BEIRUT: Spain remains committed to keeping its UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon despite the recent death of a peacekeeper, King Felipe VI said Tuesday, calling for "peace and harmony." "Spain’s commitment to this (peacekeeping) aim is firm and decided," Felipe said in a speech in Beirut, according to a text in Spanish released by […]

  The Lebanese Army raided on Tuesday a jihadist post on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Ras Baalbek, attacking gunmen and causing casualties among their ranks, the military and the state-run National News Agency said. The Airborne Regiment controlled the strategic post at al-Mukhairmeh hill at dawn, leaving three of them dead and […]

  BEIRUT: Tehran’s animosity towards the United States has been replaced with hostility towards Arabs, the Future bloc said Tuesday. “[Iran] used to consider the U.S. to be the Great Satan and [considered] a deal with America to be a great betrayal," read a statement released by the bloc after their weekly meeting. “Today [Iran] […]

  BEIRUT: The lack of a president and the sharp divide across the political spectrum has caused Lebanon to reach the peak of suffering, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Sunday. Distress in Lebanon has reached its higgest point as a result of the 11-month long presidential vacuum, the sharp rifts that have divided the country […]

  Several Lebanese truck drivers were able to cross to Lebanon on Sunday after being stranded for four days along the Syrian-Jordanian border. According to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), six truck drivers, who were trapped at the Jordanian Nasib crossing, were able to cross the al-MAsnaa border crossing in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Later […]

  BEIRUT: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil in Beirut Monday to address local and regional issues, including terrorism, a statement from Bassil’s media office said. It said the two men discussed the presidential election crisis and ways to maintain political stability in Lebanon. Talks also tackled the […]

Happy Easter from Khazen.org  

• Michael B Kelley

The Obama administration is no longer hiding the fact that the US is serving as the air force for Iran-backed Shia militias fighting ISIS in Iraq.

Helen Cooper of The New York Times reports that the US and Iran "have found a template for fighting the Sunni militancy in other parts of Iraq: American airstrikes and Iranian-backed ground assaults" with the Iraqi military serving as a go-between.

The US recently provided crucial air support in the Iran-led offensive to drive ISIS (aka Islamic State, Daesh) from Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and bragged about it. US officials told The Wall Street Journal that "they deliberately used the Tikrit operation to drive a wedge between Iran and Iraq."

  BEIRUT: Politicians have no excuse for procrastinating over the election of a new Lebanese president, Maronite Beshara Rai said Saturday, accusing political parties of relying on external powers for directions. “Today we are experiencing a sort of political death that controls our destiny as a people, and the destiny of the state,” Rai said […]