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Qatar to Support Lebanon after Formation of New Government, Qatari PM Says

A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Qatar to Support Lebanon after Formation of New Government, Qatari PM Says

A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that his country would support Lebanese institutions and work on mutual projects after the formation of a Lebanese government.

Qatar has been providing the Lebanese army with grants for fuel and salaries. Lebanon needs foreign funds to help meet a huge reconstruction bill from last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Israeli air strikes flattened swathes of the country.

In a press conference in Beirut following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar would continue supporting the Lebanese army.

"We are looking forward to the formation of the government and after that will look at a strategic partnership based on mutual interest," Al Thani said.

"The indicators since the beginning of the year have been positive, whether it is filling the (Lebanese) presidential vacuum or the change that happened in Syria."

Aoun on told Sheikh Mohammed that he hopes TotalEnergies will soon resume oil and gas exploration off the coast of Lebanon, according to a statement from the president's office.

In 2023 QatarEnergy joined France's TotalEnergies and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) in a three-way consortium to look for oil and gas in two maritime blocks off the coast of Lebanon.

As well as meeting Aoun, who was elected president in early January, Al Thani met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Prime Minister-elect Nawaf Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Salam, a judge who had been serving as the head of the International Court of Justice, was nominated on Jan. 13 to form Lebanon's new cabinet.

The US has pressured Lebanese officials including Salam not to allow Hezbollah or its ally Amal - headed by Berri - to nominate Lebanon's next finance minister.

Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war.

Israel said its offensive against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who were forced to leave homes at the border by Hezbollah rocket fire. Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in November.

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Gulf

Khalid bin Salman Visits Saudi Interior Ministry Pavilion at World Defense Show

Prince Khalid was briefed on the ministry’s operational capabilities to enhance decision-making. SPA
Prince Khalid was briefed on the ministry’s operational capabilities to enhance decision-making. SPA
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Khalid bin Salman Visits Saudi Interior Ministry Pavilion at World Defense Show

Prince Khalid was briefed on the ministry’s operational capabilities to enhance decision-making. SPA
Prince Khalid was briefed on the ministry’s operational capabilities to enhance decision-making. SPA

Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz visited the Ministry of Interior's pavilion at the World Defense Show, held in Riyadh.

Prince Khalid was briefed on the ministry’s operational capabilities to enhance decision-making, command and control, and predictive intelligence, all aimed at protecting residents across the Kingdom.

During his tour, he explored how the ministry is advancing proactive security and efficient emergency management through innovative technical solutions.

The tour also underscored the role of the unified security operations centers (911) in the national response system and the ministry's commitment to international partnerships in security and smart systems.

Gulf

OIC Condemns Israeli Cabinet's Legalization of Settlements

Israeli soldier points his weapon towards the camera, during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli soldier points his weapon towards the camera, during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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OIC Condemns Israeli Cabinet's Legalization of Settlements

Israeli soldier points his weapon towards the camera, during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli soldier points his weapon towards the camera, during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned on Monday the Israeli cabinet’s approval of measures that aim to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.

The OIC said Israel’s “colonial settlement policy constitutes a war crime and a flagrant violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, foremost among which is Security Council Resolution 2334 and the legal opinion issued by the International Court of Justice.”

It renewed its call on the international community, particularly the Security Council, “to shoulder its responsibilities and take immediate action to put an end to all crimes and violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy sites.”

The office of Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a statement announced the decisions that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land, adding that “we will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement called the decision “dangerous” and an “open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion” and land confiscation. He called for the United States and UN Security Council to intervene immediately.

The decision was announced a few days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington about Iran and other matters.

The measures announced Sunday include canceling a prohibition on sales of West Bank land to Israeli Jews, declassifying West Bank land registry records to ease land acquisition, transferring construction planning at religious and other sensitive sites in the volatile city of Hebron to Israeli authorities, and allowing Israeli enforcement of environmental and archaeological matters in Palestinian-administered areas.

The measures also would revive a committee that would allow the state of Israel to make “proactive” land purchases in the territory — “a step intended to guarantee land reserves for settlement for generations to come.”

Gulf

US Affirms Partnership with Riyadh is at its Strongest Level

Alison Dilworth, Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Saudi Arabia, shakes hands with a participant from the United States at the exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Alison Dilworth, Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Saudi Arabia, shakes hands with a participant from the United States at the exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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US Affirms Partnership with Riyadh is at its Strongest Level

Alison Dilworth, Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Saudi Arabia, shakes hands with a participant from the United States at the exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Alison Dilworth, Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Saudi Arabia, shakes hands with a participant from the United States at the exhibition (Asharq Al-Awsat)

US Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Saudi Arabia, Alison Dilworth, said Sunday that the World Defense Show currently being held in Riyadh reflects the strongest manifestation of the bilateral partnership between the United States and the Kingdom, affirming that relations between the two countries “have never been stronger than they are today.”

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the Show, Dilworth said the strong US participation in the exhibition clearly demonstrates the strength of cooperation between Washington and Riyadh. She pointed out that the partnership has witnessed sustained and strengthening growth in recent years.

Dilworth added that the Show brings together major global names in defense and aviation, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, alongside small and medium-sized US companies working in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and advanced defense systems, reflecting the diversity of American participation and the broad scope of technical and industrial cooperation.

She highlighted that US companies aim to grow with Saudi partners, supporting the Kingdom’s security and prosperity in line with Vision 2030.

On the Saudi-US political momentum that has strengthened bilateral relations in recent years, Dilworth said that 2025 saw what she described as a “historic” visit by US President Donald Trump to the Kingdom, followed by a visit by the Saudi Crown Prince to Washington in November.

The two visits resulted in the signing of 23 agreements which she described as “pivotal achievements” in the trajectory of US-Saudi cooperation.

Regarding the military displays at the exhibition, the diplomat highlighted that the F-35 and the scheduled aerial demonstrations underscore the US commitment as a long-term partner to Saudi Arabia.