عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Debate over 'Qualifications’ of Lebanese President Heats Up Between Geagea, Bassil

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is pictured during a meeting in Bkirki, Lebanon, October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is pictured during a meeting in Bkirki, Lebanon, October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Debate over 'Qualifications’ of Lebanese President Heats Up Between Geagea, Bassil

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is pictured during a meeting in Bkirki, Lebanon, October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is pictured during a meeting in Bkirki, Lebanon, October 30, 2021. (Reuters)

With the race over the presidency heating up in Lebanon, debate is raging over the qualifications of the next president.

Amid the political divides in the country, each rival camp has come up with their own set of conditions that they believe qualifies a candidate to run for the country’s top post.

The debate is particularly fierce between long-time rivals the Free Patriotic Movement, headed by MP Gebran Bassil and founded by his father-in-law and current President Michel Aoun, and the Lebanese Forces, headed by Samir Geagea.

Bassil had recently declared that the presidential candidate should enjoy the greatest popular support and that he should represent their Christian sect.

In Lebanon, the president is always a Maronite Christian, as per the National Pact that also says the prime minister is always a Sunni figure and the parliament speaker a Shiite.

Bassil’s remarks were understood as an attempt to eliminate former MP and Hezbollah candidate Suleiman Franjieh from the presidential race given that he doesn’t enjoy a sizable parliamentary bloc.

They were also interpreted as an attempt to reach a compromise with Geagea over the presidency.

The LF leader was quick to reject the proposal, saying he “would not be fooled twice”.

He instead reiterated his call on the opposition to agree on a candidate who would challenge Bassil and his ally, Hezbollah, adding that Aoun “is the weakest president in Lebanon’s history.”

As it stands, it appears impossible to bring together the leaders of the two largest Christian blocs in parliament or for them to agree to the candidacy of either Geagea or Bassil.

Moreover, the LF has said that it would be useless for Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai to call the rivals to meet given the fundamental national differences between them.

The FPM, however, believes that holding a meeting for Christian leaders with Rai is “essential” to preparing for the presidential elections. Aoun’s term ends in October.

Senior sources in the FPM dismissed claims that Bassil is seeking a compromise with Geagea over the presidency.

They also said that the option of reaching an agreement with Franjieh still stands as long as the conditions set by Bassil - that the candidate head a sizeable parliamentary bloc or be nominated by a sizable Christian bloc - are met.

The sources acknowledged that the FPM and LF enjoy the largest blocs in parliament, but clarified that Bassil’s statements do not mean that the nomination of a president will be restricted to these two parties.

Moreover, they stressed that Bassil “is not seeking to run for president.”

They added that Bassil’s remarks meant that the candidate must be chosen from their Christian environment and that the choice “must not be usurped by Muslim blocs.”

Such a move would violate the National Pact, they warned, while noting that Aoun boasted the largest bloc in 2018 and retained it in 2022.

The sources added that the FPM would ultimately support any proposal offered by Rai to bring together Christian leaderships to discuss the elections and bar other parties from undermining the presidential race.

“Bassil is not eyeing the presidency,” reiterated the sources, “but he will wage a battle if he sensed an attempt to usurp the nomination by Muslim blocs. He is simply asking for the National Pact to be implemented.”

On the other side of the divide, LF sources said the party has found no common ground or any opportunity for rapprochement with the FPM.

They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Bassil has shifted the debate over the Christian representation of the president to popular representation.

They added that the FPM is no longer the greatest representative of Christians after it lost its parliamentary majority to the LF in the May elections.

Rather, the FPM is now relying on its Shiite allies, meaning Hezbollah, to add political weight to its stances.

The FPM has incurred the ire of various sects, topped by the Christians, because of its policies in recent years, continued the sources.

The sources explained that two approaches are now on the table regarding the presidency.

The first, presented by Bassil, has been tested under Aoun’s current term. It aims to cover the “Hezbollah republic” in Lebanon and has led the country to disaster, collapse and isolation.

The second, offered by the LF, calls for the establishment of a completely different republic that seeks to help Lebanon out of this dismal situation.

The sources stressed that the LF is now the “strongest popular and Christian representative. It reflects the historic path followed by Christians in Lebanon.”

Bassil and Aoun, on the other hand, were at one point the greatest representatives, but they chose to go against the historic path by undermining all Christian values that call for the establishment of a sovereign, diverse, democratic and independent state.

They abandoned all this for the state of Hezbollah, charged the sources.

Furthermore, they added that Rai was in no way prepared to call for a meeting for Christian leaders.

The dispute between the FPM and LF revolves around two political projects. One is non-Lebanese, pursued by the FPM and Hezbollah, and the other is Lebanese, advocated by the LF.

