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Arab World

Lebanon’s Rahi to Hezbollah: Heroism Lies in Averting War

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is seen at his sermon on Sunday. (Maronite Patriarchate on Facebook)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is seen at his sermon on Sunday. (Maronite Patriarchate on Facebook)
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Lebanon’s Rahi to Hezbollah: Heroism Lies in Averting War

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is seen at his sermon on Sunday. (Maronite Patriarchate on Facebook)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is seen at his sermon on Sunday. (Maronite Patriarchate on Facebook)

The heads of Lebanon’s two major Christian sects intensified on Sunday their criticism of Hezbollah - without directly naming it - over its clashes with Israel that are threatening to drag the country to war.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said: “Heroism lies in averting war, not making it.”

Speaking at his Sunday sermon, he added: “Heroism doesn’t lie in fighting wars with destructive advanced weapons, but lies in reason and determination to make peace, achieve justice and prioritize compassion.”

This state of “mistrust and distance” can no longer continue “as it is poisoning society,” he declared.

He urged all parties to prioritize “forging national unity through new means and rhetoric, especially dedication to our nation Lebanon.”

“We pray to God to grant us the grace to prioritize peace over war, understanding over conflict, love over spite, good over evil and unity over division,” al-Rahi said.

Hezbollah has declared that it will continue its military operations against Israel from southern Lebanon until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. It has said the southern front aims to back Gaza.

Meanwhile, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audeh indirectly criticized Hezbollah by saying the “state’s voice has been usurped and war is being imposed on it and the people.”

“Our country is being destroyed and it is losing its democratic values. It is sliding into chaos and demagogy,” he went on to say.

“How can a country grow and prosper without a president to lead it according to what the constitution dictates?” he asked.

“How can a country be built while its army is deliberately weakened? How can a country enjoy stability and prosperity amid the proliferation of arms, the violation of its borders, oppression of justice, and usurpation of the state and while war is being imposed on it and its people?”

“What crime have the innocent civilians, who are being killed in this war every day, committed? How can a state be built when some parties seek to overpower the other, violate their decisions and ignore their very existence?” he asked.

“How can a state be built while everyone is ignoring it? How can citizens be seen as equal when those who have power, money and authority are the ones making the decisions?” Audeh wondered.

‘Israeli plot’

Hezbollah recently claimed that it thwarted an Israeli plot to strike Lebanon. It said that it preemptively chose to join the conflict after the eruption of the war on Gaza in October.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said: “Our country, especially the South, is most concerned with the outcomes of the aggression on Gaza. Lebanon is at the heart of the conflict and it is being targeted by the Israeli enemy.”

He revealed that after the eruption of the war, Israel had informed all envoys who had visited Lebanon, as well as American officials, that it could not coexist with “the Lebanese borders where a force like the resistance is deployed.”

“It asked them to head to Lebanon, exert pressure to find a solution and get rid of the resistance on the border area. The resistance responded clearly by saying that the decision-makers in Lebanon are the Lebanese people, who stand in a position of strength that is provided to them by the resistance,” he stated.

Moreover, he added: “The sacrifices made by the martyrs and the sons of the south, whether in blood or their livelihoods, are protecting the country and preventing a largescale Israeli war. They are thwarting the Israeli plans that want to undermine Lebanon’s strength, which is this resistance.”

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Arab World

Israel Strikes South Lebanon despite Framework Agreement to End Hostilities

Billboards reading 'Lebanon First' are displayed alongside the airport highway in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Billboards reading 'Lebanon First' are displayed alongside the airport highway in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Israel Strikes South Lebanon despite Framework Agreement to End Hostilities

Billboards reading 'Lebanon First' are displayed alongside the airport highway in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Billboards reading 'Lebanon First' are displayed alongside the airport highway in Beirut, Lebanon, 27 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Israel renewed its strikes on Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese state media reported, two days after an agreement was signed by the two countries, which a Hezbollah lawmaker warned would lead to "internal conflict".

