English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 24/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.September24.25.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
No one who does a deed of power in my name will be able
soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For
truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the
name of Christ will by no means lose the reward
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
09/38-50/:”John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in
your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’
But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in
my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against
us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink
because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. ‘If any of
you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it
would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you
were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to
the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into
hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you
to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown
into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. ‘For
everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its
saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with
one another.’ “.”
Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September
23-24/2025
George Zgheib Funeral/Information on condolences, funeral arrangements
and dates.
God punishes us for our infidelity and lack of faith in Michel Aoun, who has
succumbed to all the temptations of Lucifer, and in his son-in-law, Gebran the
Magnitsky (sanctioned under the US Magnitsky Act), and in all those who are of
their Trojan ilk./Elias Bejjani/September 23, 2025
Naim Qassem lives in a pathological state of denial. His constant existence in
an underground pit has rotted his mind and distanced him from reality./Elias
Bejjani/September 20/2025
Joseph Aoun's US mission: Lebanese President faces tough US questions in New
York
President Aoun holds high-level meetings in New York on sidelines of UN General
Assembly
Aoun asks Rubio to press Israel on ceasefire, pullout, captives
Are Barrack's remarks a 'cover' for an Israeli attack?
Berri urges response to Barrack's remarks, says 'all hopes' pinned on army
Hezbollah again calls for illuminating Raouche Rock, defying Salam
Lebanese PM responds to US envoy's remarks, reaffirms commitment to ministerial
statement
Saudi envoy reaffirms support for Lebanon on Saudi National Day
Harith Sulaiman: If there is to be accountability and punishment, let it be
within Hezbollah and within the leadership of the Revolutionary Guard
Aftershocks of the earthquake in Breq continue
Aoun, addressing the world: Lebanon has chosen to be a land of life and joy
Analysis: Lebanese Army a trusted protector, country’s only hope/Dalal Saoud/United
Press International/ September 23, 2025
From Nasrallah's Assassination to the Destruction of Regions: Where Was
Hezbollah's Deterrence?/Alan Sarkis/Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025
(Translated from Arabic)
In anticipation of the first anniversary of the assassination of the two
leaders/Dr. Charbel Azar/Al-Liwa/September 23, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
Biri remains firm... and a counter-escalation is underway... A political battle
in the legislative arena: A session without an electoral law/Gabriel Murad/Nidaa
Al-Watan/September 24, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
More official action or appeasement and war?... From weapons to the "local
militia" to "Rosh Nashriya"/Lara Yazbek/Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025
(Translated from Arabic)
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 23-24/2025
UN Security Council under intense pressure to halt Gaza bloodshed amid
political deadlock/Ephrem Kossaify/Arab News/September 24, 2025
US may end Gaza war ‘right now’: Trump/Caspar Webb/Arab News/September 24, 2025
Tehran Refuses to Abandon Its Ballistic Missile Program
Iranian MP: MiG-29 fighter jets deployed to Shiraz base... Sukhoi-35 deliveries
to begin soon
Khamenei: Negotiations with US have reached a dead end
Grossi: Inspectors to travel to Iran if an agreement is reached/French diplomat:
Iran has not yet met the conditions to avoid ‘snapback’ sanctions
Iran's supreme leader rejects direct talks with US over his country's nuclear
program
Recognition of Palestinian State Brings No Relief for Exhausted Gazans
Israel Destroys Evacuated Health Center in Gaza City, Medics Say
Ship Attacked Off the Coast of Yemen as Houthis Continue to Threaten Vessels
Israel Seeks Permanent Gaza Control and Jewish Majority in West Bank, UN Inquiry
Says
Titles For The Latest
English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 23-24/2025
Recognizing the State of Palestine...
Echoes of History and the Commitments of Our Ancestors
Keir Starmer/Prime Minister of the United Kingdom/Middle East/September 23,
2025/ (Translated from Arabic)
Don’t Boycott Anti-Netanyahu Israeli Cultural Works/Hazem Saghieh/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September
23, 2025
To Recognize Palestine Is to Recognize Israel/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September
23, 2025
A Year Gone, an Era Fulfilled with Remarkable Achievements/Turki al-Faisal/Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
Where Do You Want to Be Next Year?/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September
23, 2025
Link to the video and text of the speech delivered by President Donald Trump in
English today at the United Nations
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 23-24/2025
George Zgheib Funeral/Information on
condolences, funeral arrangements and dates.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147580/
وفاة الصديق جورج زغيب الذي انتقل إلى جوار ربه في 18 أيلول/سبتمبر 2025 عن عمر
يناهز 86 عامًا.
الياس بجاني/23 أيلول/2025
أتقدّم من عائلة الصديق جورج زغيب، ومن جميع معارفه ومحبيه، بأحرّ التعازي القلبية،
مرفقةً بالصلاة كي تكون نفسه في المساكن السماوية إلى جانب الأبرار والأتقياء. لقد
عرفناه إنسانًا مستعدًا دائمًا لمدّ يد العون للآخرين، وقد وقف شخصيًا إلى جانبي
وإلى جانب عائلتي يوم قدومنا إلى كندا. إنّ فقدانه ليس خسارة لعائلته فقط، بل لكل
أبناء جاليتنا، ولكل من عرفه وأحبّه.الرحمة لروحه الطاهرة، وعزاؤنا أنّ الموت، في
إيماننا المسيحي، ليس نهايةً بل عبورٌ من هذه الحياة الفانية إلى الحياة الأبدية.
كما يقول الكتاب المقدّس: «أنا هو القيامة والحياة. من آمن بي ولو مات فسيحيا» (يوحنا
11: 25)، وأيضًا: «لأن لي الحياة هي المسيح والموت هو ربح» (فيلبي 1: 21).
Elias Bejjani/September 23/2025
I extend my deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family of my friend George
Zogheib, as well as to his loved ones and all who knew him, accompanied with
prayers that his soul may rest in the heavenly dwellings among the righteous and
the faithful.We knew George as a man always ready to extend a helping hand to
others, and he personally stood by me and my family when we first arrived in
Canada. His passing is not only a loss to his family, but also to our entire
community and to everyone who had the blessing of knowing him. May the Lord
grant mercy to his soul. Our comfort as believers is that death, in our
Christian faith, is not the end, but a passage from this earthly life to eternal
life. As Scripture reminds us: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever
believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25), and also: “For
to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
God punishes us for our infidelity and lack of faith
in Michel Aoun, who has succumbed to all the temptations of Lucifer, and in his
son-in-law, Gebran the Magnitsky (sanctioned under the US Magnitsky Act), and in
all those who are of their Trojan ilk.
Elias Bejjani/September 23, 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147563/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW_b8SjEaTk&t=160s
The popular receptions and celebrations held for Michel Aoun and
his sanctioned son-in-law during their tours in some regions of Lebanon in
recent days are a shameful and strange reality, to which the popular saying “the
cat loves its strangler” and “Stockholm syndrome” apply.
These receptions are the best evidence of the depth of our national and
spiritual tragedy. On a personal faith-based and firm conviction, I have become
certain that the Lord is punishing us Christians in Lebanon and the diaspora in
particular, with a class of stinking, devilish, corrupt, and corrupting
politicians and clerics who have gleefully succumbed to all the temptations of
Lucifer, the king of demons. This is because we have distanced ourselves from
our faith and the duty to protect our sacred homeland, and we have deliberately
and premeditatedly preferred all that is worldly, earthly, and uncontrolled
instinctive.
I have personally become convinced that the punishment and retribution for this
instinctive reality come to us through infidel leaders, politicians, rulers, and
clerics, foremost and most dangerous of whom are the corrupt and narcissistic
Gebran Bassil, and his uncle Michel Aoun, who has killed within himself all the
components of shame and conscience, which are God.
Through the power, debauchery, and harlotry of these scribes and Pharisees of
politicians, heads of so falsely called political party (in reality commercial
companies), and turbaned and hooded groups, God is punishing us by letting them
roam freely, deciding our fate by buying and selling us in the slave market.
They have surpassed their masters in inventing all kinds of evils and falls,
drowning us in their quagmires and burning us with their fire.
In this context of punishment, I find it strange that there is still a single
rational and faithful Christian in Lebanon and abroad, capable of
differentiating between good and evil, right and wrong, who has not explicitly
cursed Michel Aoun, his son-in-law, and the majority of politicians and heads of
party companies after all the infidelity, ingratitude, collaboration, betrayal,
corruption, depravity, errors, and sins they have committed.
In short, whoever is still submerged in a coma of ignorance, stupidity, and
slavery, and continues to “glorify” and “sanctify” Michel Aoun and his
son-in-law Gebran, receiving them, walking their walk, and saying their say
despite their un-Lebanese and unpatriotic actions and choices, it simply means
that the effects of the heavenly curse, divine wrath, and retribution will not
stop. They will continue to strike Lebanon and its people through this duo and
through all those of their ilk from politicians, clerics, and leaders.
It remains that the political and national exposure of Bassil and his uncle,
their practices, errors, and sins, does not in any way mean that the rest of the
heads of our party companies, their followers, and 99% of our political teams,
and the turbaned and hooded ones are better than them, even if they do not
provoke the noise, disgust, and curses that Gebran and his uncle, and those who
follow them of merchants, opportunists, and narcissists, provoke.
We ask: How can any Lebanese expatriate support Gebran Bassil and Micheal Aoun
and not curse them, and not work to overthrow them from all that they
politically and nationally represent, while they, with debauchery, shamelessly
oppose the participation of Lebanese expatriates in the parliamentary elections
just like their resident relatives? How can the expatriate not curse them when
they are the ones who handed the country over to Hezbollah and let it turn it
into an Iranian colony? Those who still support them in the diaspora should go
to the nearest mental health clinic and pray day and night, hoping that God will
forgive them for their national, spiritual, and mental falls.
It remains that our current reality is a reality of a time of drought, misery,
sorrow, and disbelief… while Lebanon of sanctity and saints is being eaten to
the bone by the worm of moral and ethical decay due to a lack of faith and the
fear of God and His final judgment.
Naim Qassem lives in a pathological state of denial. His constant existence in
an underground pit has rotted his mind and distanced him from reality.
Elias Bejjani/September 20/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147431/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH3I4a6yFUY&t=174s
The speeches of Sheikh Naim Qassem are no longer worth delving into. They are
repetitive, parrot-like, and recycle the same lies and hypocrisy of a so-called
“resistance” that was nothing but an Iranian criminal terrorist project—now gone
forever. Hezbollah has been stripped bare of its heresies and empty bravado
after Israel inflicted on it a crushing defeat, eliminated its commanders, and
continues—on a daily basis—to hunt down its operatives across multiple Lebanese
areas, without the group being able to respond with even a single bullet.
This criminal Hezbollah has now been reduced to a mere sound organization:
militarily, politically, and through its media mouthpieces. Empty threats,
ridiculous posturing, and accusations of treason against the overwhelming
majority of Lebanese who reject it and demand its removal—militarily,
politically, and criminally—through the enforcement of international resolutions
and the ceasefire agreement that amounted to an act of surrender signed by
Hezbollah and its patron Iran.
As for Naim Qassem, who hides underground in a dark pit where no light or sun
reaches him—terrified of Israel—he has become completely detached from reality.
Rot seems to have infected his mind, and perhaps the drugs he consumes (hashish,
Captagon) are adulterated, causing him hallucinations and daydreams, just as was
evident in his speech yesterday on the occasion of the “anniversary of Ibrahim
Aqil’s killing.”
The man lives in absolute denial—blind to all the developments, defeats, and
disasters Hezbollah has inflicted upon Lebanon and upon its Shiite community.
Moreover, this state of denial is not limited to him; it engulfs Hezbollah’s
MPs, officials, media voices, and supporters. It is a pathological denial,
coupled with anger, leaving them incapable of moving through the natural stages
of dealing with pain (denial, bargaining, anger, depression, acceptance).
