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Lebanon Politicians Name Mustapha Adib as Favorite for PM

A file photo taken on July 18, 2013, shows Lebanon's ambassador to Berlin Mustapha Adib posing for a picture, upon his appointment to the position, in Bellevue Castle in the German capital Berlin. (Photo by WOLFGANG KUMM / DPA / AFP)
A file photo taken on July 18, 2013, shows Lebanon's ambassador to Berlin Mustapha Adib posing for a picture, upon his appointment to the position, in Bellevue Castle in the German capital Berlin. (Photo by WOLFGANG KUMM / DPA / AFP)
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Lebanon Politicians Name Mustapha Adib as Favorite for PM

A file photo taken on July 18, 2013, shows Lebanon's ambassador to Berlin Mustapha Adib posing for a picture, upon his appointment to the position, in Bellevue Castle in the German capital Berlin. (Photo by WOLFGANG KUMM / DPA / AFP)
A file photo taken on July 18, 2013, shows Lebanon's ambassador to Berlin Mustapha Adib posing for a picture, upon his appointment to the position, in Bellevue Castle in the German capital Berlin. (Photo by WOLFGANG KUMM / DPA / AFP)

Lebanon's ambassador to Germany appeared slated to become the country's next prime minister after getting the support of former PMs, Hezbollah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement on Sunday.

Mustapha Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post.

“The target of political and national action at this stage must be to save Lebanon from what is suffering from,” said Fouad Siniora, an ex-PM, reading a joint statement.

The announcement came a day before French President Emmanuel Macron was due to arrive for a two day-visit, during which he was expected to press Lebanese officials to formulate a new political pact to lift the country out of its multiple crises, political stalemates, and entrenched corruption and of mismanagement.

It’s Macron’s second visit to Beirut in less than a month. He came days after the devastating Aug. 4 blast in the port of Beirut that killed 190 people, wounded 6,000 and pulverized parts of the capital.

Adib is the only name to emerge so far as a favorite for the post of prime minister, who according to Lebanon’s sectarian-based power sharing system has to be a Sunni. The candidate who gets the most support is asked to form the new cabinet.

Hezbollah and Amal will also nominate Adib, the candidate put forward by Saad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement, a senior source said on Sunday.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil told Reuters his party will do the same.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government resigned on Aug. 10, six days after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port.

Adib, who has been Lebanon's ambassador to Germany since 2013, served as an advisor to one of Lebanon's former Prime Ministers, Najib Mikati. He took part in the committee in charge of writing Lebanon’s new electoral law in 2005 and 2006, and acted as his chief of Cabinet in 2011.

Adib, 48, and a native of the northern city of Tripoli, holds a PhD in law and political sciences and had taught in universities in Lebanon and France.

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Arab World

US Puts $10 Million Bounty on Iraq’s Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada Leader

Members of Iraq's pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Members of Iraq's pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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US Puts $10 Million Bounty on Iraq’s Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada Leader

Members of Iraq's pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Members of Iraq's pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah) gather in a mourning procession for one of their comrades who was killed the previous day in a strike in Basra, during the funeral in Baghdad on April 8, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

The United States has placed a $10 million bounty on the leader of an Iranian-backed Shiite group in Iraq.

The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program issued a notice it sought the leader of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

It said Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji led the group, whose members “killed
Iraqi civilians and attacked US diplomatic facilities in Iraq.”

It also said Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada attacked US military bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria.

Iraq has several Shiite groups backed by Iran that are part of the country’s Popular Mobilization Forces.

Arab World

Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Extended by 3 Weeks after White House Meeting

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 April 2026. President Trump met with Lebanese and Israeli envoys at the White House for a new round of peace talks. EPA/WILL OLIVER / POOL
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 April 2026. President Trump met with Lebanese and Israeli envoys at the White House for a new round of peace talks. EPA/WILL OLIVER / POOL
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Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Extended by 3 Weeks after White House Meeting

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 April 2026. President Trump met with Lebanese and Israeli envoys at the White House for a new round of peace talks. EPA/WILL OLIVER / POOL
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 April 2026. President Trump met with Lebanese and Israeli envoys at the White House for a new round of peace talks. EPA/WILL OLIVER / POOL

Lebanon and Israel extended their ceasefire for three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

Trump hosted Israel's ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Moawad in the Oval Office for a second round of US-facilitated talks.

"The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump added that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future.

