Al Akhbar
Beirut daily newspaper; Tehran's chosen channel to threaten annulment of the Islamabad MOU.
Last refreshed: 18 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Al Akhbar
Tehran threatens to annul Iran deal
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Israeli minister wants Lebanon to burn
Iran Conflict 2026Background
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei chose Al Akhbar on 18 June 2026 to deliver Tehran's sharpest ultimatum yet: continued Israeli military presence in south Lebanon would mean the "annulment" of the Islamabad MOU. The word "annulment" marked an escalation from Iran's previous language of a mere "violation clause," and the choice of outlet was itself a signal: Al Akhbar is widely regarded as sympathetic to Hezbollah and the broader Iran-aligned axis of resistance, making it a reliable transmission belt for messages Tehran wants the Lebanese resistance to receive.
Al Akhbar is a Beirut-based Arabic-language daily founded in 2006. Its editorial line is widely characterised by Western and Gulf media analysts as aligned with Hezbollah and the axis of resistance, though the paper itself describes its stance as independent and anti-imperialist. It is one of Lebanon's most-read papers and has frequently served as a platform for statements from Iranian and Hezbollah-aligned officials.
For Tehran, publishing through Al Akhbar rather than a wire service or direct press conference carries strategic weight: it addresses the Lebanese resistance audience directly, reinforces the frame that the MOU is an Iran-Lebanon axis concern, and avoids the diplomatic formality that a statement to Reuters or AFP would carry.