Iran’s Axis of Resistance crumbles as the Assad regime falls, Hezbollah weakens, Iraqi militias remain silent and Israeli strikes intensify

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday he did not see Donald Trump's new administration increasing the risk of an Israel-Iran conflict, addressing an issue the region has feared since the start of Israel's war in Gaza.

Then, a Saudi delegation headed by the kingdom’s envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, flew into Beirut for the second time in a week. It held a blitz of meetings with various political parties. By the time they left, there was only one candidate left: the US-backed Aoun.

With Iran's proxies weakened, vehicles with missiles, artillery parade streets, black-clad women carry rifles; Pezeshkian lauds Aoun’s election, says Lebanon unity will ‘defeat’ Israel

At World Economic Forum, Prince Faisal urges to avoid such a conflict; Herzog tells summit nuclear bomb-seeking Iran will be 'main issue' on US president's agenda

Lebanon’s parliament elected a new president on January 9 after a two-year political deadlock and 13 failed attempts. Joseph Aoun met the threshold for victory in the second round of voting after his rival, a Hezbollah-backed candidate called Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew from the race.

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi congratulated Joseph Aoun on his election as the president of Lebanon, saying Tehran supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability.

Lebanon’s lawmakers elected army commander ... power vacuum and represents a pivot by Beirut toward the West, with Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah weakened by last year’s bruising ...

With a six-week cease-fire now in effect in Gaza, longtime ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is urging President-elect Donald Trump to go after Iran with force. The target: Tehran's nuclear program. The country is now a " de facto nuclear threshold state ," and Graham doesn't believe diplomacy will stop Iran from eventually crossing the threshold.

Iran ‘s top general in Syria acknowledged they were “defeated very badly” with the collapse of the Assad regime, which represented a candid assessment divergent from other messages out of Tehran since the fall of the government.

The Lebanese parliament elected armed forces commander Joseph Aoun as the country's new president on Thursday in a second round of voting. Aoun received 99 votes in a second vote from the 128-member parliament.

LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought U.S. forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.