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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Army commander Joseph Aoun elected as president of Lebanon
2025-01-10
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Lebanese Parliament elected on Thursday the army commander, Joseph Aoun, as president of the country, to be the 14th president of the Lebanese Republic.

This comes after more than two years of a presidential vacancy, following the end of the term of former president Michel Aoun
...former president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
Thus, Joseph Aoun is the fourth commander of the army who holds this position, as Emile Lahoud, Michel Suleiman
...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
, and Michel Aoun preceded him.

Joseph Aoun served as Commander of the Lebanese Army. He held this mission since March 8, 2017, succeeding General Jean Kahwaji. The beginning of his military career in the army dates back to 1983.

Aoun was promoted until he attained the rank of brigadier general in 2013. He continued to hold military ranks, reaching the rank of general in 2017, with his appointment as army commander, occupying this position during one of the most sensitive periods in Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
During this period, Lebanon witnessed major security and political challenges, most notably the ''Dawn of the Outskirts'' battle in 2017, which the army fought with the resistance against terrorist organizations in the barren lands of the town of Arsal and al-Qaa, on the border with Syria.

The country also witnessed security challenges after the outbreak of protests on October 17, 2019, and the expanded Israeli war on Lebanon that lasted more than 60 days in 2023, which imposed new obligations on the Lebanese army, with the signing of the ceasefire agreement.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon's New President: An American Wedge into a Weakened 'Axis of Resistance'
2025-01-10
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] After several years of political vacuum, Lebanon's parliament has elected a new president. The post was taken by former Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun. He replaced his namesake, General Michel Aoun, who left the post in October 2022.

“Aoun the Second,” as some regional publications jokingly call him, is considered a creature of Washington and a “living instrument” with which the White House plans to unravel the protracted crisis in the Middle East.

ATTEMPT NUMBER 13
For more than two years, Lebanon has been in a state of crisis, both economic and political. Since General Aoun's retirement, members of the Lebanese parliament have met more than a dozen times to approve a successor, but behind-the-scenes disagreements have prevented the government vacuum from being overcome each time.

Some complications were added by the fact that, according to the National Pact adopted in 1943, the president is elected from among the Maronite Christians. The position of prime minister is invariably occupied by a Sunni, and the speaker of parliament by a Shiite.

This is done in order to balance Lebanon's motley ethno-confessional palette and keep the country from sliding into another period of fragmentation. Although Muslims have served as president at least five times since the pact was adopted, no one has dared to completely upset the balance of power.

By February 2023, the "final list" of candidates for the presidential post had been formed. In addition to Commander-in-Chief Aoun, it included the director of the International Monetary Fund's branch in the Middle East and Central Asia, Jihad Azour, and former MP Salah Hannin.

However, Aoun quickly became the unofficial leader, especially after his candidacy was publicly supported by the heavyweight of Lebanese politics, the leader of the Christian center-right Marada party, Suleiman Frangieh. By giving up his presidential aspirations in favor of Aoun, he gave him a serious advantage in the race.

At the same time, Aoun, even being the only real candidate for the presidential seat and the absolute leader of the "final list", was able to win only on the second attempt. In the first round, he collected only 71 parliamentary votes out of the 86 required. The remaining parliamentarians either submitted blank ballots (which symbolizes a public expression of no confidence in the candidate) or spoiled them.

Only the thirteenth session put an end to the protracted presidential race, but this did not reduce the political differences.

A FRAGILE BALANCE OF INTERESTS
Since Aoun is considered a Western-oriented figure, his appointment to the presidency is expectedly not to the liking of pro-Iranian forces. The Shiite parties Hezbollah and Amal demonstratively submitted blank ballots, thus emphasizing their contempt for the “pro-American figure.”

The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), led by Aoun the First (Michel Aoun), acted in a similar manner. However, in the case of the FPM, the hostility towards the commander-in-chief is connected with his excessive focus on cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The Lebanese, not without reason, consider the Saudis their regional competitors and are suspicious of Riyadh's "excessive involvement" in the country's affairs. In this sense, the FPM and the Shiite parties acted as tactical allies.