This major national divide does not demand a Christian meeting and there is no point to it given how sharp the dispute is, they added.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Advances in South Lebanon Toward Heights Overlooking Nabatieh, Galilee

An Israeli army flag flies over the ruins of destroyed buildings in Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon (EPA)
An Israeli army flag flies over the ruins of destroyed buildings in Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon (EPA)
TT
TT

Israel Advances in South Lebanon Toward Heights Overlooking Nabatieh, Galilee

An Israeli army flag flies over the ruins of destroyed buildings in Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon (EPA)
An Israeli army flag flies over the ruins of destroyed buildings in Kfar Kila, southern Lebanon (EPA)

The Israeli army pushed forward again on Thursday around the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, seeking to reach the strategic Ali al-Taher heights, an area it has pounded with dozens of strikes over the past two years.

Lebanese security assessments suggest the aim is to reach tunnels and facilities belonging to Hezbollah.

The move followed a similar strategic advance two weeks earlier, when Israeli forces reached the strategic Beaufort Castle east of Nabatieh before expanding around it.

Their next objective is Ali al-Taher hill, one of the last strategic heights overlooking Nabatieh from the west. The hill also overlooks Lebanese towns occupied by Israel and, in some places, has a line of sight toward settlements and towns in Galilee in northern Israel’s eastern sector.

New advance

Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers were seen at the Zafata site in Kfar Tebnit, east of Nabatieh, on the main road linking Marjayoun to Nabatieh.

Reports said Israeli forces had seized eastern and central neighborhoods of Kfar Tebnit amid widespread destruction. Local media said tanks advanced from Kfar Tebnit into Nabatieh al-Fawqa, southeast of Nabatieh city.

Security sources in southern Lebanon said the push toward Nabatieh al-Fawqa aimed to widen Israel’s “fire safety zone” and prevent Hezbollah fighters from launching drones and guided missiles at Israeli armor.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the expansion was an attempt to push fighters away from the Beaufort Castle area and its surroundings, giving armored vehicles and other military vehicles room to advance toward the heights without being targeted.

The sources said reaching Zafata, a former artillery position used by Israeli forces before their withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, meant the objective was to seize the Ali al-Taher heights, no more than two kilometers from the point reached.

They said taking the hill was a strategic goal for Israeli forces, given their repeated shelling of it in recent months with bunker-buster and concussion bombs, strengthening the belief that Israel seeks to enter underground facilities thought to belong to Hezbollah.

The Israeli army paved the way for the advance overnight Wednesday into Thursday with heavy airstrikes on wooded areas in Jarmaq and Kfar Rumman and on hills overlooking the area, aiming to prevent armor from being hit by guided missiles or drones.

Artillery fire also intensified across the surrounding area, a tactic usually used during attempts to push into new territory.

Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of Qatrani in the Jezzine area near Shbeil School. Warplanes carried out four strikes on the same location.

Artillery also hit Ali al-Taher woods on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, the area around Al-Najdeh Al-Shaabiya Hospital in Nabatieh and the Kfar Rumman roundabout, all close to the incursion points.

Western sector

The incursion coincided with other movements that appeared to test Hezbollah’s defenses in the Mansouri area of the western sector. Two military vehicles were spotted in Mansouri after advancing from Tayr Harfa and Shama, but they quickly turned back.

Hezbollah said in two separate statements that it had targeted gatherings of Israeli vehicles and soldiers with rockets at the Rajman area near Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon.

Local media said Israeli forces tried to advance from the Tayr Harfa-Jebbayn triangle toward the valley, in preparation for entering Majdal Zoun. The move coincided with more than 15 airstrikes on Majdal Zoun and Wadi Hassan, as well as heavy artillery fire.

Heavy clashes broke out overnight Wednesday into Thursday with Hezbollah fighters, who used rocket-propelled grenades and a loitering drone. The fighting forced Israeli forces to retreat and withdraw from the axis along which they had advanced.

Israeli artillery resumed shelling Wadi Hassan and its surroundings on Thursday morning with heavy 155 mm rounds, as warplanes and drones flew intensively over the area.

Continued shelling

In parallel, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building near Hiram Hospital in Tyre killed one person and wounded 17 others, including 10 nurses and hospital employees. Flying glass from shattered windows and doors caused the injuries.

The strike also damaged ceilings in some patient and emergency rooms and window panes, and destroyed cars belonging to doctors and employees in the hospital courtyard.

The Health Ministry’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center said Israeli strikes on Tayr Debba in the Tyre district killed nine people, including a woman, and wounded 10 others.

Operations inside Lebanon

The Israeli army said on Thursday that forces from the 91st Brigade had killed 35 Hezbollah militants over the past week as they moved near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. It said the forces destroyed a rocket launcher hidden among trees and killed another militant in the area over the past day.

The army also said troops had seized quantities of weapons and ammunition, including rockets and RPG rounds, at various sites during ongoing military operations.

