Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief elected to the presidency?

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Lebanon’s parliament elected the army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Jan. 9, ending a two-year power vacuum. (AP)
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Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun meeting with the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch Beshara al-Rai at the latter's headquarters in Bkerke, north of Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun (R) is shown receiving Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Beirut, on January 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 12 January 2025
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Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s army chief elected to the presidency?

  • After 12 failed attempts, Lebanon finally has a new president, ending two-year power vacuum in crisis-wracked nation
  • World and regional leaders, including Saudi Arabia, US, and EU, applaud election of “stabilizing” Aoun

DUBAI: A turning point was reached in Lebanon on Thursday when General Joseph Aoun was elected the country’s 14th president, ending a more than two-year power vacuum and restoring a glimmer of hope in the crisis-wracked nation.

Aoun’s election comes at a critical time as Lebanon grapples with its long political deadlock, economic crisis, and the devastating aftermath of Hezbollah’s 14-month war with Israel, which left vast areas of Lebanon in ruins and killed more than 4,000.

Since late November, Aoun, 61, has been a key player as the army commander in implementing the fragile ceasefire by overseeing the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon.




Lebanese cabinet ministers applaud newly elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, standing at the top, as gives his first speech at Parliament after being sworn in as president in Beirut on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP)

Under the terms of the truce, the Lebanese Army has been gradually deployed alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw — a process they must complete by January 26.

Widely backed by western and regional powers, Joseph Aoun is perceived as best to maintain the fragile ceasefire and strengthen Lebanon's international relations, crucial for rallying the support needed to revive the country’s depleted finances.

In a decisive second parliamentary session, Aoun gained 99 votes — enough to secure him the presidency. He became the fifth army commander to serve as Lebanon’s president — a post he will hold for the next six years.

His election reflects a critical compromise among Lebanon’s political blocs, which made notable concessions to ensure a resolution to the deadlock, after a failed first session brought Aoun 71 votes.




Mourners carry portraits of Hezbollah fighters killed in fighting with Israel, at their funeral procession in the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Selm on December 6, 2024. The Hezbollah had been considered an obstacle to peace and stability in Lebanon. (AFP)

Over the past 26 months, 12 previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its allies on one side and opposition parties on the other, which accused the Iran-backed Shiite militia of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.

Aoun, who like all of his predecessors comes from the Maronite Christian community, as required by Lebanon’s National Pact, replaced Michel Aoun, whose term formally ended in October 2022.

In his inaugural address before the parliament, Aoun vowed to strengthen the position of the armed forces to secure Lebanon’s borders, particularly in the south, fight terrorism, and end Hezbollah’s war with Israel.




Like all of his predecessors, Lebanon's new president, Joseph Aoun, comes from the Maronite Christian community, as required by Lebanon’s National Pact. (AFP infographic)

He also pledged to lead postwar reconstruction efforts, reaffirming Lebanon’s unity.

Aoun arrives at the presidency having built an impressive military career. He steered the military through one of Lebanon’s most tumultuous periods since taking office as Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces in 2017, a tenure that was later extended.

Fluent in Arabic, French, and English, Aoun began his military career in 1983 when he volunteered for the army as an officer cadet before enrolling in the Military College.




By shielding Lebanon's army from political conflicts, including Hezbollah’s war with Israel, Aoun ensured its role as a unifying force in a deeply divided country. (AFP) 

His leadership was lauded during the army’s “Dawn of the Outskirts” operation that successfully expelled Syrian militants affiliated with Daesh and Jabhat Al-Nusra in Arsal from Lebanon’s borders.

By shielding the army from political conflicts, including Hezbollah’s war with Israel, Aoun maintained his forces’ neutrality and ensured its role as a unifying force in a country of political and sectarian divides.

Additionally, he has worked to rid the military of corruption and has collaborated with other states to secure aid for army personnel after their monthly salaries dropped to less than $50.




People lift national flags as they offer sweets to passing cars in Beirut's southern village of Qlayaa on January 9, 2025, to celebrate the election of Gen. Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon. (AFP)

Even before entering the Lebanese parliament’s main chamber and securing the necessary votes, Aoun was floated as an ideal candidate, garnering broad support on domestic, regional, and international fronts.

