Lebanese army chief edges towards presidency: Lebanese sources | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Get the Paper
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 24, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Get the Paper
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025
Lebanese army chief edges towards presidency: Lebanese sources

Middle East

Reuters
09 January, 2025, 11:25 am
Last modified: 09 January, 2025, 11:42 am

Related News

  • Lebanon says 1 killed, 25 wounded in strikes as Israel blames death on Hezbollah arms
  • Lebanon says 1 dead, 11 wounded in Israeli strike in south
  • Bangladeshis in Lebanon asked not to go out at night amid Iran-Israel conflict
  • Israeli military strikes Beirut's southern suburbs
  • UAE to lift three-year Lebanon travel ban

Lebanese army chief edges towards presidency: Lebanese sources

The election marks the first test of Lebanon's power balance since Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah emerged badly pummelled from last year's war with Israel, and since its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in December

Reuters
09 January, 2025, 11:25 am
Last modified: 09 January, 2025, 11:42 am
Rice is thrown on Newly-appointed General Joseph Aoun (C) as army commander, upon his arrival at his family's house in Sin El Fil, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon March 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Rice is thrown on Newly-appointed General Joseph Aoun (C) as army commander, upon his arrival at his family's house in Sin El Fil, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon March 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Lebanon's parliament looks set to elect army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, three senior political sources said, ending a presidential vacuum which has persisted since 2022 and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The election marks the first test of Lebanon's power balance since Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah emerged badly pummelled from last year's war with Israel, and since its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in December.

The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022. None of the groups in the 128-seat parliament have enough seats to impose their choice, and they have so far been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Momentum built behind Joseph Aoun's candidacy on Wednesday, as Hezbollah's preferred candidate - Suleiman Frangieh - withdrew his candidacy and declared his support for the military commander, along with a growing number of other lawmakers.

While Hezbollah and its Shi'ite ally the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had long expressed reservations about Aoun's candidacy as they stuck by Frangieh, the three sources said enough Shi'ite lawmakers would elect him in order to secure the 86 votes he needs to win.

One of the Lebanese politicians said Western and Arab contacts with Lebanese factions had intensified on Wednesday with the aim of securing the election of Aoun, who Lebanese political sources say enjoys US approval.

French and Saudi envoys met Lebanese politicians in Beirut on Wednesday. Four Lebanese political sources who met the Saudi envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, last week said he spelt out preferred qualifications which signal Saudi support for Aoun.

Saudi Arabia was once a big player in Lebanon, vying with Tehran for influence, before seeing its role eclipsed by Iran and the heavily armed Hezbollah, which is listed as a terrorist group by Washington and its Gulf Arab allies.

Aoun, 60, has been commander of the US-backed Lebanese army since 2017. On his watch, US aid continued to flow to the army, part of a long-standing US policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb Hezbollah's influence.

A candidate requires 86 votes to win in a first-round vote, or 65 in a second round. But Berri has said that Aoun, as a still-serving state employee, would still need 86 votes because his election requires a constitutional amendment.

George Adwan, a member of the Lebanese Forces party, a Christian faction which staunchly opposes Hezbollah and decided to vote for Aoun, said his election would "open the door to a new phase".

MAJOR SHIFT

Aoun has a key role in shoring up the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.

Still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon desperately needs foreign aid to rebuild from the war.

Much of the damage is in Shi'ite majority areas.

Hezbollah, its supply line to Iran severed by Assad's ousting, has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.

The vote takes place against a backdrop of historic change in the wider Middle East, where the Assad-led Syrian state exercised sway over Lebanon for decades, both directly and through allies such as Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's support was vital to propelling Michel Aoun to the presidency in 2016, as the group and factions which supported its possession of a powerful arsenal were in the ascendant.

A State Department spokesperson said it was "up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor".

"We have been consistent in our efforts to press Lebanon to elect a new president, which we see as important to strengthening Lebanon's political institutions," the spokesperson said.

Saudi Minister Faisal bin Farhan said last October that Riyadh had never fully disengaged from Lebanon and that outside countries should not tell Lebanese what to do.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed hope in comments to France Inter radio, saying the election was "a prerequisite for the continuation of this dynamic of peace" and also for Lebanon's economic and social recovery.

Other candidates in focus include Jihad Azour, a senior International Monetary Fund official who formerly served as finance minister, and Major-General Elias al-Baysari - head of General Security, a state security agency.

Top News / World+Biz

Joseph Aoun / Lebanon / Hezbollah

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo:UNB
    Bangladesh, US set for crucial online meeting tomorrow over tariff issue
  • What led to BB's dress code circular, will any action be taken against those involved?
    What led to BB's dress code circular, will any action be taken against those involved?
  • A crane removes debris from the BAF fighter jet that crashed into Milestone School and College on Monday, 21 July 2025. Photo: Olid Ibna Shah/TBS
    Milestone tragedy: 15-year-old succumbs to 85% burn injuries; death toll at 30

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Collected
    Bangladeshi man jailed for life in UK for murdering wife in front of their baby
  • Ctg port authority halts contractor recruitment for Kamalapur ICD operations for two months
    Ctg port authority halts contractor recruitment for Kamalapur ICD operations for two months
  • Fire at Cosmo School in Mirpur on 23 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Fire breaks out at Cosmo School in Mirpur following generator explosion
  • Representational image. File Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Debate arises as edu adviser says postponed HSC exams of 22 and 24 July will be held on same day
  • BB issues dress code for all, discourages short-sleeved or length dresses, leggings for female staff
    BB issues dress code for all, discourages short-sleeved or length dresses, leggings for female staff
  • Infographics: TBS
    Stay orders won’t shield defaulters: BB governor 

Related News

  • Lebanon says 1 killed, 25 wounded in strikes as Israel blames death on Hezbollah arms
  • Lebanon says 1 dead, 11 wounded in Israeli strike in south
  • Bangladeshis in Lebanon asked not to go out at night amid Iran-Israel conflict
  • Israeli military strikes Beirut's southern suburbs
  • UAE to lift three-year Lebanon travel ban

Features

Photo: Collected

24 July: More than 1400 arrested, 3 missing coordinators found

15h | Panorama
Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS

Aggrieved nation left with questions as citizens rally to help at burn institute

1d | Panorama
Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS

Mourning turns into outrage as Milestone students seek truth and justice

1d | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

Uttara, Jatrabari, Savar and more: The killing fields that ran red with July martyrs’ blood

2d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Gaza relief workers are being shot at

Gaza relief workers are being shot at

6m | TBS World
Decisions taken by the advisory council in the Milestone School plane crash

Decisions taken by the advisory council in the Milestone School plane crash

21m | TBS Today
Turkey has a dangerous hypersonic missile in its arsenal

Turkey has a dangerous hypersonic missile in its arsenal

1h | TBS World
Bangladesh Bank withdraws dress code guidelines

Bangladesh Bank withdraws dress code guidelines

2h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net