Lebanese MP and head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad (on the right), meets with the French envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Beirut on June 11, 2025. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met Wednesday with a senior Hezbollah official to discuss the renewal of the U.N. peacekeeping mission’s mandate in southern Lebanon, according to a source close to the talks.
Le Drian held discussions with Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc. The party has faced increasing pressure to disarm following its ongoing conflict with Israel.
“The discussion focused in particular on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which expires in August,” said the source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
UNIFIL, deployed along the southern border with Israel, is part of an international committee tasked with monitoring the cease-fire agreement that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah on Nov. 27. On Tuesday, the mission reported that one of its patrols had been pelted with stones in a southern village where Hezbollah holds sway. UNIFIL condemned the repeated incidents, calling them “unacceptable.”
In response, Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad said Wednesday that any tensions or friction between southern residents and UNIFIL should be handled “with calm and wisdom.” He underscored “the importance of the presence of UNIFIL forces in the South … in coordination with the Lebanese Army,” and said Hezbollah supported “a positive relationship between the residents and the UNIFIL soldiers.”
Under the terms of the cease-fire agreement, Hezbollah is required to withdraw its fighters and dismantle any military infrastructure south of the Litani River. Only the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL are authorized to operate in that area.
On Tuesday, Le Drian also met with several top Lebanese officials, including Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, who has assumed the role of interim president. Aoun had condemned the recent attacks on UNIFIL as “unacceptable.”
According to a Lebanese government source who also requested anonymity, Le Drian “raised the issue of renewing UNIFIL’s mandate, without modification,” during his meetings.
The French envoy also stressed the need for Lebanon to implement long-overdue reforms demanded by the international community, particularly in the banking sector, noting that these measures are a key condition for unlocking foreign aid, the official added.
International donors have pledged billions of dollars to help revive Lebanon’s economy, which has been in free fall since 2019 due to widespread corruption and decades of mismanagement by the country’s ruling elite.