Trump also spoke to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the participants in the meeting, saying he hoped the leaders would meet during the three-week cessation of hostilities. He said there was "a great chance" the two countries would reach a peace agreement this year.

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also attended the meeting.

The ceasefire, reached after talks between the two nations' ambassadors ⁠to Washington ⁠last week, was set to expire on Sunday. It has yielded a significant reduction in violence, but attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have seized a self-declared buffer zone.

The Lebanese president said a day earlier that during the talks Moawad would ask for an end to Israeli home demolitions in villages and towns occupied by Israel after the latest war broke out on March 2.

Moawad thanked Trump for hosting the talks. "I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again," she said.

Asked how the US would help Lebanon to fight Hezbollah, Trump did not provide details but said Washington had "a great relationship with Lebanon."

Trump said Israel had to be able to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah.

He also called for Lebanon to abolish laws against engagement with Israel.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that that will be ended very quickly. I'll make sure of that," Trump said.

Arab World

Iraq Ruling Alliance Nears Critical Constitutional Deadline

From a Coordination Framework alliance meeting in Baghdad (INA)
From a Coordination Framework alliance meeting in Baghdad (INA)
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Iraq Ruling Alliance Nears Critical Constitutional Deadline

From a Coordination Framework alliance meeting in Baghdad (INA)
From a Coordination Framework alliance meeting in Baghdad (INA)

Iraq’s Coordination Framework is set to meet on Friday, the final day of the constitutional deadline to name a prime minister-designate, as disputes persist among Shiite factions over both the selection mechanism and the final nominee, threatening to push the country into a new constitutional crisis.

In that context, the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, led by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, denied any US objection to his serving a second term and rejected reports that Ihsan al-Awadi had been proposed as an alternative candidate to form a government, reaffirming its backing for al-Sudani as the “sole candidate.”

The Coordination Framework has postponed its decisive meeting more than once before announcing in an official statement that the session would be moved to Friday “to allow more time for dialogue and to reach a conclusion within the constitutional period.”

Hardening positions

Mushriq al-Furaiji, a member of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, said divisions inside the Framework were marked by “hardening positions.”

He said a proposal to adopt a two-thirds vote of Framework lawmakers to choose the nominee had been rejected by Nouri al-Maliki. He added that about 114 lawmakers backed Sudani’s nomination, compared with around 50 supporting Maliki.

Firas al-Musallamawi, spokesman for the coalition, said Framework leaders had discussed adopting the principle of a two-thirds majority, but disagreement remained over whether that should be calculated from the total number of Framework leaders or from the number of their lawmakers in parliament.

By contrast, Hassan Fadam, a member of the Hikma Movement, said the final contest was likely to narrow to Sudani and Bassem al-Badri, while Zuhair al-Jalabi of the State of Law Coalition said Maliki had “not officially withdrawn,” adding that his continued candidacy was limiting the possibility of putting forward other nominees.

Saqr al-Mohammadawi, a lawmaker from the Sadiqoun bloc, said in a press statement that Framework leaders were moving to settle the nominee’s name at the upcoming meeting, adding that the option of a compromise candidate would remain on the table if differences persisted.

Fallout from the delay

The developments come after Nizar Amidi was elected president, triggering a 15-day constitutional deadline for the designation of a candidate from the largest parliamentary bloc to form a government, under Article 76 of the constitution.

During a meeting with Maliki, Amidi urged Framework forces to quickly settle on their nominee “within the constitutional timelines,” warning of the consequences of delay for political stability.

The dispute within the Framework centers on the definition of the “largest bloc” and the mechanism for choosing the nominee: either relying on a decision by Framework leaders or resorting to a vote by its roughly 185 lawmakers.

A legal debate has also emerged over what would happen if the deadline expired without a nominee being presented, given the absence of any explicit constitutional text addressing such a case.

Observers say failure to reach agreement at Friday’s meeting could return the country to political deadlock and leave the president facing complex constitutional choices, at a time when Shiite factions are confronting, for the first time since 2003, a sharp split that threatens their political cohesion.

The political crisis comes amid US pressure on Baghdad. Sources said Washington had halted a cash shipment worth about $500 million that had been headed to Iraq and had suspended parts of its security cooperation with Baghdad, in a move aimed at pressuring the Iraqi government over the actions of Iran-backed militias, according to Reuters.

Western sources also told Asharq Al-Awsat that coordination between Washington and Baghdad was currently “at its lowest level.”