Washington is the main financial backer of the Lebanese Army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.

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Underlining Arab and international backing for Aoun, Thursday’s parliamentary session saw notable attendees, including the Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, and French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The push for consensus, marked by successive high-level visits to Lebanon by Saudi, Qatari, French, and US officials before the election, was mirrored domestically, where Lebanese opposition forces and other parliamentary blocs lined up behind Aoun’s candidacy




Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun (C-R) receiving a delegation of Lebanese Sunni Muslim religious figures headed by Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian (C-L) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP) 

Lebanon’s Forces of Change was among the factions that supported Aoun, praising his record of restoring order when thousands of Lebanese protesters took to the streets following the country’s economic collapse in 2019.

Notably, the Shiite duo — Hezbollah and the Amal Movement — backed his candidacy, solidifying the support needed to elect Aoun in the second round of voting.

However, the Free Patriotic Movement and other independent MPs opposed Aoun’s nomination, arguing that his election was the result of international and regional dictates over a sovereign Lebanese decision.

Aoun’s presidency was welcomed regionally and internationally.


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Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Aoun’s success, wishing the Lebanese people further progress and prosperity.

Qatar likewise praised Aoun’s election, calling for “stability,” while Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi wished him luck in achieving prosperity for Lebanon and stronger ties with the Gulf bloc.

Al-Budaiwi reiterated the GCC’s support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and stability, as well as its armed forces.

The leaders of Jordan and the UAE pledged to work with the new president to boost ties and support reforms, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Lebanon would overcome the “repercussions of Israeli aggression” under the new leadership.




Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first Western leaders to congratulate Aoun on Thursday.

“(The election) paves the way for reform and the restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty and prosperity,” Macron posted on X. In a phone call with Aoun later, he said France “will continue to be at the side of Lebanon and its people,” vowing to visit the country soon.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden said Aoun “has my confidence. I strongly believe he is the right leader for this time.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the swift formation of a new government, to preserve the country’s security and stability, strengthen state authority, and advance much-needed reforms.

 

 

The UN Security Council also congratulated Aoun and affirmed “strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence of Lebanon,” while calling for a full implementation of Resolution 1701.

UNSC members also emphasized the importance of the election in ensuring fully functional state institutions to address the “pressing economic political and security challenges” of the country.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the election of Aoun as a “moment of hope” for the country. “The way is now open to stability and reforms. Europe supports this path,” she posted on X.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Lebanon’s new president was a chance for “reforms and change.”

“After many years of crisis and stagnation, this is a moment of opportunity to bring about reforms and change,” Baerbock posted on X. “Germany stands by the side of the people of Lebanon on the way forward.”




Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) receives Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) at his office in Beirut on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

Russia also welcomed the election of a new president of Lebanon, which it hopes will bring political stability to the country.

Aoun’s election “opened up the prospect of strengthening internal political stability in Lebanon and righting the country’s complex social and economic position,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The UK welcomed Aoun’s election, saying it was looking forward to working with him to support stability.

“I congratulate General Joseph Aoun on his election as president of Lebanon,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote on X. “I look forward to working with his government to support Lebanon’s stability and prosperity.”

 

 

Aoun faces the daunting task of restoring stability and naming a prime minister able to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to save the country from its economic crisis, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history.

The challenge lies in whether Lebanon’s diverse political forces can unite around Aoun’s leadership and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to form a consensus government.




Lebanese Parliament leaders led by Speaker Nabih Berri acknowledge army chief Joseph Aoun's election as the country's president at the parliament building in Beirut on January 9, 2025. (Reuters)

Even if shaped by the traditional “quota-sharing,” such a government must demonstrate the capacity to address Lebanon’s pressing challenges with a comprehensive and shared national vision.

The success of Aoun’s cabinet hinges on prioritizing the Lebanese people’s interests and leveraging parliamentary cooperation to ensure the nation’s recovery, navigating the nation out of the turmoil that has long overshadowed its potential.


