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Saudis Target Lebanon, the Hope of Middle Eastern Christians

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (l) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson July 26 in Washington, D.C.

Peter Jesserer Smith ncregister.com BEIRUT — Twenty years ago, when St. John Paul II arrived in Lebanon he proclaimed the country’s important “historical mission” was to show the world how “different faiths can live together in peace, brotherhood and cooperation.” The Holy Father declared that “Lebanon is more than a country — it is a message.” But today, Lebanon is increasingly in the crosshairs of an escalating regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The highest levels of leadership in the Catholic Church are acting to save Lebanon from a war that could not only devastate this historic Christian homeland, but also deal a fatal blow to the survival of Christianity in the Middle East, and plunge the region into a longterm sectarian war. During Sunday’s Angelus message, Pope Francis delivered an impassioned appeal for the international community to do everything possible to secure peace in the Middle East, asking the faithful to “pray for the stability of [Lebanon], so that it can continue to be a ‘messenger’ of respect and coexistence for the entire region and for the whole world.” Tensions in Lebanon rose with the sudden and unexpected resignation of Saad Hariri, the country’s Sunni prime minister, who read a televised prepared speech in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4 saying he feared an assassination plot against him, and blamed Iran and its Lebanese Shiite proxy Hezbollah for Lebanon and the region’s problems. The speech and Hariri’s apparent detention in Saudi Arabia, actually united the various factions in Lebanon, which agreed that Hariri’s resignation was not in Lebanon’s interests. After international pressure on the Saudis from the U.S., France, and other Western governments, Hariri finally returned to Lebanon, and on Nov. 22, announced he had put his resignation on hold, at the request of the president Michel Aoun, in the interests of Lebanon. Philippe Nassif, executive director of In Defense of Christians, a D.C.-based lobby that advocates for the interests of Middle Eastern Christians told the Register that the Saudis were attempting to collapse Hariri’s national unity government, which included Hezbollah’s political wing, in a “reckless” bid to even the regional chess game the Saudis have been losing against Shiite-dominated Iran. Nassif said Lebanon’s survival is critical to the survival of Christianity in the Middle East. Although Egypt has the largest population of Middle East Christians in terms of numbers, Lebanon is the only country where a Christian is the head of state, and both Muslims, Christians, and other religious communities enjoy full religious freedom, and civic equality. Lebanon is a secular state where power is shared by the different major confessional religions: Christians account for 41% of the population, Sunni Muslims (27%), and Shiite Muslims (27%), with the rest being Druze (6%) and other minorities. Under the constitution, Lebanon’s president is Maronite Catholic, the Prime Minister is Sunni, and the Speaker of Parliament is Shiite. Lebanon is a unique country in the Middle East as the majority of Christians are actually Catholic due to the fact that the largest church, the Maronite Catholic Church, never broke from communion with the Bishop of Rome. The country has also provided a refuge to Christians fleeing the annihilation of Syria’s protracted war and genocide in Iraq. But Lebanon’s political and social cohesion is straining badly with the absorption of more than a million Syrian refugees in this country of 4.5 million.

Saudi Setbacks

Nassif explained the Saudis have suffered a string of serious reverses in their regional battle with Iran for power and influence. Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has only led to catastrophic losses of civilian life due to mass starvation, Iraq’s government has fallen under the political aegis of Iran, and its Sunni militant proxies failed to oust president Bashar Assad from Syria — due again in part to Iran’s military and economic support, and Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. The Shiite party has the only Lebanese militia that did not disarm following the conclusion of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1990, and is assumed to have as many armed fighters as Lebanon’s army. However, as part of a delicate national compromise, Hezbollah forms part of Lebanon’s government. The Saudis, who have been alarmed that Hezbollah’s activities have extended from Syria into Yemen, have succeeded in getting the Arab League to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. And in comments published Nov. 23 by The New York Times, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is in line to become the kingdom’s next ruler, characterized Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as “the new Hitler of the Middle East.” Nassif said that both Saudi Arabia and Iran have played out their rivalry in Lebanon in “a more peaceful way compared to other countries.” Both recognize that if Lebanon ends up in a war again, it could lead to a conflagration that would spin out of their control. “If something happens in Lebanon, everybody loses,” he said, especially the Lebanese who are determined to avoid war because they already “know what happens when they start shooting at each other.” The U.S. government has expressed support for Lebanon’s sovereignty in recent statements from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — a tacit message to its regional allies, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, that the U.S. regards Lebanon’s integrity as a strategic interest. But Nassif said the U.S. government needed to de-escalate the tensions to prevent “one stupid thing” that would make the region explode, led to a massive exodus of refugees, and prove fatal for the long-term endurance of Christianity in the Middle East.

