States has told its citizens across the Middle East to consider leaving immediately, as President Trump threatens new military strikes on Iran and Tehran warns of an "extensive" retaliation plan that could target American and Israeli energy infrastructure.
- Aug 1
US embassies across Middle East tell Americans to prepare to leave as Iran conflict widens to Egypt
Diplomatic missions in Amman, Jerusalem, Muscat, Baghdad and Beirut issued coordinated alerts on Saturday after a drone strike hit a Greek gas carrier and a US floating gas depot at an Egyptian port.
- Jul 26
Trump says he will declare Strait of Hormuz US territory as Iran rejects the claim
President Donald Trump told a rally in Garden City, New York, that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory, prompting Iran's deputy foreign minister to insist the waterway 'will remain Iranian.' The 60-day memorandum of understanding expires on Monday 17 August.
- Jul 24
Kozo Okamoto, Japanese militant behind 1972 Tel Aviv airport attack, dies at 78 in Beirut
The former Japanese Red Army member, who killed 26 people at Lod Airport in 1972, spent decades in Lebanese exile after a 1985 prisoner swap.
- Jul 22
Trump authorizes direct US-Lebanon flights, ending 40-year suspension
President Donald Trump ordered the resumption of direct flights between the United States and Lebanon on July 21, 2026, after a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. The route had been suspended since 1985 following the hijacking of two TWA planes at Beirut airport by Hezbollah.
- Jul 21
Trump lifts 41-year ban on direct US flights to Lebanon after meeting with President Aoun
President Trump announced Tuesday that US carriers may resume direct flights to Lebanon, reversing a ban imposed by Ronald Reagan in 1985 after the TWA Flight 847 hijacking. The move followed a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who sought US support for lasting calm after months of Israel-Hezbollah war.
- Jul 21
Mediators push for 10-day Iran war ceasefire as US strikes hit tenth night and Trump hosts Lebanon's Aoun
Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan and other regional mediators have proposed a ten-day truce between the US and Iran as American airstrikes entered their tenth consecutive night, while President Trump prepared to host Lebanon's president to shore up a separate ceasefire with Hezbollah.
- Jul 21
Lebanon's president to meet Trump as US announces pilot zones for Israeli withdrawal
President Joseph Aoun seeks US backing for reconstruction and security as three southern villages become test cases for the US-mediated framework with Israel.
- Jul 19
Lebanon's Aoun to press Trump for Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah disarmament in first White House visit since 2009
Joseph Aoun will present a written plan to disarm Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon during his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday.
- Jul 14
Israel and Lebanon hold 'fruitful' Rome talks on pilot-zone withdrawal, Hezbollah stays out
Delegations from Israel, Lebanon and the United States met at the US embassy in Rome on Tuesday, with Israel signalling readiness to pull back from two areas in southern Lebanon. Talks resume Wednesday.
- Jul 12
US military delegation arrives in Beirut to negotiate Israel's phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon pilot zones
An American military delegation began talks with Lebanon's army on 11 July 2026, aiming to turn a June ceasefire framework into concrete Israeli withdrawals from two designated pilot zones in the south. Lebanon also confirmed it will attend the next round of talks with Israel in Rome next week.
- Jul 12
US military delegation in Beirut negotiates first Israeli withdrawal pilot zone as Lebanon ties Rome talks to pullout
A US military delegation met with Lebanon's army command in Beirut on Saturday to discuss mechanisms for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a first 'pilot zone' under a June 26 framework agreement, Lebanese officials said.
- Jul 8
Haley Stevens attacks Abdul El-Sayed as Michigan Senate debate turns on Israel and corporate cash
Haley Stevens went on the attack against progressive rival Abdul El-Sayed in a televised debate Tuesday, accusing him of chasing publicity while he painted her as a tool of corporate and pro-Israel interests.
