Geagea: Aoun’s Presidency Turned Lebanon into Failed State

Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
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Geagea: Aoun’s Presidency Turned Lebanon into Failed State

Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)
Geagea during his speech on Sunday. (Lebanese Forces)

Lebanese Force leader Samir Geagea slammed on Sunday President Michel Aoun, saying his term was catastrophic for Lebanon.

“His term is that of complete collapse that is being managed by ruling groups that have surrendered authority and state sovereignty,” he added during an address commemorating LF martyrs.

“They have turned Lebanon into a failed state that is ruled by the corrupt, failures, thieves, traitors and criminals,” he stressed.

“There can be no salvation and progress with this ruling class, whose strong foundation is the Hezbollah and Free Patriotic Movement,” he added. The FPM was founded by Aoun and is now headed by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil.

“Aoun’s presidency has been very catastrophic for all Lebanese, especially the Christians,” remarked Geagea.

He acknowledged the criticism against the LF that had reached an agreement with the FPM in 2016 that ensured Aoun’s election as president.

“We extremely regret that a move that was full of good intentions would backfire,” he said. The Maarab agreement, he stressed, had national and Christian intentions. It sought to end the presidential vacuum, achieve national unity and mend historic wounds.

“Unfortunately, the deal turned into an unprecedented tragedy for Lebanon,” lamented Geagea.

“Lebanon is in need of a captain, who can steer the state ship towards safety, not a pirate, who has taken the people hostage to his selfishness and is steering the ship according to his interests.”

Separately, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi informed his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Sunday that Tehran supports the formation of a strong Lebanese government.

In telephone talks with Macron, he said Iran was prepared to cooperate with France to that end.

The formation of a strong government “may ensure and protect the rights of the Lebanese people,” he was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

“We are ready to work with France towards Lebanon and its development,” he stressed, adding that Iran, France and Hezbollah’s efforts to form a strong government “fall in Lebanon’s favor.”



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.