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Jordan, Lebanon Committed to Two-State Solution, Reject Plans to Displace Palestinians

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Amman, on June 10, 2025. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Amman, on June 10, 2025. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
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Jordan, Lebanon Committed to Two-State Solution, Reject Plans to Displace Palestinians

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Amman, on June 10, 2025. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Amman, on June 10, 2025. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed on Tuesday during talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II the importance of strengthening security and defense cooperation between their countries, especially in the field of combating terrorism and smuggling.

Aoun began an official visit to Jordan on Tuesday, where he met with King Abdullah II at the Basman Palace in Amman.

The two leaders agreed to form a high-level coordination mechanism between their countries in a number of sectors. They discussed ways to boost ties between Jordan and Lebanon, as well as recent developments in the region.

King Abdullah and Aoun expressed their pride in the deep-rooted relations between Amman and Beirut, and the importance of continuing to build on them in service of mutual interests and Arab causes. They stressed the importance of maintaining coordination and consultation on issues of mutual concern.

At the regional level, the leaders reiterated their rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians, and urged stepping up Arab and international efforts to reach just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution, reported Lebanon’s National New Agency (NNA)

They urged the need to immediately reinstate the ceasefire in Gaza and ensure adequate humanitarian aid reaches all areas of the enclave, said a statement by Jordan's royal court.

King Abdullah also highlighted the danger of the unprecedented Israeli escalation and violence targeting Palestinians in the West Bank, and Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Aoun stressed the need to strengthen security and defense cooperation between Lebanon and Jordan, especially in the field of combating terrorism and smuggling, said a Lebanese presidency statement.

He underlined the importance of boosting economic and trade cooperation and exchanging expertise to promote sustainable development.

The meeting covered the importance of increasing the volume of trade exchange and promoting joint investments, particularly in energy, electricity, and infrastructure sectors.

Discussing the situation in southern Lebanon, Aoun reiterated his country’s commitment “to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, while denouncing the continued Israeli aggression against the southern villages and suburbs of Beirut.”

The president also drew attention to the pressing issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, describing it as a significant burden on both countries that requires a just solution ensuring safe and dignified repatriation.

On Lebanese-Syrian relations following the ouster of the Assad regime, Aoun said Lebanese and Syrian authorities are coordinating to address issues related to the situation on their joint borders.

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Arab World

Will Lebanon Be the Biggest Loser After the Ceasefire?

Smoke rises after an Iranian missile is intercepted over the Sahel Alma area in Mount Lebanon. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after an Iranian missile is intercepted over the Sahel Alma area in Mount Lebanon. (Reuters)
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Will Lebanon Be the Biggest Loser After the Ceasefire?

Smoke rises after an Iranian missile is intercepted over the Sahel Alma area in Mount Lebanon. (Reuters)
Smoke rises after an Iranian missile is intercepted over the Sahel Alma area in Mount Lebanon. (Reuters)

Political sources in Beirut warned Lebanon could emerge as the biggest loser when the current regional war ends, outlining their concerns to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Lebanon is heading toward a severe internal crisis, the sharpest in its modern history with the dispute centering on Hezbollah’s weapons.

The majority of Shiites in the country insists on keeping them, while most other segments say Lebanon’s survival depends on implementing government decisions to limit arms to the state, in line with Lebanese, Arab, and international positions.

The sources noted that Hezbollah has again entered a regional war it cannot influence, risking burdens Lebanon cannot bear.

Hefty price

The war is proving costly for those involved and for countries hit by its spillover.

A ceasefire would likely show Iran suffered heavy damage to its defense, industrial sectors, and infrastructure, potentially setting it back decades. But its size, energy resources, and experience with economic hardship may help it manage the aftermath, unless losses destabilize the system.

Iranian missiles are expected to have caused damage to Israeli institutions and infrastructure, despite a high interception rate. The cost of interception is steep, but Israel appears ready to absorb it, calling the conflict an existential war and relying on strong US support.

Lebanon will struggle the most. Its economy is already near collapse. The country faces a catastrophic situation, with about one million displaced and heavy destruction along the border with Israel.

