Hussein Dakroub| BEIRUT: Rival political leaders, including senior officials from the Future Movement and Hezbollah, will meet Monday in two separate rounds of talks aimed at getting the paralyzed government functioning and defusing sectarian tensions, exacerbated by a new strain in Saudi-Iranian ties. Speaker Nabih Berri will chair a national dialogue session at his Ain… اقرأ المزيد
The power struggle in Tehran between moderates and hard-liners is heading toward a showdown in next month’s elections, which could shape the political balance in Iran for years to come. The Feb. 26 elections will select 285 members of the Iranian parliament, or Majlis, and 88 members of the so-called Assembly of Experts, which will… اقرأ المزيد
A fascinating aspect of the escalating feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia is the variety of views and actions by the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Two of them – Saudi Arabia and Bahrain – cut off diplomatic ties with Iran, three others only recalled their ambassadors, and Oman has maintained full diplomatic… اقرأ المزيد
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is standing firm on his support for MP Sleiman Frangieh’s presidential bid, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Friday, as signs emerged that Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea might endorse MP Michel Aoun’s candidacy as a means of breaking the 19-month-long deadlock. Machnouk denied reports… اقرأ المزيد
At least a dozen different dynamics are shaping the deteriorating relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the consequences will have an impact across much of the Middle East for some time. The crisis is comprehensible through a dizzying array of lenses. These include, notably, relatively recent Sunni-Shiite tensions, the rearing of wider Middle Eastern… اقرأ المزيد
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: A regional cover that has shielded Lebanon against the repercussions of regional turmoil is weakening, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk warned Tuesday in a stern appeal to rival political leaders to close ranks and cooperate to resolve a crisis that has left the country without a president for more than… اقرأ المزيد