A civil defense member stands on rubble at a damaged site after Israel’s military said it struck targets in two southern Lebanese towns in Jbaa, southern Lebanon, Dec. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ali Hankir

Lebanon’s president on Friday defended his decision to expand talks with Israel as a way to avoid further violence, but the head of Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah called it a blunder, lifting the lid on divisions at a watershed moment for the country.

Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday both sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, a step toward a months-old US demand that the two countries broaden talks in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace agenda.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told visiting representatives of the United Nations Security Council that his country “has adopted the option of negotiations with Israel” and that “there is no going back.”

“These negotiations are mainly aimed at stopping the hostile actions carried out by Israel on Lebanese territory, securing the return of the captives, scheduling the withdrawal from the occupied areas, and resolving the disputed points along the Blue Line,” Aoun said in a statement on Friday, referring to the UN-mapped line that separates Israel from Lebanon.

HEZBOLLAH CALLS MOVE ‘FREE CONCESSION’

But the expanded talks were criticized by Iran-backed Hezbollah, an armed Islamist group that for years has wielded significant influence across Lebanon. However, Israel decimated the terrorist group’s leadership and military capabilities last fall after a year of fighting, significantly diminishing Hezbollah’s political clout in Lebanon.

Its head, Naim Qassem, said on Friday afternoon that sending a civilian delegate to the truce monitoring committee was a “blunder,” and urged the government to rethink its decision.

“You offered a free concession that will not change anything in the enemy’s [Israel‘s] position or its attacks,” Qassem said.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially enemy states for more than 70 years, and meetings between their civilian officials have been extraordinarily rare throughout their fraught history.

Over the last year, military officials have met as part of a committee, chaired by the United States, to monitor a 2024 truce that ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah which badly weakened the Iran-backed group.

In that time, Israel has continued its air strikes on what it says are Hezbollah‘s attempts to re-arm in violation of the truce. Lebanon says those strikes and Israel‘s occupation of southern Lebanese territory are ceasefire breaches.

Fears are growing in Lebanon that Israel could expand its air campaign further to ratchet up pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah more swiftly across the country.

The group has refused to disarm in full and has raised the specter of internal strife if the state tries to confront it.

An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

The Navy of Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic and cruise missiles at simulated targets in the Gulf on Friday during a two-day military exercise aimed at countering foreign threats, state media reported.

Earlier, Iran hosted an anti-terrorism drill in its northwestern province of East Azerbaijan with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which, according to state Press TV, was intended to signal both “peace and friendship” to neighboring states and warn enemies that “any miscalculation would meet a decisive response.”

The ground and naval exercises follow a 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June, during which the US joined Israel in striking Iran‘s nuclear facilities.

State media reported a massive launch of Qadr 110, Qadr 380, and Qadr 360 cruise missiles and 303 ballistic missiles at targets in the Gulf of Oman. Drones simultaneously struck simulated enemy bases, the reports said.

The IRGC Navy began its exercise in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.

It emphasized what it said was its heightened artificial intelligence readiness and the “unwavering spirit and resistance” of its sailors in confronting any threat.

The West sees Iran‘s ballistic missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them.

The land drills in the northwest were the latest in a series of SCO exercises aimed at enhancing coordination among member and partner states. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Azerbaijan also took part in the cross-border counterterrorism exercises.

The SCO, a Eurasian security and economic bloc founded in 2001 to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, often conducts joint military exercises among its members.

The organization includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and several Central Asian countries, with observer and dialogue partners such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and others participating in selected operations.

Journalists stand in front of a screen in Wiener Stadthalle, the venue of next year’s Eurovision in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

The Eurovision Song Contest was facing a potential budget squeeze after Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia said they would withdraw from next year’s competition in protest of Israel‘s participation.

The planned boycott brought to a head a row that has overshadowed the past two contests, and followed threats by the four they would pull out if the organizer did not exclude Israel over the conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The walkout by Spain, one of the “big five” backers of the contest, and two of Europe’s wealthiest countries, raises the prospect of less sponsorship income and viewers for the extravaganza that draws millions of viewers worldwide.

AUSTRIA TO HOST EUROVISION IN MAY

Austria will host the next edition in May, and national broadcaster ORF said the loss of the four would be felt – but would not prevent a successful show.

“Overall, it would of course be a financial burden if several countries did not participate, but we had already taken this into account,” ORF chief Roland Weissmann said.

Members of the contest organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, on Thursday resisted calls by critics for a vote on Israel‘s participation, instead passing new rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the competition.

“There are no winners here regardless of whether Israel‘s in or out, the whole thing feels a little bit toxic now,” said Eurovision expert Paul Jordan, who noted the walkouts would hit the budget and viewership.

Israel‘s 1998 Eurovision winner, Dana International, saw the boycott as insulting. “You don’t punish an entire country because you disagree politically with its government,” she said.

Ireland’s 1994 winner, Paul Harrington, said politics and world events were hard for the competition to avoid.

“It’s difficult, although it would be lovely to say, let’s have this little moment every year where we forget about everything,” he told Reuters from Dublin.

BROADCASTERS CONTRIBUTE TO FINANCING

The contest is mostly financed by contributions from broadcasters, the hosts, and sponsorship and revenue from the event, according to the Eurovision website. It does not disclose details of how much each country pays.

Contributions from some 40 participating broadcasters are divvied up on the principle that the strongest shoulder the biggest burden. It also includes a contribution from the host broadcaster generally worth between 10 and 20 million euros.

The host city also contributes, buttressed by revenues from sponsorship, ticket sales, televoting, and merchandise.

About 5.8 million viewers in Spain watched Eurovision 2025, Spanish broadcaster RTVE said. In the Netherlands, an average of 3.4 million people tuned in, Dutch broadcaster AvroTros said. Both declined to give details on their financial contributions.

Irish broadcaster RTE said it had paid an annual EBU fee to participate in the 2025 contest of 100,270 euros.

Contest director Martin Green says Eurovision is financially secure, and that any loss of audience could be compensated by the return of Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova next year.

Still, the combined population of the four protesting nations is more than 2-1/2 times that of the three returners. And their combined economic output is many times greater.

Israel‘s 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival, a target of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.

A total of 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the assault by Hamas. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s rule in neighboring Gaza.