Qassem, Iran, and Hezbollah’s leadership remain shackled and imprisoned in the
stage of denial and anger, and all their discourse reflects this diseased
mindset.
His call for Saudi Arabia in his yesterday speech to “open a new page” with
Hezbollah and to engage in dialogue to freeze disputes is nothing short of a
mental farce. Saudi Arabia is a sovereign state, not a gang. It cannot and will
not negotiate with an organization designated globally as terrorist—an Iranian
jihadist criminal group that has been and continues to be behind the Houthis’
attacks on the Kingdom, the Gulf states, and international shipping routes.
A final piece of advice to the remaining Hezbollah officials still alive, and to
their clerical patrons in Iran: take Sheikh Naim Qassem out of his underground
hole and place him in a mental hospital. His speech of September 19, 2025, was a
disgraceful bundle of denial, hallucinations, daydreams, and delusions—a
pathetic farce. And as a person, he remains revolting and repulsive.
Joseph Aoun's US mission: Lebanese President faces tough
US questions in New York
LBCI/September 23, 2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will face many precise questions from senior U.S.
officials and members of Congress, offering direct answers to pointed American
questions. In a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the
discussions focused on Lebanon's work in the south, the army plan, reforms, and
reconstruction efforts. The exchange was described as calm and measured, in
contrast to the hardline remarks made to the press by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack.
Sources familiar with the talks said the more significant developments came from
President Aoun's meetings on Capitol Hill, beginning with Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Those talks resulted in the allocation of $193 million in direct U.S. assistance
to the Lebanese Army and an additional $40 million to Lebanon's Internal
Security Forces (ISF) as part of the annual congressional aid package. President
Aoun set to begin UN meetings in New York, engages Lebanese expatriates on
Lebanon’s challenges. The funding reflects a softer American approach to Lebanon
compared to previous years. However, the U.S. stance implies close supervision.
Sources indicated that the U.S. administration, especially the U.S. Department
of State, is closely following up on the Lebanese files item by item. President
Aoun reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to contain Hezbollah's weapons and
strengthen state control, but underscored that Lebanon cannot be expected to
meet every demand while Israel remains unaccountable for its own violations. The
meetings unfolded amid international outrage over an Israeli strike that killed
three children from the Bazzi family in South Lebanon. Global reactions were
conveyed to the Lebanese delegation, as they condemned Israel's violent attacks
on civilians and the brutal killing of children.
President Aoun holds high-level meetings in New York on
sidelines of UN General Assembly
LBCI/September 23, 2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun continued a series of diplomatic meetings in New
York with Arab and international officials participating in the United Nations
General Assembly, accompanied by Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, Lebanon's U.N.
ambassador Ahmad Arafa, and presidential media director Rafiq Chlala. President
Aoun met with Alain Berset, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe and
former president of Switzerland, who briefed him on the council’s work and its
partnerships with regional countries, including Lebanon. Discussions focused on
governance, fiscal oversight, crisis management, and ongoing cooperation between
Lebanon and specialized European committees. Aoun also held talks with Kuwaiti
Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, who conveyed greetings and
best wishes from Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The two reviewed
bilateral ties since Aoun’s last visit to Kuwait and explored ways to enhance
cooperation in energy and defense, following recent visits to Kuwait by Lebanese
ministers Joe Saddi and Michel Mnassa. Lebanon's president, first lady depart
for New York ahead of UN General Assembly. The president expressed gratitude for
Kuwait’s continued assistance to Lebanon, while providing an update on the
situation in southern Lebanon and domestic developments. Crown Prince Sabah
reaffirmed Kuwait’s steadfast commitment to supporting Lebanon’s security,
stability, and prosperity, calling it a cornerstone of Kuwaiti foreign policy.
The talks also touched on the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, highlighting the
killing, destruction, and displacement of civilians. Both sides stressed the
need for Arab countries to work together to address the humanitarian crisis
facing Palestinians and to stabilize the broader region.
Aoun asks Rubio to press Israel on ceasefire, pullout, captives
Naharnet/September 23, 2025
President Joseph Aoun met overnight in New York with U.S. Secretary of State
Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings. A
Presidency statement said Aoun asked Rubio for U.S. assistance in “asserting
Israel’s commitment to the clauses of the November 27, 2024 declaration for the
cessation of hostilities in south Lebanon, its withdrawal from the points it is
occupying, the return of the Lebanese captives held by it, and the
implementation of Resolution 1701 with all its stipulations, especially that the
Lebanese side has not carried out any violation of this agreement.”The president
also asked the U.S. official to “support the Lebanese Army with equipment to
enable it to perform its missions that encompass all Lebanese regions” and also
to back the exerted efforts for holding a Lebanon reconstruction conference.
Rubio for his part confirmed that the U.S. support for Lebanon will continue,
lauding “the efforts that were exerted by President Aoun and the Lebanese
government to enable Lebanon to recover and overcome the circumstances it passed
through,” the Presidency said. Aoun also met in New York with U.S. Senator
Jeanne Shaheen, who is a Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. Shaheen “welcomed the practical steps that the Lebanese Army is
performing professionally and orderly,” adding that the U.S. assistance
earmarked for the army and the Internal Security Forces is aimed at helping the
Lebanese armed forces carry out their responsibilities in a full manner, noting
that any positive progress in Lebanon would contribute to boosting this
assistance.
Are Barrack's remarks a 'cover' for an Israeli attack?
Naharnet/September 23, 2025
The U.S. has given Israel a “green light” that allows it to wage military
strikes on various regions of Lebanon to “terminate Hezbollah’s capabilities and
block its attempt to rebuild its assets,” informed sources said. In remarks to
the Progressive Socialist Party’s al-Anbaa news portal, the sources considered
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s latest alarming remarks as a “political cover for an
expected Israeli aggression.”“Washington and Tel Aviv are working on imposing a
security agreement between Lebanon and Israel that includes a demilitarized zone
inside Lebanese territory, in the vein of the security agreement that is
expected to be signed between Syria and Israel in the coming days,” the sources
added. “The U.S. pressure for preventing the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate
represented a key point in this directions, and the U.S. viewpoint is based on
what Barrack said about the army not possessing the capabilities to carry out
the missions requested from it,” the sources went on to say. The sources also
linked between Barrack’s statements and Saudi Prince Yazid bin Farhan’s reported
remarks that “all talk about conferences for supporting Lebanon and the Lebanese
Army is premature unless the Lebanese government implements the arms monopoly
plan and continues its negotiations with the World Bank.”The sources also
expected the fall season in Lebanon to be “hot and harsh on various
levels.”Barrack said Sunday that everything Lebanon is doing is talk without
real action. He told Sky News Arabia in an interview that Israel will not
withdraw from the five occupied points and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu doesn't care about borders or red lines if he feels Israel is
threatened. Barrack also claimed that Hezbollah has been lately receiving USD 60
million monthly from unidentified sources and that the group is trying to
rebuild itself. He said the U.S. won't take military action against Hezbollah
but urged the Lebanese government to act. The situation in Lebanon is very
difficult "but we have a good team in power," Barrack said. In the interview,
Barrack talking about the Middle East said that "peace is an illusion." "There's
never been peace, there will probably never be peace."
Berri urges response to Barrack's remarks, says 'all hopes' pinned on army
Naharnet/September 23, 2025
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday urged an “official Lebanese stance” on
the latest alarming remarks by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, saying what he said about
“the Lebanese government, army and resistance” is rejected and “contradicts with
what he had previously said.” Paying homage to those who were killed in Israel’s
2024 war on Lebanon, in a statement marking its first anniversary, Berri
reiterated “adherence to the ceasefire agreement to which Lebanon through its
president, government and resistance have committed since the first moments it
went into effect on November 27.”
He added that Israel is meanwhile “continuing its violations and disavowal of
all the commitments stipulated by the ceasefire agreement in terms of
withdrawing from the territory it occupied, releasing the Lebanese captives and
allowing the Lebanese Army to deploy with UNIFIL’s support all the way to the
international border in the South Litani region.”Berri also stressed that “the
Lebanese Army’s commander, officers and soldiers are our sons and are the bet on
which we pin all our hopes and aspirations for defending our land and
sovereignty in the face of any aggression targeting Lebanon,” adding that the
army “will never be a border guard for Israel.”The army’s weapons “are not
strife weapons and its missions are sacred for the protection of Lebanon and the
Lebanese,” the Speaker added.Berri also called on the government to “fulfill the
commitments mentioned in the Ministerial Statement” and to “begin paying
compensations to the owners of damaged or destroyed homes.”Barrack said Sunday
that everything Lebanon is doing is talk without real action. He told Sky News
Arabia in an interview that Israel will not withdraw from the five occupied
points and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't care about
borders or red lines if he feels Israel is threatened. Barrack also claimed that
Hezbollah has been lately receiving USD 60 million monthly from unidentified
sources and that the group is trying to rebuild itself. He said the U.S. won't
take military action against Hezbollah but urged the Lebanese government to act.
The situation in Lebanon is very difficult "but we have a good team in power,"
Barrack said. In the interview, Barrack talking about the Middle East said that
"peace is an illusion." "There's never been peace, there will probably never be
peace."
Hezbollah again calls for illuminating Raouche Rock,
defying Salam
Naharnet/September 23, 2025
After Prime Minister Nawaf Salam issued a memo asking authorities to prohibit
the unauthorized use of touristic and archaeological sites, Hezbollah released a
new statement about its intention to illuminate the iconic Raouche Rock with
images of its slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. In its
statement, Hezbollah called on supporters to take part in the event at 6:00 pm
Thursday, saying the rock will be illuminated with the Lebanese flag at 6:50 pm
and with the two pictures from 6:55 pm to 7:00 pm. Salam has instructed “all
public administrations and institutions, municipalities, their unions, and all
relevant agencies” to be strict in “enforcing the laws governing the use of
public land and sea properties, archaeological and touristic sites, official
buildings, and landmarks that carry a unifying national symbolism.”“I requested
strictness in preventing their use before obtaining the necessary licenses and
permits,” he added. Hezbollah’s initial announcement had prompted several
politicians and Beirut lawmakers to declare their rejection of the move. MP
Waddah al-Sadek said the move is “unacceptable on all levels.”“They are not
official figures and their pictures will be displayed in a city whose most
residents reject their policies, not to mention that some accuse them of taking
part in the murder of their leader (ex-PM Rafik Hariri),” Sadek added, noting
that Hezbollah “has not obtained any permission from the municipality or the
(Interior) Ministry” to carry out the activity.
“What’s worse is that their party, as usual, warns against being dragged into a
civil war but wastes no chance to provoke Beirut’s residents. We must also not
forget that the ‘glorious day’ is still carved in the memory of the Beirutis,”
Sadek went on to say, referring to Nasrallah’s description of the May 7, 2008
day, when Hezbollah and its allies staged an armed takeover of parts of the
capital. “The government, which has shown its strength in its (latest) decisions
(on arms monopolization), must prevent Hezbollah and others from making any
provocative moves in order to preserve civil peace in the country,” Sadek added.
Beirut MPs Fouad Makhzoumi and Nabil Bader also wrote similar posts on the X
platform. On social media, Hezbollah supporters meanwhile reminded that the rock
had been illuminated in the past with pictures of Saudi King Salman, Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammad bin Salman and the Saudi, French and Emirati flags. Hezbollah’s
historic and revered leader Nasrallah and his successor Safieddine were killed
in huge Israeli airstrikes on their underground bunkers during last year’s
Israeli war on the group. The Raouche Rocks are iconic natural limestone
formations off the coast of the Raouche area in Beirut. Named Pigeons' Rocks for
the wild rock doves that historically nested in them, these two massive rock
islets have been shaped by erosion and are a popular spot for tourists and
locals to admire from the nearby corniche or through boat tours that navigate
through the arch of the largest rock.