 


Syria’s Kurds hold conference on vision for country’s future

Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conf
Updated 26 April 2025
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Syria’s Kurds hold conference on vision for country’s future

  • More than 400 people, including representatives from major Kurdish parties in Syria, Iraq and Turkiye, took part in the “Unity of the Kurdish Position and Ranks” conference in Qamishli

QAMISHLI: Syria’s Kurdish parties held a conference on Saturday aimed at presenting a unified vision for the country’s future following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, a high-ranking participant told AFP.
Eldar Khalil, an official in the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, said that since Kurds were a major component of the country, they “must present a solution and a project proposal for the future of Syria.”
On the question of federalism, Khalil said it was “one of the proposals on the table.”
More than 400 people, including representatives from major Kurdish parties in Syria, Iraq and Turkiye, took part in the “Unity of the Kurdish Position and Ranks” conference in Qamishli, according to the Kurdish Anha news agency.
The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which has controlled large swathes of Syria’s northeast since the early years of the country’s civil war, was represented at the gathering, as were groups opposed to it.
Last month, the Kurdish administration struck a deal to integrate into state institutions, with the new Islamist-led leadership seeking to unify the country following the December overthrow of Assad.
The agreement, however, has not prevented the Kurdish administration from criticizing the new authorities, including over the formation of a new government and a recent constitutional declaration that concentrated executive power in the hands of interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa during the transition period.
Mazloum Abdi, head of the administration’s armed wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces, said at the conference that “my message to all Syrian constituents and the Damascus government is that the conference does not aim, as some say, at division.”
It was being held, he added, “for the unity of Syria.”
Abdi included a call for “a new decentralized constitution that includes all components” of society.
“We support all Syrian components receiving their rights in the constitution to be able to build a decentralized democratic Syria that embraces everyone,” he said.
Khalil said that the participants will also discuss ways to address the role of the Kurds in the new Syria.


Iran says 4 people have been killed in massive port explosion

Updated 26 April 2025
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Iran says 4 people have been killed in massive port explosion

  • Authorities have offered no cause for the explosion yet
  • Footage on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area

TEHRAN: A massive explosion and fire at a port in southern Iran has killed four people, authorities said Saturday.
Babak Mahmoudi, the head of the country’s rescue organization, made the announcement of the fatalities on state television.
Over 500 others have been injured in the blast at the Shahid Rajaei port.
The blast happened at the Shahid Rajaei port just outside of Bandar Abbas, a major facility for container shipments for the Islamic Republic that handles some 80 million tons (72.5 million metric tons) of goods a year.
Social media videos showed black billowing smoke after the blast. Others showed glass blown out of buildings kilometers (miles) away from the epicenter of the explosion.
Authorities have offered no cause for the explosion yet. Industrial accidents happen in Iran, particularly at its aging oil facilities that struggle for access to parts under international sanctions. But Iranian state TV specifically ruled out any energy infrastructure as causing or being damaged in the blast.
Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, told Iranian state TV that first responders were trying to reach the area while others were attempting to evacuate the site.
Hasanzadeh said the blast came from containers at Rajaei port in the city, without elaborating. State TV also reported there had been a building collapse caused by the explosion, though there were no immediate other details offered.
Rajaei port is some 1,050 kilometers (652 miles) southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran, on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes.
The blast happened as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.


Iran, US hold new round of high-stakes nuclear talks

Updated 26 April 2025
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Iran, US hold new round of high-stakes nuclear talks

  • A third round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “may be extended,” Iranian state media reported Saturday, as negotiators were meeting in Oman

