Cars and motorcycles pass billboards depicting Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, and his late father, Ali Khamenei, bearing the slogan "Thank you to loyal Iran," along the highway leading to Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on June 22, 2026. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
Posters showing Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, and his late father, Ali Khamenei, with the slogan "Thank you to loyal Iran," were installed this week along the road leading to Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, just days after the announcement of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah as part of negotiations between Iran and the United States in Pakistan.
The announcement came despite direct talks between Lebanese authorities and Israel under U.S. auspices, with a new round set to begin Tuesday.
Negotiated by American and Qatari mediators, the cease-fire took effect Friday at 4 p.m. and brought a precarious calm to southern Lebanon over the weekend. But on Tuesday, a new breach of the truce left two people dead in Nabatieh Fawqa after the Israeli army opened fire on civilians inspecting their homes in an area that had been subjected to intense bombardment in recent weeks.
In 2022, Lebanon's Tourism Ministry asked Hezbollah and the Amal Movement to remove some of the posters lining the road to the airport that depicted religious and political figures revered by both groups. The Ministry requested that they be replaced with signs promoting Lebanon's tourism sector.
JD Vance to Geagea: US engaging Iran to pressure Hezbollah