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Lebanese Caretaker Energy Minister Says ‘Politics’ behind Delay of US-Backed Electricity Plan

Walid Fayyad, Lebanon's caretaker energy minister, is pictured before the start of the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) conference, at the Dead Sea, Jordan June 8, 2022. (Reuters)
Walid Fayyad, Lebanon's caretaker energy minister, is pictured before the start of the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) conference, at the Dead Sea, Jordan June 8, 2022. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Caretaker Energy Minister Says ‘Politics’ behind Delay of US-Backed Electricity Plan

Walid Fayyad, Lebanon's caretaker energy minister, is pictured before the start of the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) conference, at the Dead Sea, Jordan June 8, 2022. (Reuters)
Walid Fayyad, Lebanon's caretaker energy minister, is pictured before the start of the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) conference, at the Dead Sea, Jordan June 8, 2022. (Reuters)

Lebanon's caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday "politics" was behind the delay of a US-backed deal to supply his country with electricity from Jordan via Syrian territory to ease crippling power shortages.

Walid Fayyad told Reuters that the World Bank, which had pledged to finance the project, was "tying it to some kind of political diligence," alluding to external considerations without getting into specifics.

Speaking on the sidelines of an energy conference in the Jordanian capital, Fayyad said the World Bank was also "adding more conditions although they were clear at the start".

Fayyad said the United States had demanded to "see the financing terms from the World Bank" to ensure that the electricity deal "is not sanctionable," even though Washington had told Beirut in January not to fear sanctions over its regional energy supply plans.

A US State Department source said that the US was requesting details of transactions, including final financing as contracts, to review for sanctions compliance as part of Washington's OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) process, which administers a number of different sanctions programs. The source said this was part of standard government procedures.

The United States enacted the Caesar Act in 2019 allowing it to freeze assets of anyone dealing with Syria, with the aim of forcing President Bashar al-Assad to stop his war with opposition forces and agree a political solution.

Lebanon and Jordan signed a deal in Beirut last January to ease chronic Lebanese power outages by transmitting about 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity across Syrian territory.

Fayyad said the delay would worsen shortages as Lebanon enters its summer season, with higher energy demand and an influx of tourists.

The Lebanese-Jordanian agreement is part of a wider plan that also aims to pump Egyptian gas to a power station in northern Lebanon via a pipeline that runs through Jordan and Syria.

The agreement with Egypt has yet to be signed.

"There is no delay but an important milestone that we need to get through is the American approval plus the financing from the World Bank," Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla told Reuters at the conference in Amman.

Lebanon has suffered power outages dating to its 1975-90 civil war, which ravaged the electricity infrastructure and left many families relying on private generators.

A World Bank spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

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Arab World

Al-Zaidi Warns Coordination Framework Over Failure to Bring Arms Under State Control

A meeting of the Coordination Framework attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi News Agency) 
A meeting of the Coordination Framework attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi News Agency) 
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Al-Zaidi Warns Coordination Framework Over Failure to Bring Arms Under State Control

A meeting of the Coordination Framework attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi News Agency) 
A meeting of the Coordination Framework attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi News Agency) 

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has warned the Shiite Coordination Framework of the consequences of failing to meet agreed deadlines for bringing weapons under state control, as Washington reaffirmed that its economic partnership with Baghdad was moving forward.

Al-Zaidi hosted a meeting of Coordination Framework leaders late Saturday, stressing the need to resolve outstanding issues, including completing the formation of his Cabinet and regulating weapons in a way that strengthens state sovereignty and security in Iraq and the wider region.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Zaidi also stressed the need to support the work of a four-party committee negotiating with armed factions to reach a final agreement on handing over weapons to the Popular Mobilization Forces within agreed timelines.

The prime minister also briefed the meeting on key issues discussed with the US administration during his recent visit to Washington and the potential economic, political and security consequences for Iraq if the weapons issue remains unresolved, the source added.

The warning coincided with a message from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio marking Iraq’s National Day on Oct. 3.

Rubio pointed to al-Zaidi’s July visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, noting that it reaffirmed the friendship between the two countries and their shared commitment to a strong and prosperous future.

He added that economic partnerships announced during the visit demonstrated the potential for trade and investment cooperation between US and Iraqi companies, while welcoming Iraq’s efforts to strengthen its sovereignty and contribute to regional security and stability.

Another informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington understood the difficulties al-Zaidi faced in dealing with armed groups and political forces, including some within the Coordination Framework, that appeared reluctant to embrace his plan.

According to the source, the Framework’s shift toward relatively longer deadlines for surrendering weapons followed a private meeting between al-Zaidi and Trump without other members of the Iraqi delegation. The source also cited Trump’s response to al-Zaidi’s request for an exemption allowing Iranian flights to land at Najaf airport.

