Month: July 2026

Mr. Trump said the following: “we knocked the hell out of Iran. They’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice” (https://tinyurl.com/3s2fwsz3).

Many miles away in the Middle East a mourning yet defiant Iranian crowd chanted at Mr. Ali Khamenei’ funeral “Death to America“.

All this drama took place, on the 4th of July, in Washington and in Tehran respectively.

Who shall we believe, the President of the United States or Iran’s Islamist regime?

And how is it possible to negotiate a “peace” deal with people who want your nation dead?

Mr. Trump recently said that the negotiations with Iran are going very well while the Iranian regime’s message to the world is clear and loud” “Revenge, death to America, death to Israel” (https://tinyurl.com/f3wuaxsr).

What seems to be even more contradictory, than all the above, is how a man responsible for the massive killing of his own innocent people is venerated, like a saint, by some fellow citizens of the same country… and even abroad (e.g, a Hezbollah-related Lebanese delegation). Although the Iranian regime likely wants the world to see an appearance of unity of the people, some mourners do not need to fake their grief. They are true believers.

To conclude this post, Ms. Indira Gandhi, former Indian Prime Minister, once said “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist”. So how can you one day shake hands, after signing a so-called “peace” deal while your fist is clenched and your mouth is shouting “death to America“?

To Bambi’s relatives, friends, and readers who are celebrating the Independence Day: Happy 4th of July!

Today happens to also be the birthday of the late and great Mr. Zaki Nassif (1916-2004), described on the American University of Beirut (AUB)’s website (https://bit.ly/3fQ7ff1) as “the founder of a new Lebanese Arabic school of compositions, unique in a genre that combines words, music, orchestration and dance“. His impressive musical heritage includes 1,100 songs as well as pieces of music (https://bit.ly/3fQ7ff1). May his memory be eternal.

Long live music, the summer season, and people’s joyful celebrations everywhere, especially across the United States of America.

Today Bambi read in Naharnet the following (https://tinyurl.com/48yatsuc): “Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called on all Lebanese parties to implement the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, saying it is essential to preventing internal strife. “All components of Lebanon must work to implement the clause about Lebanon in the memorandum of understanding because it prevents civil strife,” Ghalibaf said”.

Of note, this politician of the Iranian regime is talking about a clause of the Iran-US deal, which mentions Lebanon without the latter having been consulted. How is this acceptable? And what kind of deal is this to include such a clause?

Why is Mr. Ghalibat lecturing the people of Lebanon about “internal” strife from out of his FOREIGN country? Not any foreign country. One that has shamelessly hijacked the country of the Cedars for decades to nourish its obsession with Israel.

Both the innocent Iranian people as well as the people of Lebanon are tired of all forms of dictatorship, hypocrisy, moral corruption, and endless wars. For God’s sake, enough of modern colonization and of proxy wars.

Beyond Iran, enough to ALL the other powerful countries, including but not limited to the USA. Just for once, let Lebanon decide its own fate without any interference.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have guessed that Bambi thinks very highly of Mr. Anthony Samrani’s journalistic work as well as depth and accuracy of his political analysis. Lebanon is richer with l’Orient Le Jour (OLJ)/L’Orient Today. OLJ is lucky to have Samrani’s talent.

In the short YouTube video shared at the end of this post, Mr. Samrani explains to us “the two major unknowns of the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon“. Bambi took the time to translate his excellent insights from French to English, with the assistance of her faithful friend, Mr. Google Translate. In the following paragraphs, you can find this translation:

“The framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon has sparked heated debate within Lebanon; some view it as a total capitulation to Israel, while others see it, conversely, as a source of hope for the restoration of Lebanese sovereignty.

On the one hand, the text does indeed have numerous flaws.

It is very favourable to Israel, reflecting both the reality on the ground and the fact that the main mediator—the United States—clearly leans toward one side over the other.

The text makes no mention of an Israeli withdrawal, sets no timetable for one, and even stipulates in Article 13 that Lebanon waives, whether provisionally or absolutely is a matter of debate, its right to take legal action regarding potential Israeli war crimes committed on its territory.

On the other hand, the text does have several significant strengths.

The first point is that Lebanon is directly involved in this agreement, yet it is mentioned in the Iran-US deal without ever having been consulted.

The second point is that it offers a glimpse of the pacification of southern Lebanon and, in a sense, an end to the perpetual wars between Israel and Lebanon since 1948—wars that have come at such a high cost to the Land of the Cedars.

Finally, it does indeed open up the possibility of restoring Lebanese sovereignty, but under difficult conditions—namely, the disarmament of Hezbollah in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

In this regard, the text presents two major unknowns.

On the one hand, Lebanon has no guarantee that Israel will actually honour its side of the agreement. By what criteria, for instance, will Israel assess the effectiveness of Hezbollah’s disarmament?

On the other hand, is Lebanon sincere in its desire—for once—to honour its commitments? In other words, is it sincere in its intention to disarm a militia that refuses to lay down its arms and even threatens to wage civil war in order to keep them?

In short, if both parties act in good faith, the text indeed outlines a path toward restoring Lebanese sovereignty. However, if either or both fail to uphold their end of the bargain, it risks instead cementing an Israeli occupation in the medium to long term—thereby playing right into Hezbollah’s hands”.