Lebanon’s FM meets with UN, French and US envoys in bid to prevent full-scale war

People walk past the rubble of a building that was destroyed by previous Israeli bombardment in the village of Yaroun in south Lebanon near the border with Israel on June 21, 2024. (AFP)

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Updated 22 June 2024

NAJIA HOUSSARI

June 21, 2024 22:20

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Lebanon’s FM meets with UN, French and US envoys in bid to prevent full-scale war

Lebanon counts on success of US diplomatic efforts to prevent full-scale war
Former ambassador to US tells Arab News: ‘No one has an interest in open war’

Updated 22 June 2024

NAJIA HOUSSARI

June 21, 2024 22:20

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BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib met with French Ambassador Herva Magro, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and US Ambassador Lisa Johnson on Friday.

The minister reiterated Lebanon’s call for the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701.

Hennis-Plasschaert said there was “no inevitability (to wider conflict with Israel)” during her visit to UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

Also on Friday, it was announced that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will make shuttle visits to Lebanon, Israel, and the West Bank.

Concerned at the risk of Israel’s war on Gaza spreading across the region, US President Joe Biden sent his special envoy Amos Hochstein to embark on a new round of diplomacy last week. Hochstein called for “urgent” de-escalation during talks with Lebanon and Israel on Tuesday, informing both sides that “the threat of a full-scale war persists and must be avoided.”

It is widely believed in Lebanon that Hochstein convinced Israel to refrain from escalating its military actions against Lebanon for the time being.

In a meeting with visiting Israeli officials including National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the importance of “avoiding further escalation in Lebanon and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes,” according to a statement.

According to his spokesperson, Matthew Miller, Blinken also stressed America’s “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

During his talks in Beirut, Hochstein reportedly reassured Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that Biden’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza was being viewed positively, and that Qatar was working to make it happen.

Hochstein also reportedly told Mikati that “things are under control and positive when it comes to the war between Lebanon and Israel.”

Former Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Riad Tabbarah, described threats of war as a “mere outburst.”

He told Arab News: “Since military operations began on the southern front about nine months ago, the Lebanese have been hearing that war is coming, but it never arrives.

“During diplomatic negotiations, it is common for both sides to face pressure and threats,” he continued. “It appears that there are numerous and diverse negotiations happening behind the scenes, including discussions between the Americans and Iranians, as well as between the Americans and Hezbollah.”

Tabbarah acknowledged the recklessness of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said the Israeli leader “has two options — either war or prison. And there is significant pressure on him, especially from the families of the hostages.”

Tabbarah noted that there are limits to what military action can achieve. “We still recall the time when former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon crossed those limits in 1982 when he set the Litani Line as his target. However, he went beyond that and reached Beirut. As a result, international powers united to bring him back to the Litani Line.

“No one has an interest in war,” he continued. “Americans, Europeans, and Iranians are working in the opposite direction. The general trend is to avoid escalating to open war.”

Military operations on the Lebanese front decreased significantly on Friday, although the outskirts of Naqoura in the western sector were targeted by Israeli artillery, causing a fire in a house. In the morning, an Israeli military raid targeted the town of Wazzani.

Hezbollah made a series of announcements about their operations, which were “focused on specific targets within the rules of engagement.”

Hezbollah attacked the sites of Ramtha and Samaka in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shouba Hills, the Zabadin site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms, and carried out an air attack using drones on the Ras Al-Naqoura naval site, aiming at locations containing Israeli military personnel.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that, up to June 19, it has recorded a total of 1,774 casualties, including 432 fatalities, caused by Israeli attacks.

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Hezbollah, Hamas discuss latest developments in Gaza ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says

Updated 5 sec ago

July 05, 2024 07:04

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Hezbollah, Hamas discuss latest developments in Gaza ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says

Updated 5 sec ago

July 05, 2024 07:04

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire there during a meeting, Hezbollah said on Friday.
Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement.
“They also discussed the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations these days, their atmosphere, and the proposals presented to reach an end to the treacherous aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
A senior US administration official said on Thursday that Hamas had made a pretty significant adjustment in its position over a potential hostage release deal with Israel, expressing hope that it would lead to a pact that would be a step to a permanent ceasefire.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October across the Lebanese-Israeli border in a conflict that has run in parallel to the Gaza war, raising fears of a bigger conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.

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Israel sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza hostage negotiations

Updated 05 July 2024

AFP

July 05, 2024 08:13

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Israel sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza hostage negotiations

Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators
Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive and both sides face mounting pressure to reach a deal as the war takes increasing human toll

Updated 05 July 2024

AFP

July 05, 2024 08:13

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered his spy chief to Qatar for talks with mediators on a Gaza war ceasefire that could see Hamas militants release hostages seized in the October 7 attacks, sources said.

Amidst new optimism over a possible breakthrough, Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet for late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, reports said.

Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive in Gaza and with the war taking an increasing human toll in the devastated Palestinian territory both sides face mounting international pressure to reach a deal.