Lebanese PM responds to US envoy's remarks, reaffirms commitment to ministerial
statement
LBCI/September 23, 2025
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pushed back against recent comments by U.S.
envoy Thomas Barrack, expressing surprise at statements questioning the
government’s seriousness and the army’s role. “I am astonished by Ambassador
Thomas Barrack’s recent remarks casting doubt on the government’s credibility
and the army’s performance,” Salam said in a statement. “The government remains
fully committed to implementing its ministerial statement, particularly the
reforms it pledged, asserting state authority over all Lebanese territory by its
own means, and ensuring that arms are solely under state control, as reflected
in cabinet decisions.” Salam voiced full confidence in the Lebanese army’s
ability to protect the country’s sovereignty and maintain stability, noting that
it is carrying out its national duties, including the plan it presented to the
cabinet on September 5. He called on the international community to increase
support for the Lebanese army and to pressure Israel to withdraw from the
occupied territories and halt repeated violations in accordance with the
November 2024 cease-fire declaration. PM Salam reaffirmed Lebanon’s belief in
the possibility of achieving a lasting peace in the region based on the 2002
Arab Peace Initiative, which he said rests on principles of justice,
international law, and United Nations resolutions, and calls for enabling the
Palestinian people to exercise self-determination and establish an independent
state.
Saudi envoy reaffirms support for Lebanon on Saudi National
Day
LBCI/September 23, 2025
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari marked Saudi Arabia’s National Day by
underscoring the Kingdom’s steadfast commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty,
independence, and territorial integrity. “Saudi Arabia has always been at the
forefront of international positions that emphasize Lebanon’s sovereignty and
unity,” Bukhari said, reaffirming Riyadh’s enduring support for the country’s
stability. He renewed the Kingdom’s backing for President Joseph Aoun, praised
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s reform agenda, and highlighted Speaker Nabih
Berri’s efforts to bridge political divides and strengthen Lebanon’s national
course. Bukhari also celebrated the deep historical ties between Saudi Arabia
and Lebanon, describing them as “distinguished by bright milestones and
positions that reflect Lebanon’s special place in the Kingdom’s heart.” He
pledged that Saudi Arabia, alongside its international partners, will continue
working toward a better future for Lebanon, reiterating that peace in the Middle
East remains the Kingdom’s strategic choice.
Harith Sulaiman: If there is to be accountability and
punishment, let it be within Hezbollah and within the leadership of the
Revolutionary Guard
Jnoubia/September 23, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
In response to the orchestrated campaign by Hezbollah, portraying itself as a
victim in the case of displaying the photos of Nasrallah and Safi al-Din on the
Raouche Rock, Dr. Harith Sulaiman wrote on his Facebook page: Anyone who reads
what I wrote might think you are a victim, not an individual victim, but a
victim of a group, the Shites community. In reality, a significant majority of
the Shia community has paid a price, suffered losses, and shed blood, but
because of whom?! By whose choice?! Who decided to plunge them into peril?! The
injustice suffered by these people lies with those who decided on this war of
support and refused to stop it, not with those who advised against it. And if
there is to be accountability and punishment, let it be within Hezbollah and
within the leadership of the Revolutionary Guard. The martyr you call the
holiest is not the holiest to everyone in Lebanon and the Arab world, and some
may not even consider him a martyr. You have the right to call him whatever you
want, and to feel and grieve as you wish, and those of your supporters who wish
to can grieve with you, and I grieved with you. But you have no right to force
others, individuals or groups, to consider him the holiest, to share your grief,
and to make your grief a universal Lebanese grief and his memory a national
memory for all Lebanese. No one will accept that you invade their space, their
symbols, and their places of worship, and then expect them to sympathize with
you and submit to you. Your grief is legitimate, but it is personal, specific,
and limited to your own sphere, and it will not become a universal Lebanese
grief. Would you accept the display of Bashir Gemayel's photos in the square of
Nabatiyeh, or the display of Prince Mohammed bin Salman's photos in the citadel
of Baalbek, after you filled its squares with photos of Khomeini and Qassem
Soleimani? Dominating others is not a right, and those who do so are not
victims; the law is above everyone, and respecting the law is a virtue that you
must learn. State sovereignty means control over public spaces, including
squares, beaches, roads, and cultural, historical, and heritage sites. Removing
partisan, sectarian, and religious symbols from public spaces, which have been
turned into displays of political power by these groups, is a sovereign duty
that the state must fulfill.
Aftershocks of the earthquake in Breq continue
Aoun, addressing the world: Lebanon has chosen to be a land of life and joy
Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025 (Translated
from Arabic)
Lebanon was strongly represented yesterday at the highest international forum.
Quoting Dr. Charles Malik, "who had the honor of presiding over the United
Nations General Assembly between 1958 and 1959, representing Lebanon," President
General Joseph Aoun declared before the UN General Assembly that Lebanon has
chosen to be a land of life and joy, a platform for these values to the region
and the world, rather than a breeding ground for death and a quagmire of wars,
or a launching pad for their spread throughout the region.
He stressed the demand for an immediate end to Israeli aggression, "the
withdrawal of the occupation forces from all our territory, the release of our
prisoners, whom we will never forget or abandon, and the full implementation of
Resolution 1701. This includes the continued mandate of UNIFIL within its
partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces to maintain security and stability
during a transitional period." Aoun also issued a plea on behalf of the Lebanese
people, declaring that "Lebanon is tired of wars and wants to live in peace,"
during his meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Guterres affirmed
that the UN's position is clear regarding its support for the Lebanese Armed
Forces in their responsibilities. He expressed his high appreciation for the
efforts of the Lebanese government and its work to strengthen its security role
and to ensure that only the Lebanese Armed Forces possess weapons, and he
expressed understanding for the difficulties Lebanon has faced. He noted that
the international community recognizes that President Aoun is working for the
good of Lebanon and to secure a safe and stable future for it.
He also spoke about extending the mandate of the international forces in the
south for one year, with their withdrawal after another year. President Aoun
thanked the UN Secretary-General for his interest in Lebanon and his commitment
to supporting the country on various occasions, as well as for his efforts to
renew the mandate of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon. He emphasized the importance of
UNIFIL's continued presence to maintain stability and peace, in coordination
with the Lebanese Armed Forces, until the Lebanese army is able to deploy
throughout all of Lebanese territory, following Israel's withdrawal from the
occupied areas, thus preventing any security problems in that part of Lebanon.
The President outlined the government's efforts to rebuild Lebanon and its
decision to restrict the possession of weapons to the Lebanese Armed Forces. He
briefed Guterres on the Israeli attacks and massacres occurring in southern
Lebanon, such as the Bent Jbeil massacre, in which a family of four, including
three children, were killed. He explained that this massacre took place after
the meeting of the Mechanism Committee, demonstrating Israel's disregard for the
November 27, 2024 declaration and all international resolutions, including
Resolution 1701. President Aoun questioned the purpose of Israel's continued
intransigence in occupying these areas of Lebanon, especially since these
locations offer no strategic advantage, given the technological advancements
that allow for precise monitoring of all movements without the need for a
physical military presence. He also touched upon the relationship between
Lebanon and Syria, noting that it has improved significantly compared to the
previous period, and that there is ongoing coordination at the highest levels,
particularly on security issues and border control to prevent any smuggling of
people, weapons, drugs, or other contraband. President Aoun held side meetings
with the leaders of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa; Iraq, Abdul Latif al-Rashed; Poland,
Karolina Nowacka; the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad
Al-Sabah; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; and other heads of delegations.
Meanwhile, the repercussions of the "earthquake" caused by US envoy Tom
Perrault's remarks about Lebanon and the Lebanese army continue to create
fissures and cracks in Lebanon's already fragile political system.
The most recent statement came from Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who
stated that the remarks made by the US envoy regarding the Lebanese government,
the army, and the resistance movement were unacceptable in both form and
content, and indeed contradicted what he had previously said. Berri stated: "The
remarks made by the US envoy regarding the Lebanese government, the army, and
the resistance movement are unacceptable in both form and content, and they
contradict what he had previously stated." Bari continued: "In this context, we
reaffirm that the Lebanese Army, from its commander to its officers,
non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, are our sons, and they are the
cornerstone upon which we base all our hopes and aspirations for defending our
land, our sovereignty, and maintaining our internal peace in the face of any
aggression targeting Lebanon. They will never be a border guard for Israel,
their weapons are not weapons of discord, and their mission is sacred: to
protect Lebanon and the Lebanese people." Bari added: "We reiterate our
commitment to the ceasefire agreement, to which Lebanon, its president,
government, and resistance movement, have adhered since its first implementation
on November 27. This is while Israel continues to violate the agreement and
fails to fulfill any of its obligations, including withdrawing from the occupied
territories, releasing Lebanese prisoners, and allowing the Lebanese Army, with
the support of UNIFIL, to deploy to the international border in the southern
Litani region." Prime Minister Salam's response was swift. Prime Minister Tammam
Salam expressed his astonishment at the recent statements made by Ambassador Tom
Wipf, which cast doubt on the government's seriousness and the role of the army.
He stated: "I affirm that the government is committed to fully implementing its
ministerial statement, particularly regarding the reforms it pledged to
undertake, and establishing state authority over its entire territory through
its own forces, and ensuring that only the state holds the weapons, as
stipulated in the Cabinet's resolutions. In this regard, I am fully confident
that the Lebanese Army is fulfilling its responsibilities in protecting
Lebanon's sovereignty and ensuring its stability, and carrying out its national
duties, including implementing the plan it presented to the Cabinet on September
5." Barak's accusations serve as a warning
Well-informed political sources expressed their fear that Barak's statements
could serve as a warning, paving the way for providing political cover for
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand his war on Lebanon under the
pretext of Hezbollah's alleged failure to adhere to the principle of state
monopoly on the use of force, and the impossibility of pressuring Netanyahu, in
turn, to implement the steps outlined in the American proposal, which Lebanon
has accepted.
Geagea: Hezbollah's weapons give it greater political influence domestically
Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea stated that events in Lebanon have
shown beyond any doubt that weapons do not change anything. All they do is give
Hezbollah greater political influence within Lebanon.
Ambassador Al-Bukhari and support for the leaders
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari, in his statement on the occasion
of Saudi National Day, stated that "the Kingdom's position is at the forefront
of international stances that emphasize Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, and
territorial integrity." He added: "We reiterate our support for President Michel
Aoun and the reform vision of the Prime Minister, and we appreciate the role of
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in bridging differences and strengthening the
Lebanese national path."
Interruption of a UNIFIL patrol
The south witnessed further incidents of attacks on UNIFIL forces. In this
context, a number of civilians in the town of Shahabieh stopped a UNIFIL patrol
that entered the area without an army escort.
Analysis: Lebanese Army a trusted protector, country’s only
hope
Dalal Saoud/United Press International/ September 23, 2025
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The Lebanese Army, one of the most trusted
institutions in the country, has faced tremendous challenges carrying out its
delicate mission.
It has been tasked with securing post-war national stability by taking control
of Hezbollah's positions and weapons to deter Israel, reinforcing the eastern
border with Syria, and combating terrorism and smuggling. Its role grew
significantly after a cease-fire agreement, brokered by the United States and
France, was reached on Nov. 27, 2024, ending a 14-month devastating war between
Israel and Hezbollah. The Army was tasked with deploying to the embattled region
of southern Lebanon once Israel began to withdraw its forces on Feb. 18 in
accordance with an extended cease-fire deadline authorized by Washington at
Israel's request. It also prepared a phased plan to ensure its monopoly on
weapons, meaning disarming Hezbollah and other armed groups ---a key U.S.
condition for unlocking much-needed international and Gulf Arab funding to
support Lebanon's reconstruction and economic recovery. However, the war never
truly ended, with Israel continuing its airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah
positions and weapons warehouses in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing at
least 300 people, including civilians and Hezbollah operatives, since the
November cease-fire. Israel also never fully withdrew, retaining five strategic
positions in southern Lebanon and obstructing the deployment of the Lebanese
Army and the return of displaced residents to their villages, most of which were
left in ruins by intensive Israeli airstrikes and bombardment. Although
underfunded and lacking necessary advanced equipment, the Army was praised by
both Lebanese and foreign officials for its successful progress in deploying to
southern Lebanon, as well as for its discipline and professionalism.Most
importantly, it won the hearts and growing support of the Lebanese people, who
had long been yearning for state authority after decades of militia rule,
Syria's control and Hezbollah dominance, convinced that only the Army and a
strong state could restore law, order and security. Banners reading "We are all
with you," featuring a Lebanese soldier and the national flag, have recently
been raised along the road to Beirut's airport -- an area long dominated by
images of Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.
