Lebanon’s Hariri Says his ‘Political Intentions Are Clear’

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives a delegation from Iqlim al-Kharroub. Dalati and Nohra photo
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives a delegation from Iqlim al-Kharroub. Dalati and Nohra photo
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Lebanon’s Hariri Says his ‘Political Intentions Are Clear’

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives a delegation from Iqlim al-Kharroub. Dalati and Nohra photo
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives a delegation from Iqlim al-Kharroub. Dalati and Nohra photo

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has said that it was not possible to govern the country amid differences between its different factions.

Lebanon can only be governed through “understanding and cooperation,” said Hariri on Friday.

"We have full confidence in our institutions and the state, but what is happening with the obstacles facing government formation,” it has become clear who is blocking it, Hariri said during a meeting with officials from his Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party in Iqlim al-Kharroub.

“We have no choice but to work together to preserve each other,” said Hariri, who has been trying for months to form a national unity cabinet.

“My political intentions are clear,” he said, hinting that his rivals had ulterior motives in obstructing the government lineup.

Hariri reiterated that the Lebanese Constitution on the formation of the cabinet is clear.

“It states that the PM-designate forms his government in consultation with the President,” said Hariri.

Yet many sides have no interest in implementing the Taef Accord, he told his visitors.

Unfortunately, last week’s defamation campaign only “hurt Lebanon,” he added.

Druze politician Wiam Wahhab has been at the heart of rising political tension over the last week with a series of verbal attacks on Hariri.

Hariri supporters lodged a legal complaint against Wahhab.

The tension has cast another shadow over efforts to form a new national unity government more than six months since an election, with rival parties still unable to agree on how to share out portfolios in the new cabinet.

The internal security forces said they went to Wahhab's village of al-Jahiliya to take him for questioning after the public prosecutor accepted the legal complaint against him and referred the matter to the police.

In a statement, police said one of Wahhab's aides – Mohamed Abu Diyab - was shot in "random" gunfire by Wahhab supporters and denied the police had opened fire.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.