French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian during a meeting with the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, on Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo provided by Hezbollah's press service.)
It will be Joseph Aoun... or no one. If not, Lebanon will neither benefit from the promised aid nor gain the attention of the international community. This is the clear message that Lebanese officials have received from various powers through envoys arriving in Beirut before the electoral session on Jan. 9. The Saudi envoy, Yazid bin Farhane, was back in Beirut on Wednesday morning after a visit last week. Meanwhile, the French envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, met with various political forces to convince them to support Joseph Aoun. On Monday, it was the American emissary, Amos Hochstein, who made the trip. The messages conveyed jointly by the Americans, French, and Saudis included pressures as well as incentives to reach a consensus around the army commander.International intervention to influence the presidential deadline is no longer a...
It will be Joseph Aoun... or no one. If not, Lebanon will neither benefit from the promised aid nor gain the attention of the international community. This is the clear message that Lebanese officials have received from various powers through envoys arriving in Beirut before the electoral session on Jan. 9. The Saudi envoy, Yazid bin Farhane, was back in Beirut on Wednesday morning after a visit last week. Meanwhile, the French envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, met with various political forces to convince them to support Joseph Aoun. On Monday, it was the American emissary, Amos Hochstein, who made the trip. The messages conveyed jointly by the Americans, French, and Saudis included pressures as well as incentives to reach a consensus around the army commander.International intervention to influence the presidential deadline is no longer a...
