Jaafari mufti warns against foreign interference, calls elections a battle for Lebanon's future
NNA - Lebanon's Grand Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan criticized the state for failing its people, saying it should "support its citizens, not collaborate with foreign powers to strangle them."
He warned against external interference in Lebanon's upcoming elections in his Eid al-Fitr sermon.
Kabalan urged strong turnout for Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, calling the elections "a decisive battle for parliamentary blocs, not individuals."
He described Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as "a national force" and warned that undermining sectarian representation threatens Lebanon's stability.
He also stressed the need for a government that prioritizes crisis-hit areas like the south, Bekaa, and Beirut's southern suburbs and reaffirmed support for the Lebanese army. --- LBC ENGLISH
================
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LBCI
5 hours ago
- LBCI
In the crossfire: Can Lebanon stay out of the Iran-Israel war?
Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi As drones, rockets, and warplanes traversed Lebanon's skies amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, Lebanese authorities are intensifying political and security efforts to prevent the country from being pulled into the widening regional war. On the ground in South Lebanon, the Lebanese Army has bolstered its deployment at sensitive locations to prevent rocket launches that could provoke further escalation. Measures have also been tightened at checkpoints leading to areas south of the Litani River to prevent any armed group from exploiting the volatile situation. In parallel with military and security efforts across the southern region, Lebanese intelligence services have issued explicit warnings to Palestinian factions, urging them not to involve Lebanon in the conflict under any pretext. Security sources noted that through formal communication channels, they sensed a clear stance from Hezbollah to avoid engagement in the current conflict and to keep Lebanon out of the hostilities. Despite repeated Israeli airstrikes and the assassination of several Hezbollah members following the ceasefire agreement, the group has refrained from retaliating. Sources indicate that Lebanese security attention is also focused on the country's interior and the Syrian border in northern Bekaa, where concerns remain about the potential for opportunistic infiltration or clashes. An exchange of fire on the border Friday was described as limited in scope, with no reports of Syrian reinforcements entering the area. President Joseph Aoun chaired a high-level security meeting with the ministers of interior, defense, and public works, as well as the heads of Lebanon's security agencies, to assess recent developments. The resulting statement emphasized steps being taken to maintain internal stability, ensure the safety of civil aviation, and preserve operational readiness. Amid the ongoing regional and international developments, Lebanon continues to prioritize the renewal of the U.N. peacekeeping force mandate in the south. Recent Israeli media claims suggesting the mission might be canceled were denied by U.S. officials. This position was reinforced by a visiting U.S. delegation in Beirut this week, which met with key stakeholders and heard both the UNIFIL and Lebanese perspectives. Lebanese authorities emphasized the critical role of UNIFIL in supporting the Lebanese Army and maintaining stability along the southern border, warning that a withdrawal would isolate the army and risk further destabilizing the region.
LBCI
5 hours ago
- LBCI
Cracks in the axis: How the region slid toward direct confrontation
Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi At dawn on Friday, June 13, 2025, a series of massive explosions shook Iran. Israel launched an unprecedented attack deep into Iranian territory, targeting nuclear sites and assassinating high-ranking military officials. The escalation marked a dramatic turning point in a conflict that has been building for years. The path to this moment can be traced back to January 2020, when the United States assassinated Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Iran's Quds Force. Soleimani was widely regarded as the second most powerful man in Iran and the architect of its regional influence. Many expected a forceful Iranian retaliation. Instead, Tehran's response was largely symbolic—limited missile strikes on the U.S. Ain El-Asad base in Iraq, which resulted in no casualties. That moment marked the first significant crack in Iran's deterrence posture. Subsequent years saw a series of significant blows to Iran. In late 2020, top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in the heart of Tehran in a sophisticated operation widely attributed to Israel. A string of further assassinations targeting figures in Iran's nuclear program followed. After Hamas launched the Al-Aqsa Flood operation in October 2023, Hezbollah, Iran's most prominent ally, opened a support front for Gaza. In response, Israel struck southern Beirut in early 2024, killing senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri and six others. That strike shattered a deterrence formula Hezbollah had publicly upheld for years. Israel continued its campaign, targeting second and then first-tier leaders in Hezbollah. Among them was senior commander Fouad Shokor, killed in Beirut. Hours later, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in his bedroom in central Tehran. Iran's response, delayed until after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was described by Tehran as "measured." Throughout, Israel continued its bombardment of Gaza, reducing large parts of the territory to ruins under Tehran's watch. Iran's prolonged silence may have encouraged Israel to believe it could upend the regional rules of engagement. In June 2025, Israel escalated its strategy, launching strikes deep inside Iran in an apparent effort to resolve a decades-long standoff once and for all. Why didn't Iran respond in kind to the scale of the attacks it faced? One explanation could be that Iran and the groups it supports were not yet prepared—either militarily or politically—for the full consequences of an all-out response. Hezbollah's Nasrallah hinted at this in his first speech following the opening of the Gaza support front, saying, "Our battle has not reached the stage of a knockout victory. We still need time to be realistic. But we are winning on points." That long-awaited "knockout blow" was a goal Tehran appeared to be pursuing through years of military buildup and strategic patience. Absorbing attacks seemed to be a deliberate tactic meant to preserve momentum for a decisive future moment. However, many within Hezbollah reportedly believed that the October 2023 Hamas-led operation may have derailed that plan. While such views were not publicly stated, they existed beneath the surface. Now, the Middle East stands on the brink of a new and unpredictable phase. Has the era of open confrontation finally begun?
Nahar Net
10 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Report: Officials act to spare Lebanon war as ceasefire committee urges arms timetable
by Naharnet Newsdesk 6 hours The warnings received by Lebanon with the start of the Israel-Iran conflict were not only passed on to Hezbollah but also to the Palestinian factions allied with it, especially Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, informed sources said. 'Their leaderships were unequivocally told that any military action from the Lebanese south, whether through rockets or any move of military nature, would be faced by a very firm and unprecedented Lebanese stance that includes taking totally unexpected political and security decisions,' the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Saturday. The sources revealed that these messages were relayed through several channels, most notably Army chief General Rodolphe Haykal, who 'communicated with Hezbollah after the Israeli strike on Iran and told it of the need to keep Lebanon neutral and not be dragged into a new confrontation, 'because this war is not our war.'' Haykal also called on Hezbollah to 'abide by the official stance that stresses that the decisions of war and peace are in the hands of the state.' Nidaa al-Watan added that the five-party ceasefire committee has 'advised Lebanon to lay out a timetable for the handover of weapons to avoid the worse, telling it that the international community will not overlook this matter.' 'Through taking practical steps requested from it, Lebanon can fend off the specter of war, because Israel is insisting to put an end to every threat targeting it, while one of the international community's conditions for helping Lebanon is extending state's authority and collecting all illegal weapons,' the daily quoted the ceasefire committee as saying. Lebanese officials meanwhile told the newspaper that Lebanon has carried out contacts with foreign powers in order to avoid war, specifically with the U.S. and France, and that 'an agreement was reached on Lebanon's neutrality.' Moreover, political authorities gave the Lebanese Army a green light, especially in south Lebanon, and a state of maximum alert was declared as Hezbollah 'responded positively' to the request for staying out of the conflict, Lebanese officials told the daily. 'These messages came under direct supervision from senior state officials in parallel with international and regional coordination to spare the Lebanese front involvement in the open inferno,' the sources added.
