Hariri Says He's not a Candidate but Berri Insists on Nominating Him

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
TT

Hariri Says He's not a Candidate but Berri Insists on Nominating Him

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri speaks during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

French President Emmanuel Macron's second visit to Lebanon's capital next Monday represents the final opportunity for the main political components to prove their readiness to move forward with the necessary reforms and the formation of a new government that would be able to adopt an efficient rescue plan.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in anticipation of Macron’s arrival in Beirut, issued a series of warnings, stating that the Lebanese state “will disappear” unless the parties “respond to the return of international interest in their country after an interruption that lasted for years.”

“The risk today is of Lebanon disappearing so these measures have to be taken,” Le Drian told RTL radio on Thursday.

Talking about Lebanon’s political class, he said: “They are caught up between themselves in a consensus of inactivity…That can’t go on and we are saying that very clearly.”

The French minister wanted to raise the alarm, warning against taking the country into a void, and calling on the parties to soften their position and benefit from the assistance that Macron is personally sponsoring, by giving priority to forming a government whose mission remains limited to implementing the road map to save the country from the economic and financial collapse.

Meanwhile, sources noted that President Michel Aoun is ignoring the tragedy that struck Beirut as a result of the explosion on Aug. 4 and was trying to pretend that the situation was still under control, even though his political power has drastically declined and the Free Patriotic Movement is suffering from isolation in the Christian street.

Meanwhile, the country’s former prime ministers, including Saad Hariri, Fouad Siniora, Najib Mikati and Tamam Salam, met on Wednesday evening and agreed on Aoun’s need to hold the binding parliamentary consultations before nominating a prime minister.

Earlier this week, Hariri announced that he was not a candidate to head the new government, urging all parties to withdraw his name from the ongoing deliberations.

However, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Speaker Nabih Berri was insisting on nominating Hariri as prime minister, despite the latter’s rejection to assume the post. The sources noted that Berri was putting forward Hariri’s name during his negotiations with other political components.



Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
TT

Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced seven factors that would achieve Iraq’s stability.

He made his remarks shortly after Israeli television reported that he was among a list of assassination targets alongside leader of the Houthis in Yemen Abdulmalek al-Houthi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, commander of Iran’s Quds Forces Esmail Qaani and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Sistani received on Monday new representative of the United Nations secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Dr. Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman.

A statement from Sistani’s office called on Iraqis to “derive lessons from the past and to work tirelessly to overcome setbacks and work on building a better future where everyone can live in security, stability and prosperity.”

Sistani has since 2015 been refusing to meet with Iraqi officials in protest over rampant corruption in the country and over how his recommendations have been ignored.

Overcoming corruption demands drafting a practical plan to run the country that relies on competency and integrity and that prevents foreign meddling in Iraq, he added.

It also called for imposing the rule of law and limiting the possession of weapons to the state, he stressed.

“The Iraqis have a long path ahead of them,” he said.

The Iraqi government had protested against the Israeli assassination target list, specifically Sistani’s inclusion in it, calling on the international community to condemn attempts to attack figures who enjoy influence and international respect.

Sistani also said he was “deeply pained by the ongoing tragedies in Lebanon and Gaza,” noting that it was “deeply unfortunate” that the international community and its institutions “have been incapable of imposing effective solutions” to end them or at least protect civilians from Israel’s assaults.

For his part, al-Hassan said he reached an agreement with Sistani to bolster Iraq’s regional and international standing.