Received by Rubio, Salam Calls for a “Renewed Partnership” with the US

The American phase initiated by the Lebanese authorities as part of their efforts to consolidate their sovereign authority, in the face of Hezbollah’s strategy of dismantling the central state, is drawing to a close. It was obvious from the outset that the numerous meetings held by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Joe Raggi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly could in no way lead to concrete resolutions or practical results. It is common knowledge, indeed, that the meetings held by the various world leaders on the occasion of the traditional UN gathering each September rarely go beyond the framework of formal exchanges and consultations.

The mission of the Lebanese delegation, which has been in New York for several days, could only fit within this context. This does not mean, however, that Nawaf Salam’s and Joe Raggi’s contacts were without significance. They undoubtedly made it possible to reaffirm unequivocally and clarify in full transparency, for anyone willing to listen, the strategic options defined by the government from the moment it took office.

This was notably the case during the meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. No one is unaware that the latter are unable to make any concrete commitment, since major decisions within the Iranian power structure fall almost exclusively within the remit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Nevertheless, Messrs. Salam and Raggi made a point of reiterating directly to their Iranian interlocutors that Lebanon no longer accepts being a field of confrontation exploited by regional powers, which implies that only Lebanon’s central authorities are entitled to negotiate and make decisions on behalf of Lebanon. Messrs. Salam and Raggi also reiterated before the Iranian president and minister the government’s position of principle regarding the need to limit Iran’s relations with Lebanon to state-to-state relations, rather than conducting them through a proxy subordinated to the Islamic Republic.

The meeting with Marco Rubio

The high point of Mr. Salam’s visit to the United States was undoubtedly Monday’s meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in the presence of the Lebanese Foreign Minister. Here too, no tangible decision was taken, but the Prime Minister used the meeting to advocate a “renewed partnership” between the United States and Lebanon. Mr. Salam stated on his X account that such a partnership should aim to frame “the project of rebuilding the state and strengthening legal institutions.”

A notable point in this regard, confirming the strategic options of the Lebanese authorities, is that both Mr. Rubio and the Lebanese Prime Minister stressed the need to “boost” the tripartite framework agreement concluded between the United States, Israel and Lebanon. Mr. Salam emphasized in particular that this framework agreement goes beyond the purely military and security dimension related to the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon, and should in practice encompass a mechanism for strengthening the central authorities, and more particularly the Lebanese Army.

It should be noted in this context that the Prime Minister’s reaffirmation of his principled commitment to the US-Israeli-Lebanese framework agreement came only a few hours after a speech by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, who launched a fierce attack against President Joseph Aoun and the government precisely because of their adherence to the agreement signed with Israel. Clearly, the Prime Minister sought to confirm, in Washington itself and before the Secretary of State, Lebanon’s commitment to moving forward with the process initiated with Israel under the auspices of the United States. The message is therefore clear: backed by Washington’s support, the Lebanese authorities can no longer afford to plunge the country back into the dark and disastrous period of regional tutelage that drags Lebanon into repeated acute crises and into “support wars” in which it has no interest whatsoever…