However, Washington managed to overcome the resistance of Aoun's opponents rather quickly. Especially since big stakes were placed on the figure of the commander-in-chief.

The US hopes to use Aoun’s hands not only to weaken Iran’s influence in a single Arab country, but also to push Lebanon toward a gradual “détente” with Israel according to a scenario that is advantageous to Washington; to try to drive a wedge into the weakened “Axis of Resistance.”

Considering that Aoun bases his rhetoric on the theses “Lebanon is for the Lebanese” and “the army is the country’s support,” ending the confrontation with Tel Aviv could well be presented as a contribution to national security and a step toward fully normalizing relations. Even considering that Lebanon’s status as a “hostile state” is enshrined in Israeli law.

In a sense, the new Lebanese president may repeat the trajectory of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was the first to decide to normalize relations with the Jewish state, even against public opinion. In exchange for such steps, Washington is ready to multiply investments in Lebanese state institutions and the economy.

Aoun's appearance on the political map of Lebanon is partly to Israel's advantage.

Moreover, the former commander-in-chief had previously, willy-nilly, played along with Tel Aviv by slowing down the deployment of government troops in the south of the country during the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel. Israeli forces, in turn, took advantage of Beirut's delay and strengthened their positions, which subsequently forced Hezbollah units to retreat deeper into Lebanese territory.

Now Aoun is ready to move forward and seek the disarmament of Shiite militias. In his first statement, he hinted at an intention to seek “the exclusive right of the state to bear arms,” indicating a desire to limit the military activity of Hezbollah and its allies.

The ambitious plans of the former commander-in-chief have already met with the support of high-ranking Israeli officials, in particular, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

On the other hand, given the strong polarization of Lebanese society, Aoun's initiatives could have the opposite effect. Limiting the freedom of action of Shiite forces, coupled with rapprochement with Israel and the United States, could provoke a deepening of the domestic political crisis, which would push forces "offended" by the results of the last elections to change the balance of power in their favor.
Related:
Joseph Aoun 12/24/2024 Lebanese PM, UNIFIL call for Israel to withdraw troops faster than ceasefire demands
Joseph Aoun 12/13/2024 Gen. Michael Kurilla traveled to Beirut, Lebanon and met with Gen. Joseph Aoun, Commander of the Lebanon Armed Forces
Joseph Aoun 12/12/2024 IDF confirms withdrawal from southern Lebanon’s Khiam in accordance with ceasefire

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Bassil eulogizes Nasrallah, says only state can protect Lebanon — Naharnet
2024-11-07
[NAHARNET] Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
 chief Jebran Bassil has marked 40 days since Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed
...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
 His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
 by publishing a eulogy and political statement in al-Akhbar newspaper.

Lamenting that he ''lost a friend who will not be repeated,'' Bassil noted that only ex-president, FPM founder and his father-in-law General Michel Aoun
...former president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
 was dearer than Nasrallah to his heart.

''You wanted to avoid war and you believed in your ability to avert it through the deterrence equation, but it chased you and targeted you. You wanted to liberate Jerusalem, betting on the unity of arenas for that, but the capabilities of the Axis (of Resistance®) were smaller than your will,'' Bassil added, addressing Nasrallah.
Much, much smaller.
''Protecting Leb...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
 will remain in our conscience and Israel's occupation of it will remain impossible. But we want to be frank with you as we have always been: that can no longer be achieved without a strong and just state that can lead a defense strategy that preserves all the elements of strength,'' Bassil went on to say.
"Yadda yadda yadda" he added
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Geagea ''flexible'' but not with Berri''s dialogue or Hezbollah''s war
2024-09-09
Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
 leader Samir Geagea
....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005....
 insists on boycotting a presidential dialogue initiated by Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
, as Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
 remains without a president since Michel Aoun
...former president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
's term ended in October 2022, almost two years ago.

"I am flexible," Geagea said in a radio interview on Thursday night. "But I cannot be flexible about Hezbollah's decision to start a war in south Lebanon," he added, as he dubbed Berri's dialogue anew "unconstitutional".

