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Quintet Committee Resumes Efforts to Resolve Lebanon’s Presidential Deadlock

The ambassadors of the Quintet countries meet at the French Embassy in Beirut. (French Embassy)
The ambassadors of the Quintet countries meet at the French Embassy in Beirut. (French Embassy)
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Quintet Committee Resumes Efforts to Resolve Lebanon’s Presidential Deadlock

The ambassadors of the Quintet countries meet at the French Embassy in Beirut. (French Embassy)
The ambassadors of the Quintet countries meet at the French Embassy in Beirut. (French Embassy)

After a complete pause in efforts to resolve the vacuum in Lebanon’s presidency over the summer, the ambassadors of the international Quintet Committee resumed their meetings to help resolve the impasse, which will hit the two-year mark next month.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, French Ambassador Hervé Magro, Qatari Ambassador Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa met at the French Embassy in Beirut to discuss the situation.

Diplomatic sources, who were briefed on the meeting, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ambassadors updated each other on the outcomes of their previous rounds of talks with Lebanese leaders and agreed to continue discussions in the coming weeks.

The sources added that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Beirut this month, or early October at the latest, to follow up on his meeting with Saudi Royal Court advisor Nizar Al-Aloula earlier this month.

“The participants also discussed the regional situation, emphasizing that the current developments require Lebanese officials to come to an understanding to elect a president because no one will offer them ready-made solutions,” the sources added.

While no statement was issued by the attendees, sources involved in the presidential file suggested that the ambassadors will soon resume their talks with political leaders and heads of parliamentary blocs, each separately.

The diplomats will focus on two main points: the need to separate the Lebanese presidency from the Gaza war and its outcomes, as well as from the US presidential elections, noting that Michel Aoun was elected president two months before the US elections in 2016, revealed the sources.

According to available information, the ambassadors have not yet requested any meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri or caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Aoun’s term ended in October 2022 with political blocs failing to elect a successor. Bickering among the parties has thwarted attempts to fill the vacuum.

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Arab World

Israel Says One Soldier Killed in Lebanon after Vehicle Overturned

Israeli soldiers carrying the coffin of a soldier killed in southern Lebanon during his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Sunday (dpa)
Israeli soldiers carrying the coffin of a soldier killed in southern Lebanon during his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Sunday (dpa)
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Israel Says One Soldier Killed in Lebanon after Vehicle Overturned

Israeli soldiers carrying the coffin of a soldier killed in southern Lebanon during his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Sunday (dpa)
Israeli soldiers carrying the coffin of a soldier killed in southern Lebanon during his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Sunday (dpa)

An Israeli military official ‌said ‌on Thursday a ‌soldier ⁠was killed in ⁠southern Lebanon after a vehicle ⁠had ‌overturned.

The official ‌described the ‌incident ‌as an accident, Reuters said.

Earlier, the ‌military said a soldier ⁠had ⁠died during "operational activity".

The pace of violence in Lebanon has eased recently, but Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed that his forces would remain in southern Lebanon.

“We have stated that, in any case, we will not withdraw, and up to this moment — and this is a diplomatic achievement — there has been no US request for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon,” Katz said in an interview during a conference of local leaders in Tel Aviv.

Israel and Lebanon are currently holding US-mediated talks in Washington aimed at reaching a diplomatic solution to the conflict, including the disarmament of Hezbollah and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Since April, Lebanon has engaged in direct talks with Israel under US pressure, with the aim of ending the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanese authorities have stressed their determination to keep Lebanon’s file separate from negotiations involving Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer.

On Wednesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that “the negotiations in Washington are separate from the meetings held in Switzerland last week between the United States and Iran, which were followed by Qatar and Pakistan.”

Arab World

Iraqi Judiciary Applies ‘Terrorism Provisions’ to Drones

People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Iraqi Judiciary Applies ‘Terrorism Provisions’ to Drones

People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
People watch as smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has instructed the country’s courts to apply the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law to anyone who manufactures, uses, or possesses drones for unlawful purposes, while a security official said the directive is aimed specifically at curbing the activities of armed factions.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, the Council said it had directed the competent courts to enforce Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005 against “anyone who manufactures, uses, or possesses drones employed for purposes contrary to the law.”

