Rai Holds Onto Call for Lebanon’s Neutrality

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Rai Holds Onto Call for Lebanon’s Neutrality

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past concrete barriers erected by authorities to block a street leading to the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai reiterated on Sunday his call for “neutrality” to resolve the country’s crisis.

During Sunday's mass service in Diman, he criticized the factions rejecting neutrality, saying they want to push Lebanon into international and regional wars.

"I don't know if someone who truly cares about the welfare of Lebanon and its people, as well as its unity and return to prosperity, would reject or question this active neutrality or claim that it does not enjoy consensus or that it is hard to achieve," the Patriarch said.

Rai praised the role of the military institution on the occasion of the Lebanese Army's Diamond Jubilee, in defending the sovereignty of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.

"We must rally around the Lebanese army, because it is the protector of the homeland alongside other security institutions, especially in this difficult stage that Lebanon is going through," the Patriarch said.

Rai congratulated the Lebanese people, in general, and Muslims, in particular, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, hoping that it would bring about further peace and prosperity.

In early July, the Patriarch launched a call to announce Lebanon’s neutrality and distance the country from regional and international conflicts.

The call, widely supported by several political parties, was met with silence from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.

However, Grand Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, who is close to both parties, said Friday, "The issue of neutrality is impossible, not because we don't want it, but rather because it is totally infeasible."



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.