Israel has said it intends to establish a “buffer zone” inside Lebanese territory, signaling a return of occupation to parts of the country “pending guarantees for the safety of Galilee residents.”

The most dangerous scenario is that Israel’s campaign on the Lebanese front continues even if a ceasefire is reached between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.

The fallout is worsened by a deepening rift among Lebanon’s components, raising the risk of internal conflict.

The role of parliament Speaker Nabih Berri appears diminished as the conflict widens. The current crisis over the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador reflects a deeper divide between the Shiite camp and others over weapons, the war, and Lebanon’s regional role.

Hezbollah described the expulsion as a “sin”, demanding that the government reverse it.

‘Impossible to coexist’

Voices are rising in Lebanon, warning that it was “impossible to coexist” between a “quasi-state” and a “Hezbollah’s statelet.”

Countries that once backed Lebanon’s reconstruction, especially in the Gulf, are now focused on their own losses from Iranian attacks. They have also made clear that they will not help unless the Lebanese state takes full control over decisions of war and peace.

The sources reiterated their warning that Lebanon risks being the biggest loser, especially if Israel expands its ground offensive and internal divisions deepen to the point of questioning the country’s very formula of coexistence.

Arab World

Netanyahu Says Israel Is Expanding ‘Buffer Zone’ in Lebanon

Smoke billows from an Israeli strike on Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. (AFP)
Smoke billows from an Israeli strike on Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. (AFP)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Is Expanding ‘Buffer Zone’ in Lebanon

Smoke billows from an Israeli strike on Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. (AFP)
Smoke billows from an Israeli strike on Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his country's forces were expanding a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon as the military pressed ahead with its campaign against Hezbollah.

"We have created a genuine security zone preventing any infiltration toward the Galilee and the northern border," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"We are expanding this zone to push the threat from anti-tank missiles further away and to establish a broader buffer zone."

Netanyahu said that dismantling Hezbollah "remains central" to Israel's objectives in Lebanon.

"It is connected to the broader confrontation with Iran," he said.

"We are determined to profoundly transform the situation in Lebanon," he added.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Arab World

Strike on Western Iraq Kills Seven Security Personnel

Members of Iraq's PMF carry the coffin of the PMF operations commander for Al-Anbar, Saad Dawai alongside others during a mass funeral in Baghdad on March 24, 2026. (AFP)
Members of Iraq's PMF carry the coffin of the PMF operations commander for Al-Anbar, Saad Dawai alongside others during a mass funeral in Baghdad on March 24, 2026. (AFP)
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Strike on Western Iraq Kills Seven Security Personnel

Members of Iraq's PMF carry the coffin of the PMF operations commander for Al-Anbar, Saad Dawai alongside others during a mass funeral in Baghdad on March 24, 2026. (AFP)
Members of Iraq's PMF carry the coffin of the PMF operations commander for Al-Anbar, Saad Dawai alongside others during a mass funeral in Baghdad on March 24, 2026. (AFP)

A strike on a base in western Iraq killed seven security personnel, the defense ministry said Wednesday, a day after an attack on the same base targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces.

"This resulted in the death of seven of our heroic fighters and the injury of 13 others," the ministry said of the strike in Anbar province, saying it specifically targeted the base's military healthcare clinic.

Rescue operations were ongoing, it added.

The base hosts Iraqi police, soldiers from the regular army and PMF, a security official told AFP.

It was hit by a deadly strike on Tuesday that the former paramilitaries blamed on the United States.

Iraq said late on Tuesday it would summon the US charge d'affaires and the Iranian ambassador after deadly strikes blamed on their countries, as Iraqi authorities granted the targeted groups the "right to respond".

Iraq has been pulled into the war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and which has since engulfed much of the region.

Iraq has long been a proxy battleground for the United States and Iran, and has struggled to balance diplomatic ties with both countries.

Since the war began, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups, including state-linked positions.

In the statement from the prime minister's office, however, Iraq granted former paramilitaries within the official armed forces the right to "respond to military attacks" by drones and aircraft that targeted their headquarters.