Free Republic

On May 24-25, we marked the anniversary of Israel’s hasty withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and with it, bringing thousands of Lebanese Christians to Israel. Here is the story of one young man.

When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in December 2024, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa declared that he would embrace a “zero problems” foreign policy, in the hopes that would help break the country’s isolation and solve some of its economic problems. The prospect of a stable Syria enticed at least $28 billion in investment deals from Middle Eastern countries in 2025, and even more has been secured so far in 2026. The continuation of that trend amid the current war with Iran has amplified Syria’s central geopolitical and economic pitch—that it can be a potentially transformational corridor for energy flows, commercial...

A senior Hamas official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas had sent messages to the mediating countries complaining about Israel’s alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement, while reaffirming its commitment to negotiations and efforts to reach a breakthrough in talks on Gaza. The official claimed that the assassination of Hamas military wing commander Izz ad-Din Haddad disrupted the negotiations, and called on the mediators to pressure Israel to halt what Hamas described as daily ceasefire violations. Hamas expressed hope that consultations with the mediators would help formulate a path forward in the talks, which have been postponed until after Eid al-Adha....

The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency makes it an ideal vehicle for sanctions evasion and an increasingly vital pillar of Iran’s wartime economy. As the risk of renewed U.S.-Iran conflict rises, Tehran has moved quickly to adapt to wartime realities while attempting to limit the impact on border security, domestic stability, and the broader economy. Despite obvious constraints, the Islamic Republic has had a measure of success in maintaining control at home while circumventing U.S. pressure in the Strait of Hormuz through shadow tankers and ship-to-ship transfers to sustain oil exports. This has reignited Western debates over whether sanctions and military...

If the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz is a game of chicken, it sounds as though the Iranians will either swerve first – or accelerate. One way or the other, though, the blockade appears to have succeeded in bringing the regime to its crisis point. As discussions around a potential deal (really a pre-deal) continue, the IRGC has begun to demand an end to the US Navy's complete siege on Iranian ports. That message has come from the top of the food chain today, including the Nepo Babytollah's supposed attaché: Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Mojtaba Khamenei: If the...

The U.S. missile stockpiles crisis is becoming a growing national security concern as American defense systems are being consumed faster than manufacturers can replace them. A new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies revealed that the United States fired more than 1,000 Patriot interceptors during the war in Iran, while only 172 replacements have been manufactured so far. The widening gap between missile usage and production is raising alarm inside Washington because critical defense systems including Patriot and THAAD are now under extraordinary pressure. The missile stockpiles shortage is also affecting key U.S. allies that rely heavily...

It was the kind of sweeping, last-minute demand that would have torpedoed most diplomatic talks: President Donald Trump insisting this week that in exchange for him ending the war with Iran, several Arab and Muslim countries should sign on to his Abraham Accords to normalize their diplomatic relations with Israel. But there’s been almost no response from any of the countries that Trump mentioned by name — more than half of whom already have diplomatic relations with Israel — and no statement of support from an Israeli government that would reap enormous benefits from such a deal. Analysts said Trump’s...

Iran, China, immigration, elite institutions, and the future direction of the Democratic Party all point back to a broader debate over power, nationalism, and the stability of the Western world. Growing tensions in the Middle East, questions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and fears of conflict with China continue shaping American foreign policy, while political and cultural battles at home are increasingly centered around institutional control, media influence, and ideological conformity.

The federal investigation into staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency—the U.N. Gaza relief organization that's been closely linked to Hamas—will soon encompass at least 1,500 UNRWA-linked individuals suspected of terror ties. This unprecedented dragnet—reported here for the first time by the Washington Free Beacon—exposes an aid group brimming with Hamas operatives, and is generating momentum in Congress and the Trump administration for harsher sanctions on the embattled aid group, according to congressional staffers briefed on the matter. The punitive measures up for consideration include stripping UNRWA of its diplomatic immunity under U.S. law, which would open it...

