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Lebanese Interior Minister: We Made a Major Stride Forward in Combatting Narcotics

Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar addresses a press conference at the headquarters of the Information Branch in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 September 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar addresses a press conference at the headquarters of the Information Branch in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 September 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Lebanese Interior Minister: We Made a Major Stride Forward in Combatting Narcotics

Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar addresses a press conference at the headquarters of the Information Branch in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 September 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese Interior and Municipalities Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar addresses a press conference at the headquarters of the Information Branch in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 September 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that Lebanon has taken a major leap forward in combatting the smuggling and manufacturing of narcotics.

He said the political authority is dealing with this matter with utmost seriousness, proving unwavering support for the security apparatuses that in turn are carrying out their missions with exceptional precision, combatting any attempt to smuggle drugs to and from Lebanon and then to the Gulf states.

He noted that the oath of office of President Joseph Aoun touched on this matter and so did the ministerial statement.

“After the election of President Joseph Aoun as head of state, it was noticeable how his oath of office included the need to combat narcotics, and so did the ministerial statement”, said Hajjar.

He stressed that he too had included this pressing matter as one of the goals that the interior ministry seeks to complete. “It became one of the 10 priorities the ministry had to attend to”.

“From the first meetings, I notified the relevant authorities that combatting narcotics is a national priority, and indeed each security apparatus took its own part in that regard. The Lebanese army exerted major efforts dismantling Captagon factories, raiding some real sensitive locations, the latest were in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp which had long been outside the Lebanese state’s authority”, said the minister.

He also pointed to other raids carried out in north Lebanon, Baalbek, the outskirts of Yammoune, and other locations.

Coordination with Saudi Security

Hajjar emphasized that Lebanon has taken a major stride forward in combatting narcotics.

He said that during the last drug seizing operation, intel from the Saudi General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) was forwarded to Lebanon about the presence of cocaine quantities at the Tripoli port. “The Central Anti-Narcotics Bureau in Lebanon reacted swiftly and decisively, confiscating 125 kilograms of cocaine. The largest seized in years”.

The Minister added that another operation, in collaboration with the Saudi authorities, managed to confiscate large quantities of Captagon that was bound to be smuggled to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and then to Kuwait.

Hajjar underscored that the useful collaboration between Saudi and Lebanese authorities, and the prompt and serious investigations managed to break these smuggling cells.

Anti-smuggling campaigns of narcotics have been “ongoing for months”, he added, noting that the matter is a priority for the Lebanese state.

The Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch has also done an outstanding job, added the minister noting that it continues to achieve major accomplishments in counter-terrorism and organized crime, with significant roles and achievements.

The Branch succeeded at detaining smuggling networks with international reach trafficking Captagon and hashish towards Gulf markets and Egypt.

These smugglers had previously carried out operations targeting Australia and Türkiye, and maintained connections and operatives in both Türkiye and Jordan.

“The head of the network and several other individuals were apprehended, and approximately 6.5 million Captagon pills and 720 kilograms of hashish were seized. The narcotics had been packaged and prepared for shipment to the Port of Beirut. It was a perfectly preemptive operation”, underscored Hajjar.

Development as an Economic Alternative

Alongside efforts to combat drug trafficking and dismantle related networks, Hajjar noted that the state is working to develop remote regions where drug traffickers are active. He pointed out that the government has approved the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, which will oversee production according to specific rules, standards, and conditions.

He explained that the goal is “to promote the development of areas where the cultivation of illegal hashish once took place. Now, industrial hemp will be grown there for medical purposes under the supervision of the regulatory authority, which will play a developmental role.”

He also mentioned agricultural projects in Akkar (northern Lebanon), saying that “the Lebanese state views development across all regions, especially the Bekaa Valley and Akkar, as a priority.” He affirmed that development is among the government’s top priorities.

 

 

 

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Arab World

Condemnation in Sweida as Hijri Followers Rally for Israel on Oct. 7 Anniversary

A rally in Sweida’s al-Sayr Square, formerly al-Karama Square, in solidarity with Israel and Netanyahu on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. (Pro-Hijri websites)
A rally in Sweida’s al-Sayr Square, formerly al-Karama Square, in solidarity with Israel and Netanyahu on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. (Pro-Hijri websites)
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Condemnation in Sweida as Hijri Followers Rally for Israel on Oct. 7 Anniversary

A rally in Sweida’s al-Sayr Square, formerly al-Karama Square, in solidarity with Israel and Netanyahu on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. (Pro-Hijri websites)
A rally in Sweida’s al-Sayr Square, formerly al-Karama Square, in solidarity with Israel and Netanyahu on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. (Pro-Hijri websites)

Sources in Syria’s predominantly Druze province of Sweida condemned rallies held by followers of Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Wednesday in solidarity with Israel on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.

