Decryption

Explosives seized from a car that Hezbollah proudly claims as its own, a Lebanese ambassador targeted for “contact with the enemy” even though her government had asked her to open talks with Israel… These were among the reasons that prompted the United States to intervene directly over the weekend to express its dissatisfaction and press Lebanon to act. After Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah’s remarks on Thursday, in which he not only openly acknowledged responsibility for and ownership of the explosives—seized more than ten days earlier from a car traveling from the Bekaa Valley to Beirut—but also demanded their return to his party, several voices spoke out to highlight the absurdity of the situation.

Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah party acknowledged Thursday, through its lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, that the half-ton shipment of explosives seized last week by Lebanese authorities belonged to it, saying the explosives were intended for the “resistance” against Israel… Fadlallah added that Hezbollah had demanded “the immediate release of those detained” and “the return of the vehicle and its contents,” because these were “capabilities” the party uses against Israel. While such an admission is rare in itself, it also represents a fresh challenge to the Lebanese state, which is mobilizing its forces to end the presence of armed organizations beyond its control. In the name of “resistance” to Israel, Hezbollah has dragged the country into several destructive wars with Israel and opposes the authorities' decision to disarm it.

If there were an award for mythomania and manipulation, Hezbollah would win it hands down. The group has become a master at distorting reality and manipulating its own support base. This group is responsible for Israel’s occupation of a large part of southern Lebanon, the destruction of numerous villages and agricultural areas, and thousands of deaths and displacements in a war imposed on the people of southern Lebanon – at times in support of Hamas, at others to avenge an Iranian ayatollah. Yet the group is once again casting itself as the savior of its own victims, among them residents of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The Council of the European Union announced on Monday the launch of a three-year support mission for Lebanon, known as the EU Support Mission in Lebanon (EUSM Lebanon). The mission, established under the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), aims to “contribute to peace and security in Lebanon, support the strengthening of state institutions and promote lasting stability in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” according to a statement issued by the EU Delegation to Lebanon. It will focus primarily on the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF), with two “complementary military and civilian pillars, operating under a unified political mandate.”

The spotlight is on Lebanon’s socioeconomic and financial issues, where the Banque du Liban (BDL) announced on Thursday the opening of a special account intended to collect funds stemming from “embezzlement or illegal transactions” that may be recovered following “judicial decisions, amicable settlements, or any other proceedings initiated abroad.” According to the BDL, the aim is to return to depositors the funds that are rightfully theirs. At the same time, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced, in a message addressed to the Lebanese people, a series of ongoing or planned projects in areas that directly affect their daily lives: electricity, transport, housing, and the cleanup of public finances, including through the recovery of arrears owed to the state. The speech was primarily intended to reassure, but also to defend his 2027 budget proposal, which has been sharply criticized by the Lebanese Forces.

From Gaza to Yemen, via Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the deadly attack by the Palestinian Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, will remain in the collective memory as the starting point of military and political upheavals all pointing toward the establishment of a new regional order. In Israel, where the memory of the attack—which killed more than 1,200 civilians—was marked by several commemorative ceremonies on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “complete the mission” launched on October 7, 2023, referring to Tel Aviv’s relentless war against Hamas. He spoke of a “settling of accounts that is not over,” without specifying, however, whether this “mission” is limited to Hamas or also includes its backer, Iran, which is held responsible for this large-scale operation.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was in Riyadh on Tuesday, where he was received upon arrival by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks focused on regional developments and bilateral relations. This was Mr. Sharaa’s third visit to Saudi Arabia, the first country he visited in February 2025 after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad. He returned to the kingdom in April of the same year as part of a tour of the Gulf countries. The aim of that tour, which also included Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Türkiye, Jordan and Egypt, was to reintegrate Syria into its natural Arab environment.

Following recent advances by pro-Iranian militiamen toward the regions bordering the Red Sea, the Saudi-led coalition launched a large-scale counteroffensive that had already borne fruit by Monday. For several weeks now, amid relative calm on the Iranian-American front—the U.S. forces have not launched direct attacks on Iranian territory since early September—the Yemeni front has seen the most movement. Until now, however, this had favored the pro-Iranian Houthis, who had unexpectedly made considerable advances toward the Red Sea, threatening to disrupt passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict in Iran. Last weekend, militia fighters had already succeeded in encircling the Yemeni city of Taiz, cutting it off from Aden, where Yemen's official government is based.

The hardest part has just begun for Iraq, where the United States, together with its international coalition partners, completed a full withdrawal from the country on Wednesday, pursuant to a decision agreed with Baghdad in September 2024 under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden. During its twelve years in Iraq, the Washington-led coalition trained Iraqi forces to work alongside the political authorities to protect the country from Iranian and jihadist ambitions. Although it enjoys Washington’s unwavering support, Ali al-Zaidi’s government is entering a period of great uncertainty, given the major challenges standing in the way of its goal of restoring full sovereignty.

A flight operated by the Emirati airline, carrying 180 Israeli passengers, was forced to make an emergency landing at a Saudi airport after a “fight” between the pilots. Israel’s defense minister denounced a “jihadist terrorist attack.” An incident aboard a flydubai flight on Wednesday nearly ended in disaster. In fact, the Emirati airline’s aircraft, carrying 180 Israeli passengers, was forced to make an emergency landing at a Saudi airport on Wednesday morning while en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv. According to several Israeli media outlets, the incident stemmed from a “fight” between the pilots, one of whom, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing an Israeli official, allegedly tried to “hijack the plane.” The Israeli official said that “a major disaster was narrowly averted.”