This new scene, which would have been unlikely just months ago, reflects growing
public support for the Lebanese Army as a trusted protector of the country. "The
Lebanese people, in contrast to the war years, are now conscious that there is
no solution, and no authority, above the Army and the state," a Lebanese Army
source told UPI. "Even Hezbollah supporters, whether they are unhappy or whether
they admit it or not, have seen for themselves that they have no one but the
state."The once-powerful Hezbollah has been significantly weakened by Israel
during the war that began on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of Gaza. The conflict led
to the killing of the Iran-backed group's top leaders and military commanders,
as well as the destruction of much of its military capacity. Some 5,000
Hezbollah fighters were killed and another 13,000 wounded out of an estimated
40,000 combatants. It was difficult for Hezbollah to accept such a defeat, which
forced the group to agree to the cease-fire accord, relocate its fighters north
of the Litani River approximately 19 miles from the Israeli border and refrain
from retaliating against Israel's continued aggressions. While the group
implicitly agreed to discuss its weapons as part of a national defense strategy,
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem recently escalated his rhetoric, saying the
group will not surrender its weapons as long as Israel refuses to abide by the
ceasefire terms, halt its attacks, complete its withdrawal and release the 16
Lebanese detained during the war.
However, disarming Hezbollah and empowering the Lebanese Army to collect its
weapons and assume full control remains the only viable way to prevent another
devastating war with Israel, which continues to operate freely and without
deterrence in Lebanon.
It is true that the Lebanese Army is not strong enough to confront Israel or
deter its aggression, but it is gradually asserting its control in southern
Lebanon and throughout the country. According to the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute, Israel's military expenditure surged by 65% in 2024,
reaching $46.5 billion, while Lebanon's military spending increased by 58%, to
$635 million after several years of reduced spending due to economic crisis and
political turmoil. "Israel is superior with all the weapons it possesses and is
backed by the U.S. and all of Europe," the Army source said. "Our Army is not
weak. We have the determination and the will- but we lack equipment and face
many constraints." The source, who explained that the 80,000-strong Army "needs
more troops and better weapons," said the biggest challenge is the continued
presence of the Israeli army in parts of southern Lebanon. He confirmed that the
area north of the Litani River has been cleared of weapons and storage
facilities, without "any assistance, interference, or prevention" from
Hezbollah." However, village searches for more weapons continue. The seized
Hezbollah weapons and munitions are either confiscated or destroyed if found to
be defective or unserviceable, according to the source. The Lebanese Army relies
heavily on foreign assistance and international funding to maintain its
operations due to limited domestic resources and ongoing economic challenges.
This support includes military training, equipment, logistical aid and financial
assistance, primarily from the United States, France, and several European and
Gulf countries. At the height of Lebanon's 2019 financial collapse, soldiers'
monthly salaries fell to $50, prompting Qatar to provide financial support,
Saudi Arabia to offer humanitarian aid, and France to deliver emergency food and
fuel assistance.
The United States, which views the Lebanese Army as a stabilizing force and a
counterweight to Hezbollah, is its largest single donor, supplying weapons,
light attack helicopters, communication systems and training. Hisham Jaber, a
Lebanese military expert and former Army general, said confidence in the Army
has increased, noting that it continues to carry out numerous missions despite
its "very limited" logistical and military capabilities, such as successfully
combating terrorism, preserving internal stability and closing most of the
illegal crossing points along the eastern border with Syria. Jaber said the Army
was also handling the "very delicate issue" of Hezbollah, supporting the
political leadership in addressing its disarmament without triggering
confrontation, civil war or divisions within the Army's ranks. He attributed
Hezbollah's refusal to disarm to the absence of guarantees that Israel will not
attack Lebanon again. "Hezbollah's remaining weapons are a source of strength
and a powerful card that we can use and should not give up," Jaber told UPI,
adding that they could bolster Lebanon's diplomatic efforts to pressure Israel
into a full withdrawal, halt its aggressions and potentially agree to restore
the 1949 Armistice Agreement between the two countries. Others disagree,
questioning whether that would ever stop Israel, which is acting without
restraint and-targeting one Arab country after another, including Qatar, a major
U.S. ally, in its attempt to realize the "Greater Israel" vision and seize more
Arab territory.
To Mohammed Chamseddine, a researcher and political consultant, Lebanon is in a
dilemma.
"Neither the [Hezbollah] resistance nor diplomacy can protect it," he told UPI.
From Nasrallah's Assassination to the Destruction of
Regions: Where Was Hezbollah's Deterrence?
Alan Sarkis/Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025 (Translated
from Arabic)
Hezbollah's narratives and myths about its power have been exposed.
As the first anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General
Hassan Nasrallah approaches, the voices of Hezbollah members of parliament and
its leaders are growing louder in their criticism of the state's failure to
respond to Israeli aggression, its inability to liberate the land, and its
abandonment of the resistance and the use of weapons. Hezbollah leaders'
statements criticizing the state are becoming increasingly frequent, the latest
being that of MP Hassan Fadlallah, who stated that when there was resistance,
the situation was not as it is now; there was a deterrence strategy, and Israel
did not dare to attack Lebanon. Anyone who observes these statements and others
will discover that Hezbollah leaders live in a world detached from reality.
Criticizing the state's role and performance directly reflects poorly on
Hezbollah itself. Since 2006, Hezbollah has taken control of the state,
infiltrated it, and dominated it, culminating in its seizure of power by force
on May 7, 2008, to the point that Nasrallah was even called the Supreme Leader
of the Republic. Therefore, the weakness of the state stems from the actions and
behavior of Hezbollah, which ruled and worked to undermine the foundations of
the state in order to strengthen its own power base.
On the other hand, Fadlallah and other MPs and cadres speak about deterrence.
Looking back at the events, there are well-known recordings of Nasrallah during
the July 2006 war, in which he stated, literally, on the night of July 11: "If I
had known how harsh the Israeli response would be, we would not have kidnapped
the two Israeli soldiers." The phrase "If I had known" still resonates to this
day. Hezbollah and Lebanon paid a heavy price in the July War. Most bridges and
the country's infrastructure were destroyed, and the scale of destruction in the
south, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs was immense. Hezbollah's
supposed deterrent power was nowhere to be seen; Israel destroyed an entire
country due to its military superiority, while Hezbollah merely fired rockets
that caused no strategic damage. After all these skirmishes, came the "support"
war, which Hezbollah launched unilaterally, without consulting the Lebanese
state or the Lebanese people. Everyone, both inside and outside Lebanon, warned
them of the dangers and the high price of war, but they insisted and betrayed
everyone. The results of this war were catastrophic for Hezbollah. Villages
along the border were displaced and destroyed in the first year of the war, and
Hezbollah's supposed deterrent power was nowhere to be seen. The unprecedented
"Beirut Port" explosions revealed the extent of Hezbollah's vulnerability, and
yet no deterrent power was displayed. In the first days of the war, Israel
bombed more than 1,200 Hezbollah military sites and storage facilities, and
still no deterrent power was shown. The leadership of the "Rizwan" unit was
assassinated, and the deterrent power remained hidden. The assassination
attempts against Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Hashem Safi al-Din,
and other top and mid-level Hezbollah leaders also failed to reveal any
deterrent power. Villages along the border were overrun, the fighting reached
south of the Litani River, and areas in the southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley,
and other regions were destroyed, yet no deterrent power was demonstrated.
Eyewitnesses from within Hezbollah's inner circle confirmed that many of those
who support the "resistance" movement were bewildered and questioned where their
supposed deterrent power had gone, feeling deceived and realizing that Hezbollah
was not, in fact, capable of inflicting significant damage on Israel or
deterring it. All of Hezbollah's narratives and myths about its strength and its
ability to confront Israel have been exposed. Even Iran did not intervene after
Nasrallah's assassination, and the Assad regime and the entire "resistance axis"
have collapsed. Therefore, all current statements are completely detached from
reality. Since the ceasefire on November 27, 2023, Israel has killed more than
400 members of Hezbollah's elite Ridwan force, and the group has not dared to
retaliate, as it lacks the capacity to do so. All it can do is flex its muscles
against its own people. On the other hand, the statements of the US envoy, Tom
Barrack, were quite clear: there is no room for silence regarding Hezbollah's
possession of a military arsenal and its attempts to rebuild itself. If the
Lebanese state were to enter into Hezbollah's game, it would also be drawn into
the fire of targeting. Hezbollah no longer has many options. The advice from the
Lebanese government to exercise restraint and disarm is countered by a hardline
stance from Iran, which intends to use Hezbollah and the Shia community in
Lebanon and the region to the very end.
In anticipation of the first anniversary of the
assassination of the two leaders
Dr. Charbel Azar/Al-Liwa/September 23, 2025 (Translated from Arabic)
When Lebanese people listen to the speeches of Sheikh Naem Qassem, Sheikh Ahmad
al-Khatib, Mufti Ahmad Qablan, Mahmoud Qamaty, and MPs Mohammad Raad, Hassan
Ezzeddine, Ali Fayyad, Hussein Haj Hassan, Ihab Hamadeh, Ali al-Meqdad, Ali
Ammar, Hassan Fadlallah, and other party members and media representatives on
television, they wonder, perplexed: Are these "leaders" truly convinced of what
they say and the rhetoric they espouse? Or are they merely carrying out Iranian
directives and acting according to its agenda and its negotiation requirements
with the United States, Israel, the European Union, the International Atomic
Energy Agency, and, finally, its negotiations with the Gulf states through Saudi
Arabia?In his recent speech commemorating the assassination of the "great
leaders," Sheikh Naem Qassem revealed what many had suspected and questioned.
His demand that Saudi Arabia open a dialogue with "the resistance" came
immediately after Ali Larijani's departure from the Kingdom, which Iran is
trying to open a new chapter of relations with.It was as if orders had been
issued to the "party" leadership, stating that they must make a 180-degree turn
from their history, which is full of speeches and writings hostile to Saudi
Arabia and its role in Lebanon and the region, and declare their readiness for
dialogue with it, and declare that they will not use weapons against Saudi
Arabia or against the Lebanese people. It's as if the Lebanese people have
suddenly forgotten all the rhetoric of Hezbollah and Sheikh Naem Qassem,
including his threats against the Lebanese state if it were to approach its
"sacred weapon," as well as his threats and attacks against Saudi Arabia and its
role in Lebanon, as expressed in his speeches, on Al-Manar TV, in Al-Akhbar
newspaper, and elsewhere. Following the adage "better late than never," we
welcome this surprising shift by Sheikh Naem Qassem, hoping it marks the
beginning of a path back to state authority and the handing over of weapons to
the Lebanese army. This is because this weaponry has led Lebanon to the very
opposite of its intended goals. Because of the weapons that sparked the "proxy
war," Israel reoccupied parts of southern Lebanon, destroyed dozens of border
towns, and killed and wounded tens of thousands. And it continues, every day, to
violate Lebanese airspace, targeting whomever it pleases, while Hezbollah has no
ability to fire a single shot at the slow-flying, low-altitude Israeli drones—a
stark challenge to the narrative of "resistance," "unity of the battlefields,"
and the "axis of resistance's" supposed ability to eliminate Israel. We don't
know what the content of the expected speech will be on the anniversary of the
assassination of Hezbollah's two former leaders on September 27. But history has
taught us that if one cannot win, one must learn how to lose gracefully. Will
they heed this lesson?
