Latest news with #al-Joumhouria
Nahar Net
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Salam meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh, says his doors 'always open' for Hezbollah
by Naharnet Newsdesk 6 hours Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday that his "doors are always open" for Hezbollah after he met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, as the gap between Salam and Berri's ally Hezbollah seemed to widen over the group's disarmament. "I am leaving plenty of room for cordiality with (Hezbollah MP) Hajj Mohammad Raad and my doors are always open for him and Hezbollah," Salam said. Raad had recently criticized Salam for recently omitting the word "Resistance" from the "Resistance and Liberation Day" holiday in one of his statements, but said he would not respond to Salam's comments on Hezbollah's disarmament "to preserve what's left of cordiality." Berri on Friday told local al-Joumhouria newspaper that "if Salam escalates, we will escalate and if he chooses to calm things down, we will calm them down," after Salam said in recent comments that the era of "exporting the Iranian revolution has ended" and that the state "will not remain silent over any arms outside the state's control". In his interview with al-Joumhouria, Berri also urged the government to prioritize the construction of war-hit regions, saying it's the government's responsibility "whether it likes it or not." Berri had met last Friday with President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace, in talks he described as "excellent."
Nahar Net
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Ortagus to make her last visit to Beirut before being replaced
by Naharnet Newsdesk 02 June 2025, 13:02 U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus is expected to visit Lebanon at the end of this week, in a visit that might be her last before she moves to another post in the U.S. administration, media reports said. 'Any replacement will be certainly better than her regarding the Lebanese file, after she showed harsh diplomacy in dealing with it,' diplomatic sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday. The Nidaa al-Watan newspaper meanwhile quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Ortagus' replacement is 'not imminent.' 'The U.S. diplomat is active on the level of the Lebanese file and diplomatic circles do not have the impression that she is preparing files for her successor,' the sources said. The daily added that Ortagus will 'insist on getting clear answers regarding the issue of Hezbollah's arms and wants the answers to include a timetable for arms handover.' The newspaper also said that Ortagus' visit to Lebanon could be her last visit to the country and that her replacement 'took place due to matters related to the U.S. administration and not to the Lebanese file.' U.S. journalist Laura Loomer said in a post on X that Ortagus 'will be cordially reassigned to another role in the Trump administration.' 'She wanted to be the Special Envoy to Syria, but the position was instead given to Tom Barrack,' Loomer added. 'Morgan's replacement will be announced this week by (U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East) Steve Witkoff, according to White House sources,' she said. Ortagus had been named as Amos Hochstein's successor as the request of some Republicans, although U.S. President Donald Trump was not enthusiastic about her appointment. "Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson," Trump wrote at the time. Ortagus is close to many senior Republicans like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senator Lindsey Graham, former national security adviser Mike Waltz and Trump's envoy for special missions, Ric Grenell. She also worked closely with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner during Trump's first term in office, and they remain close. During the Republican presidential primary before the 2016 elections, Ortagus criticized Trump's "isolationist" foreign policy and his personal behavior. After noting that past criticism, Trump said he decided to appoint Ortagus regardless of their differences because "she has strong Republican support." "I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for them. Let's see what happens," he added in January. In Israel, a Channel 14 journalist said Ortagus' departure would not be in Israel's favor, seeing as she is an avid supporter of Israel and has 'firmly worked on the file of disarming Hezbollah.' Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile noted that Ortagus has 'a very bad relation with Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal' and that President Joseph Aoun had expressed to U.S. officials 'his unease over her approach and her way in talking to officials.' 'She later criticized a large number of politicians, including a clear insult to ex-MP Walid Jumblat which embarrassed the majority of the friends of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon,' the daily added. Sources close to Aoun meanwhile told al-Akhbar that Ortagus' replacement could be Joel Rayburn, an anti-Iran hawk and one of the most prominent U.S. officials who followed up on the Syrian file throughout the past decade.
Nahar Net
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Salam meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh, says his doors 'always open' for Hezbollah
by Naharnet Newsdesk 02 June 2025, 12:41 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday that his "doors are always open" for Hezbollah after he met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, as the gap between Salam and Berri's ally Hezbollah seemed to widen over the group's disarmament. "I am leaving plenty of room for cordiality with (Hezbollah MP) Hajj Mohammad Raad and my doors are always open for him and Hezbollah," Salam said. Raad had recently criticized Salam for recently omitting the word "Resistance" from the "Resistance and Liberation Day" holiday in one of his statements, but said he would not respond to Salam's comments on Hezbollah's disarmament "to preserve what's left of cordiality." Berri on Friday told local al-Joumhouria newspaper that "if Salam escalates, we will escalate and if he chooses to calm things down, we will calm them down," after Salam said in recent comments that the era of "exporting the Iranian revolution has ended" and that the state "will not remain silent over any arms outside the state's control". In his interview with al-Joumhouria, Berri also urged the government to prioritize the construction of war-hit regions, saying it's the government's responsibility "whether it likes it or not." Berri had met last Friday with President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace, in talks he described as "excellent."
Nahar Net
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Salam meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh
by Naharnet Newsdesk 02 June 2025, 12:41 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Monday in Ain el-Tineh, as the gap between Salam and Berri's ally Hezbollah seemed to widen over the group's disarmament. Berri on Friday told local al-Joumhouria newspaper that "if Salam escalates, we will escalate and if he chooses to calm things down, we will calm them down," after Salam said in recent comments that the era of "exporting the Iranian revolution has ended" and that the state "will not remain silent over any arms outside the state's control". In his interview with al-Joumhouria, Berri also urged the government to prioritize the construction of war-hit regions, saying it's the government's responsibility "whether it likes it or not." Berri had met last Friday with President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace, in talks he described as "excellent."
Nahar Net
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Berri urges govt. to prioritize reconstruction, says 'will escalate if Salam escalates'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 7 hours Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri seems to support ally Hezbollah in its cold war with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Salam, who vowed the state's monopoly on arms since his appointment, recently escalated his rhetoric saying that the era of "exporting the Iranian revolution has ended" and that the state "will not remain silent over any arms outside the state's control". "The region has grown tired of Iranian-U.S. polarization," he said. Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad responded criticizing Salam for recently omitting the word "Resistance" from the "Resistance and Liberation Day" holiday in one of his statements, but said he would not say more "to preserve what's left of cordiality." Berri seemed to take Hezbollah's side, telling local al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that "if Salam escalates, we will escalate and if he chooses to calm things down, we will calm them down." Berri went on to say that it is the government's responsibility to prioritize the construction of war-hit regions, "whether it likes it or not." "It must be the first topic to discuss with sisterly countries, especially since Lebanon has begun strengthening its relations with the world." Salam had said that Lebanon, exhausted by divisions and wars, is returning to the Arab fold and will be open to the world.