In the morning, the Israeli army said the Home Front Command had issued a precautionary directive after detecting launches from Lebanon toward northern Israel, urging people to enter protected areas when warnings are activated.

Arab World

Saudi Reopening to Lebanese Exports Boosts Economic and Agricultural Hopes

A photo of the Lebanese and Saudi flags. (National News Agency)
A photo of the Lebanese and Saudi flags. (National News Agency)
TT
TT

Saudi Reopening to Lebanese Exports Boosts Economic and Agricultural Hopes

A photo of the Lebanese and Saudi flags. (National News Agency)
A photo of the Lebanese and Saudi flags. (National News Agency)

Saudi Arabia’s decision to resume receiving Lebanese exports has revived hopes among Lebanese business and farming circles for the return of one of the country’s most important foreign markets after five years of disruption that left deep scars on Lebanon’s production and export sectors.

The move is seen in Lebanon as carrying significance beyond trade. It marks a new stage in restoring confidence in the Lebanese state under President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, while offering a potential lifeline to sectors that have long suffered from shrinking export markets, difficulties marketing their output, and Lebanon’s prolonged economic and financial crisis.

Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry said the decision was not merely a commercial measure, but an economic and development step of national importance.

It said the move would help Lebanese farmers remain resilient, restart the agricultural production cycle and revive sorting, packaging, marketing and export chains, directly benefiting thousands of families that depend on farming as a main source of income.

A positive shock for Lebanon’s economy

Economists say the Saudi decision will quickly feed through to Lebanon’s productive sectors, especially industry and agriculture, while helping draw more foreign currency into the country.

“The impact of this step is very good economically and politically,” economist Walid Abu Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Economically, it is very important because Saudi Arabia was a key destination for Lebanese exports.”

He said Saudi Arabia ranked third among Lebanon's importers, with Lebanese exports to the kingdom totaling about $240 million in 2020.

Abu Suleiman described the reopening of the Saudi market as “a positive shock for the Lebanese economy,” noting that its importance extended beyond reviving exports to supporting monetary stability in a country facing a severe shortage of foreign currency.

“This step is also very important for the monetary situation, because the more exports increase, the more foreign currency enters Lebanon,” he said. “We know the extent of Lebanon’s suffering today in preserving what remains of its dollars and hard currencies.”

He said the Saudi market’s importance stemmed not only from its size, but also from its central place in the Arab economic system.

“We must not forget that the Saudi market represents about 85% of Gulf markets,” he said. “If we improve our products and succeed in offering quality goods at competitive prices, we can obtain a larger share of this market and increase our exports.”

Abu Suleiman said Lebanese products still had significant room for growth.

“It is possible for exports to rise from about $240 million to much larger figures, because the Saudi market is very large,” he said. “The opportunities for Lebanese products remain significant if this opening is properly used.”

He said the main beneficiaries would be the industrial and agricultural sectors, especially food processing and beverage industries.

“We hope this step will be followed by practical measures, and that matters will move in the right direction, given the positive impact this would have on the Lebanese economy and on production and export sectors,” he said.

Lebanese agriculture prepares to return

In the agricultural sector, the decision was warmly welcomed because of the heavy losses farmers have suffered since the Saudi market was closed in 2021.

Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the National Federation of Lebanese Farmers, called the decision “a historic day in the life of the Lebanese economy.”

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision to remove obstacles to Lebanese agricultural exports has restored economic vitality to Lebanon and reopened the channels of normal trade and communication with the kingdom and Gulf markets after years of disruption,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Tarshishi said agricultural trade ties between the two countries go back more than half a century. For decades, he said, the kingdom was the top destination for Lebanese agricultural exports, accounting for about 50% of total Lebanese agricultural exports to Arab countries.

In a sign of preparations to restart exports, Tarshishi said the Agriculture Ministry would hold a coordination meeting bringing together customs, IDAL, chambers of commerce, monitoring companies, exporters, refrigerated truck owners and agricultural unions to set the mechanisms for resuming exports and organizing land and sea freight, as well as transit procedures into Gulf markets.

Two thousand tonnes a day used to head to the Gulf

Recalling trade before the Saudi market was closed, Tarshishi said Lebanon used to export more than 30 trucks a day loaded with vegetables and fruit to the kingdom, or nearly 1,000 tonnes a day, in addition to about another 1,000 tonnes that crossed Saudi territory in transit to other Gulf countries.

He said Lebanese products in strong demand in the Saudi market included grapes, pears, peaches, plums and other seasonal fruits for which Lebanon is known. The kingdom, he said, had been the main outlet for these products during production seasons.

Losses exceeded $1 billion

Tarshishi said the damage suffered by the agricultural sector in recent years was substantial.

Lebanon used to export agricultural products worth nearly $200 million annually, he said, meaning the sector incurred losses exceeding $1 billion over the past five years because of the closure of the Saudi market and markets linked to it.