Geagea said the so-called Axis of Defiance plans to control Lebanon. "As long as it is unable to do it militarily, it will try at all costs to control it politically by electing a president of its choice."

Geagea said he will not describe Hezbollah as a terrorist organization as he hopes to "attract" the group to the Lebanese framework. "The only way to meet with Hezbollah, is when it becomes a Lebanese party with a Lebanese agenda only," Geagea said, adding that ties with Hezbollah cannot be completely cut.

He also said he has a good relation with Hezbollah's ally, Berri, but that he finds the way Berri is dealing with the presidential vote "unacceptable".

On another note, Geagea said that he thinks the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
's disintegration is "in Lebanon's interest", after two MPs were expelled from the FPM and two others deliberately resigned.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Aoun backs Bassil over MPs firing, trusts Nasrallah and would be happy if Hezbollah won
2024-08-30
[NAHARNET] Although former President Michel Aoun
...former president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
 stands against Hezbollah's festivities with Israel on Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's southern border, the former president is still keen on maintaining good relations with the Iran-backed group.

Aoun told pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Thursday, that he would be happy if Hezbollah won the war with Israel, although he opposes it. "I would celebrate with them if they won, and would be sad if, God forbid, they lost."

Aoun explained that he opposes that tiny Lebanon participate in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
 war. "We have no common borders, no economic relations, and no joint defense agreement with Gaza," Aoun said, adding that although he does trust Hezbollah leader Sayyed
...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
 His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
, he does not trust the Israelis.

"Hezbollah's performance is rational, smart and politically correct and I have confidence in Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," Aoun said, describing the FPM's relations with Hezbollah as "calm."

On another note, Aoun defended FPM chief Jebran Bassil after four FPM members - Ibrahim Kanaan, Elias Bou Saab, Alain Aoun, and Simon Abi Ramia — resigned or were expelled from the FPM's political council. "Bassil is not a dictator but a decision-maker, and they do not want that," Aoun said, adding that the four MPs have made mistakes, had new political inclinations and views, and took decisions without consulting the party. He also described Bou Saab of being "ungrateful".

"The FPM is still the strongest Christian party," Aoun said. "It is correcting itself and there is nothing wrong with that."
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Berri re-focuses on presidential vote to protect country
2024-01-19
[An Nahar] Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
 has reportedly urged all parties to elect a president.

"Berri has directly called all the parties concerned with the presidential file to seize the opportunity to protect the country by electing a president," Ain el-Tineh sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Thursday.

The source added that Berri is "always ready" for any effort that would break the presidential impasse and is discussing the presidential file in all his meetings with envoys and ambassadors.

The Speaker has encouraged the Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
is to resume their presidential efforts, the source said.

An earlier report in al-Liwaa newspaper claimed that senior Lebanese officials had contacted the Qatari leadership, including during caretaker PM Najib Mikati’s meetings in Davos, asking it to send Qatari envoy Jassem bin Fahad al-Thani to Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
 as soon as possible in order to revive the presidential election file.

Doha and the five-nation group for Lebanon -- which also comprises the U.S., La Belle France, KSA, and Egypt -- have sought to facilitate the presidential election file in Lebanon but Qatar's efforts stopped with the eruption of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
 war.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
's term ended in October last year, with neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one.

La Belle France has warned Lebanon that the presidential vacancy is weighing on the country's ability to overcome its crises and to prevent a security deterioration amid risks of escalation of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US won't renew financial aid plan for Lebanese Army, ISF
2023-09-30
[An Nahar] A U.S. plan providing monthly financial aid to the personnel of the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces will not be renewed when its six-month period expires in November, a U.S. Embassy source has been quoted as saying.

“The plan will not be renewed due to the failure to approve reforms and elect a president,” media reports quoted the source as saying.

French President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Wednesday that France and its allies were losing patience after almost a year of deadlock and are now reviewing their financial aid.

Lebanon has been without a president for almost a year after ex-head of state Michel Aoun's mandate expired, with its feuding factions repeatedly failing in parliament to elect a new leader as an unprecedented economic crisis escalates in the multi-confessional former French colony.

