The Levant Files

I n an analysis published on June 15, in the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria, Lebanese journalist Johnny Mounir examined the complex maneuvering surrounding the emerging US-Iran agreement, highlighting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conspicuous silence after Washington, Tehran, and Islamabad announced they had reached a deal to end the current state of war. According to Mounir, Israeli media described Netanyahu as shocked and sidelined by the announcement. Yet after Hezbollah was targeted by drones in northern Israel, it appeared Netanyahu was waiting for an opening—possibly using the two-drone "attack" as the pretext he needed to respond and reverse the equation Washington had recently established between Beirut's southern suburb and northern Israel. The analysis draws a historical parallel: when warring powers move toward settlements, a different kind of conflict often begins internally, using local tools. Mounir points to signs of this within Iran, wh...

A Jerusalem Post editorial published on June 18, has sharply criticized the emerging US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, warning that the framework risks empowering Hezbollah rather than dismantling its threat along Israel's northern border. While acknowledging that the deal may reduce the immediate danger of a wider regional war, the editorial stressed that diplomacy cannot replace security. It argued that the distinction is no longer theoretical for residents of northern communities such as Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Manara, and Shlomi, where families continue to face empty streets, shuttered businesses, and disrupted schooling. According to the editorial, the full text of the US-Iran understanding has not been officially published, and Israel was reportedly not permitted to review it before the expected signing—despite clauses said to touch directly on Israeli security. The reported draft calls for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, alongside provisions on reopenin...

A female police officer was killed in the northern Greek city of Drama this week in what authorities and anti-violence organizations are describing as the latest femicide to shake Greece. The victim, a 45-year-old police officer identified in Greek media as Antigoni, was allegedly stabbed by her husband, who was also a serving police officer, before he later took his own life.   According to reports, the attack occurred on Monday afternoon inside the couple’s home. The woman suffered multiple knife wounds and was rushed to Drama General Hospital in critical condition. Despite doctors’ efforts, she succumbed to her injuries shortly afterwards.   The case came to light after the couple’s child contacted emergency services and reported a violent incident at the family residence. Police officers responding to the scene found the woman gravely injured. A search was immediately launched for her husband, who had fled the area.   A short time later, the suspect was found dead ins...

Nournews, a news outlet affiliated with Iran's state apparatus, has published a sharp analysis titled "Europe's Foreign Policy: Between Claim and Reality," examining the European Union's stance regarding the recent preliminary understanding between Iran and the United States. Citing a source inside the first paragraph, the report describes the European position as a "symbol of the decline and exhaustion of the Western structure." According to Nournews, while European countries have reacted to the Iran-U.S. deal with "conditional welcome," their approach reveals a "challenge to the independence of foreign policy and a reduction in the Union's influence in global equations." The report argues that European actions signify a "repetition of a worn-out pattern of power display" rather than effective international role-playing. Contradictory Claims and a Worn-Out Power Display The analysis points to recent statements by Europe...

Israel has spent decades perfecting the art of war. It built one of the most sophisticated militaries on the planet, invested in cutting-edge intelligence infrastructure, and developed doctrines for striking enemies with surgical precision. What it never built — and what may now prove its greatest strategic liability — is the diplomatic architecture capable of actually ending a conflict, not merely pausing it. That is the central argument of a sharp commentary published Tuesday by Ezra Taylor in The Jerusalem Post, which dissects Israel’s so-called “mowing the grass” doctrine and traces a direct line from that posture to Washington’s decision to pull back from Israel’s war effort against Iran. The piece argues that former U.S. President Donald Trump — Israel’s closest international ally — effectively walked away not out of hostility, but because he was confronted with an open-ended, economy-draining conflict that Israel had never equipped itself to resolve. The reason, Taylor argues, i...

A 14-point draft memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, obtained by Bloomberg News, lays out the framework for ending their war and offers Tehran sweeping economic and diplomatic concessions while leaving several core US objectives unaddressed. The two sides are expected to sign the document formally on June 19 in Switzerland, opening a 60-day window of negotiations toward a final peace agreement and new limits on Iran’s nuclear program. According to Bloomberg, the memorandum was already signed digitally on Sunday. The opening clauses commit the US, Iran, and their allies to “an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts,” explicitly including Lebanon — a key Iranian demand likely to anger Israel. Both sides pledge to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from hostile action. On the military front, Washington agrees to lift its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and to withdraw forces from unspecified “surroundi...

In a column published by the Turkish conservative daily Yeni Şafak, Turkish journalist Yahya Bostan warns that Israel may open new fronts across the Middle East as its confrontation with Iran winds down, despite a 60-day window for nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Bostan argues that with Tel Aviv failing to achieve its objectives in Iran, the Netanyahu government is likely to pivot toward provocations in files directly concerning Turkey, while regional powers must act swiftly to contain Israeli expansionism. The article, titled "As the Iran File Closes, Where Will Israel Open a New Front?", begins with a sobering question: "War again? Perhaps war, perhaps a power struggle." Bostan notes that although the United States and Iran have reached an understanding, the dossier remains far from closed. Lebanon continues to bleed, and the uncertainty surrounding the nuclear talks creates fertile ground for further Israeli maneuvering. A significant portion ...

Iran and the United States have finalized a ceasefire understanding following months of military confrontation and intensive diplomatic negotiations, with the formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland, according to Nournews, an Iranian state-affiliated media outlet. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced the development during a meeting with foreign ambassadors and diplomatic representatives in Tehran, stating that the understanding was finalized on Sunday evening and would be formally signed on Friday at a location yet to be determined. The same day will mark the beginning of a new round of negotiations between the two countries toward a comprehensive final agreement. The understanding, referred to as the "Islamabad Understanding" after the Pakistani-mediated talks that produced it, comes after what Iranian officials described as a difficult and compressed months-long negotiation process. According to Nournews, which has close ties to Irani...

For Israel, the value of any US-Iran agreement will not be judged by oil-market relief or by a White House eager to declare the war finished, stresses in today's editorial note The Jerusalem Post. The only meaningful measure is whether Tehran emerges weaker than before. Has its nuclear program been dismantled? Has its enriched uranium been removed? Have its missiles and drones been neutralized? Has Hezbollah been pushed back? Has Israel preserved its freedom to act? On each count, the answers remain unclear—and that uncertainty is cause for alarm. Tellingly, the sharpest warnings are coming from President Donald Trump’s own camp: Iran hawks, pro-Israel conservatives, and lawmakers who backed the pressure campaign and the airstrikes in the belief that this moment could finally shift the regional balance against the Islamic Republic. The Israeli newspaper adds that Senator Lindsey Graham declined to celebrate. A deal that leaves Iran able to menace the Strait of Hormuz and threaten G...