Lebanon’s Speaker Seeks Hezbollah-PSP Reconciliation

File Photo/ Berri meets with Jumblat (NNA)
File Photo/ Berri meets with Jumblat (NNA)
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Lebanon’s Speaker Seeks Hezbollah-PSP Reconciliation

File Photo/ Berri meets with Jumblat (NNA)
File Photo/ Berri meets with Jumblat (NNA)

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri has been exerting efforts to bridge the gap between his two allies, Hezbollah and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), after their ties reached a stage of rivalry.

Hezbollah and its allies have lately escalated their campaign against PSP leader Walid Jumblat after the Druze leader expressed doubts that the disputed Shebaa Farms area on the border with Israel is Lebanese territory, and also rejected that a cement factory in the town of Ain Dara in Aley becomes functional again.

On Sunday, Berri succeeded to hold a coordination meeting at his residence in Ain el-Tineh between representatives from his Amal Movement, Hezbollah and the PSP.

However, the results seem to have not satisfied the speaker, whose sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there has been “no thaw” in the relations between Hezbollah and the PSP.

“There is a standstill,” the sources said.

"There was a frank discussion and an agreement to continue the talks in a positive spirit," Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who is an Amal official, said following the meeting.

In response to a question on the Shebaa Farms, Khalil asserted that the area “is Lebanese.”

This was clearly emphasized by different Lebanese parties during all-party talks in 2006, he said.

The sources said that during Sunday’s meeting, both sides clarified their viewpoints on controversial issues, including the Shebaa Farms and the factory in Ain Dara.

The meeting was attended by Industry Minister Wael Abou Faour and former Minister Ghazi Aridi from the PSP, and Hezbollah’s Hussein Khalil and Wafiq Safa. Amal’s representatives were the finance minister and Ahmed Baalbaki.



Egypt Welcomes Tehran’s Renaming of ‘Islamabouli Street’ as a Turning Point in Relations with Iran

Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt Welcomes Tehran’s Renaming of ‘Islamabouli Street’ as a Turning Point in Relations with Iran

Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Relations between Egypt and Iran saw a notable thaw following Araghchi’s visit to Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt has welcomed Iran’s decision to rename a Tehran street once dedicated to Khalid al-Islamabouli - the Egyptian army officer who assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 - describing the move as a significant step toward resetting bilateral relations.

In the first official Egyptian response to the development, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Tamim Khallaf told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Renaming the street is a positive step in Egyptian-Iranian relations. It helps put matters back on the right track.”

The street, long a source of tension between Cairo and Tehran, has now been renamed after Hassan Nasrallah, the former Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, following a decision by the Tehran City Council.

Iranian media reported that a formal ceremony was held to unveil the new name, attended by officials, intellectuals, and civil society figures. The change was part of a wider initiative that saw 11 streets in the capital renamed last month.

Dr. Hoda Raouf, a Cairo-based expert on Iranian affairs, said the move reflects “a meaningful shift and a clear sign of Iran’s serious intent to restore relations with Egypt.”

She noted that Egyptian-Iranian ties have two key dimensions: regional security - particularly Egypt’s opposition to Iranian interference in countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen - and the bilateral relationship, which has long been strained over symbolic gestures such as honoring Sadat’s assassin.

Political philosopher and Iran specialist Dr. Mohamed Khairy echoed that assessment, calling the street name change “a significant development.”

He emphasized that the decision was passed by majority vote and attended by influential figures from Iran’s political establishment, which he said reflects a genuine desire within Iran to repair ties with Cairo.

The gesture comes amid signs of warming relations between the two nations. Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi recently visited Cairo, where he met President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and senior officials.

His visit included a symbolic walk through the historic Khan el-Khalili bazaar, prayers at the Al-Hussein Mosque, and dinner at the famed Naguib Mahfouz restaurant.

Sisi also held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the recent Israeli escalation against Iran, in which he affirmed Egypt’s rejection of Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.