Biri remains firm... and a counter-escalation is
underway... A political battle in the legislative arena: A session without an
electoral law
Gabriel Murad/Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025
(Translated from Arabic)
Once again, Parliament will be the stage for a new political battle, this time
over the electoral law. Today, the Parliamentary Bureau, chaired by Speaker
Nabih Berri, will meet in Ain el-Tineh to set the agenda for the upcoming
legislative session. However, the agenda will not include any proposals related
to the electoral law. This will likely lead to objections before, during, and
after the session from parliamentary blocs and MPs who want to resolve the issue
of voting rights for Lebanese expatriates. The days
leading up to the legislative session will be a period of preparation for
further escalation. There is a fear that continued procrastination on the
electoral law could lead to one of two outcomes: elections without the
participation of expatriate voters, or a postponement of the elections. Whispers
in the corridors suggest that failing to address the issue of the exclusive
control of weapons by the state could raise the following question: Can
elections be held while Hezbollah retains its weapons and Israeli strikes
continue?
So what is happening?
Yesterday, the 128 MPs who signed the parliamentary petition calling for the
expedited consideration of the revised draft law of May 9, 2025, regarding the
voting rights of expatriates, met before the Parliamentary Bureau meeting to
reiterate their demand that the Speaker of Parliament include this proposal on
the agenda for a vote during the first legislative session. For them, this issue
is "political, legal, constitutional, related to equality among Lebanese
citizens, and to the right of Lebanese expatriates to self-determination." In
this context, it is clear that the MPs want to resolve the issue quickly,
through the plenary session, so that everyone knows who supports the right of
non-resident Lebanese to vote and who opposes it. However, the atmosphere within
the parliamentary leadership suggests otherwise. One of its members told "Nidaa
Al-Watan": "They want to push this through without proper parliamentary
procedure and go straight to the vote. This will only happen after the
discussions are concluded, not before." For his part, Deputy Speaker of
Parliament Elias Bou Saab confirmed to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that "the proposed law
has already been discussed, and it, along with other proposals, has been
referred to the subcommittee on the electoral law, which is continuing its work
and deliberations." Postponing the elections? This "argument" does not convince
the MPs who signed the proposal and the petition. MP Adib Abdel-Masih confirmed
to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that "we want to put the proposal on the agenda for a vote
in the plenary session, and it should not be excluded from the vote, because it
was submitted as an expedited motion." What if the request is not granted?
Abdel-Masih says: "Then there will be an escalation, and its form is currently
being discussed among the signatories of the proposal and the petition. We will
not accept the hidden agenda to postpone the elections, and failing to address
the issue of non-resident voting rights falls within this context." Session
Agenda "Nidaa Al-Watan" obtained a draft agenda
comprising 16 bills and legislative proposals, which will be discussed by the
parliamentary leadership today. Among the most prominent items on the agenda
are: "The public-private partnership regarding Qal'at Al-Ma'moura Airport; an
additional budget allocation of 2.35 trillion Lebanese pounds for 2025,
benefiting public sector retirees with a monthly increase of 12 million Lebanese
pounds, which was recently approved by the Finance and Budget Committee; and the
implementation of an agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD) related to reconstruction efforts." According to sources,
the session is scheduled to take place at the beginning of next week, unless
unforeseen circumstances necessitate a change in date. It is also expected that
the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ahmed Hajjar, will participate in
the first meeting of the subcommittee on the electoral law to brief them on the
government's approach to amending the current law.
More official action or appeasement and war?... From
weapons to the "local militia" to "Rosh Nashriya"
Lara Yazbek/Nidaa Al-Watan/September 24, 2025 (Translated
from Arabic)
Once again, Parliament will be the stage for a new political battle, this time
over the el
The insistence on illuminating "Rosh Nashriya" with the image of the "party's"
leader is a test for the government
The American envoy, Tom Barrett, didn't say anything that surprised the Lebanese
political establishment, except in terms of style, as his words were forceful
and assertive. But in terms of substance, those in power and those who follow
Lebanese developments closely know that the United States considers the state's
efforts to control the weapons issue insufficient. In any case, this is what the
US Ambassador Lisa Johnson stated clearly a few days ago, when she pointed out,
at a reception for US Independence Day, that the government and the army have
taken significant steps, but more is still needed. This perspective on the
situation in Lebanon is not only American. France and Saudi Arabia, along with
Washington, are also urging the control of weapons, out of concern for Lebanon's
security and stability in light of Israeli aggression, and out of fear that
Lebanon will miss the opportunity to participate in the major changes coming to
the region, and will remain alone on the sidelines, struggling with its
financial collapse and the devastation and costs of proxy warfare. Many
irregularities
In any case, internal political forces also believe, regardless of the stance of
the international community, that the "new" Lebanese state must adopt a new
approach to governing the country and dealing with the numerous irregularities
that occur daily on the ground and in politics. This gives the impression that
the policy of appeasement and compromise, out of fear of "sectarian strife and
civil war" and of "provoking Hezbollah," remains dominant, according to
sovereign sources speaking to "Nidaa Al-Watan." Has anyone responded firmly and
decisively to the statements of Hezbollah officials, from its Secretary-General
Sheikh Naem Qassem to the Deputy Chairman of its Political Council, Mahmoud
Qamaty, who declared that the August 5 and 7 resolutions are dead and buried
with the September 5 "coup"? Has anyone directly informed the "Party," in a
statement or declaration, that its continuous talk of clinging to its weapons
and refusing to disarm constitutes rebellion against the state and legitimacy,
subjecting it to accountability, not to mention providing a service to Israel to
further its targeting of Lebanon? The answer is no. No one is responding
directly to the "Party" or deterring it.
"Rousha" and the "Local Militia"
When asked about how the authorities dealt with the "Party's" insistence on
illuminating the Rousha Rock with the images of its two former
secretaries-general on Thursday evening, defying Prime Minister Tammam Salam's
circular on the matter—a new "sovereign" test for the government—the sources
believe that this "weakness" is also seen in the handling of the almost daily
attacks on UNIFIL patrols in the south. The "local militia," manipulated by the
"Party," is becoming more brazen and organized, instead of the state having
curbed and ended it since the first clash between it and the international
forces. What message do we send to the world's capitals about our country, when
UN peacekeepers are subjected to daily attacks and harassment by Hezbollah,
under the guise of local residents, without the Lebanese state arresting a
single perpetrator? This is the question raised by Samir Geagea, leader of the
Lebanese Forces party, in a statement last week, and it remains unanswered. The
key lies in implementation and its speed. The government's decisions are
excellent, but what matters is their implementation, and the manner and speed
with which they are carried out, according to sources. It has become clear that
the international community will not wait indefinitely, nor will it protect us
if we fail to fulfill our obligations, while we continue to blame Israel for its
violations and expect it to take certain steps, even as it strikes at the heart
of the region. What is also needed is to move beyond appeasement and compromise,
which Hezbollah will only interpret as weakness and respond to with further
aggression. We have seen that there is no place for ambiguity or half-measures
in the future of the region. Either the militia and all the chaos it brings—from
the drug trade to attacks on UNIFIL—must be eliminated, allowing the country to
embark on a path of development and recovery, as happened in Syria, or it will
remain mired in crises and wars. The path we choose will depend on the strength
and firmness of the legitimate authority, the sources conclude.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 23-24/2025
UN Security Council under intense pressure to halt Gaza bloodshed amid
political deadlock
Ephrem Kossaify/Arab News/September 24, 2025
NEW YORK: The world is confronting “one of the darkest chapters of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the UN secretary-general said on Tuesday, warning
that nearly two years after the “horrific Hamas terror attacks” of Oct. 7 and
the “devastating Israeli military response,” violence has only deepened across
the Occupied Territories, posing grave threats to regional and global peace and
security.The Israeli onslaught in Gaza City is compounding an already
catastrophic humanitarian crisis, said Antonio Guterres. “Famine is a reality,
with the population constantly forced to move and being starved,” he told a
high-level UN Security Council meeting. “To call this situation untenable, and
morally and legally indefensible, doesn’t begin to capture the scale of human
suffering.” Impunity prevails “and our collective credibility is being
undermined,” he said, adding that violence is spreading from Gaza to the
occupied West Bank and beyond, including several countries in the region, most
recently Qatar.
“Efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal — led by Qatar, Egypt
and the US — suffered a serious blow on Sept. 9,” Guterres said. “The Israeli
attack (on Doha) wasn’t only a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity — it also threatened the very norms and mechanisms we rely on for
diplomacy and conflict resolution.” Guterres also warned that the viability of a
two-state solution is “steadily eroding,” reaching its “most critical level in
more than a generation.”He added: “Relentless settlement expansion, de facto
annexation, forced displacement, cycles of deadly violence — including by
extremist settlers — have entrenched an unlawful Israeli occupation and pushed
us perilously close to a point of no return.”
Guterres sounded the alarm over Israel’s recent approval of settlement
construction in the E1 area which, if implemented, would destroy the contiguity
of a Palestinian state. “Israeli settlements aren’t just a political issue —
they’re a flagrant violation of international law,” he said. Meanwhile, the
Palestinian Authority is facing an existential crisis, with fiscal, political
and institutional pressures severely undermining its ability to function, he
added. Israel’s withholding of tax revenues, the collapse of the Palestinian
economy, and a drastic decline in donor aid have left the PA unable to pay
salaries or provide basic services, Guterres said. He emphasized the urgent need
for international financial and political support to stabilize the PA and
maintain it as a viable partner for peace. He noted a “glimmer of hope” with the
High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question
of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution that took place on
Monday, commending France and Saudi Arabia for co-chairing it and helping to
revive political momentum. Guterres welcomed increased international recognition
of Palestinian statehood, particularly by France and the UK, calling this the
clearest path to achieving a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders with
Jerusalem as the shared capital. He urged the international community to seize
this momentum, stressing that the future of Gaza must be rooted in international
law, free of ethnic cleansing and aligned with a political vision for a viable
Palestinian state. He called for an immediate halt to settler expansion,
violence and annexation threats, and reiterated the International Court of
Justice’s demands for Israel to end its settlement activities and unlawful
presence in the Occupied Territories.
Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, described
Gaza as “a catastrophic situation that’s deteriorating day by day” due to
ongoing military escalation and a prolonged siege. He said the repeated Israeli
aggressions and violations of international law stem from “the lack of
accountability and the prevalence of impunity,” which has undermined the
credibility of the UN and threatens both regional and global peace and security.
Alwasil criticized the failure of the international community to deter these
actions, warning that it risks erasing national sovereignty and deepening the
regional conflict. He called on the UNSC to “shoulder its responsibilities” by
enforcing accountability measures against Israel to restore peace and uphold
international legitimacy. He condemned Israel’s continued intransigence and
expansionist policies, including violations of the sovereignty of regional
countries such as Qatar.
Stressing the urgent need for a just resolution, Alwasil insisted that peace can
only be achieved through a comprehensive approach based on the “implementation
of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian
state along the lines of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”Slovenia’s
Foreign Minister Tanya Fajon lamented the UNSC’s paralysis and its failure to
fulfill its obligations to maintain international peace and security.
She warned that when politicians facing charges for war crimes and crimes
against humanity walk free while judges are placed under sanctions, the
international community cannot remain silent without becoming complicit through
complacency.
Fajon stressed that the breakdown of the rules and obligations underpinning the
international system constitutes a direct threat to global peace and security.
