What Is the ‘Shiite Duo’s’ Problem with Salam’s Appointment as Lebanon’s PM?

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam waves as he arrives to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam waves as he arrives to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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What Is the ‘Shiite Duo’s’ Problem with Salam’s Appointment as Lebanon’s PM?

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam waves as he arrives to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam waves as he arrives to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Several observers have questioned the strong opposition by the “Shiite duo” of Hezbollah and the Amal movement of the appointment of Nawaf Salam as Lebanon’s prime minister.

Head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad went so far on Monday to declare that the party had been “deceived with the aim of creating division and exclusion” in the country.

Salam was named prime minister on Monday after earning 84 votes from parliamentary blocs. His predecessor Najib Mikati received nine, while the Shiite duo abstained from naming anyone.

Back in 2023, the duo had agreed to a so-called “French initiative” that suggested the election of Hezbollah and Amal’s candidate Suleiman Franjieh as president in exchange for Salam to be named prime minister.

Salam, who in February 2024 was named head of the International Court of Justice, boasts a long history of opposing Israel, which should have earned him Hezbollah’s strong support. He resigned from the post after being designated prime minister.

Figures close to the duo said that one of the issues Hezbollah has with Salam is that since the October 2019 anti-government protests in Lebanon, he has been viewed as the opposition and West’s candidate for the position of prime minister.

Political anlayst Dr. Kassem Kassir told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah and Amal don’t view Salam as a rival as they had agreed to his nomination in line with the French initiative.

The problem, however, lies in how he was nominated. He explained that internal and foreign forces had reached an agreement that would see Joseph Aoun elected president and Mikati named prime minister, he said.

However, it appears that some sort of internal and foreign “coup” had taken place and that led to Salam’s nomination and appointment, he remarked.

On whether the dispute can be resolved, Kassir said “positive stances” during the government formation process may tackle the issue.

“The Shiite duo fear that there may be an agenda aimed at excluding its influential role in political life,” he added.

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (L) speaking with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Hezbollah had warned on Monday that Salam’s government may be “unconstitutional” should it fail to meet its demands and aspirations.

Raad said: “We have the right to demand the formation of a constitutional government. A government that violates joint coexistence is not legal.”

Constitutional expert Dr. Saeed Malek said “constitutionality” is one of the foundations of Lebanon’s political system.

The constitution clearly states that there can be no legitimacy to an authority that violates mutual coexistence, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

However, the issue of “constitutionality” must not be brought up when a certain party wants to deliver a political message and prevent the remaining parties from building a state and practicing their rights, he stressed.

“Yes, the Shiite duo does represent Shiites in Lebanon, but they don’t represent all Lebanese Shiites. The community boasts figures who enrich the Shiite sect, so a government can be formed with them,” Kassir said.

“A government would be unconstitutional if not a single Shiite figure is represented in it,” he underlined.

On whether the government needs the vote of confidence of the Shiite MPs, he said the constitution does not stipulate that a cabinet needs the vote of all segments. “It simply says that it needs the vote of confidence,” he added.

“At the end of the day, the issue of ‘constitutionality’ is a right, but one must not exploit this right with the aim to obstruct state functioning and the formation of a government,” Malek stressed.

“No party has the right to obstruct a new presidential term under the pretext of ‘constitutionality’,” he stated.



Iranians Struggle with GPS Disruption After Israel War

Iranians shop in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on August 13, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians shop in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on August 13, 2025. (AFP)
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Iranians Struggle with GPS Disruption After Israel War

Iranians shop in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on August 13, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians shop in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on August 13, 2025. (AFP)

The streets of Tehran have become a confusing maze for driver Farshad Fooladi amid widespread GPS disruption, still ongoing nearly two months after the end of Iran and Israel's unprecedented 12-day war.

"For weeks I have been unable to work," said Fooladi, who uses Iran's homegrown ride-hailing app Snapp to find customers. "Most of the time was wasted wandering around aimlessly," the 35-year-old Iranian driver added.

Unprecedented disruption has plagued users of GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, in Iran since Israel's surprise attack in mid-June which triggered a deadly 12-day war.

Iran's communications ministry has said the disruptions were necessary for "security and military purposes", without giving further explanation.

Missiles, drones and rockets often use GPS or other similar technologies, which involve triangulating signals from multiple satellites, to find their targets.

Iran has long employed GPS jamming and spoofing around sensitive military sites but the recent disruptions have been the most sustained and widespread.

It remains unclear how long the measures will last or how much damage they have caused to Iranian businesses.

Ride-hailing apps, delivery platforms, and even basic mapping services like Google Maps and its Iranian equivalent Neshan have buckled under the interference.

In many areas, especially around Tehran, users often spot themselves on the maps hundreds of kilometers away from their actual locations.

"To get around, you either need a sharp memory for routes or already know the city well," Fooladi said.

But the driver, originally from the western Lorestan province and less familiar with the capital's winding backstreets, frequently finds himself running into dead ends.

"I only pick up passengers who know the directions, " he said, adding the strategy had severely cut his income.

In early August, the chief executive of the Neshan mapping app, Javad Amel, said in a video interview that daily disruptions through GPS spoofing had been ongoing for years, especially in Tehran.

But he explained in recent weeks that Neshan's daily active users "had dropped by 15 percent, while navigation activity on the app fell by 20 percent".

The continued disruption has heightened fears of a deepening economic crisis among Iranians.

The country's economy is already struggling under the weight of decades of international sanctions and mismanagement, compounded by the revival of US President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign earlier this year.

Nuclear talks with Washington, which began in April, have also stalled since the United States joined its ally Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites in June.

"This war has upended our lives and frozen our future plans," said Fooladi.

In a report last week, the Khabar Online news agency warned against the disruption of GPS, saying it caused "collateral damage" to the digital economy and public safety, including delays to emergency services.

Former communications minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi argued the disruption was costly and would likely have limited defensive results.

"Drone manufacturers and operators are not stupid either. If the GPS is disrupted and another positioning system replaces it, they will also use the new system," Jahromi said according to his Telegram channel.

With the significant impact on civilian lives, deputy communications minister Ehsan Chitsaz suggested that Iran could consider alternatives to GPS.

"Disruptions are created by domestic systems on GPS, and this has pushed us toward alternative options such as BeiDou," he told Iranian daily Ham Mihan in July.

The Chinese satellite system BeiDou, fully operational since 2020, is emerging as a global rival to the US-built and operated GPS.

Chitsaz said Iran was "drafting a program" so some of the country's location-based services for transport, agriculture could "gradually migrate from GPS to BeiDou".

He acknowledged disruptions in Iran, coupled with years-long internet restrictions, have damaged businesses and created "social distrust and despair".

But experts say that replacing GPS would be complex.

"Doing so would require extensive and costly infrastructure changes," said Amir Rashidi of the US-based Miaan group, adding that Iran is currently "highly vulnerable in cyberspace".

Many in Iran believe that another confrontation with Israel is on the horizon as Israel and the United States continue to threaten attacks if Iran restarts its nuclear program, which has been on hold since the war.

"Everything is uncertain, and we can't plan. The future is unclear," said Mohammad Hossein Ghanbari, a 32-year-old Snapp driver.

"We don't know whether the war will break out again or what will happen next."