BEIRUT: The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf met several Lebanese officials on Friday, following depositors’ protests against Lebanon’s central bank and other lenders in Beirut.
Accompanied by Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, Leaf met parliament speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt.
Leaf is reported to have told the officials that the US was pleased with the recent Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and that it encouraged Saudi Arabia to move forward in this regard but the Kingdom had yet to express its intention to restore consular work in Syria.
The diplomat said she did not want to give her opinion on who should be the next Lebanese president as that was responsibility of the country’s lawmakers, but the US welcomed any elected leader.
Leaf told Berri that the situation in Lebanon could not continue as the economic situation was deteriorating and that the country needed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund as soon as possible.
Ahead of Leaf’s visit to Beirut as part of a Middle Eastern tour, the US State Department urged Lebanese officials to elect a president, form a government and implement decisive economic reforms as soon as possible in order to put the country on the path to stability and prosperity.
Her arrival was preceded by three days of talks in Beirut between the head of the Strategic Council for Iranian Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi, Berri, Mikati and Hezbollah. Kharrazi said a new Lebanese president should be elected without outside interference and that the matter was “up to Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah and its allies have named Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Marada Movement, as their candidate, but the sovereign and reformist team has rejected him because of his closeness to the Syrian regime.
Franjieh failed to secure a majority of 65 votes in the first round of voting, and also missed the quorum of two-thirds of members of parliament, 86 out of 128, for the polling session in the second round.
During the talks, Leaf criticized a group of reformist MPs who recently visited the US rather than remaining in Beirut to elect a president. One lawmaker said she told them that although Washington would help to prevent Lebanon’s collapse it “cannot elect a president in their stead.”
Leaf’s visit comes against the backdrop of more economic and monetary deterioration in Lebanon. The IMF warned at the end of its meetings in Beirut that the country “is in a very dangerous situation one year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement.”
Meanwhile, security forces strengthened their presence in the vicinity of the central bank in Hamra on Friday, after a sit-in by members of the Depositors’ Cry group turned into a riot. Some protesters launched firecrackers at the building, while others tried to storm the Societe General bank, and still more attacked the frontages of the BBAC and Mawarid banks in Hamra Street.
A group of depositors from the United for Lebanon alliance said they tried to enter the building in which Nadim Kassar, general manager of Fransabank, lives in the Jnah area of Beirut.
“Our protests have nothing to do with what the IMF mission had to say,” Alaa Khorshid, head of Depositors’ Cry, said.
“We had already planned to take action and we will continue to do so until we recover our deposits that have been withheld in banks since 2019.”
Joanna Wronecka, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said on Friday: “Three years after Lebanon announced the suspension of the payment of its sovereign debts, the Lebanese are still waiting for their leaders to take action and save the country.
“People are angry to see their salaries lose value due to inflation and the depreciation of the national currency. The reforms agreed upon with the IMF have become vital and inevitable.”
The final report of the IMF mission, headed by Ernesto Rigo, said that Lebanon was “at a dangerous crossroads.”
“Without rapid reforms, the country will plunge into a crisis that will never end.”
US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks
https://arab.news/5t5dg
US official meets Lebanon’s leaders as violent protests rage outside banks
- Barbara Leaf urges country to reach deal with IMF to prevent economic crisis worsening
- Lebanon still without president as political opponents continue to wrangle
5 children playing soccer killed in Yemen explosion
- Two local residents who were eyewitnesses, Ahmed Al-Sharee and Khaled Al-Areki, said that the children were playing soccer when the explosion happened
ADEN: Five children in southwestern Yemen died after an explosive device detonated in a residential area where they were playing soccer, rights groups and eyewitnesses said on Saturday.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths on Friday night in Al-Hashmah subdistrict of Taiz province remain unclear.
A spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said that they are aware of reports about the incident but can’t verify the facts at the moment.
Two local residents who were eyewitnesses, Ahmed Al-Sharee and Khaled Al-Areki, said that the children were playing soccer when the explosion happened.
At least three people with minor to moderate injuries were also taken to the hospital.
