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Anger Among Likud Leaders Over Netanyahu's Ministerial Concessions

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
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Anger Among Likud Leaders Over Netanyahu's Ministerial Concessions

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)

Likud party leaders expressed anger over an expected lineup of a new cabinet led by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu after realizing that major ministerial portfolios could not be allocated to their party members.

Israeli media said that the party's leadership was infuriated after reports that Shas party leader Aryeh Deri could be named finance minister, and head of the Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich as defense minister, and leader of the Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir as the internal security minister.

Netanyahu also reportedly plans to appoint the former ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, as Foreign Minister, which further exacerbated the situation.

Likud leaders knew that their coalition partners must eventually be given influential portfolios. Still, they need to understand why Netanyahu will appoint Dermer as foreign minister, even though he is not a member of the party or the Knesset.

Netanyahu is yet to form his cabinet. However, his associates are testing out several names to see the reaction of the political parties, which angered the Likud.

Several senior party officials said that Dermer's appointment would be an insult to party members.

Likud leaders know that the coalition parties do not demand the foreign affairs ministry and are not interested in it. This has increased their anger considering that Netanyahu proposed the position to Dermer only because he is his close friend.

Dermer has been the Prime Minister's advisor since his return to political life in 2003 when he was named the Minister of Finance. When Netanyahu became prime minister from 2009 until 2013, he chose Dermer as a political advisor and ambassador in Washington.

However, it is still undetermined whether the Likud leaders rejecting Dermer’s appointment will be able to stop it.

Netanyahu wants to name Dermer as a minister because he claims there are other important positions that Likud officials can occupy. He may also prefer to refrain from handing this post to one of his potential opponents within the party.

Netanyahu and his team continue their negotiations with the right-wing parties to reach an agreement to form the new government and present it to the Knesset.

On Sunday, he received an official letter from President Isaac Herzog to form a government that was supposed to be announced this week. Still, it was postponed following disputes over the ministerial positions, the judiciary, the Supreme Court, budgets, and religious schools.

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Arab World

Iran Parliament Speaker to Visit Iraq on Wednesday

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meet in Tehran in July. (AFP)
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meet in Tehran in July. (AFP)
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Iran Parliament Speaker to Visit Iraq on Wednesday

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meet in Tehran in July. (AFP)
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meet in Tehran in July. (AFP)

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will travel to Iraq on Wednesday at the head of a high-level parliamentary delegation to hold talks on regional developments.

Iran’s IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday that Ghalibaf will depart on Wednesday morning for Iraq to discuss regional developments, ways to boost strategic cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, and joint mechanisms to help consolidate stability and security in West Asia.

Ghalibaf's visit comes amid discussions within Iraq's ruling coalition about the fate of the weapons of pro-Iran armed factions following the planned withdrawal of US forces on September 30. Tensions are mounting in Iraq after the arrest of a leader in the pro-Iran Al-Nujaba Movement.

Ghalibaf is scheduled to meet with several senior Iraqi officials to discuss developing bilateral relations, border security, countering terrorism, expanding economic cooperation, and implementing joint agreements between the two countries, said IRNA.

Iraq is under pressure from Washington to disarm powerful Iran-backed armed factions that have gained significant political and financial influence in the country.

Ghalibaf's visit comes two days after the office of the Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, and the residence of the local intelligence director in Erbil were targeted by two drones that Erbil said were launched from Iran.

Barzani slammed the "reckless and unacceptable" attacks that are a "dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the region's security and stability."

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered a probe into the attacks on Monday.

In a statement, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, that "he does not possess information indicating the attacks originated from Iranian territory," and that "there is no justification for such actions."

He underscored "the positive and solid relations between the Iranian government with the Kurdistan Regional Government, particularly with the two main parties in the region".

"Kurdish friends must exercise caution regarding false flag ploys aimed at sowing discord between neighbors," he warned.

