Security is public… and may it remain secure every year.
And now… the country is living through a timeout, caught between frozen diplomacy and a burning battlefield. It has not yet reached the summit of the hill, but Ali Al-Taher, by virtue of its political geography, has become a fixed side in the triangle of confrontation and its bargaining cards, alongside the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
The hill overlooking Nabatieh made its way today to Aisha Bakkar, where, from Dar al-Fatwa, U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa called for waiting and watching to see what developments may unfold in Ali Al-Taher over the next two days. He accompanied his remarks with an addendum on negotiating with Hezbollah, should it have something to offer.
While confirming that negotiations are ongoing, Issa put the dots on the letters of the pilot areas: what is being prepared on paper takes time to implement on the ground, and the United States remains interested in standing by Lebanon and helping it achieve its sovereignty.
Issa concluded his meeting with the Grand Mufti, only for the political record of the day to be closed by President Joseph Aoun, who said that negotiations are neither easy nor quick and face obstacles and difficulties, but remain better than war.
This is what is declared. Behind the scenes, however, Lebanon continues to move in circles.
Apart from the Emirati investment and technology “landing” on Lebanese soil, carried out by a large delegation of companies, investors and business figures, the recipe for solutions has yet to reach maturity.
According to diplomatic sources who spoke to Al Jadeed, all proposals — particularly those related to the preparatory meeting in Paris to support the Lebanese Army and security forces — remain little more than a title without an agenda defining the level of participation or the identity of the supporters.
The same sources linked any return of a French role in Lebanon to the lifting of the American “veto” on that role, and consequently to securing an Arab — particularly Saudi — umbrella for the success of any initiative, especially as any support remains tied to addressing the weapons file and restoring the state’s sovereignty.
In this context, Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal concluded his visit to Italy and returned from Rome with the same agenda he took there: the post-UNIFIL phase, bilateral cooperation between the Italian and Lebanese armies, as well as the pilot areas and the verification mechanism.
According to available information, the Italian side sought clarifications regarding the mechanism, how it would be funded, and the guarantees surrounding its mandate.
Lebanon remained in place… while the Gaza file moved forward.
Nikolay Mladenov, the High Representative of the Board of Peace, described Hamas and the factions’ acceptance of the roadmap for implementing the comprehensive plan for the Strip as a historic breakthrough. He said the Israeli withdrawal would take place in stages and reciprocally, following verification of disarmament.
He warned that the collapse of the ceasefire and the outbreak of a new, full-scale escalation in Gaza would be a point of no return for everyone.
As for the Iranian file, Tehran and Muscat have carved a breach through the Strait.
The two sides have drawn its boundaries through a temporary and limited transit corridor, while keeping freedom of navigation restricted, following an agreement on each side’s share of the waters and revenues.
And while U.S. President Donald Trump has been busy clearing the mines from Hormuz, he has at the same time been dismantling the mines of war, turning the Strait into the nerve center of negotiations that have not stopped — whether through intermediaries or through Pakistan’s direct role, which is once again working to rebuild the memorandum of understanding.
In summary, the Iranian-Omani-Pakistani trio has reached preliminary arrangements over Hormuz and thrown Trump a lifeline to prevent him from drowning in a strait of economic sanctions, as Iran and its trade dealings operate outside the dollar zone.
And until the “play” reaches its conclusion, the world watches cautiously… waiting for the curtain to fall.