عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

Lebanon’s Bassil Eager to Take Part in Pope’s Reception in Baghdad

Head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil. (Reuters)
Head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Lebanon’s Bassil Eager to Take Part in Pope’s Reception in Baghdad

Head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil. (Reuters)
Head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil. (Reuters)

Head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil is reportedly eager to travel to Iraq to take part in the reception for Pope Francis I as he pays a historic visit to the country on Friday.

Bassil is seeking to represent the FPM at the reception, but the Iraqi leadership has refrained from inviting him because it wants to commit to the protocols of the visit and refuses to become embroiled in inter-Lebanese disputes.

Only senior Iraqi politicians and religious figures will take part in the welcome.

Informed Lebanese political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Bassil had indeed sent a request to Iraq “to test the waters” and determine whether he would be invited to attend.

The Iraqi government, in adhering to the protocols, did not invite foreign officials to join the reception, said the sources.

They added, however, that the government’s dismissal of the request goes beyond just sticking to protocol. They explained that Baghdad wanted to avoid any embarrassment in Lebanon and does not want any party to exploit the pope’s visit for political gain given the sharp divisions in the country.

Moreover, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, has since he was sworn in office, been adopting a balanced policy in its Arab relations. This has been evident in his openness to Arab countries, starting with the Gulf, in contrast to his predecessors, who have always been quick to join the “deterrence front” led by Iran, said the sources.

The same balanced approach applies to Lebanon, they continued. This therefore, demands that the pontiff’s visit be kept away from inter-Lebanese disputes and preventing any Lebanese side from exploiting it to make gains against rivals.

Lebanon is mired in an unprecedented political and economic crisis. Its currency and banking systems have collapsed, it is still suffering from the fallout of the devastating explosion at Beirut port on August 4 and politicians have for months been bickering over the formation of a government that must approve much-needed reforms.

President Michel Aoun, Bassil’s father-in-law, has tussled for weeks with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri over the formation process, even as services and living conditions continue to deteriorate in Lebanon and people slip further into poverty.

The sources said that Kadhimi is keen on adopting a policy of “positive neutrality” when it comes to Lebanon. The PM has suggested that Lebanese parties resolve their crisis by implementing the initiative proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Bassil’s presence in Iraq to welcome the pope would therefore, contradict with the above position.

Furthermore, the sources said that Lebanese leaderships were aware of Bassil’s intention to head to Baghdad and the reasons why the federal government has distanced itself from him.

They credited Iraqi authorities for being aware that Bassil would employ his visit for political gain in Lebanon. They suspected that he would have used it to portray himself as a protector of Christians in the region, which goes against the very purpose of the pope’s visit.

The pontiff will meet in Iraq with leaders of various religions, highlighting the country’s diversity and acting as a form of response to the heinous crimes committed in the name of religion by the terrorist ISIS group.

The sources wondered whether Iraq refrained from inviting Bassil due to the sanctions imposed against him by the United States due to his alliance with the Iran-backed Hezbollah party, which, according to many Gulf countries, has played a direct part in destabilizing the region.

They also wondered if it has anything to do with Bassil’s poor relations with France, which blames him for obstructing the implementation of its Lebanon initiative.

Most Viewed

 
Features

As It Attacks Iran's Nuclear Program, Israel Maintains Ambiguity about Its Own

FILE - This file image made from a video aired Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP, File)
FILE - This file image made from a video aired Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP, File)
TT
20
TT

As It Attacks Iran's Nuclear Program, Israel Maintains Ambiguity about Its Own

FILE - This file image made from a video aired Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP, File)
FILE - This file image made from a video aired Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP, File)

Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear program because its archenemy's furtive efforts to build an atomic weapon are a threat to its existence.

What’s not-so-secret is that for decades Israel has been believed to be the Middle East’s only nation with nuclear weapons, even though its leaders have refused to confirm or deny their existence, The Associated Press said.

Israel's ambiguity has enabled it to bolster its deterrence against Iran and other enemies, experts say, without triggering a regional nuclear arms race or inviting preemptive attacks.

Israel is one of just five countries that aren’t party to a global nuclear nonproliferation treaty. That relieves it of international pressure to disarm, or even to allow inspectors to scrutinize its facilities.

Critics in Iran and elsewhere have accused Western countries of hypocrisy for keeping strict tabs on Iran's nuclear program — which its leaders insist is only for peaceful purposes — while effectively giving Israel's suspected arsenal a free pass.

On Sunday, the US military struck three nuclear sites in Iran, inserting itself into Israel’s effort to destroy Iran’s program.

Here's a closer look at Israel's nuclear program:

A history of nuclear ambiguity Israel opened its Negev Nuclear Research Center in the remote desert city of Dimona in 1958, under the country's first leader, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. He believed the tiny fledgling country surrounded by hostile neighbors needed nuclear deterrence as an extra measure of security. Some historians say they were meant to be used only in case of emergency, as a last resort.

After it opened, Israel kept the work at Dimona hidden for a decade, telling United States’ officials it was a textile factory, according to a 2022 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an academic journal.

Relying on plutonium produced at Dimona, Israel has had the ability to fire nuclear warheads since the early 1970s, according to that article, co-authored by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a researcher at the same organization.

Israel's policy of ambiguity suffered a major setback in 1986, when Dimona’s activities were exposed by a former technician at the site, Mordechai Vanunu. He provided photographs and descriptions of the reactor to The Sunday Times of London.

Vanunu served 18 years in prison for treason, and is not allowed to meet with foreigners or leave the country.

ISRAEL POSSESSES DOZENS OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS, EXPERTS SAY

Experts estimate Israel has between 80 and 200 nuclear warheads, although they say the lower end of that range is more likely.

Israel also has stockpiled as much as 1,110 kilograms (2,425 pounds) of plutonium, potentially enough to make 277 nuclear weapons, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a global security organization. It has six submarines believed to be capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles believed to be capable of launching a nuclear warhead up to 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles), the organization says.

Germany has supplied all of the submarines to Israel, which are docked in the northern city of Haifa, according to the article by Kristensen and Korda.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST POSE RISKS

In the Middle East, where conflicts abound, governments are often unstable, and regional alliances are often shifting, nuclear proliferation is particularly dangerous, said Or Rabinowitz, a scholar at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and a visiting associate professor at Stanford University.

“When nuclear armed states are at war, the world always takes notice because we don’t like it when nuclear arsenals ... are available for decision makers,” she said.

Rabinowitz says Israel's military leaders could consider deploying a nuclear weapon if they found themselves facing an extreme threat, such as a weapon of mass destruction being used against them.

Three countries other than Israel have refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: India, Pakistan and South Sudan. North Korea has withdrawn. Iran has signed the treaty, but it was censured last week, shortly before Israel launched its operation, by the UN's nuclear watchdog — a day before Israel attacked — for violating its obligations.

Israel's policy of ambiguity has helped it evade greater scrutiny, said Susie Snyder at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a group that works to promote adherence to the UN treaty.

Its policy has also shined a light on the failure of Western countries to rein in nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, she said.

They “prefer not to be reminded of their own complicity,” she said.