Patriarch and Prophet of Peace

Amid these heightened tensions took place an event of enormous historic importance: Maronite Catholic Patriarch and Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai made an official visit to Riyadh Nov. 14, at the behest of Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Bishop Gregory Mansour, head of the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York, told the Register that the patriarch’s visit showed his commitment to Pope Francis’s vision of building bridges of peace through personal encounter and dialogue. In Saudi Arabia, public worship of any religion other than the Wahhabi version of Islam — public or private — is forbidden. “For most of us, this visit was surprising, but welcome,” Bishop Mansour said. “They invited the patriarch who is a symbol of two things, one is he’s a symbol of Christians in the Middle East, and two, he was a symbol of the country of Lebanon … which represents Christian-Muslim conviviality.” Catholic News Service reported Church officials in Lebanon said Cardinal Rai would stress with the Saudis the need for Lebanon to remain neutral in the regional conflicts, its independent sovereignty and stability respected, and for the country to remain “the land of cultural and religious pluralism and dialogue between Christianity and Islam.” Bishop Mansour told the Register he hoped the Saudis would not just listen to Cardinal Rai’s message about the Christians of Lebanon, but also about the importance of Christianity to the Middle East, including the “millions of Christians that live in Saudi Arabia.” Saudi Arabia is estimated to have potentially 2 million Christians living and working there, most of whom are Latin-Rite Catholics due to a large number of Filipino migrant workers. Conversion from Islam is punishable by death, although one study estimated that 60,000 Christians in Saudi Arabia may be Muslim converts. Bishop Mansour said Christians in the Middle East are looking to the survival of Lebanon, as hope that the region does have a future of peace and pluralism, guarded by secular states, for its ethno-religious mosaic. When Cardinal Rai left Saudi Arabia, he traveled immediately to Rome, raising the prospect that he would be involving Pope Francis. Although the Holy See does not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, the Vatican’s press office reported Pope Francis and Saudi Arabia’s foreign affairs minister, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, had a personal meeting on Nov. 22, the day Hariri agreed to stay on as prime minister.

Avoiding War and Embargo

Habib Malik, a history and cultural studies professor at the Lebanese American University, based in Beirut and Byblos, told the Register that having Cardinal Rai officially invited to the Saudi kingdom, wearing his robes and Christian symbols, was “unprecedented” for a Catholic leader, and planned before the tension regarding Hariri’s resignation began. “That alone is important,” he said, adding that the Lebanese were hoping that Cardinal Rai’s visit would help soften the situation between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. A Saudi economic blockade, or expulsion of Lebanese working in the kingdom, Malik explained, would have devastated Lebanon’s delicate economy. Malik said the Crown Prince is eager to trumpet his vision that Saudi Arabia will have a centrist Islam, with openness and dialogue, and that is the original context of the visit. At the same time, the Saudis also know that Cardinal Rai is very critical of Hezbollah, but if they thought they could exploit divisions in Lebanon, they failed, because “the Cardinal is squarely within with national unity consensus that has emerged.” Right now, Hariri seems to have received indications that Hezbollah will accommodate his need to distance Lebanon from the regional conflicts and keep the country neutral as much as possible.” Malik said the coming days will show whether Harari can live with this “new tweaked deal” or follow through with his plan to resign. Overall, Malik said, the Saudis have failed to score any major victories and the “Iranian-Hezbollah-Assad axis supported by Russia” has the upper hand in the region. “The scheme to blow up Lebanon that was intended by all these Saudi moves the past 20 days has backfired royally upon the desert royals,” Malik said. Lebanon stayed united and gained wide international support for their stability, Hezbollah toned down the triumphalism for the language of compromise, and Hariri returned to Beirut with a hero’s welcome. “Lebanon, for now, has truly dodged a bullet.”