The strikes come a day after one person was killed in an Israeli strike on the south, according to Lebanon's health ministry, with the Israeli military saying it targeted Hezbollah members near its self-proclaimed "security zone", which reaches 10 kilometres (6 miles) into Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes on Sunday.

The Israeli army said a soldier "fell in combat" in southern Lebanon.

In a later statement, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir approved plans for "continued operations in the security zone, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told his US counterpart Donald Trump on Saturday that his country "would assume its responsibilities" in implementing the framework agreement, which was signed in Washington on Friday after five rounds of talks.

The deal aims to pave the way for peace between Israel and Lebanon, who have officially been at war for decades, though Israel's many conflicts across its northern border have largely been with non-state actors.

The agreement makes any Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese land conditional on Beirut disarming Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal "historic" for his country.

- 'Internal conflict' -

Hezbollah strongly opposed the talks with Israel from the start and rejects the agreement, with leader Naim Qassem saying on Saturday that the group would treat the deal as "null and void" and describing it as "a surrender of sovereignty".

His supporters took to the streets on Friday evening to protest the framework.

An AFP correspondent saw signs on Sunday morning that read "Lebanon first" being burned along Beirut's airport road, which borders the city's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, after previous billboards saying "thank you Iran" were removed.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said on Sunday that "the agreement of humiliation and disgrace signed by the authorities will never see the light of day".

He added that what "the authorities have done amounts to sedition aimed at pushing the country into chaos and shifting the conflict from one with the enemy to an internal conflict".

Hezbollah repeatedly asked Lebanese authorities to link themselves to Iran's negotiations to end its war with the US, while Tehran has insisted any ceasefire for the Middle East war should include Lebanon.

In a phone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri, Iranian parliament speaker and head of Tehran's negotiating delegation Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "our goal is to end the war in Lebanon, return the refugees to their homes and remove the occupation and the withdrawal of the Zionist regime from the Lebanese territory, and we are seriously pursuing this issue".

According to the text of the deal shared by the US State Department, Lebanon and Israel expressed their intent to "conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes and... formally conclude any state of war between them".

Under the agreement, Lebanon's military will "restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups".

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz, however, has insisted troops will stay in Lebanon so long as Hezbollah remains armed.

Arab World

Iraq Arrests Dozens of Politicians and Government Officials in Green Zone Raids

A circulating image shows Iraqi Humvees at an entrance to the Green Zone at dawn Sunday
A circulating image shows Iraqi Humvees at an entrance to the Green Zone at dawn Sunday
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Iraq Arrests Dozens of Politicians and Government Officials in Green Zone Raids

A circulating image shows Iraqi Humvees at an entrance to the Green Zone at dawn Sunday
A circulating image shows Iraqi Humvees at an entrance to the Green Zone at dawn Sunday

Iraqi security forces arrested dozens of politicians, lawmakers and senior government officials early on Sunday after Elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) units raided their homes inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The state news agency later reported that 47 people had been arrested in the corruption probe, but it was not clear if all of them were detained Sunday or if some of them had been arrested earlier.

The security sources said that the heaquarters of Midland Oil Company south of Baghdad were raided too.

A senior source quoted by ⁠state news ⁠agency INA said that some of the latest arrests were based on testimony provided by Adnan al-Jumaili, deputy oil minister for refining affairs, after his detention on corruption charges.

The source told INA that al-Jumaili's statements implicated a wider network of officials in alleged corruption schemes.

 

Iraqi security personnel are seen near a house in the Green Zone at dawn Sunday (X)

Sunday's operation was launched on direct orders from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, a government official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Iraq's anti-graft body, the Commission of Integrity, said that authorities are implementing judicial arrest warrants against suspects "accused of misappropriating public funds."

In a move to demonstrate commitment to fighting corruption, authorities seized more than $85 million earlier this month in the graft case against Jumaili.

