Lebanon: Aoun Pushes for Govt Crisis With Hezbollah Support for Vetoing Third

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds a document as he speaks during the 16th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 14, 2021. (REUTERS)
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds a document as he speaks during the 16th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 14, 2021. (REUTERS)
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Lebanon: Aoun Pushes for Govt Crisis With Hezbollah Support for Vetoing Third

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds a document as he speaks during the 16th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 14, 2021. (REUTERS)
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds a document as he speaks during the 16th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 14, 2021. (REUTERS)

Lebanon’s political stalemate is awaiting a reaction by French President Emmanuel Macron over President Michel Aoun’s insistence to lock the doors to the birth of the new government.

Despite Macron’s efforts and his direct involvement in the government crisis, a meeting on Friday between Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in Baabda brought back negotiations to form a new government to ground zero.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that the French president contacted Aoun ahead of the meeting. They also stressed that Macron would not remain idle in the face of the Lebanese president’s intransigence in his refusal to push the government’s formation process forward.

In a speech on Sunday, Hariri lashed out at Aoun, accusing him of obstructing all attempts to form a government and brandishing a list he said he received from the president that included names of persons the latter personally selected to join the government.

The Lebanese presidency responded to Hariri’s speech by accusing him of imposing new norms outside the rules of the cabinet formation process, but without denying the names contained in the list.

A statement by the presidency said that Hariri’s speech included “many fallacies and incorrect statements.”

According to the sources, Hariri coordinated with Macron in every point and obstacle that is still delaying the formation of the government, especially as the French president has become aware of all the details.

They added that Macron would not remain silent and would express, in the coming days, the appropriate position towards the party that is obstructing the birth of the government.

The sources emphasized that they had enough indications that Hezbollah was backing Aoun’s insistence on having the blocking third in the government. Hariri had reiterated his rejection to granting the vetoing third to any side – a position that was also expressed by Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP).

Therefore, Aoun finds himself politically isolated and forced to hand over his papers to Hezbollah. He is currently trying, according to the sources, to lead the country to a government crisis, as the only way to restore the political role of his son-in-law, former Minister and MP Gebran Bassil.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.