A Druze figure mediating between the Syrian government and the Druze told Asharq Al-Awsat that an alternative to Hijri’s movement had been formed.

Demonstrators and a car procession in Sweida city displayed Israeli flags and portraits of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hijri, whose affiliated “National Guard” controls much of the province, including the city. Hijri previously announced what he called the “State of Bashan.”

The rallies marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered the Gaza war.

Sources in Sweida city described participants as “Hijri’s thugs,” telling Asharq Al-Awsat the events were another way of throwing themselves into Israel’s arms. Solidarity, they said, would have been better directed toward the thousands of children Israel has killed in Gaza.

Separately, a Druze source mediating an end to Sweida’s crisis, which has persisted since the bloody events of July 2025, said an “Emergency Committee” had 15 members and a broad advisory body representing families, sheikhs, academics and cultural figures in the province.

The source requested anonymity to protect the mediation’s confidentiality at this stage and the safety of those involved.

The committee brings together Druze figures living in Sweida, elsewhere in Syria and abroad, the source said.

A Syrian-led solution

The government and Sweida residents share a tacit understanding that Hijri has become part of the problem and is no longer part of the solution, the source said.

Both sides agree in principle that “any solution must be Syrian-led. There will be no compromise on that.”

The source said Sweida residents knew the government had accepted almost all their demands before the July 2025 events and remained ready to offer more to safeguard their security and dignity.

Both sides share the same interests, the source said: preserving Syrian sovereignty over all its territory and ensuring the Druze have a voice in national decisions, particularly those affecting their areas.

But the source faulted the government for sidelining strong, patriotic Druze figures who disagreed with it on some aspects of how to resolve Sweida’s crisis.

“The Syrian government backed figures from the province whom the Druze see as unable to truly represent them and firmly demand their rights from Damascus,” the source said. “It therefore failed to engage with leaders who represent the community’s concerns, interests and fears.”

The government must correct that, the source said, and work with Druze figures who are “neither agents of foreign powers nor subservient to the government, and who firmly defend the interests of both the country and the community.”

“There is considerable hope of resolving Sweida’s crisis, but the problem lies with Israel,” the source said. “The two issues are closely linked. They must be separated, and Sweida’s crisis resolved through a Syrian-led solution.”

Mediation now centers on what the government will offer and what Sweida residents will accept. The government has responded positively to the demands, the source said.

The two sides broadly agree that their interests as Syrians are inseparable: what harms the Druze harms Syria, and what harms Syria harms the Druze.

But progress hinges on how to deal with those blocking any solution in the province — the leaders of the “Security Office,” run by Hijri’s son Salman, the source said.

The security obstacle

Many solutions are on the table, the source said. Agreement will come when mediation gives way to direct negotiations at the same table.

“The talks have shown that the political and social issues have been resolved, with understandings reached on many matters,” the source said. “The only remaining obstacle is purely a security one: who will deal with the ‘thugs,’ and how to support and strengthen that patriotic group with funding, equipment and media backing.”

For the committee to go public, the source said, the influence of those “the U.S. envoy and the international community have described as gangs” must end.

“That is the problem now being examined, and this is where the Israeli factor comes in.”

The source added, however, that “Israel has sent no financial support to Hijri since the beginning of 2026.”

The United States is putting enormous pressure on Israel over Syria as a whole, the source said, with Sweida only a small part of Syrian-US-Israeli relations.

The source repeatedly distinguished between those described as “gangs and thugs” and those whose hands were not stained by treason, direct collaboration with foreign powers or collusion against the country. The latter would have a place in Sweida and, in the future, in state institutions.

Rifts within the “National Guard”

Signs of growing divisions among “National Guard” factions emerged when Bassem Abu Fakhr, a leader of the Men of Dignity Movement, accused Hijri and his supporters of dragging Sweida’s residents into a “project of bloodshed,” without naming them.

