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⚡️ Lebanon attempting to move forward with security, along with other news for Friday August 21
🔹 The aim is to bring in a European military force to replace the UNIFIL forces, whose mandate will end at the end of this year, and it appears that Aoun is acting on the assumption such an agreement does not require a decision from the Council of Ministers or a law passed by Parliament.
🔹 Aoun’s visit to Rome is intended to discuss the issue further with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as he seeks to convince the Italians to provide the necessary European funding for the European force, which is expected to be composed of countries such as Germany and Scandinavia.
🔹 There is also reportedly a desire from the United States and Israel to specifically exclude France and Spain, and also to give Germany a ‘specific role.’
➡️ US General Joseph Clearfield hinted during his meetings with Lebanon’s top three officials and the army commander that he was seriously considering intervening to select the towns to be included in the second phase of the ‘pilot areas,’ in an effort to end the ongoing Lebanese-Israeli dispute, which has so far prevented the move to the second phase.
🔹 The move would be conditional on reaching the understanding over the verification mechanism to move immediately from the ‘first pilot phase’ to the second, which requires direct intervention from Washington to put into implementation.
➡️ Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the ministry had previously informed the Iranian ambassador that his credentials would not be accepted, and that his entry visa would not be renewed because he is considered a persona non grata: “The residence permit for Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani in Beirut is set to expire on August 24, 2026,” the MFA said.
➡️ The Lebanese Defence Minister is receiving Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the South Litani Sector Command at the Benoit Barakat Barracks in Tyre, where they are scheduled to meet with a number of sector officers.
