Lebanon | DD News

April 16, 2026 1:06 PM

Trump says Lebanese-Israeli leaders will speak

U.S. President Donald Trump said leaders of Lebanon and Israel will speak, saying he was "trying to get a little breathing room" between the countries, after more than six weeks of war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. "It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!" Trump wrote in a social media post published before midnight on Wednesday, Washington time. It did not say which Lebanese and Israeli leaders would spe...

April 16, 2026 9:40 AM

Trump issues several pipeline permits for US-Canada oil transportation

U.S. President Donald Trump issued several pipeline permits on Wednesday, including one for the construction of a new pipeline, to facilitate the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products between the U.S. and Canada, according to documents released by the White House. The permit authorizing construction was issued to the Bakken Pipeline Company for pipeline facilities at Burke County, North Dakota. Other permits were issued for the maintenance and operation of existing pipelines at bo...

April 16, 2026 10:01 AM

US warns that buyers of Iranian oil could be hit with sanctions

The United States on Wednesday threatened to sanction buyers of Iranian oil and said it believed China would pause such purchases as Washington enforces a maritime blockade on Iran. "We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House. The U.S. maritime blockade on Iran began on Monday as the Iran war entered its sevent...

April 16, 2026 9:37 AM

US-sanctioned supertankers enter Gulf despite blockade

A second U.S.-sanctioned supertanker has entered the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed, despite a U.S. blockade on vessels visiting Iranian ports. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after weekend peace talks in Islamabad between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal. The U.S. Central Command said on X that 10 vessels have been turned around and no ships have broken through since the start of the blockade on Monday. Still, Iran's Fars News Agency ...

April 16, 2026 12:57 PM

Hopes for Middle East peace grow with Israel and Lebanon eyeing ceasefire

Optimism grew on Thursday that the war in the Middle East may be near an end, with a key Pakistani mediator in Tehran and the administration of President Donald Trump talking up hopes for a deal that would open the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Israel's cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in neighbouring Lebanon, a senior Israeli official said, more than six weeks into its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Two senior Lebanese officials said they had been briefed that efforts were...

April 16, 2026 9:30 AM

White House offers no hint of Iran war cost as it seeks military funding surge

White House budget director Russell Vought said on Wednesday he could not estimate the cost of the Iran war, as he defended President Donald Trump's request for a massive $1.5 trillion annual military budget against bipartisan criticism from U.S. lawmakers who cited the Pentagon's historic lack of financial accountability. "We're not ready to come to you with a request. We're still working on it. We're working through to figure out what's needed," Vought told a hearing of the House of Represent...

April 16, 2026 10:10 AM

Trump posts image of himself with Jesus as administration’s pope criticism continues

U.S. President Donald Trump posted an image of Jesus embracing him on Wednesday, as a war of words between his administration and the pope showed little sign of abating. The image, reposted to Trump's Truth Social account, shows Trump with his eyes closed, touching temple-to-temple with a similarly posed Jesus. Trump is standing behind a microphone, and behind him is an American flag. The original post had a caption that included the words: "God might be playing his Trump card!" Trump's repost...

April 15, 2026 4:35 PM

Hezbollah says Lebanon’s talks with Israel widen national rift

Hezbollah said on Wednesday the Lebanese government's decision to hold talks with Israel was "a national sin" that would widen divisions in Lebanon, underlining deep polarisation in the country as the Iran-backed group wages war with Israel. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Tuesday's U.S.-mediated meeting between Lebanon's Washington ambassador and her Israeli counterpart did not reflect Lebanon's national identity or "the choices of its people". The meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of...

April 15, 2026 9:21 AM

US hosts rare Israel-Lebanon talks, progress unclear

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace. The meeting marked a rare encounter between representatives of governments that have technically been in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948. They entered the talks with conflicting agendas, with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefir...

April 13, 2026 10:13 PM

Red Cross calls consecutive strikes in Lebanon ‘gravely concerning’

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was deeply concerned by attacks on medical workers in Lebanon after a deadly strike on a Red Cross centre in the country on Monday and the death of a volunteer a day earlier. Lebanon's state news agency reported that Monday's strike, which it said was carried out by Israel, killed one person and damaged Lebanese Red Cross vehicles. The ICRC said the Lebanese Red Cross centre in the district of Tyre, a city on Lebanon's coast, was hit by the ...