Two days after the visit to Lebanon by the new French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati received French Ambassador to Beirut Hervé Magro on Thursday.
Two days after the visit to Lebanon by the new French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati received French Ambassador to Beirut Hervé Magro on Thursday.
Following the meeting, Magro asserted that he had presented to the Prime Minister the "ideas" of Paris regarding the situation in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been engaging in a barrage of bombings since October 8, 2023, following the Hamas attack in Israel.
One does not need to be a globally renowned expert to know the immediate measures to reduce tension. It suffices for Hezbollah to respect UN Resolution 1701 and demand that its militants vacate the border area and move beyond the Litani River, as required since 2006.
Furthermore, the narrative of the Lebanese government aligns with that of Iran. This implies that Mikati dares not ask Hezbollah to cease provocations.
This charade of diplomatic discussions between France and Lebanon appears nothing more than a theatrical performance, where "ideas" are presented with little hope of implementation and where political realities are overshadowed by regional power dynamics. The theater of diplomacy continues, while the people of southern Lebanon bear the brunt of escalating violence.
By Marc Fakhoury
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday he expects to go to Switzerland soon for talks with Iran, even as Tehran's high command was reported as saying it would shut the Strait of Hormuz due to what it called U.S. and Israeli truce violations.
U.S. President Donald Trump's personal envoy and Iran's foreign minister were headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios said, although deadly strikes by Israel in Lebanon on Saturday could test a new ceasefire key to ending the Iran war.
Emerging outlines of a deal between Washington and Tehran to end their war contain a stinging paradox: sweeteners to coax Iran into compliance may strengthen an adversarial force that the U.S. and its Western allies consider a terrorist organisation.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.