John Kelly reportedly wanted Kushner and Ivanka Trump to leave the White House by the end of the year

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Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

by Sonam Sheth Business Insider- President Donald Trump's chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, has considered the possibility of pushing senior adviser Jared Kushner and special assistant Ivanka Trump out of the West Wing by the end of the year, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Kelly joined the White House in July after former chief of staff Reince Priebus departed and has sought to impose order upon a previously freewheeling West Wing. Before Kelly arrived, Kushner and Ivanka Trump enjoyed relatively unfettered access to Trump, coming and going to the Oval Office as they pleased, according to multiple media reports. Since Kelly took over, however, multiple sources told The Times and The Washington Post that Kushner's vast portfolio — which initially included achieving peace in the Middle East, solving the opioid crisis, fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs, and being the administration's point person in dealing with China, Mexico, and Canada — has shrunk significantly. He now focuses primarily on working towards Middle East peace and oversees the Office of American Innovation. Kelly, who stands as a buffer between Trump and the rest of the White House staff, has made it clear that he's in charge, telling associates, "Jared works for me," according to The Times. And three advisers said that Kelly has discussed the possibility of Kushner and Ivanka Trump leaving the Trump administration all together by the end of 2017.

Kelly pushed back against that notion, telling The Times that "there was honestly never a time when I contemplated getting rid of Jared and Ivanka." He added that the Office of American Innovation, which Kushner conceptualized and now spearheads, has proven valuable.A Vanity Fair piece last week said Trump, too, wants his daughter and son-in-law to leave Washington, DC, and head back to New York. "He keeps pressuring them to go," a source told Vanity Fair.

Kushner is a central figure in the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Mueller is reportedly investigating the president's role in crafting a misleading statement his son Donald Trump Jr. released after it emerged that he met with a Kremlin-connected lawyerat Trump Tower in June 2016. Mueller is also examining whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice by firing James Comey as FBI director in May. Kushner attended the June 2016 meeting, and multiple news reports have said he strongly urged Trump to fire Comey. Kushner was also with Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, during a weekend in early May when Trump put together a draft letter laying out the reasons he wanted to fire Comey. Some members of Trump's defense team also wanted Kushner out earlier this summer, as he faced increased exposure in the Russia investigation. The Vanity Fair report added that Trump was becoming frustrated with Kushner's political advice, including that Trump back Luther Strange in the runoff for the GOP nomination for the US Senate seat in Alabama previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Strange lost the nomination to Roy Moore, whose candidacy has been rattled by multiple sexual misconduct allegations and who is now in an increasingly competitive race against Democrat Doug Jones

St John Paul II ‘had vision of an Islamist invasion of Europe’

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by catholicherald.co.uk - Pope John Paul II had a prophetic vision of an “Islamist invasion” of Europe, a former confidant has claimed. Mgr Mauro Longhi, who often accompanied the former Pope on hiking trips while still a student, said St John Paul was a mystic who “dialogued” with Our Lady and had prophetic visions. He made the remarks during a lecture at the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul in Bienno, northern Italy, which has been posted on YouTube. During one meeting in 1992, Mgr Longhi says, John Paul II told of a disturbing vision he had had about the future of Europe.