Washington: The United States has sanctioned the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the ⁠body Iran has set up to manage ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, ‌the Treasury Department said ​on Wednesday.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding extending the current ceasefire and launching negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but the deal still needs President Donald Trump's final approval, U.S. sources confirmed to Fox News.

The negotiations between the United States and Iran to end their war are following President Trump’s familiar playbook for resolving a Middle East crisis: agree to a cease-fire and deal with the toughest problems later. Analysts say the approach has had mixed results in the Gaza Strip, where Mr. Trump brokered a truce last year between Israel and Hamas, the Iranian-backed militant group. Plans for a so-called Phase 2 agreement — under which Hamas was to lay down its arms and Israel would allow Gaza to be rebuilt after a devastating war — have stalled. A similar approach in U.S....

The social media post by President Trump made it sound straightforward. The United States would orchestrate a deal to end the war with Iran and, in exchange, a slew of countries across the Middle East and South Asia would join an agreement, called the Abraham Accords, establishing relations with Israel. In fact, he said, that “should be mandatory.” But half of the countries he named — such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey — already have relations with Israel. And the other half — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan — have no interest in establishing them anytime soon. As a...

Israel has killed two top Hamas military chiefs in 11 days, demonstrating near-total surveillance, air supremacy, and intelligence capabilities across Gaza and the Middle East.What is so shocking about Israel's achievement of assassinating two Hamas military chiefs, Izz-al-Din al-Hadad, and his successor, Mohammed Ouda, within 11 days of each other, is that no one is even shocked anymore. Depending on the country or area, from drones to fighter jets, to the navy, to satellites, to Mossad, Shin Bet, and IDF Unit 504 agents, Israel has its enemies' leaders covered and in its crosshairs practically on demand, including: Iran, the Yemen...

Speculation is mounting over the fate of Brig. Gen. Ali Azmaei, the newly-appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, following reported US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Iran Watcher, a conflict monitoring group, said "unconfirmed reports" suggest Azmaei “may have been targeted and possibly eliminated” during the strikes, though Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on his status. Senior commander Azmaei is regarded as one of the IRGC Navy’s most senior commanders, previously leading the force’s 5th Naval Region, a strategically important command overseeing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait...

For years, much of the American media has operated under a peculiar assumption: that the best way to confront adversaries such as China and Iran is to accommodate them. If the United States applies pressure, the narrative quickly becomes that America is overextended, losing leverage, or somehow empowering its enemies. That narrative has resurfaced during President Donald Trump's confrontation with Tehran and Beijing. According to outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, both Iran and China are supposedly emerging stronger from the current conflict. It is a difficult claim to square with reality. Iran's senior military...

The problems in the Strait of Hormuz, we should remember, are not confined to Iran, the Middle East, or the United States. The troubles, the open-again, closed-again problems in the Strait of Hormuz are affecting the economies of Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, to the point where even a landlocked European nation and, by the way, a NATO member, is offering some help to the United States to get that sorted out. The nation is the Czech Republic, and they are offering to help with specialized surveillance tech.The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait...

The times, they are a-changin', as then-folk music troubadour Bob Dylan once sang about the radical era America found herself swimming/wading through in the Sixties. You could say the same thing about whatever they end up calling this era, and the second Trump administration at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Readers may have seen some of our pieces - so far on Wednesday - covering the Cabinet meeting open to the media. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, per a Playbook report on the team meet-up, explained that "The continued resilience of the economy speaks for itself, even during the Iran — the conflict."...

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has likely eliminated another of the prime butchers behind the Oct. 7 atrocities. And IDF also continues to eliminate Hezbollah targets on its other front.Hezbollah kills Israelis on a weekly basis and continues to devastate Israeli towns, some of which lost or suffered damage to most of their buildings in missile strikes since Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas jihadis also continue to conduct terrorist activities both in Gaza and Judea and Samaria (what they deceptively call the “West Bank”). And of course, many Oct. 7 terrorists came home to Gaza to receive a hero’s welcome and huge...

Iran's new leader Mojtaba Khamenei follows in his father’s footsteps with a series of anti-Israel posts on social media.