Lebanon faces escalating violence and mounting displacement as Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah rocket attacks intensify ahead of planned US-backed talks in Washington on April 14.

I speak with Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame, who says Hezbollah disarmament by force is an illusion, warns the Washington meeting is not yet real negotiations, and cautions that continued escalation could further destabilize Lebanon.

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“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” as the old adage goes — a logic Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, put into practice by offering his military’s expertise in countering Iranian drones to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during a regional tour that concluded Sunday, as the Atlantic Council’s Yevgeniya Gaber noted.

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Iranian-American academic Vali Nasr says rising civilian deaths and the destruction of iconic sites such as the Qajar-era Golestan Palace are turning even the most anti-regime Iranians against the US‑Israeli war, which many now see as a threat to the nation itself.

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