Faced with what he described as a "denial of reality" from Lebanese officials, France and its allies the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, are losing patience and could review their financial support for Lebanon, Le Drian said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Bassil says willing to 'sacrifice president's name, not post or powers'
2023-07-31
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
 chief Jebran Bassil said overnight that he is "willing to sacrifice" regarding the next president's identity, clarifying that he will not "sacrifice the presidential post or powers."

At an FPM event, Bassil added that the "sacrifice" would be in return for "two gains for Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
: broad administrative and financial decentralization and the trust fund."

"This is not a bargain nor a concession but is rather aimed at recovering the rights and money of the Lebanese," Bassil said.

He explained that the trust fund had been proposed by then-President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
 in an economic paper after the October 17 uprising.

"It would preserve the state's assets and ownership while they would be managed by the private sector, which would allow for improving the state's revenues, covering some of the financial gap and returning funds to depositors," Bassil clarified.

His remarks confirm media reports about the FPM's ongoing talks with Hezbollah.

"The two sides exchanged proposals for agreeing on the program and identity of the upcoming president," al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

Bassil submitted a "detailed work paper that involves an agenda for the coming period and addresses two main issues," the daily said.

"The first point is aimed at agreeing on consolidating and activating partnership in governance among all Lebanese components, with the next president enjoying the approval and support of the FPM seeing as it is the main Christian representative," al-Akhbar added.

"The second point is agreeing on key headlines for the program of the upcoming president in connection with the priorities paper that the FPM had previously proposed, while agreeing on the topics that represent main concerns for Hezbollah," the newspaper said.

Accordingly, Bassil asked Hezbollah for its approval and for "working with the rest of the allies to make practical steps aimed at paving the way for declaring a major agreement that involves the presidency," al-Akhbar added.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Aoun slams Hezbollah over 'treason accusations, threats'
2023-06-13
[An Nahar] Ex-president Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
 on Monday criticized Hezbollah for launching "treason accusations and threats through newspapers."

"I did not let them down, neither in the July War, nor in keenness on the resistance nor in the confrontation against ISIS (Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 group)," Aoun said in an interview with the journalist Sami Kleib, when asked whether a mending of ties between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
 is possible.

"I have not said anything against them. Should my reward be treason accusations and threats through newspapers?" Aoun wondered.

Told that FPM chief Jebran Bassil has escalated his rhetoric in recent months, the ex-president said: "Jebran talks politics and we and (Hezbollah chief) Sayyed (Hassan) Nasrallah have repeatedly agreed that a political dispute does not negate the friendship."

"Is it reasonable to be accused of treason because we have merely rejected a supposed candidate?" the ex-president added.

Asked how the "problem" can be "overcome," Aoun said: "We did not start it and democracy stipulates the freedom of choice. The other party must make the first step towards the solution."

As for his recent meeting with Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
 and whether Damacus is pressing for Suleiman Franjieh’s election, Aoun said: "I did not feel any pressure and we only discussed this issue in a swift manner."

"The Syrian president has told me more than once that they do not interfere in the presidency and do not want to interfere," the president added.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Opposition officially endorses Azour for presidency
2023-06-05
[An Nahar] Opposition politicians on Sunday nominated Jihad Azour, an International Monetary Fund regional director and former minister, for president.

MP Mark Daou of the Change bloc read a statement on behalf of 32 opposition politicians, endorsing Azour after weeks of negotiations "as a candidate that is not considered provocative by any political factor in the country." The politicians belong to the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
, the Kataeb Party and the Tajaddod bloc in addition to several independent and Change MPs.

The same MPs had previously backed another presidential candidate, parliamentarian Michel Mouawad, who on Sunday announced he was withdrawing his nomination and backing Azour. Both declarations were made at Mouawad's residence.

Azour, the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia director, served as Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's finance minister from 2005 to 2008.

He has yet to officially announce a presidential bid.

The international community has urged Lebanese officials to fill the vacant presidency, which would allow the country, mired in a crippling economic crisis since 2019, to carry out reforms needed to unlock much needed IMF loans.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has a huge hold over political life in Lebanon, has endorsed the pro-Damascus Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency.

