Youssef Diab

Youssef Diab
Arab World Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri at the People’s Palace (SANA)

Beirut, Damascus Lay Groundwork for a New Relationship

Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri returned from Damascus with what officials described as significant results, after meeting Syrian President Ahmed…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World A portrait of the president is defaced at Syria’s Palestine Branch prison, where piles of documents of interrogations and reports, and its dark, dank collection of cells, shows the systematic cruelty of the toppled regime of Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria on December 17, 2024. (Getty Images)

Lebanon Receives French Legal Request to Arrest Wanted Senior Syrian Regime Figures

The Lebanese judiciary received on Monday a legal request from France demanding assistance in tracking down officials from the ousted Syrian regime and their…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar meets with Syrian Deputy Interior Minister Major General Abdel Qader Tahan and his accompanying delegation. (NNA)

Lebanon and Syria Reach Security Agreement to Tighten Border Control and Combat Crime

Lebanon and Syria have agreed to deepen security coordination on shared borders, fighting organized crime, and curbing illegal migration. The understanding was…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar (R) and Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri (C), Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais (L) at a press conference in Beirut. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanon, Syria Near Agreement on Handover of Syrian Prisoners, Wanted Suspects

Lebanon and Syria are close to reaching a judicial agreement concerning Syrian detainees in Lebanon, fugitives from Syrian justice, and Lebanese nationals in…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World The scene of the bombing that claimed the life of President Rene Moawad in Beirut in 1989. (Getty Images)

Lebanon Reopens Probes in Decades-old Political Assassinations, Hopes for Syria’s Cooperation

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nasser has appointed a number of judicial investigators to probe political assassinations that have taken place in the country…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World Minister Tarek Mitri receiving the Syrian delegation in Beirut in early September 2025 (X) 

Lebanon Presses Syria for Information on Political Assassinations

Lebanon has formally asked Syria to hand over information about a string of political assassinations that shook the country over the past four decades, many of…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World French UNIFIL soldiers in the town of Aita al-Shaab, southern Lebanon (File photo – EPA). 

Lebanon Fights Tough Battle to Renew UNIFIL Mandate

As the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approaches its expiration on Aug. 31, Beirut has launched a political and diplomatic…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)
Arab World Lebanese soldiers during the battles in Jroud Arsal in 2017. (Army Command)

Lebanon Worried about Possible Security Unrest Along Syria Border 

Tensions have been high along the Lebanese-Syrian border amid reports of forces being amassed in both countries. Stoking the tensions were Lebanese media…

Youssef Diab (Beirut)