Saudi crown prince congratulates Lebanese PM after government's confidence vote
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam received a congratulatory telegram from Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud after Parliament granted confidence to the newly formed government.
In his message, the crown prince expressed his "sincere congratulations and best wishes for success and prosperity to His Excellency, and for the brotherly people of Lebanon to achieve further progress and advancement."
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Nahar Net
8 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Reports: US, Israel mulling end to UNIFIL's presence
by Naharnet Newsdesk 09 June 2025, 13:18 U.S. officials are considering pulling American support from UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, in a bid to cut costs associated with its operations, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday evening, with US sources later confirming to The Times of Israel that the option was on the table. Should the U.S. move ahead with its decision to pull support from the U.N. body, Israel will back the decision, Israel Hayom reported, both out of a desire to align itself with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and in light of the Israeli security establishment's 'cooperation with the Lebanese army since the ceasefire in November,' the Times of Israel said. According to Israel Hayom, the presence of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon has proven relatively effective in 'beating back the threat of Hezbollah' and keeping the group from rearming itself, making 'redundant' much of UNIFIL's operations in the region. Sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that the U.S. has not yet made up its mind regarding its future support for UNIFIL, but that it wants to see major reforms, which could mean pulling support. As UNIFIL's mandate is granted through a U.N. Security Council resolution each year, the U.S. could simply veto the next resolution, due to be put forward in August. UNIFIL has been operating in southern Lebanon since 1978, when it was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area following the end of Israel's first invasion of south Lebanon. The U.N. peacekeeping force expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority into the country's south for the first time in decades. Aimed at ending the 2006 war, Resolution 1701 also called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities and the disarmament of Hezbollah. UNIFIL's mandate has been renewed annually ever since, although critics have questioned the efficacy of the force. Following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which put an end to more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war, the Lebanese Army moved into southern Lebanon to enforce the terms of the ceasefire, which itself is based on Resolution 1701. The resolution requires Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border — and dismantle all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the Wall Street Journal last month that his government had achieved 80 percent of its objectives regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militias in the country's south. At the same time, the Israeli army has continued to launch strikes on Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, alleging violations of the truce agreement. According to the Israeli army, over 180 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the truce came into effect.
Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Ya Libnan
Lebanon FM stresses to Iranian counterpart the need to disarm Hezbollah
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji informed his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Tuesday that Hezbollah put his country in a 'difficult situation' when it embarked on more than a year of fighting with Israel in 2023, and stressed the importance of disarming the Tehran-backed terror group. Araghchi met with Raji — a member of the Lebanese Forces party — in Beirut, on his first visit to Lebanon since October last year, when Hezbollah was in the midst of an all-out war with Israel in southern Lebanon. A month later, Beirut and Jerusalem would sign a ceasefire agreement that brought an end to the fighting During the meeting, Raji told Araghchi that recent 'military adventures' — an apparent reference to Hezbollah — had put the country in a 'difficult situation,' the Saudi Al Arabiya news outlet reported. These adventures, Raji told his Iranian counterpart, 'had not contributed to ending the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory.' When Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon following the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces per the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire, it left troops stationed in five strategic hills located several hundred meters inside Lebanon, which it says are necessary to defend Israeli border communities. Six months on from the start of the ceasefire, the Lebanese state has been working methodically to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in the south of the country, and is estimated to have seized the majority of the group's weapons stockpile south of the Litani River area. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that his government had achieved 80 percent of its objectives regarding the disarmament of militias in the country's south. 'All over the Lebanese territory, the state should have a monopoly on arms,' Salam told the US outlet, stressing 'the need to extend and consolidate the authority of the state.' Echoing his prime minister on Tuesday, Raji appeared to take a firm stance against allowing Iran's agenda to influence Lebanon's future, telling Araghchi that the country's ability to recover from the recent fighting was tied to Hezbollah's disarmament, Al Arabiya reported. Unprovoked, Hezbollah began attacking military outposts and communities in northern Israel on October 8, 2023, in a show of support for fellow Iranian proxy Hamas in Gaza after its assault on southern Israel a day earlier. The fighting continued for more than a year, including some two months of open war in southern Lebanon, and ended with the ceasefire signed in late November. The fighting displaced over 1 million people inside Lebanon, and caused destruction that the World Bank has said will cost $11 billion in reconstruction. Raji informed Araghchi that 'coordination between Lebanon and Iran should occur through official state channels,' rather than via proxies like Hezbollah, which enjoys Tehran's support, monetary and otherwise, having received billions of dollars and all types of weapons over the years.
Al Manar
2 days ago
- Al Manar
Israeli Violations of Lebanese Sovereignty Persist as Beirut's Dahiyeh Steadfastly Clears Attack Aftermath
The Israeli occupation forces continued on the second day of Eid Al-Adha to violate Lebanese sovereignty and breach the ceasefire agreement in effect along the southern border. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, an Israeli glider dropped on Saturday a bomb near civilians in the town of Houla, wounding two individuals. Meanwhile, Israeli reconnaissance drones maintained low-altitude flights over Beirut's southern suburbs and the southern towns of Al-Zahrani, Aaqbiyeh, and Bisariyeh areas. In the aftermath of the Israeli enemy strike on multiple residential buildings in Beirut's Dahiyeh, municipal teams, civil defense units, and local organizations, including Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts, continued clearing debris and assessing damage across residential areas. According to the local Reconstruction Committee, the attack completely destroyed nine buildings, damaged 71 others, and caused destruction to 50 vehicles and 177 commercial establishments. In a televised interview with the Saudi Al Hadath TV, Information Minister Paul Morcos stated that the Lebanese Army had inspected the alleged weapons storage sites in Beirut's southern suburbs and found no evidence of any arms. 'The ceasefire monitoring committee informed Israel that no weapons were present before the strike,' Morcos added, adding that the Israeli enemy deliberately keeps Lebanon in a constant state of conflict and obstructs the army's deployment to the southern region. Separately, on Saturday, the Lebanese Army reported that, in coordination with UNIFIL, it had removed Israeli-placed earthen berms and reopened several roads in the outskirts of Mais Al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district that had been blocked by Israeli occupation forces.