The law is Iraq’s principal legal framework for prosecuting terrorist crimes that threaten national unity and public safety, carrying penalties of up to the death sentence for perpetrators, instigators, planners, and financiers.

The directive comes amid months of government efforts to bring all weapons under state control and dismantle armed groups operating outside official security institutions.

An Interior Ministry security official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the judicial directive is “exclusively linked to armed factions” and is intended to increase pressure on them. He said the measure places drone-related offenses under terrorism statutes even though Iraqi law permits the use of officially licensed drones, indicating that it is directed at attacks carried out - or potentially to be carried out - by armed factions.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official described drones as one of Iraq’s most serious security challenges because they are easy to transport and operate, while the country lacks effective counter-drone capabilities, a weakness exposed during recent attacks.

Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, armed factions have carried out hundreds of attacks, many involving drones, against civilian and military targets.

Kurdish sources say cities in the Kurdistan Region alone have come under more than 800 attacks by Iran-aligned factions, ostensibly because of the presence of US forces and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.

The factions have also launched dozens of drone attacks against vital assets in several Gulf states and Jordan, prompting those countries to issue a joint statement on March 25 condemning the attacks and urging Baghdad to take immediate action to halt operations by Iran-backed armed groups.

Iraq has long permitted drones for civilian, commercial, and official security purposes, provided operators obtain prior approval from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and the relevant security agencies.

In early February, the authority introduced new regulations governing licensing, operating requirements, legal obligations, and approved uses, including media production, filmmaking, advertising, tourism, protection of oil and energy pipelines and public utilities, agriculture, environmental monitoring, border security, and official Interior Ministry thermal-drone operations against smugglers.

Drone manufacturing is also “common in Iraq,” according to Ahmed al-Janabi, a software and telecommunications engineer, though primarily for civilian and service-related uses. He said drone components are widely available on Iraqi markets and enter the country through multiple routes, including smuggling networks from Iran via Sulaymaniyah.

Specialized import offices also supply drones, often disguising component shipments. While authorities routinely confiscate unauthorized drones and impose relatively light prison sentences on violators, al-Janabi said the key change is that such offenses are now prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Arab World

Beirut Transfers 128 Syrian Convicts Home

Lebanese army soldiers secure the area at the entrance of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah village, southern Lebanon, 23 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers secure the area at the entrance of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah village, southern Lebanon, 23 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Beirut Transfers 128 Syrian Convicts Home

Lebanese army soldiers secure the area at the entrance of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah village, southern Lebanon, 23 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers secure the area at the entrance of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah village, southern Lebanon, 23 June 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon has transferred 128 Syrian convicts to their home country, a Lebanese security source told AFP on Wednesday, the second batch of handovers under an agreement the two sides signed earlier this year.

Overcrowded Lebanese prisons host around 2,000 Syrian nationals held on various charges.

Many are still awaiting trial, while hundreds have been brought before military courts on charges of "terrorism" or related offences, including attacks on Lebanese forces.

Others are in custody for alleged membership in militant or armed groups that were opposed to now-ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was supported by Lebanon's Hezbollah during the Syrian civil war.

The security source, who requested anonymity, said that Beirut "handed over the second batch of Syrian convicts in Lebanon to Damascus, numbering 128 convicts" on Wednesday.

The transfer follows the handover of more than 130 Syrian detainees in March, under an agreement signed between the two countries the previous month, which will cover almost 300 convicts who have served 10 years or more in Lebanese prisons.

Under the agreement, they will be required to complete the remainder of their sentences in Syria.

At least 260 convicts have now been sent to Syria's Adra prison out of 356 in Lebanon's Roumieh, the source added.

The issue of the detainees had been a sticking point in Beirut-Damascus relations following Assad's overthrow in December 2024.

It was discussed by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during his visit to Damascus in May, where he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Over the past year, both sides have repeatedly expressed their determination to open a new chapter in their relations.