Latest news with #LebanonCrisis
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
‘If Lebanon doesn't hurry up and get in line, everyone around them will,' Tom Barrack tells Arab News
NEW YORK: US special envoy Tom Barrack has warned that Lebanon risks falling further behind in regional realignments if it fails to act swiftly on political and security reforms, particularly regarding Hezbollah. Speaking to Arab News, Barrack said: 'If Lebanon doesn't hurry up and get in line, everyone around them will.' He said central to Lebanon's recovery would be the disarming Hezbollah's military wing, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization. He also emphasized growing American impatience with the country's political inertia and its inability to address mounting economic and institutional collapse. While Barrack acknowledged the group's dual role in Lebanese politics, he stressed that disarmament must be a Lebanese-led effort involving both the government and Hezbollah's political leadership. 'The process has to start with the Council of Ministers,' he said. 'Hezbollah the political party has to agree to that.' Barrack revealed that the US has facilitated indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, despite legal barriers, and said empowering the Lebanese Armed Forces would be key to a peaceful disarmament process, adding: 'We're not going to do it in a civil war.' While praising Beirut's recent response to a disarmament proposal as 'spectacular,' Barrack criticized Lebanon's political culture as one of 'deny, detour and deflect,' warning that without reform, the system risks extinction. 'They're satisfied with the status quo—until they're not,' he said. Barrack expressed cautious optimism about getting Hezbollah to disarm, saying: 'I think this government is ready. We're saying, you want our help? Here it is. We're not going to dictate to you. If you don't want it—no problem, we'll go home.'
LBCI
01-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
PM Salam and Beirut Municipality Council discuss urgent development and service challenges
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with a delegation from Beirut's Municipal Council at the Grand Serail to address the growing development and service-related challenges facing the capital amid Lebanon's ongoing economic and social crisis. The talks focused on ways to improve the performance of public facilities and strengthen municipal services across the city. The municipal delegation presented a series of proposals and demands aimed at enhancing local infrastructure and boosting the effectiveness of city services. PM Salam emphasized the importance of supporting local authorities to ensure they can fulfill their responsibilities effectively, particularly in light of the challenging conditions facing the country. Council representative Ibrahim Zeidan outlined the municipality's top priorities, describing them as urgent projects that include improvements to traffic flow, road medians, traffic signals, public gardens, beaches, and waste management.
The National
01-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Former US envoy calls for activation of Egypt-Lebanon gas deal as Syria sanctions lift
Former US energy envoy Amos Hochstein has urged the US and Lebanon to "activate" a deal to transport gas from Egypt to Lebanon through a pipeline in Syria, after the US lifted sanctions on Damascus. Mr Hochstein on Monday night also called for electricity to be transferred from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria. "Deals are done and ready to go," Mr Hochstein, who was previously the US special presidential co-ordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, said in a post on X. He said making it a priority to fix the Syrian power grid "is the absolute best way" to help Syria and Lebanon. "Can't begin rebuilding without access to affordable/reliable power," he added. Mr Hochstein's post referred to a gas import agreement signed in June 2022 by Lebanon, Egypt and Syria to ship 650 million cubic metres of natural gas per year from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria, as part of US-backed efforts to ease Lebanon's electricity crisis. However, at the time, Egypt and Jordan privately voiced concerns that the project could breach US sanctions on Syria, including the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. Lebanon's electricity sector has been crumbling for about three decades amid a lack of investment. It has been kept afloat by costly and short-term fixes that have failed to provide round-the-clock electricity, despite repeated promises by politicians. Lebanon's economic woes have also exacerbated the power crisis, as the country can no longer afford to operate most of its power plants. Mr Hochstein urged the countries involved to activate the deals after US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria, allowing the country to rebuild after a prolonged civil war. Mr Trump's executive order takes effect on Tuesday. Mr Hochstein, who has held several government roles in Washington, has also spent time as a lobbyist and executive at a liquefied natural gas company. He is currently the managing partner of holding company TWG Global. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said on X that the move by the US to lift sanctions on Syria would allow for "long-awaited reconstruction and development". The removal of sanctions marks an economic reawakening and geopolitical repositioning for Syria, Arturo Bris, professor of Finance and director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre, has said. Several regional airlines have resumed flights to Damascus, infrastructure deals have been announced and the country's debts are being cleared. In May, Syria signed a $7 billion deal with a Qatar -led business group aimed at doubling the country's power supply, in a series of moves to boost its postwar economy. The Syrian government signed an agreement with a consortium of companies led by Qatar 's UCC Holding to add 5,000 megawatts to the national grid. The country faces a severe power crisis. The lifting of US sanctions on Syria has reignited global investors' interest, with several major companies already establishing a foothold in the war-torn country's economy. In May, Dubai-based DP World signed an initial agreement worth $800 million to develop the port of Tartus. Billionaire Emirati entrepreneur Khalaf Al Habtoor said in June that he was exploring new investment opportunities in the country. Turkish companies, from banks to port operators and energy firms, are also lining up to grab their share of business opportunities arising from Syria's $500 billion reconstruction effort.