“Gaza has become a textbook example of the failure of the international
community,” she said. “It has become a place in which people dread the nightfall
and fear what a new day will bring. “Gaza has become the deadliest place for
children, the deadliest place for humanitarian and medical workers, the
deadliest place for journalists, the place of the first-ever proclaimed famine
in the Middle East.
“Marked by continuous offensives and strikes against hospitals, schools, homes,
shelters and holy places, it’s defined by death and despair, where hostages
suffer and civilians count heartbeats left.”Tajon told council members that
“Gaza is a man-made catastrophe which is live-streamed across the globe and
sustained by those acting in contradiction to everything we stand for.” Danish
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the UNSC that it is essential that
Israel change its course immediately and that the war in Gaza ends. He
emphasized that the council, tasked with maintaining international peace and
security, should be able to make this demand as a bare minimum. “That means all
of us, every single member, working in concert and common cause toward this
goal. It means setting aside political differences to save lives,” he said.
Rasmussen lamented last week’s US veto, the sixth since the start of the war, on
a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and the release of Israeli
hostages.
Addressing Americans directly, Rasmussen quoted President Donald Trump as saying
the war in Gaza needs to be stopped immediately. “Denmark continues to support
the dedicated efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to mitigate a ceasefire,” he
said. “Your unwavering commitment to find a path to peace is critical in the
context, but we count on you in this council too. Your leadership is critical in
our joint aspirations of bringing peace and stability to the region.”
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said her country’s “historic recognition” of
Palestine is part of acting to protect the viability of the two-state solution
as the only path “to a just and lasting peace,” and part of “rejecting extremist
ideas on all sides, which involved too often fantasies of the destruction of the
State of Israel or expulsion of the Palestinian population.”
Mike Waltz, US permanent representative to the UN, reiterated Washington’s
demand that Hamas immediately release all remaining hostages, “cease putting
civilians in harm’s way, cease sacrificing their own people for propaganda
aims,” and “disarm” and “surrender,” adding: “This war could end today if that
happened.”Waltz said there was no credible Palestinian partner for peace, adding
that PA leaders were denied visas to be in New York this week because they
“failed to meet their Oslo commitments.”He said: “The commitments were basic,
including renouncing terrorism, renouncing violence, resolving issues through
direct negotiations with Israel. “The Palestinian Authority has failed to clear
even those low bars, and their attempts to bypass negotiations through what can
only be called lawfare, including at the ICC (International Criminal Court) and
at the ICJ, and its pushes for unilateral recognition of statehood … this
charade is disappointing. It’s clearly fueled by domestic politics, and has
given Hamas a reward for refusing to surrender.”
US may end Gaza war ‘right now’: Trump
Caspar Webb/Arab News/September 24, 2025
NEW YORK: The US may end the Gaza war “right now,” President Donald Trump told a
meeting of Arab and Muslim leaders at the UN on Tuesday.
“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it
right now,” he told the leaders and the media. Trump said he would “see the
people in Israel,” including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “and we’re going
to get something done because it’s gone on too long, and we want it to end.”He
added: “We’re here to see if we can get the hostages back and get the war over
and get back to life in the Middle East, which is a beautiful life, but it’s
much more beautiful without wars, right?”The meeting was attended by the
presidents or foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt,
Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. Trump described them as “great leaders from a
very important part of our planet” who are “respected all over the world.”He
added: “They’re respected by me in the Oval Office, I can tell you that. They’re
respected by the US.”Trump highlighted the issue of the Israeli hostages held by
Hamas and other militant groups. “Right now, they have 20 hostages and 38 dead
bodies … We have to get the 38 back and we have to get the 20 back, and I think
we’ll be able to do it,” he said. “This is the group that can do it more than
any other group in the world. This is the group that can do it.”Qatar’s emir
told Trump: “The only reason you’re here is to stop the war and bring the
hostages back. And we count on you and your leadership as well to end this war
and to help the people of Gaza. The situation is very, very, very bad there.”
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani added: “We’re here to meet and to do everything
we can to stop this war, and to bring the hostages back.”
Tehran Refuses to Abandon Its Ballistic Missile Program
Iranian MP: MiG-29 fighter jets deployed to Shiraz base... Sukhoi-35 deliveries
to begin soon
London – Tehran: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23,
2025 (Translated from Arabic)
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani stated that Tehran “will not abandon
its missile program” and denied any disagreement among decision-makers regarding
the nuclear negotiations. She indicated that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s
visit “represents an opportunity for dialogue with all those willing to engage.”
Rouhani will deliver his address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday at
10:00 a.m. New York time. Mohajerani said at a weekly press conference that the
Iranian delegation, led by Rouhani, “will use all available means to uphold the
rights of the nation and prevent further pressure on the Iranian
people.”Mohajerani explained that Rouhani’s visit “is an opportunity for
dialogue with all those interested. Dialogue is a two-way process that requires
the will of both parties. The goal of this visit is to demonstrate that we are
seeking to pursue diplomatic solutions.”
Mohajerani blamed the European parties for “not upholding the nuclear
agreement.” She said, “The foreign ministry and the president, as previously
stated, welcome any opportunity for dialogue and to resolve the nation’s
problems,” emphasizing that “dialogue must be reciprocal, not one party imposing
its views on the other.”Mohajerani noted that the president and the government
“consider every opportunity to address the country’s problems as valuable, and
participating in the UN General Assembly is no exception; it is an important
platform and a valuable opportunity to convey the voice of the Iranian people,
and the president will make good use of it.” She indicated that the president
"will also take advantage of the opportunity to hold dialogues with other world
leaders to halt the pressure and setbacks," emphasizing "Iran's readiness to
confront the pressure resulting from the activation of the 'snapback'
mechanism." When asked whether the president was satisfied with the performance
of the foreign minister in the negotiations with the Director General of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, Mohajerani said: "The
president does not tolerate anyone when it comes to the interests of the people
and the country, and if he feels that someone's performance is not up to
standard, he will issue the necessary instructions without hesitation." However,
she pointed out that the government is "an executive body and part of the entire
state system, which includes other institutions." She added: "The role of the
government and the foreign minister is not limited to implementation only, but
also includes participation in decision-making."
She implicitly denied any disagreement between Araqchi and the Secretary of the
Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, saying: "Decision-making on
issues such as the nuclear file takes place at different levels within the state
system and its various institutions. Clearly, the nuclear committee is an
important institution chaired by Larijani in his capacity as Secretary of the
Supreme National Security Council." Regarding the possibility of the issue of
ballistic missiles being raised in potential negotiations, Mohajerani said:
"Iran does not ask anyone's permission to defend its people," referring to the
use of missiles during the 12-day war with Israel. She said: "During the 12-day
war, everyone saw how national unity and our missile capabilities defended our
people. The years of war with Iraq also proved that no country can maintain its
existence without possessing the necessary military power." A screenshot from a
missile test video released last week by Fars News Agency, which is affiliated
with the Revolutionary Guard.
Mahajerani added: “We do not ask anyone’s permission regarding our missile
program, and we will not back down, because we will not compromise the security
of our people at any cost. The subject of the negotiations is security, and
therefore missiles are an integral part of our security.” Meanwhile, MP Abolfazl
Zahravand, a member of the National Security Committee in the Iranian
Parliament, announced that a number of Russian MiG-29 fighter jets have entered
Iran and are stationed at Shiraz Air Base, adding that “delivery of the Su-35
fighter jets will begin gradually.” He also revealed a “large-scale deployment”
of the Chinese HQ-9 and Russian S-400 air defense systems. Zahravand said that
this military equipment “will strengthen the deterrent capabilities of the
Islamic Republic,” adding that “enemies will understand the language of power.”
Iranian MP Mohsen Zanganeh stated last Saturday that Iran had successfully
tested one of its most advanced missiles, an intercontinental ballistic missile
that had not been tested before, emphasizing that the tests would continue
despite the current circumstances. He added that his country had not backed down
on uranium enrichment, nor on its positions regarding the missile program,
despite the targeting of its nuclear facilities. The Revolutionary Guard
announced in July that it had tested the Qased missile, capable of launching
satellites into orbit, which was seen as a message to European powers, who fear
that the space program could be used as a cover for developing long-range
ballistic missiles. In a warning to European powers, Iranian parliament member
and Revolutionary Guard commander Amir Hayat Moghadam stated last month that
these countries were within range of Iranian missiles, an implicit threat should
the "snapback" mechanism for reimposing sanctions be activated. In February,
Khamenei implicitly ordered an increase in the range of Iranian missiles,
stating, "We previously set a limit on the range of our missiles, but now we
feel that this limit is no longer sufficient. We must move forward." In
November, Iranian websites reported that Tehran had taken steps towards
developing intercontinental ballistic missiles. They specifically cited a
statement by Kamal Kharrazi, the senior advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader on
diplomatic affairs, regarding the possibility of increasing the range of
ballistic missiles—an implicit reference to extending the range beyond 2,000
kilometers, the limit set by Khamenei. On August 28, Britain, France, and
Germany, known as the "European Troika," initiated a 30-day process to reimpose
UN sanctions on Iran, accusing Tehran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal aimed
at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. The 15-member UN Security
Council rejected a draft resolution on Friday to permanently lift sanctions on
Tehran, a move supported by Russia and China, which oppose the efforts of
Britain, France, and Germany to reimpose UN sanctions. The sanctions
reimposition mechanism will reinstate bans on weapons, uranium enrichment and
reprocessing, and ballistic missile activities capable of carrying nuclear
warheads, as well as targeting Iranian assets, individuals, and entities
worldwide.
Khamenei: Negotiations with US have reached a dead end
London – Tehran/Middle East/September 23, 2025
(Translated from Arabic)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that negotiations with the
United States have reached a dead end and would not serve Tehran's interests,
ultimately leading to a "cul-de-sac." Khamenei rejected direct negotiations with
Washington, likely closing the door on any last-ditch attempt to prevent the
reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran. Khamenei's remarks are likely to restrict
any potential contact with the United States by Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. In a recorded
message broadcast by state television, Khamenei also stated that Iran would not
"yield to pressure" regarding uranium enrichment, reiterating Tehran's
long-standing official position that it does not need or intend to produce
nuclear weapons. He added: "The United States has already announced the outcome
of the talks; the result is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment.
This is not negotiation. It is dictation and imposition." Khamenei said that
negotiations with the US "have reached a dead end," emphasizing that negotiating
with Washington "is not only not beneficial, but also causes significant damage
in the current circumstances, some of which can be described as irreparable."
Khamenei stressed that "negotiations with the US harm our interests under the
current circumstances," adding that "agreeing to negotiations under threat means
surrendering to pressure, and no dignified nation would accept that." Khamenei
again rejected the idea of abandoning uranium enrichment, stating that "the
Iranian nation will not accept not enriching uranium," while adding that his
country "does not seek to possess nuclear bombs." He further stated: "We do not
need nuclear weapons, nor do we intend to produce them." Agence France-Presse
quoted Khamenei as saying: "The American side says: 'You must not enrich uranium
at all,'" adding, "We have not and will not yield to pressure on the issue of
uranium enrichment. On any other issue, we have not and will not yield to
pressure." In another part of his speech, Khamenei said that "America wants us
not to have missiles, including medium-range missiles." This came two hours
after US President Donald Trump reiterated that Iran cannot be allowed to
possess nuclear weapons. Addressing the UN General Assembly, Trump stated: "My
position is very simple: the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism cannot
be allowed to possess the world's most dangerous weapon." On August 28, Britain,
France, and Germany, known as the "European Troika," launched a 30-day process
to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran, accusing Tehran of violating the 2015
nuclear deal aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. The
Europeans set three conditions for extending the period of sanctions relief:
resuming direct and unconditional negotiations, granting full access to Iranian
nuclear sites for IAEA inspectors, and obtaining accurate information about the
locations of enriched uranium materials.
