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Robert Tollast

Robert Tollast

Military Affairs Reporter
Abu Dhabi
Robert Tollast joined The National as Assistant Foreign Editor in 2020. Prior to this, he worked as a political and security risk analyst with NAMEA Group, focused on the Middle East, and with the Iraq Energy Institute think tank. Since 2011 he has written about Iraq for a variety of publications, including Foreign Affairs and USA Today.
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Articles

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Hezbollah member Ali Mohamed Chalbi, after hand-held radios and pagers used by the group were detonated across Lebanon. Reuters
Hezbollah's exploding pagers tell a gruesome story of an invisible war

Experts explain how the group became dependent on devices that were all too easy for Israel to booby-trap

MENASeptember 26, 2024
Robert Tollast
Civilians search for their belongings in a damaged building after Israeli strikes in the village of Al Aqbieh near Sidon, south Lebanon. EPA
Israeli strikes on Lebanon are fiercest yet but Hezbollah is armed for a long war

Israel's military says its air force struck 1,600 Hezbollah targets on Monday alone – close to levels last seen in the 2006 war

MENASeptember 24, 2024
Robert Tollast
Ukrainian Tupolev Tu-143. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
Is Hezbollah using decades-old Soviet Tupolev drones as missiles?

Israel claims the Iran-backed group is using an early variant of drone technology

MENASeptember 23, 2024
Robert Tollast
Pro-Houthi forces march during a military parade in Sanaa, Yemen in 2022. EPA
Special reportDagger at the Red Sea: Charting the rise of the Houthis

Experts and officials describe how the once-obscure militia obtained a vast arsenal and disrupted one of the world's key trade routes

MENASeptember 21, 2024
Robert Tollast
A vendor shows walkie-talkie devices without batteries, which he says he removed for safety reasons at an electronic store in Sidon, after hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon. Reuters
Hezbollah pager and radio bombs revive old tactic

For at least 150 years, armies have sought to provide everyday supplies to their foes, rigged with bombs and electronic bugs

MENASeptember 19, 2024
Robert Tollast
The American University of Beirut Medical Centre is packed with wounded from the pager blasts. Reuters
Hack or sabotage? Theories swirl over pager attack on Hezbollah

Experts say the group suffered serious damage to its communications network but retains significant combat power

MENASeptember 17, 2024
Thomas Harding
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani. AFP
Al Sudani's Iran-backed allies clash over corruption allegations

Scandals involving government spying, bribery and robbery have led to deeper divisions within Iraq’s ruling coalition

MENASeptember 16, 2024
Robert Tollast
People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf. Reuters
Masyaf attack: Did Israeli special forces raid Syrian research site?

Iran has denied reports that some of its advisors were captured in an attack on a secretive weapons research centre

MENASeptember 13, 2024
Robert Tollast
USS Abraham Lincoln, pictured in the Indian Ocean in 2012. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will remain in the Middle East, but the USS Roosevelt is returning home. Photo: US Navy
US ends naval surge in Middle East amid 'carrier gap' concern

One of two aircraft carriers leaves region, after being deployed as a deterrent against Iranian attacks on Israel

MENASeptember 12, 2024
Robert Tollast
The US Treasury says Iran Air has a history of transporting goods on behalf of the country's military forces. Getty Images
Latest US and European sanctions pile pressure on Iran's aviation sector

US and several European governments accuse Tehran of using civilian planes to transfer arms to allies

MENASeptember 11, 2024
Robert Tollast
The border fence between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in Rafah, southern Gaza. EPA
Gaza-Egypt border control dispute could shape the enclave's future

Talks on who will control contested area after war focus on international force despite opposition from Netanyahu

MENASeptember 07, 2024
Robert Tollast
Explosions on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker MV Sounion. Reuters
US and allies fail to stem Houthis' high pace of Red Sea attacks

The Iran-backed group has stepped up attacks on shipping in the past two weeks

MENASeptember 05, 2024
Robert Tollast
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a map showing the Salah Al Din corridor in southern Gaza, during a news conference in Jerusalem. EPA
Why the narrow corridor on Gaza's southern border is so vital

Return of Israeli forces to garrisons in Salah Al Din corridor would restore area to pre-2005 military occupation

MENASeptember 03, 2024
Robert Tollast
Iranian security forces during the funeral ceremony for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard, in Tehran. EPA
What the Haniyeh killing reveals about Iran's internal divisions

Iran has lost senior generals and nuclear scientists in more than a decade of suspected Israeli assassinations

NewsAugust 11, 2024
Robert Tollast
A F-18 jet lands on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during military exercises about 100 miles south of Oahu, Hawaii, in July. Reuters
US military straining amid crises in Middle East, Europe and Asia

Supporting Ukraine, ramped up naval operations to counter China and the risk of a wider Middle East war are testing American capabilities

MENAAugust 09, 2024
Robert Tollast
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