Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a phone call Saturday from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), in a show of Gulf solidarity following the announcement of the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement in Washington.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and other GCC members, has consistently called for Hezbollah's disarmament and the restoration of full Lebanese state sovereignty © Mena Today
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a phone call Saturday from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), in a show of Gulf solidarity following the announcement of the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement in Washington.
During the call, MBZ reaffirmed the UAE's support for Lebanon and its backing for the positions taken by President Aoun and the Lebanese government. The Emirati leader also expressed his country's readiness to support Lebanon politically, economically and socially as it navigates its current challenges.
President Aoun thanked MBZ for the UAE's consistent support and acknowledged the Emirates' contributions to Lebanon across various sectors.
The call is the latest signal from Gulf states that Lebanon's decision to pursue direct negotiations with Israel - bypassing Iran's attempts to control the process - has strong regional backing.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and other GCC members, has consistently called for Hezbollah's disarmament and the restoration of full Lebanese state sovereignty.
For Beirut, which signed a landmark framework agreement with Jerusalem on Friday under American auspices, the support of Abu Dhabi represents an important diplomatic endorsement at a critical moment in Lebanon's long road to recovery.
A Lebanese official denied on Thursday a Reuters report that Beirut had agreed with Israel to a shortlist of countries that could send troops to Lebanon to verify the disarmament of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and said it was following up on the issue with Washington.
Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defence minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew U.S. criticism.
The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", the head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
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