Grossi: Inspectors to travel to Iran if an agreement
is reached/French diplomat: Iran has not yet met the conditions to avoid
‘snapback’ sanctions
New York: Asharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025 (Translated
from Arabic)
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi,
said that a team of inspectors is en route to Iran, ready to deploy if Tehran
and the European powers reach an agreement this week to avert the reimposition
of international sanctions. Grossi told Reuters that he is holding “intensive”
talks with Iran, the European powers, and the United States to find a solution.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he added: “We have a few
hours, perhaps days, to see if something can be achieved, and that is the effort
we are all making.” Amid the diplomatic activity in New York, Grossi and Iranian
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held talks on Monday. Earlier this month, the
IAEA and Iran signed an agreement, brokered by Egypt, to pave the way for
resuming cooperation, including measures to restart inspections of Iranian
nuclear facilities. However, this agreement has not yet been fully implemented.
In July, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law passed by his
parliament suspending all forms of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
This came following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, during which
Israel and the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites. On August 28, the
European Troika launched a 30-day process to reinstate UN sanctions against
Iran, accusing Tehran of non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at
preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. Seeking to give diplomacy a
chance, the three European countries offered to postpone the reinstatement of
sanctions for up to six months if Iran allowed IAEA inspectors access to its
nuclear facilities, addressed concerns about its stockpile of enriched uranium,
and resumed talks with the United States. The Europeans set three conditions for
extending the period of sanctions relief: the resumption of direct and
unconditional negotiations, full access for IAEA inspectors to Iranian nuclear
sites, and accurate information about the locations of enriched materials. On
Tuesday, Iraj Abedini, an Iranian diplomat, held meetings with diplomats from
the European Troika (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) regarding the
reinstatement of sanctions, which is scheduled to take effect next Sunday.
Following the meeting, a French diplomatic source said that Tehran had not yet
met the conditions set by the three countries, known as the European Troika, to
avoid the reinstatement of UN sanctions. A French diplomatic source told Reuters
that discussions would continue with Iran regarding the snap-back mechanism to
explore all possible solutions. The source said, "Currently, Iran has not met
the conditions, but discussions will continue to explore all possibilities." The
source added, "We will remain ready until the last moment. The ball is in Iran's
court," and stated that if no progress is made by the end of September 27, the
UN sanctions will be reinstated. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had already
described the chances of reaching an agreement with Iran as "very slim,"
according to the German news agency DPA. The agency quoted Maas as saying, "Iran
has been disregarding its obligations under the Vienna nuclear deal for years,"
referring to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers in
Vienna, which aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He added,
"We have drawn the necessary conclusions from this and activated the so-called
'snapback' mechanism for reimposing international sanctions on Iran at the end
of this week." However, Maas also stated that the three European countries –
France, Germany, and Britain – would continue to engage in talks with Iran even
after the sanctions are reinstated.
Iran's supreme leader rejects direct talks
with US over his country's nuclear program
The Associated Press/Stephanie Liechtenstein, Jon Gambrell And Farnoush Amiri/September
23, 2025
VIENNA (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday rejected direct negotiations with
the United States over his country's nuclear program, likely slamming the door
shut on a last-ditch effort to halt the reimposition of United Nations sanctions
on Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks, aired on Iranian state television, likely
constrain any possible outreach to the U.S. by Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Separately,
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held meetings there with diplomats from
France, Germany and Britain over the reimposition of the sanctions, set to take
effect Sunday.
Talks with the U.S. represent “a sheer dead end,” Khamenei said.
“The U.S. has announced result of the talks in advance," he added. "The result
is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment. This is not a negotiation.
It is a diktat, an imposition.” The German Foreign Office, in comments posted on
X after the meeting with Araghchi, said that France, Germany, Britain and the EU
urged Iran to take steps within days, “if not hours,” to address concerns over
its nuclear program. It should resume direct talks with the U.S. and provide the
International Atomic Energy Agency with access to all its nuclear sites, ”in
line with its obligations," the statement said. The three European countries,
known as the E3, triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism to reinstate
sanctions — barring a last-minute accord — over Iran's failure to comply with
conditions of a 2015 nuclear deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing
nuclear weapons. The meeting Tuesday did not appear to move closer to a
resolution before Saturday’s deadline. But a French diplomat said that the
European leaders plan to make “full use” of the remaining time. The diplomat
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly
discuss the private meeting. The German Foreign Office said “diplomatic
engagement” would continue even if sanctions are reimposed Sunday. Earlier,
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had described the chance of reaching
an agreement with Iran by the weekend “extremely slim," the Germany news agency
dpa had reported, even before Khamenei’s comments.
Iran has stopped inspectors, refused US talks
Amid a flurry of diplomatic engagements, Araghchi on Monday also met with Rafael
Grossi, the IAEA director-general, in New York. Earlier this month, the U.N.
nuclear watchdog and Iran signed an agreement mediated by Egypt to pave the way
for resuming cooperation, including on ways of relaunching inspections of Iran’s
nuclear facilities. However, that agreement has yet to fully take hold. In July,
Pezeshkian had signed a law adopted by his country’s parliament suspending all
cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. That followed Israel’s 12-day war
with Iran in June, during which Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear
sites. France, Germany and the U.K. began the process of reimposing sanctions on
Iran at the end of August. The process — termed a “snapback” by the diplomats
who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers — was designed
to be veto-proof at the U.N. It started a 30-day clock ticking for the
resumption of sanctions unless the West and Iran reach a diplomatic agreement.
European nations have said they would be willing to extend the deadline if Iran
resumes direct negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, allows U.N.
nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites, and accounts for the more than
400 kilograms (880 pounds) of highly enriched uranium the U.N. watchdog says it
has. Iran is the only nation in the world that enriches uranium up to 60%, a
short, technical step from weapons-grade levels, that does not have a weapons
program. If no diplomatic deal is found this week, the sanctions will
automatically “snapback” on Sunday. That would again freeze Iranian assets
abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran’s
ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s
reeling economy. Khamenei made a point in his roughly half-hour speech to say
his comments focused only on America, not on Europe.
Iran maintains its atomic program is peaceful
Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, though Western nations and the
IAEA assess that Tehran had an active nuclear weapons program until 2003.
Khamenei again pledged that Iran does not seek atomic bombs. “We do not have a
nuclear bomb and we will not have one, and we do not plan to use nuclear
weapon,” he said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America
from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, made a point to reference Tehran in his
speech before the U.N. on Tuesday. He recounted writing a letter to Khamenei
seeking talks. U.S. and Iranian negotiators met five times before the 12-day war
in June. “There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the most
powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man, of which the United
States, as you know, has many,” Trump said. "I’ve made containing these threats
a top priority, starting with (the) nation of Iran."
However, Khamenei stressed that Israeli and American attacks would not destroy
the nuclear knowledge gained by Iran over the decades over the crisis
surrounding the program.
“Science will not be demolished by threats and bombing," he vowed.
Recognition of Palestinian State Brings No Relief for
Exhausted Gazans
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
Israel's military pushed deeper towards the most populated areas of Gaza City on
Tuesday, a painful reminder for Gazans that Western powers' recognition of a
Palestinian state does not mean an end to the horrors of war as tanks approach.
Israel pressed on with its Gaza offensive a day after dozens of world leaders
gathered at the United Nations to embrace a Palestinian state, a landmark
diplomatic shift after nearly two years of war that faces resistance from Israel
and its close ally the United States. Local health authorities said Israeli fire
on Tuesday killed at least 22 people across the Gaza Strip, 18 of them in Gaza
City, and the Gaza health ministry said hospitals in the enclave would run out
of fuel in the coming few days, endangering lives.
EXPLOSIONS DESTROY HOMES AND ROADS IN GAZA
"We are not steadfast, we are helpless. We don’t have money to leave to the
south and we don’t have guarantees if we do the Israelis will not bomb us, so we
are staying," Huda, a mother of two from Gaza City, told Reuters via a chat app.
"The children tremble all the time from the sounds of explosions, we do too,
they are wiping out a city that is thousands of years old and the world is
celebrating a symbolic recognition of a state that won’t stop our
killing."Israeli forces detonated explosive-laden vehicles in the suburbs of
Sabra and Tel Al-Hawa as tanks made a big push towards the western side of Gaza
City. Residents said the explosions destroyed dozens of homes and roads. Three
hospitals were taken out of operation on Monday as Israeli forces advanced,
further weakening the health system and depriving residents of medical care,
local authorities said. President Emmanuel Macron announced that France
recognized Palestinian statehood at a meeting he convened with Saudi Arabia on
Monday - a milestone that appeared unlikely to change much on the ground. Israel
has said such moves will undermine prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict.
TWO-STATE SOLUTION
The two-state solution was the bedrock of the US-backed peace process ushered in
by the 1993 Oslo Accords, but the process has all but died. The Israeli
government has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it fights the
Hamas group in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed
about 1,200 people. Israel has drawn global condemnation over its military
conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according
to local health authorities. Despite this, Israel has begun a ground assault on
Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire, and wants Hamas to hand over the
last hostages it seized in the 2023 attack on Israel. Gaza City is the capital
of the Gaza Strip and used to house Hamas’ most powerful battalions before the
war. "Are we now being killed as the citizens of the state of Palestine? Is that
what happened?” said Abu Mustafa, hours after he fled his Gaza City home because
Israeli tanks were close. "Those countries who suddenly remembered Palestine was
occupied forgot that Gaza is being wiped out. We want the war to end, we want
our slaughter to end, that's what we need now, not declarations."Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the criticism of the military campaign
and said the war will not stop until Hamas is eliminated. But he has not
produced a plan for Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble, after the
war ends.
TRUMP TO ADDRESS UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
US President Donald Trump will meet leaders and officials from multiple
Muslim-majority countries on Tuesday and discuss the situation in Gaza, which
faces a humanitarian crisis including widespread hunger. White House Press
Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday Trump would hold a multilateral
meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Türkiye, Indonesia and
Pakistan. Axios said Trump would present the group with a proposal for peace and
post-war governance in Gaza. In February, Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza
and a permanent displacement of Palestinians from there. It was vehemently
rejected by Arab countries and labelled as an "ethnic cleansing" proposal by
rights experts and the UN Forcible displacement is illegal under international
law. Trump will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Mohammed Al-Bayari,
a 36-year-old father of six, had little time to think about global diplomacy as
he and his children pulled a cart with their meager belongings uphill in Gaza
during a 14-hour search for somewhere safe for the family. "Every 10 to 15
minutes I need to rest for half an hour," he said.
Israel Destroys Evacuated Health Center in Gaza City,
Medics Say
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
A Palestinian medical charity said Tuesday that Israel destroyed its main center
in Gaza City after ordering its evacuation. The Palestinian Medical Relief
Society said an Israeli strike reduced its six-story building in the Tel al-Hawa
neighborhood to rubble. It said the center was one of the main facilities in the
city providing blood donation and testing services, trauma care, cancer medicine
and chronic disease treatment. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli
military, which has repeatedly bombed and raided hospitals in Gaza throughout
the war. In a separate development, Israel announced Tuesday complete closure of
the border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan until further
notice after an attack last week that killed two Israelis. The Allenby Bridge
Crossing over the Jordan River, also known as King Hussein Bridge, is the only
cargo and passenger crossing available to Palestinians in the West Bank that
does not lead to Israel. It is also on a key route for delivering humanitarian
aid to Gaza. Multiple hospitals in famine-stricken Gaza City have been forced to
shut down as Israel forces advance. Israel accuses Hamas of using medical
facilities for military purposes, which could cause them to lose their
protection under international law, but the military has often provided little
or no evidence of a significant militant presence. The head of the World Health
Organization, which has partnered with the charity, condemned the strike.
“Attacks on health facilities must end. The senseless violence must stop.