Arab World

Lebanese President to Visit Rome for Talks on UN Force’s Future, Says Official

A UN vehicle drives, during a Reuters' visit at Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives, during a Reuters' visit at Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Lebanese President to Visit Rome for Talks on UN Force’s Future, Says Official

A UN vehicle drives, during a Reuters' visit at Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives, during a Reuters' visit at Camp Shamrock where Irish and Polish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are stationed near Maroun al-Ras village close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon November 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will head to Rome this week for talks focusing on future of the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, whose mandate ends this year, a Lebanese official told AFP.

The visit scheduled for Thursday comes after Italy and France said in June that they wanted to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Both countries have large troop contingents in UNIFIL.

Aoun is to meet his counterpart Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to discuss "the future of the international forces, particularly in light of the French-Italian initiative to set up a force to replace UNIFIL", the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Aoun will also meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican and brief him on "the contacts Lebanon has been making since negotiations began" with Israel, the official added.

Lebanon and Israel launched US-sponsored direct talks after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

Rome has hosted the last two rounds of talks.

Aoun has said Lebanon's preferred choice is an extension of UNIFIL's mandate, a move opposed by Israel.

On Monday, he said that "the second choice is adopting a formula that ensures the continued presence of international forces in the south" alongside Lebanon's army "and in coordination with it".

A framework agreement reached in June between Israel and Lebanon calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones".

Despite a weeks-long lull in fighting, Israel has kept up intermittent strikes and heavy demolition operations in south Lebanon, where its forces are operating in a strip of territory around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside the Lebanese border.

Lebanon and several other countries fear a security vacuum if UNIFIL pulls out without an alternative in place.

In a June report, UN chief Antonio Guterres said peacekeepers would be needed after UNIFIL's mission ends and proposed three options ranging from nearly 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN personnel.

Last month, 86 Lebanese lawmakers signed a letter urging the Security Council to keep the peacekeepers.

UNIFIL, which now counts some 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries, has been in place since 1978, although its presence has not prevented repeated outbreaks of conflict.

Arab World

UN Watchdog Excavates Suspected Syrian Nuclear Site as Damascus Pledges Safeguards

International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Aug. 18, 2026. (AP)
International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Aug. 18, 2026. (AP)
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UN Watchdog Excavates Suspected Syrian Nuclear Site as Damascus Pledges Safeguards

International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Aug. 18, 2026. (AP)
International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attend a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Aug. 18, 2026. (AP)

Inspectors with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog have begun excavating at a site believed to be linked to a clandestine nuclear program run by Syria's former government, the agency's chief said on Thursday.

The announcement came as Syria's new government has pledged to cooperate with the watchdog. Syria's top diplomat said Thursday that Damascus remains interested in developing a peaceful nuclear program and intends to keep any nuclear material in its custody under international safeguards.

Under former President Bashar al-Assad, Syria was believed to have operated an extensive undeclared nuclear program that included a nuclear reactor built by North Korea in the eastern Deir Ezzor province.

Syria under Assad allowed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to visit some sites, but the country under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged full cooperation with the UN watchdog and given its inspectors access to suspected nuclear sites.

“Myself and my team, we were inside the site of Deir el-Zour, where very comprehensive work of excavation and exploration is taking place now,” IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi said at a news conference in Damascus.

Grossi said another site with nuclear material has also been discovered, but did not disclose any details.

Grossi said Syria's cooperation has “enormous importance.”

"We’re talking about a few tons of nuclear material that could be put to bad use and Syria has decided to open up this site to the inspectors of the IAEA,” Grossi said. “This material will be accounted for and will be put within the international safeguard system.”

Syria under its new leadership has expressed an intention to develop nuclear energy.

“Syria confirms, based on technical evaluations, that this material does not pose any danger,” Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said. “It will remain in Syria’s custody and will remain subject to the agency’s safeguard system.”

The site in Deir Ezzor only became public knowledge after Israel launched airstrikes in 2007 that destroyed the facility. Syria later leveled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA’s questions about it.

However, in 2024, before Assad was deposed in December of that year, IAEA inspectors took samples at three locations and in 2025 said they had found traces of uranium at one site.

Israel is believed to be the Middle East’s only state with nuclear weapons, although it has not declared its own program.