Mikati: Not in Anyone’s Interest to Open South Lebanon Front

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
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Mikati: Not in Anyone’s Interest to Open South Lebanon Front

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Beirut on Monday. (AFP)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has intensified his contacts with international and regional officials to preserve Lebanon’s stability and avoid the eruption of a war with Israel.

He stressed that it was in “no one’s interest to take a gamble and open the southern Lebanon front because the Lebanese people can no longer support more burdens.”

He held separate talks in Beirut on Monday with visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Saudi Ambassador Waleed Bukhari.

During the meetings, Mikati stressed that the Lebanese people are united in supporting the Palestinian people.

He reiterated his rejection of a war erupting between Lebanon and Israel, warning that Lebanon was in “the eye of the storm” and the entire region was in a “difficult position.”

“No one can predict what may happen,” he added. “No one can predict anything, but Israel will certainly increase its provocations.”

Mikati revealed that he has held contacts with the American administration, United Nations chief, the French and Turkish presidents, the Italian and Qatari prime ministers, and the foreign ministers, Jordan, Britain, Canada and Türkiye, who is expected in Lebanon on Tuesday.

Mikati said the talks were being held away from the media to avoid raising more concerns among the people.

“Some have wondered why we haven’t called for the High Defense Council to convene. The council is headed by the president of the republic. Should we create even more tensions in the country?” he wondered given that Lebanon has been without a president for almost a year.

“Instead, I called on the heads of security agencies to meet at cabinet,” he went on to say.

The PM renewed his call for the election of a president, noting that Israel formed a new government within hours of the Hamas operation, “so the Lebanese parties should unite to elect a head of state and form a new government to demonstrate their keenness on the nation’s interests.”

“Is there anything more dangerous than the current situation to prompt everyone to abandon their conditions and elect a new president as soon as possible?” he asked.

“Some have wondered who holds the decision to go to war. In the current circumstances, we are working for peace. The decision to go to war lies with Israel. We must deter its provocations and prevent tensions,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, opponents of Hezbollah have continued to underline their rejection of dragging Lebanon to war with Israel.

Kataeb MP Elias Hankash said Hezbollah “has the final say over the fate of the country and it controls the decision to go to war.”

“Lebanon is on the edge of the abyss because the state does not have this power. Hezbollah has destroyed the state, sovereignty and institutions,” he added to local radio.

The fate of Lebanon and the Lebanese lies in Hezbollah’s hands. “We are confronted with a historic moment and Lebanon is incapable of taking the appropriate decisions to impose its authority and deploy its army in all its territories to prevent it from being dragged to war with Israel,” he lamented.



Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
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Lebanon’s President Reveals the Country’s Stance on Relations with Israel

 Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on during a meeting with Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP)

Lebanon has no plans to have normal relations with Israel at the present time, and Beirut’s main aim is to reach a “state of no war” with its southern neighbor, the country’s president said Friday.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments came as the Trump administration is trying to expand the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 in which Israel signed historic pacts with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In May, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to France that his country is holding indirect talks with Israel to prevent military activities along their border from going out of control. Talks about peace between Israel and Syria have increased following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that only the Lebanese state will have weapons in the future, and the decision on whether Lebanon would go to war or not would be for the Lebanese government.

Aoun’s comments were an apparent reference to the armed Hezbollah group that fought a 14-month war with Israel, during which it suffered major blows including the killing of some of its top political and military commanders.

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, US envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah fought two wars with Israel, one in 2006, and the other starting a day after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.

“Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time,” Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that “the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy.”

Lebanon and Israel have been at a state of war since 1948.