The US-Iran confrontation is intensifying existing fault lines across the region. In Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged the Lebanese government to cancel planned talks with Israel in Washington. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters protested on April 10 and 11, accusing Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of being a “Zionist” for even considering the negotiations.
Meanwhile, in New York City, about 100 people were detained after protesters sat in the middle of Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, blocking traffic for roughly an hour in a demonstration against US arms sales to Israel. The protest underscores the degree to which Middle East conflicts are generating domestic political friction in the United States.