But opposition from the country's two main Christian parties, the LF and the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, means that Franjieh lacks a clear path to majority backing in the divided parliament.

Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah called Azour's nomination "a waste of time," insisting that "the candidate of confrontation" will not be elected president.

Hezbollah's key Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, said it would support Azour.

With no clear majority for any candidate, it is unclear when Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
 might call a new vote.

Former president Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
's term expired last October. Since then, there have been 11 parliamentary votes to try to name a new president, but bitter divisions have prevented anyone from garnering enough support to succeed Aoun.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government with limited powers since legislative elections in May 2022 resulted in no side with a clear majority.

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Iraq
Former official reveals Saddam's covert support to foreign leaders
2023-05-14
Shafaq News / In an interview with Middle Eastern newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Salem al-Jumaili, the former head of the America division in the intelligence apparatus of Iraq's Ba'ath Party, disclosed that Saddam Hussein had provided financial backing to the electoral campaigns of both French politician Jacques Chirac and late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, aiding their victories.

al-Jumaili further divulged how Hussein's regime lent both monetary and military assistance to Lebanese General Michel Aoun during the "War of Liberation" aimed at expelling the Syrian army from Lebanon. He stated, "Saddam decided to punish the late President Hafez Al-Assad for halting the Iraqi oil pipeline that traversed Syria to Baniyas during the Iraq-Iran war, so he ordered support for Aoun, providing him with armored vehicles, ammunition, and $11 million."

The former intelligence officer also spoke of the Iraqi support extended to opponents of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's rule, after it was revealed that Gaddafi had supplied Iran with Scud missiles used to bombard Baghdad amid the Iraq-Iran war.

Additionally, al-Jumaili recounted a failed assassination attempt on Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of late French President François Mitterrand. She had been instrumental in publicizing the Halabja incident and Iraq's use of chemical weapons, prompting a decision to terminate her influence. In July 1992, during a visit to Sulaymaniyah province and while en route to the Halabja Martyrs' Monument, an explosive device was planted in her path, but she miraculously survived.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Leb supermarkets mark prices in dollars as local currency tanks
2023-03-03
[An Nahar] Supermarkets in Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...a formerly French, now an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. ...
 have started pricing items in U.S. dollars instead of the nose-diving local currency, after a government announcement allowing the practice in a country heavily reliant on imports.

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been facing a dramatic economic crisis that has seen poverty rates climb to reach more than 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
The local currency, now officially pegged at 15,000 to the greenback, was trading Wednesday at almost 90,000 to the dollar, compared to 60,000 in late January.

An AFP photographer said a large supermarket chain in Beirut had begun displaying prices in dollars on Wednesday, while the exchange rate of 89,000 pounds was displayed on a screen at the entrance.

Domestically produced fruit and vegetables were still priced in the local currency.

"Every week, or every day even, products are becoming more and more expensive," said Susane Zeitoun, 28, who was shopping at the supermarket.

"Now I have to calculate prices into Lebanese pounds," she added.

In February, Economy Minister Amin Salaam announced that supermarkets would be able to start pricing items in dollars, while customers could pay in dollars or Lebanese pounds at the volatile market rate.

Each store would have to clearly announce the exchange rate it was using each day, he had added.

Since the start of the crisis, stores had begun to adjust their prices in pounds, sometimes daily, to keep up with the fluctuating exchange rate -- or at times pushing prices higher.

Some restaurants and clothing shops had already begun to display prices in dollars in recent months.

Shopper Sarah Rida, 37, said that "pricing items in U.S. dollars is better".

"If a product is priced at $2, we can be sure that it will stay the same and will not increase or decrease in price from one day to the next."

Lebanon is being run by a caretaker government and is also without a president, as politicians have repeatedly failed to elect a successor to Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
, whose mandate expired at the end of October.

Authorities announced in late February that customs charges would be tripled, a move that risks pushing prices up further.

The World Bank has said that Lebanon food price inflation reached 332 percent year on year in June 2022, the worst in the world.

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