The movement is one of Sweida’s largest local armed factions, with an estimated 8,000 fighters.

“They dragged people into a project of bloodshed and mobilized hundreds of accounts to provoke others, promote the vilest people and smear honorable ones, until they turned truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth in the minds of those they had misled,” Abu Fakhr wrote on Facebook.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that families belonging to the Abu Fakhr clan were asked to disavow the statements made in their name in the post. Most refused.

Arab World

Lebanon's Hezbollah Gets $200 million from Iran to Help Displaced

Supporters of Hezbollah wave flags of the group during a ceremony held to mark the second anniversary of the killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike by Israel, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2026. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP) /
Supporters of Hezbollah wave flags of the group during a ceremony held to mark the second anniversary of the killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike by Israel, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2026. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP) /
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Lebanon's Hezbollah Gets $200 million from Iran to Help Displaced

Supporters of Hezbollah wave flags of the group during a ceremony held to mark the second anniversary of the killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike by Israel, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2026. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP) /
Supporters of Hezbollah wave flags of the group during a ceremony held to mark the second anniversary of the killing of leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike by Israel, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2026. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP) /

Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.

Hezbollah received the cash last month despite a tightening US economic chokehold on Iran and increasing difficulties in getting funds to Tehran's Lebanese ally, said the people.

Intermediaries who moved the money charged a 20% fee, reflecting the risks of dealing with the group, they said. One said this was four times the normal fee.

Asked for comment, a Hezbollah official said an amount had been secured and a plan for distributing it would be announced in the coming days, without elaborating on the source of the funds.

Arab World

Sisi Seeks to Boost Strategic Cooperation During Asia Tour

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received his South Korean counterpart in Cairo last November. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received his South Korean counterpart in Cairo last November. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi Seeks to Boost Strategic Cooperation During Asia Tour

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received his South Korean counterpart in Cairo last November. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received his South Korean counterpart in Cairo last November. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has begun an Asian tour taking him to South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia as Cairo seeks to deepen strategic cooperation with Asian countries amid turmoil in the Middle East.

The trip will focus heavily on strengthening economic partnerships, according to experts, who point to presidential diplomacy as an important tool in attracting major foreign investment to Egypt in recent years. Cairo is also seeking to draw high-tech industries from the three countries.

Sisi headed to South Korea on Tuesday on the first leg of his tour, which will also take him to Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Egyptian presidency said Sisi would hold talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, and take part in a roundtable with executives and representatives of major Korean companies.

Lee visited Cairo last November, his first trip to Egypt since taking office in June of that year.

Egypt has sought to strengthen ties with East Asian countries through bilateral visits and participation in multilateral forums. Among those efforts was Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s participation in meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila in late July.

At the time, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry described the participation as part of a diplomatic drive to develop relations with ASEAN members and broaden political, economic and development cooperation.

Former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Gamal Bayoumi views Sisi’s visit to Asia as an extension of Egypt’s foreign policy approach of diversifying relations with international partners.

“The visit has political and economic objectives, particularly in light of regional developments and their repercussions for the economies of countries in the region,” Bayoumi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He expects the trip to bolster economic partnerships with East Asian countries, whose large markets offer significant trade opportunities. Their advanced manufacturing technologies also create scope for investment partnerships with Egypt, he added.

Bayoumi pointed to Al-Azhar as another asset in Cairo’s relations with the region, given the ties many citizens of these countries have with education at the Egyptian institution.

Official figures show trade between Egypt and South Korea reached $995.3 million from January through September 2025, down from $1.2 billion during the same period in 2024.

South Korean investment in Egypt totaled $413.8 million in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, compared with $288.3 million the previous year.

The Egyptian government is seeking to attract more industrial investment from Asian countries, including South Korea, according to Walid Gaballah, a member of the Egyptian Society for Political Economy, Statistics and Legislation.

While Cairo enjoys political coordination with these countries, Gaballah argued that economic cooperation has yet to match the level of political ties.

He stressed that a country such as South Korea possesses advanced manufacturing technology that could be localized in Egyptian industrial zones, including the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Gaballah told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt’s presidential diplomacy had played a significant role in attracting major investments in recent years.

He added that economic issues are therefore expected to take priority during Sisi’s visits to the three Asian countries, particularly given the potential of their economies as Cairo looks to diversify its partnerships.