Arab World

Iraq’s PM Sends Positive Signals Ahead of Trump Meeting

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during his meeting with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadeq in Baghdad (Government media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during his meeting with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadeq in Baghdad (Government media)
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Iraq’s PM Sends Positive Signals Ahead of Trump Meeting

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during his meeting with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadeq in Baghdad (Government media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during his meeting with Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadeq in Baghdad (Government media)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has been sending positive signals to Washington ahead of a planned mid-July visit, as analysts say his government is trying to reorganize ties with the United States based on an economic and security partnership while preserving relations with Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had recently received good and constructive signals from the Iraqi government on armed factions, in a reference to efforts to place weapons under state control and disarm armed groups.

In his latest remarks carried by state media, al-Zaidi urged armed factions to “preserve their history after contributing to the fight against terrorism, and to work through the state,” renewing his government’s rejection of “weapons outside official institutions.”

Al-Zaidi said his government sought a “strong economic partnership” with the US, while stressing that Baghdad’s ties with Tehran were “based on good neighborliness, respect and common interests, as is our relationship with all countries of the region.”

“Iraq does not accept dictates from any party, and the decision will always be made according to the interests of Iraqis first,” he said, adding that his government’s strategic direction was built on “a strong partnership with the US, starting from Iraq’s interest, and not at the expense of any other party.”

He said Iraq “does not follow a policy of blocs or hostility, and wants to be a space for communication and stability, not an arena for conflict,” in a reference to US-Iranian competition in Iraq.

On Iraq’s regional ties, al-Zaidi said the “Gulf Arab states represent a historical, cultural and social depth and a source of strength for Iraq.”

Balancing Iran

Al-Zaidi’s expected visit to Washington comes as Baghdad seeks to reshape its relationship with the US while maintaining balanced ties with Iran, amid regional shifts that followed this year’s Israel-Iran war.

Iraqi researcher Muhanad Seloom said al-Zaidi “is clearly seeking a strong partnership with the US at all levels,” calling the approach “good.”

Seloom said there was popular support for fighting corruption and restricting weapons to the state, giving the government the basic tools to move ahead despite the complexity of the issue of militias.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Seloom described Iranian as “negative.” He added that it was not in Iraq’s interest to enter into hostility with Iran, and that the US understood the special nature of Baghdad’s relationship with Tehran.

The ‘project to eliminate militias’

Political science professor Talib Muhammed Karim said al-Zaidi “is not going to Washington carrying a project to eliminate militias in the military sense, but rather a project to strengthen the state and restore its legitimate monopoly over the use of force.”

Karim told Asharq Al-Awsat that the wager was to build an internal consensus, backed by regional and international support, that would allow weapons to be gradually restricted to the state under the law.

He said Iranian influence was not confined to the security sphere, but extended to political, economic and social ties built up over more than two decades.

Reducing that influence, he said, would not come through a political decision or external pressure alone, but through stronger Iraqi state institutions, a more diversified economy and broader Arab and international partnerships. That, he said, would automatically reduce the impact of any outside influence.

Karim said the success of the Washington visit “will not be measured by whether there is a confrontation with armed factions,” but by Iraq’s ability to secure US and international backing for the state project, attract investment, strengthen the economy and expand security cooperation in ways that reinforce state sovereignty.

A shifting US view

Political science professor Abbas Abboud Salem offered a different reading, saying Iraq’s political system “cannot be reduced to the will of one person.” The post-2003 political scene, he said, is built on multiple competing political forces.

Salem told Asharq Al-Awsat that the silence of these forces does not mean they have given al-Zaidi a mandate to radically change Iraq’s policy.

What has changed most, he said, is the US view of Iraq. According to Salem, Washington moved from direct occupation to managing Iraq after the withdrawal as a zone of influence balanced with Iran, and then to seeking a return through direct influence amid regional geopolitical shifts.

Salem said these shifts were pushing Iraq to rebuild its alliance with the US in response to regional challenges and to reduce losses as the regional order is being reshaped.