As internal divisions deepen, it is becoming increasingly clear, despite specifically Lebanese complications, that these divisions are, in a sense, one aspect of the great showdown between the United States and Iran. Each of these two sides seeks to use the Lebanese card for its own purposes. The United States wants to show that Lebanon is no longer under Iranian control, while Iran wants to show that it still has significant influence in the country. Each side mobilizes its supporters in an attempt to make a breakthrough in Lebanon, as a prelude to or in harmony with the major victory anticipated on the regional and international levels.This duality may have a positive aspect, insofar as Iran demanded that Lebanon be included in the cease-fire it concluded with Washington, while the U.S. president used all possible pressure on the...
As internal divisions deepen, it is becoming increasingly clear, despite specifically Lebanese complications, that these divisions are, in a sense, one aspect of the great showdown between the United States and Iran. Each of these two sides seeks to use the Lebanese card for its own purposes. The United States wants to show that Lebanon is no longer under Iranian control, while Iran wants to show that it still has significant influence in the country. Each side mobilizes its supporters in an attempt to make a breakthrough in Lebanon, as a prelude to or in harmony with the major victory anticipated on the regional and international levels.This duality may have a positive aspect, insofar as Iran demanded that Lebanon be included in the cease-fire it concluded with Washington, while the U.S. president used all possible pressure on the...
'American sponsorship is a guarantee,' says Lebanese-American coordination committee