Diplomacy in motion: Haykal Heads to Islamabad
Pakistani diplomacy is active on two fronts, Lebanese and Iranian, with the official visit of the commander-in-chief of the army, General Rodolphe Haykal, to Islamabad, and that of Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Tehran. Though different, both missions are part of sustained efforts to restore calm in the region.
The Lebanese army announced Saturday the departure of its commander for Islamabad, at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart and the defense minister, without specifying the purpose of the visit.
Because of friction between Beirut and Tehran, exacerbated by Wednesday's Lebanese-Israeli ceasefire agreement, all signs point to General Haykal's trip to Islamabad as part of Pakistan's mediation efforts between the United States and Iran. And for good reason: the Hezbollah file is among the points of contention between Washington and Tehran.
Concerned with preserving its influence in Lebanon, which it considers a satellite state, the Islamic Republic has no intention of relinquishing this trump card for its upcoming negotiations with Washington. It demonstrated this once again when it openly contested Thursday the ceasefire agreement, which is nonetheless a Lebanese sovereign decision. Iranian opposition, echoed by Hezbollah in rejecting the agreement in turn, complicates the implementation of the document.
Three Lebanese soldiers killed in the south
Besides, the ceasefire, dependent on the pro-Iranian formation ceasing fire against Israel, is still forthcoming. The war continues at the same pace since Wednesday in southern Lebanon, where Israel says it struck "approximately 150 Hezbollah targets" in 48 hours.
Three Lebanese soldiers were also killed Saturday in an Israeli strike between Khardali and Nabatiyé. Strongly condemned by Lebanese authorities, this unjustified attack is under investigation in Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military spokesperson, who mentioned the possibility of an error related, according to him, to "a movement that was deemed suspicious near a combat zone."
This attack was immediately exploited by Hezbollah, still lacking arguments to justify the destructive adventure it has dragged Lebanon into.
According to it, the raid that killed a brigadier general, a captain, and a soldier "is the consequence of the government's disregard for sovereignty, as well as its gratuitous concessions."
This baseless accusation, tinged with bad faith, follows the criticism leveled by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi against President Aoun. The latter had condemned Friday, in a CNN interview, Tehran's destabilizing role in Lebanon.
"Based on Mr. Aoun's statements, one might think it is Iran that occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of Lebanese citizens, and bombs its country daily," Araghchi responded on X.
"If Lebanon had been a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have concluded an agreement long ago. Save Lebanon from your true enemy, Mr. President," added the minister who, equally acting in bad faith, merely focuses on the consequences of actions for which his country is directly responsible.
His misplaced remarks directed at the head of state sparked indignant reactions in Lebanon, where MP Ghayath Yazbek (Lebanese Forces) ironically asked the Iranian minister to leave Lebanon alone. "Thank you, Mr. Araghchi. We relieve you of your concern for Lebanon. Go sign an agreement with Washington and let us live in peace," he wrote on X, before comparing Iran to an "arsonist firefighter."
"Your state made it the symbol of its foreign policy, based on bad neighborliness, sabotage, and the export of chaos and provision of its services," he added.
Targeting of Bahrain and Kuwait
This accusation comes just hours after new Iranian strikes, during the night of Friday to Saturday, against Bahrain and Kuwait, which have stated they reserve the right to defend their respective countries.
The Iranian attack followed strikes by the American military, which on Friday shot down six of the seven ballistic missiles and Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf's Arab allies.
The seventh did not reach its target, according to Centcom, which also said it struck back at radar sites, including an island in the strait, 'to defend against further attacks.'
It is against this backdrop of renewed tensions that Pakistan's Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, traveled to Tehran on Saturday, carrying, according to pan-Arab media, new American proposals relating notably to the unfreezing of Iranian assets, on which the Islamic Republic is insisting.
Opening of Qlayaat Airport
On another front, Lebanon launched on Saturday the development and operation project of Qlayaat Airport in Akkar, at an official ceremony held in the presence of the head of government, Nawaf Salam, and numerous officials. The airport symbolically received its first aircraft.
The significance of this project is not merely socio-economic. It is also political insofar as the inauguration of René Moawad Airport marks another step toward freeing Lebanon from Hezbollah's grip. The latter, along with its allies in Lebanon, opposed it for various reasons.
Hezbollah had managed to maintain an active presence at Beirut's only international airport, which was of paramount strategic importance to it, particularly given its geographic location.
Beirut International Airport is located in its stronghold, the southern suburbs of Beirut. It suffices to recall that this organization carried out its coup in Beirut in May 2008, when the government of Fouad Siniora attempted to reduce its influence within the state by dismissing the head of airport security, Wafic Choucair, and dismantling his communications network.