Mossad chief David Barnea was to lead an Israeli delegation to Qatar that has spent months trying to bring the enemies to the negotiating table, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. He was expected in Doha on Friday and was to meet the Gulf state’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Barnea’s delegation “is traveling to Qatar in a continuation of talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal.

“He will meet with the Qatari prime minister for discussions aiming to bring the parties closer to a deal in Gaza,” the source said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of talks.

US President Joe Biden praised the decision to send a delegation in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu, the White House said. Biden welcomed the decision to have Israeli negotiators “engage” with mediators in a bid “to close out the deal.”

The United States believes Israel and Hamas have a “pretty significant opening” to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, a senior US official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Hamas proposal “moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal,” while stressing it does not mean an agreement was likely in coming days, and that “significant work” remains.

Hamas had demanded an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal as a prelude to any hostage deal.

Israel has countered that there can be no end to the war without the release of hostages. Netanyahu has also repeatedly vowed that the Gaza campaign will not end until Hamas’s military and government capabilities have been destroyed.

Hamas said late Wednesday that it had sent new “ideas” for a potential deal and Netanyahu’s office said the government was “evaluating” them.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between the two sides and sources close to their efforts said they have been pushing for several weeks to bridge the “gaps” between the foes.

Biden announced a pathway to a truce deal in May which he said had been proposed by Israel. This included a six-week truce to allow for talks, the release of hostages and eventually a program to rebuild devastated Gaza.

“There are important developments in the latest proposals with positive options for both sides,” said a diplomat briefed on the latest proposals. “This time the Americans are very serious about this.”

The war started with the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

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Polls open in Iran presidential election runoff

Updated 05 July 2024

AFP

July 05, 2024 04:55

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Polls open in Iran presidential election runoff

The Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot when the polls opened at 08:00 am
Khamenei called for a higher turnout in the runoff

Updated 05 July 2024

AFP

July 05, 2024 04:55

TEHRAN: Polls opened Friday for Iran’s runoff presidential election, the interior ministry said, pitting reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili in the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say in all state matters, cast his ballot when the polls opened at 08:00 am (0430 GMT), state TV showed.
“We are starting the second round of the 14th presidential election to choose the future president from among the two candidates across 58,638 polling stations in the country and all stations abroad,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, according to state TV.
The vote comes against the backdrop of heightened regional tensions over the war in Gaza, Iran’s dispute with the West over its nuclear program and popular discontent at the state of the country’s sanctions-hit economy.
In last week’s first round, Pezeshkian, who was the only reformist permitted to stand, won the largest number of ballots, around 42 percent, while the former nuclear negotiator Jalili came in second place with 39 percent, according to figures from Iran’s elections authority.
Only 40 percent of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters cast their ballot — the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On Wednesday, Khamenei called for a higher turnout in the runoff.
“The second round of the presidential election is very important,” he said in a video carried by state TV.
Low turnout
He said participation was “not as expected” in the first round but that it was not an act “against the system.”
Last week’s vote saw the conservative parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf come in third place with 13.8 percent, while cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi garnered less than one percent.
Iran’s presidential election was originally scheduled for 2025 but was brought forward by the death of ultraconservative president Raisi in a May helicopter crash.
The rival candidates in the runoff have held two debates where they discussed Iran’s economic woes, international relations, the low voter turnout and Internet restrictions.
Pezeshkian is a 69-year-old heart surgeon who has represented the northwestern city of Tabriz in parliament since 2008.
He has earned the support of Iran’s main reformist coalition, with former reformist presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani declaring their backing for his bid.
Jalili, 58, rallied a substantial base of hard-line supporters and received backing from Ghalibaf and two other ultraconservative candidates who dropped out of the race before the first round.
In one recent debate, the rivals expressed dismay over turnout in the first round.
On Tuesday, Pezeshkian said people were “fed up with their living conditions ... and dissatisfied with the government’s management of affairs.”
Voters speak
Ali, a 24-year-old university student who asked that only his first name be used, said the better choice is Pezeshkian, whom he believes would work on “opening the country to the rest of the world.”
Pezeshkian has called for “constructive relations” with Washington and European countries in order to “get Iran out of its isolation.”
Jalili, known for his uncompromising anti-West position, has insisted that Tehran does not need the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers to make progress.
The deal — which Jalili said violated all Iran’s “red lines” by allowing inspections of nuclear sites — had imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear activity in return for sanctions relief.
The accord has been hanging by a thread since 2018 when the US withdrew from it.
At a campaign event late Wednesday, 40-year-old Maryam Naroui said she believed Jalili was “the best option for the country’s security.”
Jalili has held several senior positions in the Islamic republic, including in Khamenei’s office in the early 2000s.
He is currently one of Khamenei’s representatives in the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s highest security body.
Regardless of the result, Iran’s next president will be in charge of applying state policy outlined by the supreme leader, who wields ultimate authority in the country.

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Topics: Iran

Israel sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza hostage negotiations: sources

Updated 05 July 2024

AFP

July 05, 2024 00:19