Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed at Hamad International Airport in Doha by Qatari Minister of Transport, Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Thani, on June 24, 2025. (Credit: X/@grandserail)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed on Tuesday the fact that Lebanon managed to avoid getting involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel, despite Israeli violations of the cease-fire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah at the end of November, and the party's support for the Islamic Republic of Iran during the last 12 days of fighting, which a truce announced on Monday night by Donald Trump is supposed to put an end to.
"We thank God for having succeeded, over the past two weeks, in preventing Lebanon from being drawn into a new war. We now aspire to open a new page of diplomatic action," he said in Doha during a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
The Lebanese premier also renewed Lebanon's "gratitude" for the "support" provided by Qatar to Lebanon, "particularly to the Lebanese army and several other projects." The wealthy gas emirate announced in April the renewal of $60 million in aid intended to pay the salaries of Lebanese soldiers, on the occasion of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's first official visit to Doha.
Energy file
The prime minister also announced that the two countries agreed to continue discussions on the energy issue, including the supply of gas to Lebanon's power plants, which would improve Lebanon's electricity production, whose capacity and state of facilities are far from sufficient to provide 24-hour power to the entire country. He also discussed the reforms requested by the International Monetary Fund, as well as the country's support for redressing the Lebanese financial system, which has been in crisis since 2019, and modernizing the administration to strengthen its efficiency and transparency.
"We are also working to extend the state's authority throughout Lebanon," he said, referring to the mission of restoring the state's monopoly on arms in the country, which his government and Aoun have set themselves; an objective which involves the disarmament of Lebanese militias including Hezbollah as well as Palestinian camps.
On security issues, Salam said that Lebanon was in the camp of those who wish to see "a Middle East without nuclear weapons." This was an indirect way of positioning himself against the military ambitions attributed to Iran by Israel and the United States in this area, but also in favor of disarming Israel, which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and possesses an unknown number of such weapons, according to numerous concordant reports.
He also renewed his call for Israel to leave the sites it still occupies in southern Lebanon, from which it should have withdrawn by Feb. 18, according to the truce agreement reached with Hezbollah at the end of last November, which ended more than a year of war between the two sides.
"There can be no stability in Lebanon without a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupies, particularly from the five disputed points," Salam stated.
Iran and Gaza
Nawaf Salam also expressed his "support" to Qatar, the day after Iran's missile strike on one of the U.S. bases hosted by the emirate.
"The attack against the State of Qatar is an unacceptable act, especially since we have made great diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation," Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said.
According to a source close to the negotiations cited by AFP, Qatar "persuaded Iran" to accept a cease-fire with Israel following the attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Qatari counterpart that the Iranian missile strikes on a U.S. base near Doha on Monday were not "an act against" Qatar and that Tehran had acted "in self-defense." The strike was in response to a U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. The Qatari prime minister planned to respond to the attack with "diplomatic and legal" measures.
Abdulrahman al-Thani on Tuesday called on the United States and Iran to resume nuclear talks. He also said his country was working to resume cease-fire talks in Gaza in the coming days, while calling on Israel not to take advantage of the truce with Iran to "unleash whatever it wants" on the besieged Palestinian enclave. According to Gaza health officials cited by Haaretz, the Israeli army killed 71 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, including about 50 who were waiting in line to receive humanitarian aid. The total death toll from this war, triggered by a Hamas offensive and followed by a disproportionate Israeli response, has cost the lives of about 56,000 Palestinians, not including those who are still missing.
Salam arrived in Qatar on Tuesday morning for an official visit. His plane, scheduled to land in Doha on Monday evening, had to make an emergency stopover in Bahrain due to Iranian strikes on the U.S. al-Udeid base in Qatar.
The prime minister was accompanied by the Ministers of Culture, Ghassan Salameh, Energy, Joe Saddi, Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rassamny, and Administrative Development, Fady Makki. He was welcomed at Hamad International Airport by the Qatari Minister of Transport, Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Thani.
Salam and the delegation were welcomed at the Diwan Amiri by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, with whom an extended meeting took place, followed by a bilateral meeting between the Emir and the Lebanese president, according to a statement published on the Grand Serail's X account.
In a statement, Salam thanked King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa for their phone call after his emergency landing in Manama. He praised their warm welcome, hospitality, and the special attention he and the accompanying delegation received.