“The Pope told me: ‘Tell this to those whom you will meet in the Church of the third millennium. I see the Church afflicted by a mortal wound. More profound, more painful than those of this millennium,’ referring to Communism and Nazi totalitarianism. ‘It is called Islamism. They will invade Europe. I have seen the hordes come from the West to the East,’ and then told to me each country one by one: from Morocco to Libya to Egypt, and so on till the East. “The Holy Father added: ‘They will invade Europe, Europe will be like a basement, old relics, shadows, cobwebs. Family heirlooms. You, the Church of the third millennium, must contain the invasion. Not with armies, armies will not be enough, but with your faith, lived with integrity.” Mgr Longhi accompanied Pope John Paul II on hiking and skiing trips from 1985 until he was ordained 10 years later. He said the Pope would leave Rome in a modest car, so as not to attract attention, and stay at an Opus Dei home in the mountains in Abruzzo. At night, the Pope would often kneel before the Tabernacle in the chapel of the building, conversing “at times even animatedly” with the Lord. Mgr Longhi also said that Cardinal Andrzej Deskur, one of John Paul II’s closest friends, told him the pontiff had the “gift of visions”. “He speaks to God Incarnate, Jesus; he sees His face and he sees also the face of His mother,” the cardinal said. Pope John Paul II is well-known for promoting inter-faith dialogue between Catholics and Muslims, most famously becoming the first Pope to set foot inside a mosque in 2001. However, in his 2003 encyclical Ecclesia in Europa, the former pontiff wrote that dialogue with Islam “needs to be conducted prudently, with clear ideas about possibilities and limits, and with confidence in God’s saving plan for all his children.” “It is also necessary to take into account the notable gap between European culture, with its profound Christian roots, and Muslim thought,” he added.

Lebanon’s Jumblatt calls for Saudi-Iranian discussions

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by reuters - BEIRUT, Nov 25 — Top Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt today called on Saudi Arabia to enter dialogue with Iran and said that the Kingdom’s modernisation plans could not work while Riyadh was engaged in a war in Yemen. Lebanon was thrust back onto the frontline of a regional power tussle this month between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The two regional powers back competing factions in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, the last of which has become a central arena of the proxy battle. Ads by AdAsia “A settlement at minimum with the Islamic Republic (of Iran) gives us in Lebanon more strength and determination to cooperate to enforce the policy of disassociation,” Jumblatt wrote in a Tweet today. “[MBS] wants a cultural revolution in the kingdom,” Jumblatt tweeted, “and it’s a good initiative to redirect Islam towards a more open and accepting narrative ... but this cannot happen while the war in Yemen rages on. Jumblatt praised this effort and said that the kingdom’s newfound acceptance of other religions had been evidenced by the recent visit of Lebanon Maronite Patriarch Rai to Saudi Arabia. “Patriarch Rai revealed the kingdom's plan to build a church, which is great news,” Jumblatt said, “these challenges are enormous but necessary.” But the PSP chief said that Saudi Arabia’s efforts will be worth little if the kingdom does not deal appropriately with the ongoing war in Yemen, and the necessary dialogue with Iran.

“Disassociation” is widely understood in Lebanon to mean its policy of staying out of regional conflicts, which Hariri has been stressing since his resignation, a reference to Hezbollah whose regional military role is a source of deep concern in Saudi Arabia Saudi policy of confronting Iran more aggressively around the region has been spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also attempting to push through difficult and extensive internal reforms. Saudi Arabia has played an important role in Lebanon in the past, helping to broker the end of its civil war in 1990 and contributing to reconstruction afterwards. But the extent of its role in the November 4 resignation announcement by Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has been widely debated in Lebanon and led some Lebanese to fear that Riyadh sought to destabilize their country. Addressing Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jumblatt said:“The challenges are tremendous and the modernisation of the Kingdom is an Islamic and Arabic necessity but this mission cannot be successful while the Yemen war continues.”

The Saudi-led coalition has been targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015, after the Houthis seized parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee. On Wednesday, the coalition said it would allow aid in through the Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif, as well as UN flights to Sanaa, more than two weeks after blockading the country. “Enough of the destruction and siege in Yemen and enough of the human and material drain on the Kingdom’s people and resources,” Jumblatt said. “Let the Yemeni people choose who it wants and you, Your Excellency the Prince, be the judge, the reformer, and the big brother as your ancestors were.” Jumblatt also said it is very difficult to stop the war unless issues are overcome and discussions are held with Iranians. Yesterday, Jumblatt criticised the way Hariri had been treated by “some Saudi circles”, the first time he has appeared to direct blame at Riyadh over Hariri’s resignation this month. Lebanese officials say Saudi Arabia put Hariri under effective house arrest in Riyadh and forced him to declare his resignation on November 4. Saudi Arabia has denied holding Hariri against his will or forcing him to resign. — ”

