WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: US President Donald Trump’s administration approved $230 million for Lebanon’s security forces this week as they push to disarm the once powerful armed group Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces.
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30. “For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant,” one of the aides said on a call with reporters, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
The funding was released at a time when the Republican president’s administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is America First.
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that US assistance supports Lebanese forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”
The resolution, adopted in August 2006, ended the last round of deadly conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
A conflict between Israel and Lebanon that began a year ago has battered Hezbollah and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the US-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm since the devastating war with Israel. But the Iran-backed group is under pressure to give up its weapons from its rivals in Lebanon and from Washington.
The Lebanese source said the funding would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security in Lebanon so the LAF can focus on other critical missions.
US ‘sends $230m to Lebanon’ as it moves to disarm Hezbollah
https://arab.news/rkc3k
US ‘sends $230m to Lebanon’ as it moves to disarm Hezbollah
- The funding includes $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces, a Lebanese source said
Bahrain arrests four for spying for Iran’s IRGC as Gulf attacks intensify
- Investigators said the suspects were found to have sent pictures and coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain to the IRGC via encrypted software
MANAMA: Bahrain has detained four citizens suspected of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states show no signs of letting up.
Bahrain’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science identified the four detainees as Murtadha Hussain Awal, 25; Ahmed Isa Al Haiki, 34; Sarah Abdulnabi Marhoon, 36; and Elias Salman Mirza, 22. A fifth suspect, Ali Mohammed Hassan Al Shaikh, 25, remains at large abroad.
Investigators said Murtadha Hussain and his cohorts, acting on IRGC instructions, used high-resolution equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital locations in Bahrain, transmitting the data to the IRGC via encrypted software.
The arrests come as Iran escalates attacks across the Gulf. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry issued an advisory urging residents in Hidd, Arad, Qalali and Samaheej to stay indoors and seal windows against smoke from fires sparked by Iranian strikes. Fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of Manama, were among the targets. Oman’s Port of Salalah also battled blazes at fuel storage tanks following separate Iranian drone strikes.
Elsewhere in the region, two Iranian drones struck near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people, though flights continued uninterrupted. A fire broke out at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbour after another drone hit — extinguished by Thursday morning.
Iran also targeted commercial ships and struck what officials described as the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday, as US and Israeli strikes continued to pound Tehran.
A war now 12 days old — and costly
The conflict began on February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iran. Tehran has since retaliated by targeting Gulf states, US and Israeli assets, and critical energy infrastructure.
Iran has declared a blockade on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas flows, sending commodity prices surging and rattling international markets.
The Pentagon told Congress this week that the first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion — including $5 billion in munitions in the conflict’s opening weekend alone.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbors. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei welcomed the move.
“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign countries that are threatening the stability of the peoples, especially in a region of strategic importance to global economy, energy security and global trade,” he said.
Despite the resolution, there were no immediate signs the conflict was easing.
(With AP)
