Why Lebanon is key to understanding the Middle East

2026-07-01

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Do all roads in the Middle East lead to Lebanon?Journalist and historian Kim Ghattas thinks so. She argues that it is often the fate of small nations to be playgrounds rather than players.Iran, America and Israel all have interest in the country. It is also now central to the Memorandum of Understanding that exists between Iran and America.After months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and a bombing campaign by the Netanyahu government that has left over 4,000 people dead, a shaky ceasefire is...

Do all roads in the Middle East lead to Lebanon?

Journalist and historian Kim Ghattas thinks so. She argues that it is often the fate of small nations to be playgrounds rather than players.

Iran, America and Israel all have interest in the country. It is also now central to the Memorandum of Understanding that exists between Iran and America.

After months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and a bombing campaign by the Netanyahu government that has left over 4,000 people dead, a shaky ceasefire is now in place. So what does the future hold for this country?

Richard and Kim discuss all of this on this week’s episode of The World podcast.

You can email your questions to Richard and Yalda at theworld@sky.uk

You can also watch our podcasts on our YouTube channel here.

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