By daily star.com.lb - Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt Friday refused any interference in Lebanon’s affairs, a day after of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps head said that Hezbollah weapons were non-negotiable. In a tweet early morning, Jumblatt responded to IRGC chief commander Mohammad Ali Jafari, who said Thursday that Hezbollah’s weapons were necessary to fight Israel. “The same way some Lebanese [criticized] the unfamiliar way that some Saudi circles dealt with Sheikh Saad, we refuse the Iranian dictation that came from Jafari’s mouth,” the PSP chief said. “The Lebanese have enough experience and the know-how to solve their issues through dialogue. We don’t take dictations from across borders that don’t benefit us.” Jafari had said that Hezbollah should have the “best weapons” to maintain Lebanon’s security, adding that this issue wasn’t “negotiable.” His comments came amid current developments that have placed talks on Hezbollah’s arms at the forefront again.

Jeff Bezos' net worth grew to over $100 billion after a Black Friday stock surge

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Jeff Bezos

by Alex Morrell - Business Insider- Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, has a net worth of $100 billion after Black Friday buzz sent Amazon stock soaring to record highs. Retail stocks are surging after Americans went crazy for Black Friday deals, spending about $1.5 billion online Thanksgiving evening. Amazon gained 2.6% Friday to $1,186 a share, pushing his total fortune to over $100 billion, based on data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is the first person in the modern era with a known fortune of $100 billion or more. Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, owns 78.9 million shares of the tech and retailing giant, according to November filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a roughly 16% stake worth $93.6 billion. His fortune stood at $97.9 billion after the last stock-market close on Wednesday, according to the Billionaires Index, which is updated at the close of every trading day in New York. With Amazon up 2.6% Friday, the value of his stake in the company would have increased to $93.6 billion — a $2.4 billion jump since Wednesday. In addition to his Amazon holdings and cash investments, Bezos owns a roughly $3 billion stake in rocket company Blue Origin, and he owns The Washington Post, which he paid $250 million for, according to Bloomberg. Bezos eclipsed Bill Gates as the world's richest person in October. It's difficult to compare the net worth of today's billionaires with tycoons of the past or of heads of state presumed to have shadowy but enormous fortunes. Some surmise oil baron David Rockefeller was worth the equivalent of several hundred billion based on the percentage of the economy he controlled, and Vladimir Putin is believed by some to secretly have similarly vast assets. But Bezos is the first to reach $100 billion since organizations such as Forbes and Bloomberg began tracking the fortunes of the world's richest.

At least 200 people have been killed in Egypt in an attack on a mosque

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Egypt Army Soldiers Tank

khazen.org offers its prayers to the victims family -

by Ashraf Sweilam and Brian Rohan, Associated Press - EL-ARISH, Egypt — Militants attacked a crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, settling off explosives, spraying worshippers with gunfire, and killing at least 200 people in the deadliest ever attack on Egyptian civilians by Islamic extremists. The attack targeted a mosque frequented by Sufis, members of Islam's mystical movement, in the north Sinai town of Bir al-Abd. Islamic militants, including the local affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith. The affiliate has been waging a stepped-up campaign of violence in northern Sinai for years and has claimed deadly bombings on churches in the capital, Cairo, and other cities, killing dozens of Christians. It also is believed to have been behind the 2016 downing of a Russian passenger jet that killed 226. But this was the first major militant attack on a Muslim mosque, and the startling bloodshed eclipsed any past attacks of its kind, even dating back to a previous Islamic militant insurgency in the 1990s. The militants opened fire from four off-road vehicles on worshippers inside the mosque during the sermon, blocking off escape routes from the area by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads, three police officers on the scene said. Victims, including some 130 wounded, were rushed to local hospitals, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief reporters. No one claimed responsibility immediately after the attack, but ISIS has targeted Sufis several times in the area in the past, notably beheading a leading Sufi religious figure, the Sheikh Suleiman Abu Heraz, last year and posting photos of the killing online. "Horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers in Egypt," President Donald Trump tweeted after the attack. "The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!"

