How Iran Conquered Lebanon

How Iran Conquered Lebanon

While the world's diplomatic and media attention focused on the natural disaster in Burma, a major political and strategic move reshaped the Middle East, handing yet another defeat to the West and a crucial victory to Iran: In the blink of an eye, the Islamic Republic of Iran conquered Lebanon.

The mop up operations have not ended, but the key outcome is clear: Hezbollah, the militia created by Tehran and loyal to Iran's leading Ayatollah, has gained control of Lebanon.

The crisis had been simmering for months, but the boiling point came on May 7, when Hezbollah militias -- heavily armed despite United Nations resolutions and assorted intra-Arab agreements -- quickly and easily took over West Beirut as a means to resolve a political dispute. It hardly needs to be spelled out, but let us state the obvious: This method of resolving political disputes, at the point of a militia's guns, demolishes any pretense that Lebanon is anything even resembling a democratic country.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review