Lebanon welcomes GCC-US declaration

Lebanon's Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed the joint declaration issued Thursday following the ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council  (GCC) and the United States, describing it as a significant endorsement of Beirut's sovereign diplomatic path.

The ministry expressed particular satisfaction with the declaration's provisions directly concerning Lebanon, highlighting four key elements that align precisely with the Lebanese government's stated positions.

First, the declaration formally recognises the ongoing direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices, legitimising Beirut's decision to pursue its own sovereign path rather than allow Iran to negotiate on its behalf.

Second, it explicitly calls for maintaining the negotiation process and "not linking it to other conflicts" - a direct rejection of Tehran's insistence on bundling the Lebanese file into the broader US-Iran framework.

Third, it affirms that "Lebanon's full sovereignty cannot be achieved as long as non-state armed groups retain military capabilities outside state authority. »

Fourth, and most significantly, it calls for the complete disarmament of all such groups and the restoration of the Lebanese state's monopoly on the use of force.

For a government that has fought hard to keep its diplomatic fate in its own hands, resisting both Israeli pressure and Iranian interference, the GCC-US declaration represents meaningful international backing for Lebanon's sovereigntist agenda.

The message from the world's most powerful regional bloc and its American partner is now clear: Hezbollah must disarm, and Lebanon's future will be decided in Beirut and Washington — not in Tehran.