After a hiatus of two and a half years, Lebanon has a new president. The Lebanese parliament has elected Michel Aoun, a former army chief, as the country’s 17th president. Michel Aoun owes the presidency to three men: Samir Geagea, the leader of the Christian Lebanese forces, Saad Hariri, the former Sunni prime minister, and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite Hezbollah.
Note: This article was published by Foreign Affairs on October 29; On Monday, October 31, Michel Aoun was elected president. Read the full article on here.
Against Ontologies of Hospitality: About Syrian Refugeehood in Northern Lebanon
This essay explores the relationship between Syrian refugees and local Lebanese. In particular, it discusses the dominance of the discourse of ‘hospitality’ in the international media depiction of this relationship and in the humanitarian response informed by it. As this essay will show, these tendencies have resulted in the ‘hospitality’ discourse informing and reinforcing the international response to the Syrian refugee influx into and presence in Lebanon.
The most senior Shiite clerics in Iran met on October 27 with the leadership of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). The meeting included Ali Shamkhani, who is the Secretary General at the SNSC. According to reports, the top clerics are urging the SNSC officials to prevent deep political splits from emerging in the Iranian society.
Pursuant to talks between Iran and the European Union to normalize relations, the president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, was in Tehran on October 26. There, he was greeted by a number of Iranian officials who harshly attacked the policies of Western states in the Middle East.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is due to be in Moscow on October 28. There, he will meet with his Russian and Syrian counterparts to assess the military campaign against the Syrian opposition.
Senior Iranian Official Says Regime’s Opposition to US and Israel to Continue
The secretary general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani, says latest political and economic deals signed with various countries will not impact Tehran’s fundamental foreign policy priorities.
Iran's Hardliners Defy EU's Call to Soften Anti-Israel Stance
On October 25, as the parliament of the European Union condemned Iran’s hostile posture toward Israel, a number of Iranian hardline sites published articles aimed at tormenting the Jewish state.
Monday Briefing: Lebanon Set to Elect President; Steady Progress toward Mosul
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem and Charles Lister provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the expected election of Michel Aoun as president of Lebanon and the operation to expel ISIS from Mosul.
Iran’s Oil Minister Comes Out Swinging in Showdown with Hardliners
Just a few days after President Hassan Rouhani removed three of his ministers under pressure from his domestic critics, Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh has come out on the offensive against his critics.
The leadership of the IRGC in Iran has unveiled a new policy of recruiting local volunteers among Iranians to fight on the side of Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria.
A number of Iranian hardline media outlets are presently running articles condemning the Bahraini government for its treatment of the country’s Shiite political leadership. On October 20, the offices of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, a large Shiite political party, were reportedly raided by the Bahraini authorities. Calling it a “historical and strategic mistake,” the Iranian foreign ministry is urging Manama to reach a political settlement on the issue of Shiite political representation in Bahrain.
Iran Wrongfully Arrests Iranian-Americans for Potential Prisoner Swap
Fars News, a hardline outlet that promotes the views and interests of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), ran a so-called exposé on the latest arrests of six individuals charged with collaborating with the United States with the aim of toppling the Iranian regime.
Iraq and Syria: Regional and International Dimensions
October 14, 2016 – In this interview Randa Slim discusses the latest diplomatic and political developments in the Syrian crisis and the regional battle against ISIS, including challenges to be dealt with in the aftermath of an offensive to retake Mosul, with host Paul Salem.