In a National Day address, al-Zaidi described Iraq as a state that “makes its own decisions and protects its land and airspace,” with weapons subject to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

He declared that Iraq had completed its sovereignty on Sept. 30, 2026, with the end of the international coalition’s military mission, adding that political instability had cost the country significant development opportunities and repeatedly forced it “back to square one.”

Al-Zaidi also highlighted his government’s efforts to protect Iraq’s interests, security, sovereignty and national decision-making from the repercussions of regional conflict while pursuing a balanced foreign policy based on national interests and mutual respect.

He outlined government efforts to diversify the economy, empower the private sector and link public spending to results. He also cited plans to provide one million residential land plots, establish a fund for future generations and economic cities, and implement the Development Road project to turn Iraq into a trade and energy corridor and investment hub linking East and West.

Political and strategic affairs researcher Hani Ashour told Asharq Al-Awsat that the departure of US and international coalition forces made restructuring Iraq’s security strategy increasingly necessary, particularly by bringing factional weapons under state control and strengthening the armed forces.

Ashour, however, pointed to major obstacles, including Iraq’s economic difficulties following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and political forces’ preference for dialogue with armed factions.

Such negotiations, he cautioned, could drag on and remain tied to the US-Iran conflict and its repercussions, potentially giving armed factions renewed justification to retain their weapons and reaffirm their allegiance to Iran.

A meeting of the Coordination Framework attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (Iraqi News Agency)

Arab World

Strike on WFP Aid Trucks in Sudan Kills One

A collapsed mosque wall following a drone strike in Khartoum North, in Bahri city, Sudan on August 12, 2026. (Reuters) 
A collapsed mosque wall following a drone strike in Khartoum North, in Bahri city, Sudan on August 12, 2026. (Reuters) 
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Strike on WFP Aid Trucks in Sudan Kills One

A collapsed mosque wall following a drone strike in Khartoum North, in Bahri city, Sudan on August 12, 2026. (Reuters) 
A collapsed mosque wall following a drone strike in Khartoum North, in Bahri city, Sudan on August 12, 2026. (Reuters) 

One person was killed in an airstrike targeting a convoy carrying aid supplies in Sudan’s South Kordofan region on Saturday, the World Food Program (WFP) said.

Meanwhile, tensions gripped Port Sudan following a horrible murder that shocked the city.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the UN agency strongly condemned the aerial attack that hit two contracted trucks carrying WFP food commodities in South Kordofan.

The WFP trucks were travelling on Saturday between the two cities of Dilling and Kadugli when they came under attack, despite being “clearly marked as humanitarian vehicles,” WFP said, according to AFP.

“One driver was killed in the air strike,” it added, without specifying who was behind the attack.

Famine was confirmed last year in South Kordofan's Kadugli, and in El-Fasher in the western Darfur region, as fighting and access restrictions continue to hamper aid deliveries.

On Friday, a WFP truck had struck an explosive device in Dilling after delivering lifesaving food assistance.

The agency said it was assessing the damage and called for a prompt investigation into the incident.

Movement is difficult across much of western and southern Sudan due to damaged infrastructure, blocked roads and disrupted communications, as violence continues to escalate.

Both the army and the RSF have increasingly deployed drones in recent months, with the high-tech weapons killing more than 1,100 people in the first half of the year alone, according to UN figures.

Since the war began in April 2023, more than 200,000 people were killed, aid workers estimate, while more than 11 million are displaced, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.

Meanwhile, tension rose in Port Sudan on Sunday after the body of a resident was discovered near a hospital.

Sudanese newspaper Sout al-Umma (Voice of the Nation) quoted a local source as saying that the killing triggered anger among the victim’s relatives, who took to the streets, blocking some roads with stones and setting tyres on fire to prevent vehicles from passing.

The protestors asked authorities in the Red Sea city to make progress in identifying those responsible, according to dpa.

Several Sudanese states, including Khartoum, are facing growing security challenges, including widespread lawlessness, the proliferation of weapons, gang activity and rising crime rates, amid efforts to restore normal civilian life and basic services.

Observers say the war has severely degraded state institutions and triggered a surge in criminal activity across Sudan.

 

 

Arab World

Israeli Army Says It Killed ‘Assailant’ in Southern Syria

Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
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Israeli Army Says It Killed ‘Assailant’ in Southern Syria

Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)

The Israeli military said early Monday it had killed an “assailant” at an army outpost in the area it occupies in southern Syria.

The Israeli army said in a statement that its soldiers identified a suspect attempting to infiltrate an Israeli army post in the Security Zone in southern Syria.

"Following a quick identification, the soldiers fired toward the suspect and eliminated him," the Israeli army stated, adding that none of its personnel was injured.

Following the late-2024 overthrow of Bashar al-Assad by the opposition coalition, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria.

The Israeli army also carried out incursions into the south of the country and deployed troops in the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.

Israeli officials have repeatedly stated their intention to maintain troops in the security area, where Israel seeks to establish a larger demilitarized zone.