All posts tagged "Lebanon"

President Donald Trump has stayed out of the public eye for the second day after negotiations with Iran were suspended, according to reports on Tuesday.

Trump was reportedly furious during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's escalating military campaign in Lebanon, a condition that Iran cited as a reason to halt talks over a ceasefire with the United States. And after the derailed negotiations on Monday, Trump has stayed "out of sight," David Gardner, The Daily Beast's D.C. Bureau Chief, wrote in a post for The Swamp, The Daily Beast's Substack.

"The episode is called ‘Don’t Mention the War,’ and The Swamp suspects that is the very sentiment at the White House today after the president’s comically contradictory comments about his Iran War on Monday," Gardner wrote....

Reactions were mounting Monday after Iran announced it was suspending talks with the United States following Israeli strikes and an increased military offensive in Lebanon, which Iran had set as a condition for any ceasefire.

The US had reportedly been in talks with Iran, which said it was now considering a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz just hours after President Donald Trump told critics to "sit back and relax" and let him handle the now cancelled negotiations.

Iranian state media Tasnim news agency reported Iran's negotiating team was halting "talks and exchanges of texts through mediators." ...

Donald Trump supporters were outraged on Saturday when Vice President Kamala Harris made a comment in support of the citizens of Lebanon.

Many Lebanese citizens have been caught in the crossfire as Israel bombards Hezbollah, a militant group, with missile attacks in and around the country's capital, Beirut. Israel is responding in part to a barrage of missiles from Hezbollah that began on Oct. 8, the day after the deadly attack by Hamas in Israel.

Harris responded by offering her concern, as well as an update on funding, on the same day she visited North Carolina to survey storm damage....

The Israeli military launched pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon on Sunday after detecting preparations for "large-scale" attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.The military also warned Israelis to expect incoming missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, with the government declaring a 48-hour state of emergency.

Hezbollah issued a statement shortly after announcing large-scale drone and rocket launches targeting deep into Israeli territory in retaliation for the death of its military commander in an Israeli strike last month.

The United States responded by reaffirming its "ironclad commitment" to Israel's defence, and said it was "postured" to support its ally. The Middle East had been on edge for weeks after the group and its patron Iran vowed to respond to the Beirut strike, and to the assassination in Tehran of Hezbollah ally Hamas's political leader hours later.In a statement released shortly before 5:00 am (0200 GMT), the Israeli military said its jets were striking targets in Lebanon "that posed an imminent threat" to Israelis." ...

Israeli helicopters struck Rafah on Thursday, residents said, with militants reporting street battles in the southern Gazan city as President Joe Biden called Hamas the “biggest hang-up” to another truce.

Tensions were also soaring on Israel’s northern border, with more attacks by Hamas ally Hezbollah targeting military positions and a civilian reported killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon.

Israeli ground forces have operated in Rafah since early May, despite widespread alarm over the fate of Palestinian civilians there and an International Court of Justice ruling later that month....

Washington (AFP) - The United States said Thursday's resignation of Saad Hariri as Lebanon's prime minister-designate was disappointing. "It is critical that a government committed and able to implement priority reforms be formed now," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Hariri abandoned his efforts to form a government nine months after accepting the challenge. The country is deep in crisis and international donors remain adamant that a government must be established before they can provide funding. But political squabbling has repeatedly stymied such efforts and sent the currency to......