Iran ‘s top general in Syria acknowledged they were “defeated very badly” with the collapse of the Assad regime, which represented a candid assessment divergent from other messages out of Tehran since the fall of the government.

For decades, Syria’s Assad family maintained a tight grip on Lebanon, wielding influence over its politics and shaping its alliances

Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun called Thursday for a comprehensive defense policy to counter Israeli assaults and for dialogue with neighboring Syria. Aoun was elected by the Lebanese parliament on Thursday, ending over two years of political vacuum since President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022.

Syria’s embassy in Lebanon has suspended consular services a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Ziad Makary will visit Damascus "soon", the information minister announced Tuesday, in the first such visit by the country's leadership since Islamist-led rebels seized

Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said Friday that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria, after two security officials said Damascus had imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens.

As the country endured economic crisis and a devastating war, lawmakers failed 12 times to pick a head of state. They have now settled on Joseph Aoun, the leader of the military.

Israel’s army has confirmed that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamzah AlZayadni.

Syria's new administration has imposed restrictions on Lebanese crossing their shared border into Syria, a Lebanese security official and a Syrian official said on Friday.