Mahmoud Al-Mansi, another eyewitness, said the explosive was directed from an area where forces allied with the Islah party were present.
The Yemen Center for Human Rights condemned the incident in a report that included graphic photos of the children’s torn bodies. Citing health care sources at Al-Rafai Hospital, where the victims arrived unresponsive, the group said they died from shrapnel injuries.
Two of the children were 12 years old, while two others were 14 years old, according to the group. The age of the fifth child is unknown.
US envoy Tom Barrack clarifies Syria comments, denies they were threat to Lebanon
- Reports cited Barrack warning that Lebanon risked “going back to Bilad Al-Sham”
- Syrian government also moved to quash speculation that it was planning escalatory steps against Lebanon
LONDON: US Special Envoy Tom Barrack has sought to clarify remarks made during his recent visit to the region, saying that his comments praising Syria’s progress were not intended as a threat to neighboring Lebanon.
“My comments yesterday praised Syria’s impressive strides, not a threat to Lebanon,” Barrack posted on X on Saturday.
“I observed the reality that Syria is moving at light speed to seize the historic opportunity presented by @POTUS’ lifting of sanctions: Investment from Turkiye and the Gulf, diplomatic outreach to neighboring countries and a clear vision for the future. I can assure that Syria’s leaders only want coexistence and mutual prosperity with Lebanon, and the US is committed to supporting that relationship between two equal and sovereign neighbors enjoying peace and prosperity,” he added.
The clarification comes after reports in Lebanese media, including from MTV Lebanon, cited Barrack as warning that Lebanon risked “going back to Bilad Al-Sham” if it failed to act quickly on regional realignment.
The term Bilad Al-Sham, historically referring to Greater Syria, encompasses present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine under the Ottoman Empire; a sensitive concept in Lebanon given fears over sovereignty and outside interference.
Barrack’s comments were widely interpreted by some local outlets as a warning that Lebanon could fall under renewed Syrian influence if it failed to align with shifting regional dynamics.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Syrian government also moved to quash speculation that it was planning escalatory steps against Lebanon over the issue of Syrian detainees held in Lebanese prisons.
A Syrian Ministry of Information official said that the detainee issue remains “a top priority” and that Damascus is committed to resolving it “swiftly through official channels between the two countries.”
Earlier reports had cited unnamed sources close to the Syrian government suggesting that diplomatic and economic retaliation was under consideration in response to what Damascus saw as Lebanon’s neglect of the detainees’ plight.
However, the Information Ministry source denied this, saying there were no such plans and reaffirming Syria’s commitment to bilateral resolution.
In an interview with Arab News on Friday, Barrack had made remarks reflecting growing US concern over Lebanon’s political inertia and the evolving role of Hezbollah.
“If Lebanon doesn’t hurry up and get in line, everyone around them will,” Barrack warned, pointing to a broader regional shift sparked by the lifting of US sanctions on Syria.
He framed the moment as pivotal for Lebanon, with pressure mounting for a new political order.
Addressing questions about Hezbollah’s future, Barrack said the group consists of “two parts,” an Iran-backed militant faction designated as a terrorist organization, and a political wing operating in Lebanon’s parliament.
He added that any disarmament process “must be led by the Lebanese government, with the full agreement of Hezbollah itself.”
Barrack said: “That process has to start with the Council of Ministers. They have to authorize the mandate. And Hezbollah, the political party, has to agree to that. But what Hezbollah is saying is, ‘OK, we understand one Lebanon has to happen.’ Why? Because one Syria is starting to happen.”
On Syria, Barrack described the lifting of sanctions on May 13 as a “strategic fresh start” for the war-ravaged nation and said that the US was not intending to pursue “nation-building or federalism.”
He called the Middle East a “difficult zip code at an amazingly historic time,” and told Arab News that the Trump administration’s new approach was designed to offer “a new slice of hope” to the Syrian people.
“President (Trump)’s message is peace and prosperity,” he said. “Sanctions gave the people hope. That’s really all that happened at that moment.”