The National
01-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Former US envoy urges for activation of Egypt-Lebanon gas deal as Syria sanctions lift
Former US energy envoy Amos Hochstein has urged the US and Lebanon to "activate" a deal to transport gas from Egypt to Lebanon through a pipeline in Syria, after the US lifted sanctions on Damascus. Mr Hochstein on Monday night also called for electricity to be transferred from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria. "Deals are done and ready to go," Mr Hochstein, who was previously the US special presidential co-ordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, said in a post on X. He said making it a priority to fix the Syrian power grid "is the absolute best way" to help Syria and Lebanon. "Can't begin rebuilding without access to affordable/reliable power," he added. Mr Hochstein's post referred to a gas import agreement signed in June 2022 by Lebanon, Egypt and Syria to ship 650 million cubic metres of natural gas per year from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria, as part of US-backed efforts to ease Lebanon's electricity crisis. However, at the time, Egypt and Jordan privately voiced concerns that the project could breach US sanctions on Syria, including the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. Lebanon's electricity sector has been crumbling for about three decades amid a lack of investment. It has been kept afloat by costly and short-term fixes that have failed to provide round-the-clock electricity, despite repeated promises by politicians. Lebanon's economic woes have also exacerbated the power crisis, as the country can no longer afford to operate most of its power plants. Mr Hochstein urged the countries involved to activate the deals after US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria, allowing the country to rebuild after a prolonged civil war. Mr Trump's executive order takes effect on Tuesday. Mr Hochstein, who has held several government roles in Washington, has also spent time as a lobbyist and executive at a liquefied natural gas company. He is currently the managing partner of holding company TWG Global. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani said on X that the move by the US to lift sanctions on Syria would allow for "long-awaited reconstruction and development". The removal of sanctions marks an economic reawakening and geopolitical repositioning for Syria, Arturo Bris, professor of Finance and director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre, has said. Several regional airlines have resumed flights to Damascus, infrastructure deals have been announced and the country's debts are being cleared. In May, Syria signed a $7 billion deal with a Qatar -led business group aimed at doubling the country's power supply, in a series of moves to boost its postwar economy. The Syrian government signed an agreement with a consortium of companies led by Qatar 's UCC Holding to add 5,000 megawatts to the national grid. The country faces a severe power crisis. The lifting of US sanctions on Syria has reignited global investors' interest, with several major companies already establishing a foothold in the war-torn country's economy. In May, Dubai-based DP World signed an initial agreement worth $800 million to develop the port of Tartus. Billionaire Emirati entrepreneur Khalaf Al Habtoor said in June that he was exploring new investment opportunities in the country. Turkish companies, from banks to port operators and energy firms, are also lining up to grab their share of business opportunities arising from Syria's $500 billion reconstruction effort.
Arab News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Lebanese leaders indirectly urge Hezbollah to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict
BEIRUT: Lebanon's president and prime minister said Monday that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Their remarks amounted to a message to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group — an ally of both Iran and the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza — to stay out of the fray. Hezbollah, which launched its own strikes on Israel a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has been hard-hit and suffered significant losses on the battlefield until a US-brokered ceasefire last November ended the 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. Earlier this year, Hamas fighters inside Lebanon fired rockets from Lebanese soil, drawing Israeli airstrikes and leading to arrests of Hamas members by Lebanese authorities. The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction worth $11 billions; Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke during a Cabinet meeting Monday that also discussed the Iran-Israel conflict and the spike in regional tensions over the past four days. Information Minister Paul Morkos later told reporters that Aoun urged all sides in Lebanon to maintain calm and preserve the country's stability. For his part, Salam said Lebanon should not be involved in 'any form in the war,' Morkos added. Hezbollah, funded and armed by Iran, has long been considered Tehran's most powerful ally in the region but its latest war with Israel also saw much of Hezbollah's political and military leadership killed in Israeli airstrikes. Since Israel on Friday launched strikes targeting Iran's nuclear program and top military leaders, drawing Iran's retaliatory ballistic missiles at Israel, the back-and-forth has raised concerns that the region, already on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, would be plunged into even greater upheaval.