MUSCAT: The United States and Iran started discussing details of a potential nuclear deal in Oman Saturday as they held their third round of talks in as many weeks.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are again leading the talks, which this time include a technical-level meeting between experts from both sides.
The discussions are aimed at striking a new deal that would stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons — an objective Tehran denies pursuing — in return for relief from crippling sanctions.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of an earlier multilateral nuclear deal during his first term in office.
Saturday’s talks were taking place in a “serious atmosphere,” Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Iran’s defense and missile capabilities were not on the agenda, Baqaei said separately to state TV, while an Iranian negotiator told Tasnim that the talks were “uniquely about sanctions and nuclear questions.”
Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, leads the US expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
The talks started at around 10am (0600 GMT) with the delegations in separate rooms and communicating via the hosts, Baqaei said in a statement.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the talks may extend beyond Saturday, “given that the negotiations have entered technical and expert-level discussions and the examination of details.”
Araghchi earlier expressed “cautious optimism,” saying this week: “If the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable.”
But if Washington had “impractical or illogical demands, we will naturally encounter problems,” he added.
The talks coincided with a major blast from unknown causes at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port that injured hundreds of people and killed at least four, according to state media.
Before the talks, Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through.
But he added that he “would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped.” The talks began in Muscat a fortnight a go and continued in Rome last Saturday.
They are the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since 2018, when Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 accord that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
Since returning to office, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran.
In March, he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.
On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil network — a move Tehran described as “hostile” ahead of Saturday’s talks.
Western nations, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Tehran has consistently denied the charge, maintaining that its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes.
On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.
The Washington-based think tank also noted construction of a new security perimeter.
In an interview released Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Washington’s firm stance against Iran’s uranium enrichment.
“If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one: and that is they import enriched material,” he said on the Honestly podcast.
Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.
Araghchi has previously called Iran’s right to enrich uranium “non-negotiable.”
Tehran recently sought to reopen dialogue with Britain, France and Germany — also signatories to the 2015 deal — holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.
Last week, Rubio urged the three European states to decide whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.
The option to use the mechanism expires in October.
Iran has warned that it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.


Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen

Israeli security officers oversee the removal of a part of a missile fired from Yemen. (File/AFP)
Updated 26 April 2025
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Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen

  • The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza

Israel’s military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi militants have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching “from the east.”
“Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted” before “crossing into Israeli territory,” a military statement said.
In a later statement, it said a drone “that was on its way to Israeli territory from the east was intercepted” by the air force.
Yemen, large parts of which are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, is located to Israel’s southeast.
Other countries to Israel’s east include Iraq, where Tehran-aligned militants have claimed a number of attacks targeting Israel since the Gaza war began.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The militants have also targeted ships they accuse of having ties to Israel as they travel on the Red Sea — a vital waterway for global trade.
They had temporarily paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israel’s army radio, the missile intercepted overnight was the 22nd fired by the Houthis since they had resumed their attacks as Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
Since March 15, Israel’s key ally the United States has stepped up its attacks on the Houthis, targeting militants positions in Yemen with near-daily air strikes.


Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 17

Israel's military said Thursday that the initial findings from an investigation into the death of a UN worker in the central Gaz
Updated 26 April 2025
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Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 17

  • Witnesses reported an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble.
  • Hamas says open to 5-year Gaza truce, one-time hostages release

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 17 people across the territory, while more trapped under the rubble after a family home was hit.
Israel resumed its military campaign in the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that had largely halted the fighting.
“Israeli air strikes in several areas killed 17 people since dawn,” civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP.
A strike on the house of Al-Khour family in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood killed 10 people, Mughayyir said, with witnesses reporting an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency, had earlier said that about 30 people were missing under the rubble.
Umm Walid Al-Khour, who survived the attack, said that “everyone was sleeping with their children” when the strike hit.
“The house collapsed on top of us,” she told AFP.
“Those who survived cried for help but nobody came... Most of the deceased were children.”
AFP footage showed rescuers searching under the rubble as a wounded man was pulled out from the debris.
Elsewhere in the city, three people were killed in Israeli shelling of a house in the Al-Shati refugee camp, Mughayyir said.
More strikes across the Gaza Strip killed four others.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
 

Hamas says open to 5-year Gaza truce

Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all hostages released and secure a five-year truce, an official said Saturday ahead of talks with mediators.
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian mediators ways out of the 18-month war, as on the ground rescuers said an Israeli strike on a family home in Gaza City killed at least 10 people and left more feared buried under the rubble.
The Hamas official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian militant group “is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years.”
The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier this month as “partial,” calling instead for a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war ignited by the group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The Israeli offer included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.
Hamas has consistently demanded that a truce deal must lead to an end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a surge in humanitarian aid into the besieged territory — where on Friday the United Nations warned food stocks were running out.
Israel, for its part, demands the return of all hostages seized in the 2023 attack, and Hamas’s disarmament, which the group has rejected as a “red line.”
More than a month into a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza after a two-month truce, a Hamas official said earlier this week that its delegation in Cairo would discuss “new ideas” on a ceasefire.