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The past week, the fourth since the start of the conflict between Israel and the United States on one side, and Iran on the other, has further obscured the path to a potential resolution of the crisis. The true state of the Iranian regime remains an enigma, particularly in light of a mysterious statement by US President Donald Trump at the end of the week, suggesting that “a change of regime may have already effectively taken place,” while the fate of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains unknown. The American president, through his multiple statements, has contributed to making the landscape even more opaque, even as he continues to play the confidence card and he and his collaborators repeatedly assure that the end of the conflict is a matter of weeks.

From 18 February to 5 July 2026, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs presents "A Day in the Eighteenth Century, Chronicle of a Hôtel Particulier" — an immersive journey through an aristocratic Parisian residence of the 1780s, on the eve of the French Revolution. From rising to retiring, everything here follows the rhythm of the clock. This exhibition lets itself be breathed in like a long-vanished perfume, a small miracle of that Enlightenment art de vivre in which each of the 550 objects scattered along the route tells one and the same story: that of a vanished time whose refined aesthetics elevated Paris to the rank of European capital of fashion and the arts… a title seldom contested to this day.

In which direction is the war between the United States and Israel, on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other, heading? This is a question that arises daily since the start of military operations, and to which many analysts and politicians, playing the soothsayers, have already hastily responded with certainty. However, it would be necessary to acquire a set of concrete data, difficult to obtain, in order to have precise answers to this question. It must be noted in this context that one often takes one's desires for realities, and analysts sometimes describe their own thoughts rather than analyzing tangible facts.

It would be stating the obvious to point out that the post-war Middle East and Iran will not be the same as before February 28, the date of the launch of the American-Israeli offensive against the Iranian mullah regime. This war is entering its second month this Saturday, March 28, without us being able to perceive, at the current stage, the light at the end of the tunnel. One thing, for now, is certain: contacts and message exchanges have been initiated between the United States and the Islamic Republic thanks to the mediation of Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt. A meeting between the two parties could be held next week, but it remains uncertain due to the Iranians' request that it be preceded by a global ceasefire, which President Donald Trump reportedly refused.

Whether the Iranian ambassador designated to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, stays or goes is beside the point. What matters is the symbolic weight carried by two distinct stances, that of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, which declared the ambassador persona non grata, and that of the "Shia duo" in response. Beyond the national considerations that compel Lebanon to take a courageous stance toward a state that incessantly interferes in its internal affairs and treats it as a mere vassal colony, the official Lebanese position speaks to the depth of the change that has taken place in the country itself, in the region, and far beyond. A depth that still escapes Iranian thinking, and that of the Lebanese sectarian militia in its service known as Hezbollah. It should never be forgotten that Hezbollah remains nothing more than a brigade of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, whose members are for the most part Lebanese nationals.

“Baytuna al-khataru”, (peril is our dwelling), an expression borrowed from Saïd Akl. Michel Chiha was not fooled by our superficial national unity! Besides, who would have been? This essayist feared, above all, the demons of division and violence that haunted our Lebanese memory. His Lebanon was: “ a country that tradition must defend against force… ” National fragmentation and the historical legacy The confrontation, which has been ongoing before our eyes since October 2023, may appear to be an international or regional confrontation between Israel and Iran, but it is also, as far as we are concerned, the continuation of an ancestral domestic conflict between Lebanese factions.