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Nahar Net
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
US reportedly dissatisfied with Lebanon's response to Barrack paper
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 July 2025, 21:08 Cabinet will hold a session next Tuesday to discuss the state's monopoly on arms, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's office said. The ministers will also discuss the November ceasefire and Israel's violations, Salam's office said. Local al-Jadeed TV channel said that the session will be held after efforts led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and ministers of the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party and that the session will only discuss the state's monopoly on arms based on the ministerial statement but no executive decisions will be taken. The TV network said it had learned from a prominent diplomatic source that Salam has contacted the U.S. to prevent a negative riposte to the Lebanese response to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's paper. The source revealed to al-Jadeed that Salam had received unofficial signals from the U.S., explicitly stated in Barrack's tweets, indicating that the recent Lebanese response was not commensurate with the American demands. According to al-Jadeed, the American stance came after a meeting between Barrack and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer last Thursday in Paris. Barrack received a negative Israeli response that was transmitted to Lebanon through indirect channels. Arab diplomatic sources meanwhile told al-Jadeed that there will be no future investments in Lebanon unless it commits to implementing international demands.
Nahar Net
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Diplomatic circles 'dissatisfied' with 'slow' progress in Hezbollah disarmament, report says
by Naharnet Newsdesk 5 hours U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack and Saudi envoy to Lebanon Yazid bin Farhan have agreed on the need for arms monopoly in Lebanon, diplomatic sources told local al-Jadeed TV channel. The sources said several diplomatic circles are dissatisfied with the Lebanese authorities "slow" and lenient approach in implementing international demands, including reforms and Hezbollah's disarmament. On Sunday, Barrack warned that "the credibility of Lebanon's government rests on its ability to match principle with practice." He said in a post on X that it is critical that "the state has a monopoly on arms", attaching to his post an English-language news story from the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, in which the daily quoted President Joseph Aoun as saying that "things are moving at a slow pace" with Hezbollah.
Nahar Net
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Diplomatic circles 'dissatisfied' with 'slow' progress in Hezbollah disarmament, report says
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 July 2025, 14:50 U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack and Saudi envoy to Lebanon Yazid bin Farhan have agreed on the need for arms monopoly in Lebanon, diplomatic sources told local al-Jadeed TV channel. The sources said several diplomatic circles are dissatisfied with the Lebanese authorities "slow" and lenient approach in implementing international demands, including reforms and Hezbollah's disarmament. On Sunday, Barrack warned that "the credibility of Lebanon's government rests on its ability to match principle with practice." He said in a post on X that it is critical that "the state has a monopoly on arms", attaching to his post an English-language news story from the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, in which the daily quoted President Joseph Aoun as saying that "things are moving at a slow pace" with Hezbollah.
L'Orient-Le Jour
23-07-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Barrack from Bkirki: The government must make clear on arms monopoly
BEIRUT — Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Lebanon and Syria, called Wednesday for a national dialogue in Lebanon to address the "complex issue" of the state's monopoly on arms. Speaking from Bkirki during his second visit to Lebanon in a month, Barrack stressed the urgency of reaching a consensus. "It's time to come together around a complex question. I came to offer advice. We have been working on this issue for four weeks. It is a complex process, and I understand the difficulties. President Trump wants Lebanon to succeed," Barrack said after meeting Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai. Barrack described the United States as an "honest broker" aiming to resolve disputes and said talks would continue with parties "still absent from the negotiating table." He promised to return to Lebanon to push the dialogue forward. He also praised the efforts of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. "The process is underway, but it is up to the government to decide on its priorities. A clear decision must be made and the law on the arms monopoly must be enforced to limit the possession of weapons and put an end to aggression," Barrack said. Advocating for "patience, to allow the dialogue to move forward without losses," he added: "Stability is important; without it, no one will come to help you." 'No new war' A day earlier, in an interview with Lebanese broadcaster al-Jadeed, Barrack sought to ease fears of another major military confrontation with Israel, despite a recent escalation in Israeli strikes and cross-border infiltrations in southern Lebanon. When asked by journalist Georges Salibi whether a new Israeli war could erupt if Hezbollah refuses to disarm, the U.S. envoy said the Lebanese "will certainly not face another Israeli war." He stressed that "no one wants war," adding that Israel also has no desire for further conflict. Barrack clarified that he does not engage directly with Hezbollah. "I address only the government and the three official presidents," he said, emphasizing that U.S.-led dialogue is limited to Lebanon's state institutions. Berri 'optimistic' After meeting Barrack on Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Berri told al-Modon newspaper he was "optimistic" about developments. "My optimism is due to his optimism. The meeting was excellent," he said, adding that the positive atmosphere helped ease the climate of fear that had prevailed in recent days. Berri declined to elaborate on the reasons for his optimism but dismissed reports of any "new agreement" with the U.S. envoy. Instead, he said there was an existing agreement between the two sides that they would "strive to implement," which he said would help end Israeli attacks. The debate over Hezbollah's disarmament has further polarized Lebanon's political scene as international pressure mounts on the issue following the Nov. 27, 2024, cease-fire that ended last fall's devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel. On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated the group would "not give up its strength" and was "ready to confront" Israel. Hezbollah has maintained that any dialogue on its weapons depends on an end to daily Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from five positions they still hold. Since the cease-fire, Israeli strikes and shootings have killed more than 270 people in Lebanon, mostly in the south and the Bekaa Valley.
Nahar Net
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Barrack lauds Berri as astute politician, hopes for understanding before August
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 July 2025, 13:40 U.S. envoy Tom Barrack who is visiting Lebanon amid ongoing domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to disarm after a bruising war with Israel, is "hopeful" and "optimistic" as he works to reach an understanding by the beginning of August that would "re-establish" a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement reached in late November. Barrack said that Hezbollah disarmament is a domestic issue and that his country is committed to try and make a difference in Lebanon by using its influence to implement the ceasefire agreement. "Hezbollah's disarmament has nothing to do with America, what has to do with us is the border disputes with Israel," Barrack said in an interview late Tuesday with al-Jadeed TV station. He said the U.S. is using its influence "to convince Israel of the believability and credibility and viability of a plan that is already in effect from November." Barrack met Thursday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, after he met on Tuesday and Monday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and a host of political, religious and financial figures. "I don't speak to Hezbollah, I'm speaking to the Lebanese government, to the three Presidents. Hezbollah is a part of the Lebanese government, there are 19 factions, they need to agree amongst themselves. I am not a negotiator, I am a mediator," Barrack said, adding that his meeting with Berri was "extraordinary". Barrack lauded Berri as "one the most astute, thoughtful, considered, brilliant politicians not only in the region but probably in the U.S." "He has eight decades of experience at understanding these very difficult complex situations," he said. Barrack and Berri did not discuss a new proposal but ways to "reestablish" the already existing ceasefire agreement and to ease tensions in Lebanon. "We discussed the ways to bring back a commonality to the ceasefire agreement and to get to a more durable solution." The U.S. envoy assured that all Lebanese factions and everybody involved is working towards a peaceful solution and "God willing its moving forward". He said he hopes to reach an understanding by the beginning of August. "The timeline cannot be long," he said. "We are running out of time. We don't have time to have an extended timeline, We are all rushing to get a consensus, a thought, a timeout to bring the temperatures down." Barrack also confirmed that there won't be another Israeli war on Lebanon. "No one wants war. They don't want war," he said, adding that the Lebanese government has been responsive. "They've done what we've asked, they've been responsive within the timeframes," he said. Barrack added that there's been endless discussions with Iran on all facts starting with Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and nuclear proliferation. He said what would happen with Iran would definitely affect Lebanon.