Fuel shortages in Gaza at ‘critical levels,’ UN warns
- Seven UN agencies said in a joint statement that “fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza”
GENEVA: The United Nations warned Saturday that dire fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip had reached “critical levels,” threatening to further increase the suffering in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Seven UN agencies said in a joint statement that “fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza.”
Fuel was needed to “power hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks, ambulances, and every aspect of humanitarian operations,” they said, highlighting that bakeries also needed fuel to operate.
The besieged Palestinian territory has been facing dire fuel shortages since the beginning of the devastating war that erupted after Hamas’s deadly attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023.
But now “fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels,” warned the agencies, including the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme and the humanitarian agency OCHA.
“After almost two years of war, people in Gaza are facing extreme hardships, including widespread food insecurity,” they pointed out.
“When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation.”
The UN said that without adequate fuel, the agencies that have been responding to the deep humanitarian crisis in a territory swathes of which have been flattened by Israeli bombing and facing famine warnings, “will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely.”
“This means no health services, no clean water, and no capacity to deliver aid,” the statement said.
“Without adequate fuel, Gaza faces a collapse of humanitarian efforts,” it warned.
“Without fuel, bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate. Water production and sanitation systems will shut down, leaving families without safe drinking water, while solid waste and sewage pile up in the streets,” it added.
“These conditions expose families to deadly disease outbreaks and push Gaza’s most vulnerable even closer to death.”
The warning comes days after the UN managed to bring fuel into Gaza for the first time in 130 days.
While a “welcome development,” the UN agencies said the 75,000 liters of fuel they were able to bring in was just “a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running.”
“The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment,” they said.
“Fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations.”
FM Araghchi says Iran to work with IAEA, but inspections may be risky
- While Iran’s cooperation with the nuclear watchdog has not stopped, it will take a new form, he said
DUBAI, July 12 : Iran plans to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog despite restrictions imposed by its parliament, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, but stressed that access to its bombed nuclear sites posed security and safety issues.
The new law stipulates that any future inspection of Iran’s nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needs approval by the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security body.
“The risk of spreading radioactive materials and the risk of exploding leftover munitions ... are serious,” state media cited Araghchi as saying. “For us, IAEA inspectors approaching nuclear sites has both a security aspect ... and the safety of the inspectors themselves is a matter that must be examined.”
While Iran’s cooperation with the nuclear watchdog has not stopped, it will take a new form and will be guided and managed through the Supreme National Security Council, Araghchi told Tehran-based diplomats.
Jordan, EU sign security pact to tackle serious crime, terrorism
- Joint action will target migrant and weapons smuggling as well as drug trafficking
- Partnership ‘embodies mutual trust and understanding,’ says Europol executive director
AMMAN: Jordan and the EU have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at bolstering efforts to combat organized crime and terrorism across borders, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The working arrangements were signed between Jordan’s Public Security Directorate and the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or Europol, on Thursday.
The agreement establishes a legal framework to support joint action in fighting serious and organized crime, as well as terrorism, by facilitating cooperation and the exchange of non-personal information between Europol and Jordanian law enforcement agencies.
According to a statement from the PSD, the agreement will allow both parties to coordinate on a range of issues, including migrant smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons smuggling.
Under the deal, Jordan and the EU will share specialized expertise, overall situation reports, and the results of strategic analyzes.
The agreement also enables participation in joint training initiatives, and includes provisions for advice and support in individual criminal investigations.
To streamline collaboration, the PSD will appoint a national contact point responsible for liaising with Europol and coordinating efforts between Jordanian agencies and their European counterparts.
The arrangements also allow for the potential appointment of a Europol liaison officer to be stationed in Jordan, joining a global network of law enforcement representatives from more than 50 countries.
With the agreement in force, the EU and Jordan are expected to significantly strengthen their cooperation in addressing pressing regional and international security challenges.
The arrangements represent “a pivotal step” in joint efforts to address the security threats affecting the EU, its member states, and Jordan, said Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol.
She said the partnership “embodies mutual trust and understanding in the law enforcement area,” paving the way for closer cooperation to achieve security within the EU and across the Middle East.