Tarshishi said the impact of resumed exports would not stop with farmers, but would extend across a long chain of economic activities tied to agriculture.

He said the decision would help keep farmers on their land, restart sorting and packaging centers, cardboard, wood and plastic factories and the transport sector, improve prices for agricultural products and curb the oversupply that in recent years forced many farmers to sell crops below production cost.

Arab World

Zaidi Urges Sharaa to Boost Baghdad-Damascus Coordination

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office)
TT
TT

Zaidi Urges Sharaa to Boost Baghdad-Damascus Coordination

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has sent a message to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa calling for stronger ties and closer security and economic coordination.

The move reflects Baghdad’s push to rebuild regional relations while, at home, working to bring weapons under state control and prepare for a planned visit to the United States.

The message was delivered by Hamid al-Shatri, head of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service.

The Iraqi prime minister’s media office said late Wednesday that Zaidi’s message stressed the need to develop relations between Baghdad and Damascus and step up coordination to confront regional challenges and crises, particularly in security and economic affairs, in line with the two countries’ shared interests.

The statement said Sharaa thanked Zaidi and the Iraqi government, and affirmed Syria’s commitment to working with Iraq to address common challenges arising from recent regional developments.

He also stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation, especially on security and the economy.

The message comes as Iraq seeks to repair ties with its Arab neighbors under a broader approach built around three tracks: asserting state authority by “confining weapons to the hands of the state,” expanding regional outreach, and diversifying the economy by drawing foreign investment.

Zaidi to Washington

Baghdad has yet to set a date for Zaidi’s visit to the United States, which follows an invitation from US President Donald Trump. Iraqi officials say the visit is tied to a set of files the government has begun pursuing under fixed timelines, led by the effort to bring weapons under state control.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi told a news conference that the deadline for carrying out the weapons-control plan expires next September, coinciding with the scheduled withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq.

The timing is significant. It would complete arrangements agreed by the previous government, including ending the mission of the coalition formed to fight ISIS, moving Baghdad’s relationship with Washington into a bilateral framework based on the 2009 Strategic Framework Agreement, and ending the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI.

The Iraqi government hopes to make tangible progress on the weapons file before the Washington visit. But positions taken by some Iran-backed armed factions have added pressure.

Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, two of Iraq’s most prominent armed factions, have issued statements that raised questions over the future of the government’s weapons-control measures.

The Shiite Coordination Framework had granted the prime minister a mandate over the mechanisms and procedures for confining weapons to the state. The move was seen as a withdrawal of the political cover long enjoyed by some armed factions, potentially putting them on a direct collision course with the government.

At the same time, influential forces within the Coordination Framework, which holds about 80 parliamentary seats, are seeking to expand their presence in government and secure ministerial posts after earlier US reservations about their participation eased.

The government says its handling of these files is based on a “national vision” backed by parliament. Aboudi said the government remains fully committed to confining weapons to the state according to the timelines set in its program.

Gas flares burn at the Rumaila oil field during an armed patrol by Iraqi Energy Police in Basra, Iraq, June 8, 2026. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

Regional outreach for development

On the economic front, Baghdad is betting on major investment projects to reinforce long-term stability.

Aboudi said the “Development Fund” is an investment vehicle separate from the state budget, funded by international contributions from friendly countries, with guarantees ranging from $100 billion to $150 billion, to support development and sustainable stability.

Observers say the three files, security, regional outreach, and economic development, form the broad framework for Iraq’s current domestic and foreign moves.

Political science professor Talib Mohammed Karim told Asharq Al-Awsat that Zaidi’s expected visit to Washington cannot be separated from the changes underway in Iraq and the wider region.

He said Baghdad is working on three parallel tracks: strengthening state authority by confining weapons to the state, opening up regionally, including through improved ties with Syria, and diversifying the economy by reducing dependence on oil and attracting investment.

Karim said the visit matters because of its timing, as the balance of power in the Middle East is being reshaped after years of conflict. Iraq, he said, has a chance to move from being shaped by regional developments to helping shape stability, drawing on its geography and balanced relations with different sides.

Relations with Washington

Former prime minister Adil Abdul Mahdi also called for stronger Iraqi-US ties while preserving the agreements signed between the two countries.

Abdul Mahdi said he hoped Zaidi would succeed in his mission, adding that it was too early to judge the current government, which remains at the start of its four-year term.

He said Iraq needs friendly relations with the US and other countries while honoring existing agreements between Baghdad and Washington. He said the end of next September would mark a decisive point with the completion of the international coalition’s withdrawal from Iraqi territory.

Abdul Mahdi said stronger political and economic ties between Iraq and the US would serve mutual interests, citing the importance of Washington’s international role and Baghdad’s regional standing, as well as the shared benefits that closer relations could bring.