Images circulating on social media showed dozens of bloodied bodies wrapped up in sheets laid across the mosque floor, while others showed dozens of relatives lining up outside the hospital as ambulances raced back and forth. Ashraf el-Hefny, a resident, said many of the victims were workers at a nearby salt firm who had come for Friday services at the mosque, which had contained some 300 worshipers. "Local people brought the wounded to hospital on their own cars and trucks," he said by telephone. Citing "official sources," Egypt's state news agency reported the casualty toll, revising it upward several times after the officials' initial reports. MENA reported that Egypt's presidency declared a three-day mourning period, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi convened a high-level meeting of security officials. Cairo's international airport boosted security after the attack, with more troopers and forces seen patrolling passenger halls, conducting searches, and manning checkpoints at airport approaches. State condolences poured in for Egypt, including messages from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the US, Russia, France, and Britain condemning the violence. Security forces have been battling militants in northern Sinai for years, but attacks have focused on military and police assets — though assassinations of people whom ISIS considers government spies or religious heretics are not uncommon. Hundreds of soldiers and militants have been killed in the conflict, though exact numbers are unclear, as journalists and independent investigators are barred from the area. Egypt is also facing an increasing number of attacks by militants in its Western Desert, including one last month that killed 16 police, according to an official tally issued by the Interior Ministry. Security officials have told journalists that dozens more, including high-ranking counterterrorism officers, perished in the October 20 attack some 135 kilometers (84 miles) southwest of Cairo. Rohan reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Lebanese PM Hariri assures bankers stability comes first

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By Philip Issa AP - BEIRUT – Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri assured regional bankers on Thursday that Lebanon’s stability was his top concern, one day after walking back his shock resignation that threw his country into turmoil. Hariri, speaking at the Arab Banking Conference in Beirut, said his government was going to prioritize Lebanon’s interests over regional challenges and stressed a return to the country’s official policy of “disassociation,” or neutrality in regional affairs. “Our primary concern in Lebanon is stability, and that is what we are going to focus on,” said Hariri. Hariri stunned Lebanon and the region by resigning on Nov. 4 while in Saudi Arabia, raising fears of market panic and recession. But he told President Michel Aoun on Wednesday, Lebanon’s Independence Day, that he would stay on to allow for “consultations” that would seek to safeguard the tiny country’s delicate political system, stretched by competing agendas in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia is seen as the guardian of Lebanon’s Sunnis and is a main sponsor of its national government and military. Iran sponsors Lebanon’s Shiites and mostly funnels its funds and interests through the militant group Hezbollah. The market fears were not realized, but the events pushed the debate over foreign influence – and Hezbollah’s formidable influence in Lebanon and the region – to the forefront of Lebanese politics. “We must look at all means to reach the point where Lebanon stands back (from regional affairs), in practice, and not just in rhetoric,” Hariri said at the banking conference. Weighing in on Thursday, Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard chief, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, said the issue of Hezbollah’s arms is “non-negotiable.” He said Lebanon remains Israel’s first target, adding that therefore Hezbollah should be armed against it to maintain security in Lebanon. “It is natural that Hezbollah should be equipped with the best weapons for its security. This issue is not negotiable, and all of Lebanon, except a number of little puppets, support the arming of Hezbollah,” he said, according to comments in the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency. The prime minister said Wednesday he would defend Lebanon’s “Arab identity” and its ties with its “brotherly Arab nations” – a statement directed toward Iran and Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia has backed Hariri and his father, the late Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri – though the kingdom is also seen as having orchestrated Hariri’s resignation. In its first remarks since Hariri resumed his post, Hezbollah called the prime minister’s return “promising” and said it sends the signal that matters can “return to normal.” Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah lawmaker, said Hariri’s Independence Day remarks could form the basis for efforts to find “appropriate” solutions to Lebanon’s crisis. Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh told the conference Lebanon’s economy is on track to grow 2.5 percent this year. He said inflation was floating between 3 and 3.5 percent. Lebanon prides itself on being one of the region’s top destinations for finance. The prime minister also met with the French ambassador on Thursday. Diplomatic efforts led by French President Emmanuel Macron proved instrumental to returning Hariri to Beirut after his resignation from the Saudi capital.