Gareth Smyth

Gareth Smyth has covered Middle Eastern affairs for 20 years and was chief correspondent for The Financial Times in Iran.

Author Articles

A sanitary worker disinfects a supermarket in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 19, 2020, amid measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. (AFP)
Lebanon’s agriculture industry looks to ‘coping mechanisms’ amid virus outbreak
March 20, 2020
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab delivers a statement in Beirut, March 7. (AFP)
Lebanon must look to new solutions to overcome crippling debt
March 14, 2020
A protester holds up a banner in Arabic that reads, “Specialists kill us, starving us and impoverishing us” during protests against the Lebanese government in Beirut, February 26. (AP)
Is this the end of Lebanon’s thawra or just the beginning?
February 29, 2020
Workers pack fruit for export from Lebanon to the Gulf and other Arab countries, at a warehouse in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. (AP)
Lebanon faces rewards, obstacles with export strategy
February 22, 2020
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) delivers a speech during a rally to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Reuters)
Hardliners poised to hold sway in next Iranian parliament
February 14, 2020
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri attends a parliamentary session in Beirut, September 2004. (AFP)
Is it still too early to judge Rafik Hariri’s legacy?
February 08, 2020
A photo of Leri Price (L) by Steve Rawlins, next to a photo of Khaled Khalifa by Yamam al-Shaar. (Photos and illustrations courtesy of Banipal)
Translating a Syrian tale of a decomposing corpse
January 30, 2020
Imperial vision and Ikhwan links drive Turkey’s Erdogan
January 18, 2020
Iran steps away from nuclear deal but stops short of full exit
January 11, 2020
Lebanese protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the central bank headquarters in Beirut to protest against the economic policies of the bank, December 30. (AFP)
Is anyone looking for solutions to Lebanon’s economic woes?
January 04, 2020
An Iranian carpet seller takes a nap in the old Bazaar in Tehran, last July. (AP)
New budget won’t fix Iran’s economic, social or political problems
December 21, 2019
Challenging task. Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks in Vienna, December 3. (AP)
New IAEA chief’s greatest challenge may lie with Iran
December 07, 2019
Under the spotlight. Fighters from the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah movement take part in a military parade marking the party’s Martyrs’ Day in the eastern Bekaa Valley city of Baalbek, November 12 (AFP)
Book offers unprecedented detail on Hezbollah’s structure
December 07, 2019
Implications of disengagement. The US Central Command Commander General Kenneth McKenzie speaks at the 15th Manama Dialogue, November 23.(AFP)
US spells out aim of naval mission in Gulf
November 30, 2019
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollha Ali Khamenei delivers his speech to the crowd during the 30th death anniversary of former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in his shrine, June 4, 2019. (DPA)
Sweden seeks justice for victims of Iran 1988 prison massacres
November 23, 2019
Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash speaks during a press conference in Dubai. (AFP)
Seeking a new approach to Gulf security
November 16, 2019
Closing ranks. Lebanese protesters gather in Beirut, October 21. (AFP)
Iranian regime watching Lebanon protests with wariness
October 26, 2019
Warm welcome. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in a car at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, October 15. (WAM)
Moscow expands influence in a region that Washington appears to be deserting
October 19, 2019
Workers of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are seen at a construction site in Heilongjiang province, China, last year. (China Daily via Reuters)
China curtailing Iran business as US tightens sanctions
October 12, 2019
Writer Yossi Alpher. (Courtesy of Yossi Alpher)
Who are the winners and losers of the ‘Arab spring’?
September 21, 2019