Ceasefire!” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. The medical charity said
another of its centers was damaged and surrounded by Israeli troops, and that a
third center was destroyed in a separate strike. Gaza's Health Ministry said
Monday that the Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital and the Specialized Eye Hospital
had been forced to shut down because of nearby Israeli military operations.
Several Western countries on Monday called on Israel to restore a medical
corridor for Palestinians in Gaza to be treated in east Jerusalem and the West
Bank, and for Israel to lift restrictions on medical supplies entering Gaza. The
statement was co-signed by 24 nations, including Canada, France and Germany, and
comes as Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war in Gaza from even some
of its closest allies. Israel captured east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in
the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future
state. Israel launched a major offensive earlier this month aimed at occupying
Gaza City, the territory’s largest, which has already suffered heavy damage from
previous raids and bombardment. Israel says the operation is aimed at pressuring
Hamas to surrender and return the remaining 48 hostages taken during its Oct. 7,
2023, attack that triggered the war. Israel believes around 20 of the captives
are alive. The world’s leading authority on hunger crises said last month that
Israel’s blockade and ongoing offensive had already pushed Gaza City into
famine. More than 300,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks as Israel
has ordered the population to move south, but an estimated 700,000 remain,
according to UN agencies and aid groups. Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200
people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the
captives have since been released in ceasefires or other deals.
The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 65,382 Palestinians have been killed in
the war, without saying how many were civilians or combatants. It is part of the
Hamas-run government. Its figures are seen by the UN and many independent
experts as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
Ship Attacked Off the Coast of Yemen as Houthis Continue
to Threaten Vessels
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
A ship traveling off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden came under attack
early on Tuesday, officials said, though no one was hurt. It was not clear who
launched the attack. The captain of the vessel heard a splash and explosion in
the vicinity of the vessel, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade
Operations center said in a statement. “Vessel and crew reported safe and
proceeding to next port of call,” the center said in a statement. The attack
happened about 225 kilometers (140 miles) off the coast of Aden, which is held
by forces loyal to Yemen's exiled government. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis
have launched a series of attacks targeting shipping through the Red Sea
corridor, but did not immediately claim the attack. It typically takes them
hours or even days to claim an assault, The Associated Press said. The Houthis
have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red
Sea in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with
Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the
Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the
war. The Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They
later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered
by US President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached
with the group. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on
board, with others believed to be held by the group. The attack on Tuesday came
as Israel has intensified its the war, targeting Gaza City with a new ground
offensive. Meanwhile, tensions remain high as United Nations sanctions are due
to be reimposed on Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program. Israel launched
a 12-day war against Iran in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic
sites.
Israel Seeks Permanent Gaza Control and Jewish Majority in West
Bank, UN Inquiry Says
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
The Israeli government has shown a clear intent to establish permanent control
over Gaza and to ensure a Jewish majority in the occupied West Bank, a United
Nations commission said in a report on Tuesday. The UN report details Israeli
authorities' extensive, systematic demolition of civilian infrastructure in
Gaza's corridors and buffer zone, resulting in Israel expanding control to 75%
of the Gaza Strip by July this year. "Israeli forces have also intentionally
altered the geography of Gaza" through the creation of military corridors,
expanding the border buffer zone and establishing security zones, the report by
the UN's Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said.
Israel maintains that its war is not against the population of Gaza but against
the Hamas group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that
precipitated the war.
ISRAEL SAYS REPORT 'HAS EVERYTHING BACKWARDS'
The Israeli mission in Geneva dismissed the report's findings. "Hamas has
genocidal intent towards Israel, the report has everything backwards. This
Commission does not miss an opportunity to reveal its true character and
politically-driven agenda."The Commission also found that since October 2023,
Israeli policies have demonstrated clear intent to forcibly transfer
Palestinians, expand Jewish settlements, and annex the entire West Bank.
"Increasing violent attacks by settlers have resulted in the forcible
displacement of communities and subsequent Judaization of areas of the West
Bank," the report stated. It also highlights military operations in Jenin,
Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, which resulted in destruction of homes
and infrastructure and displacement of residents - actions the Commission deems
unjustified militarily and tantamount to collective punishment. Israeli Defense
Minister Israel Katz has previously said the operation had sharply reduced the
threat from armed Palestinian groups. Hamas' October 7 attack killed 1,200
people and its fighters captured 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The
subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to Gaza
health officials, while a global hunger monitor says part of the territory is
suffering from famine.
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 23-24/2025
Recognizing the State of Palestine... Echoes of History and the
Commitments of Our Ancestors
Keir Starmer/Prime Minister of the United Kingdom/Middle East/September 23, 2025
(Translated from Arabic)
The situation in Gaza breaks our hearts in Britain, just as it breaks hearts
across the Middle East.
We consider ourselves close friends of the Arab states and of Israel, and
therefore I say: we must change course. The current path leads only to more
violence and deeper suffering. Instead, we must change course and return to
peace. For this reason, and to revive the fading hopes for a two-state solution,
I announced on Sunday that the United Kingdom recognizes the State of Palestine.
My statement echoes history and the commitments of our ancestors. It expresses
the Palestinians' inalienable right to self-determination, as well as Israel's
need for security. It includes a promise to work for a better future. However,
recognition alone does not change the situation on the ground. Therefore, we
reaffirm our commitment to making that happen. We were horrified by the brutal
attacks on October 7, the ongoing ordeal of the hostages, and the killing,
destruction, and starvation in Gaza, a situation that is worsening. It is
unimaginable. This situation must end. We need a permanent ceasefire. Hamas
terrorists must release the hostages immediately and unconditionally. The
Israeli government must also cease its military operations in Gaza, refrain from
further escalation, halt illegal settlement expansion and annexation of
territory in the West Bank, and put an end to the appalling violence perpetrated
by settlers. The UK continues to increase the amount of aid provided to Gaza.
However, the quantities of food and medicine reaching the civilians who need
them most are still woefully inadequate. We therefore urge the Israeli
government to cease these brutal tactics and allow the unrestricted flow of aid
into Gaza. The British people see the suffering in Gaza – particularly the
terrible impact on Palestinian children – and we want to help. We have evacuated
sick and injured children to the UK for treatment in our NHS hospitals, with the
first group arriving last week, and our efforts to help will continue. We are
also working to rebuild the foundations for a two-state solution. For this
reason, we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond around
our framework for peace. I commend the efforts of Qatar, Egypt and the US to
drive forward progress in the negotiations on a ceasefire. This framework is not
an alternative plan of action, but a broader blueprint to bring together
different parties – Israel, the Arab states, the US and others – to support a
shared vision and a series of steps that can take us from a ceasefire in Gaza to
negotiations on a lasting end to the conflict and normalization across the
region. And I want to be clear—this must include substantive commitments from
the Palestinian side that both Palestinians and Israelis can see. I have
discussed this extensively with President Abbas, and it involves working
together to support a renewed, peaceful democratic process, implementing
important reforms, and building a state. President Abbas has rightly committed
to a demilitarized Palestinian state. Crucially, Hamas must have absolutely no
role in governance or security. This cannot be a reward for its violent actions.
We all want to see a future where ordinary people can live in peace, rebuilding
their lives free from violence and terrorism; a future where Israel and all Arab
states enjoy normalized relations; a future where Palestinians enjoy human
rights and self-determination in a viable, peaceful, and prosperous Palestinian
state; a future where Israel and Palestine—and all the children of the
region—can thrive in safety and security. That is the future we are working to
achieve. Recognizing the State of Palestine is a vital step on that path.
Don’t Boycott Anti-Netanyahu Israeli Cultural Works
Hazem Saghieh/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
On September 15, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an op-ed by Neta Riskin
and Magi Otsri “on behalf of many Israeli filmmakers, writers, poets, musicians,
actors and intellectuals.” I will quote their words at length, and ask the
reader’s patience as I explain my reasons in the final paragraphs.
The article says: “We speak not in the name of our government or of any
institution, but in our own name as well as in the name of creative freedom, the
freedom of imagination and the hope that still endures. For many years, Israeli
artists have been cast as enemies of the nationalist regime. We've been
relentlessly persecuted by governments that made us an easy target for hatred.
Our names have been publicly defamed, ministers have branded us ‘traitors,’ and
our budgets have been stripped because of our views. Theaters have been shut
down, plays banned, films boycotted. Artists have been attacked both online and
in person, subjected to threats of rape and torture, even their lives, and many
have lost their livelihoods. This is not accidental, nor is it exceptional, but
the necessary outcome of a deliberate government policy designed to spread fear
and silence every free voice.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, blows from outside Israel have joined
those that strike us from within. But know this: the only beneficiary of the
suppression and silencing of our voices is the current Israeli government that
despises art and artists alike. Neither freedom, nor peace, nor justice is
served by silencing Israeli art. Nor are the Palestinians, who are suffering
under a cruel and unending war.”Upon painting a picture of the glee that the
“fanatical coalition members” felt as they heard of the 1,200 Hollywood artists’
boycott of Israeli works, the op-ed presents a recap of Benjamin Netanyahu’s
domestic victories “on his path toward dictatorship.” It goes on: “Israeli
artists have always been at the forefront of the struggle against Netanyahu and
fascism. We've been on the frontlines of the fight against the occupation and
the settlements in the West Bank. We have demanded negotiations toward a peace
agreement with the Palestinian Authority, aimed at establishing a Palestinian
state. We were among the first to assert that Palestinians have a right to
national self-determination and full equality. We also warned against turning
the Gaza war into a war to preserve Netanyahu's rule – a war intended to
distract from the fact that he's a prime minister buried under corruption
indictments. We cautioned against the toxic alliance between a corrupt
government and religious fanaticism, and now we call for an end to the war, an
end to the starvation of Gazans and the safe return of all Israeli hostages held
by Hamas through an agreement.
We are not a government arm to be fought against; on the contrary, we are a
thorn in its side. That is why supporters of fascism and nationalism have always
sought to eliminate us. The Israeli government attacks us from within, and now
our colleagues abroad, our artistic and ideological partners around the world,
seek to silence us. If Israeli artists are silenced, it'll be the end of Israeli
democracy. The path for the bloodthirsty extremists in the government to
continue the war and to escalate harm to innocent civilians and commit some of
the gravest atrocities and war crimes will be left unopposed. There's no greater
gift to fascism in Israel.”After an overview of the fundamental distinction
between boycotting weapons and other goods and boycotting art, the article
recalls the capacity of creative works to build bridges, curb extremism, and
imagine a better world, as demonstrated by many Israeli works that oppose the
direction Netanyahu has taken and are nonetheless not exempt from this boycott.
As for the only request the article asks of artists around the world, it is to
“not close the gates on us. Don't force us into isolation from the world. Don't
aid the government in silencing the little freedom that remains to us. This is
what the violent government wants; this is its ambition.”
In addition to the many arguments raised by the two writers, as well as the
reasons to reject any boycott of culture, thought, and the arts in principle,
the political juncture and its dictates we now find ourselves in are another
pressing factor that cannot be ignored. Toppling Netanyahu and his government
is, today, the ultimate prerequisite for achieving any noble objective that
benefits the Palestinians, brings justice, and ensures Palestinians’ rights.
Accordingly, encouraging those who could contribute to achieving this goal is a
political necessity as well as being an ethical duty.
The fact is that the Palestinian cause is currently in a profoundly paradoxical
position: on the one hand, it is achieving major moral victories and winning
hearts and minds across Western societies, but on the other, it has become an
endangered political cause amid Israel’s genocidal massacre, to say nothing of
the threats of fragmentation, annexation, and settlement looming over the West
Bank. There are probably very few people better placed than Israelis like Neta
Riskin, Magi Otsri, and their colleagues to take part in bridging this chasm
that allows for seizing the opportunities created by moral victories. That is
why boycotting anti-Netanyahu Israeli cultural works could well be both unwise
and extremely harmful.
To Recognize Palestine Is to Recognize Israel
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September
23, 2025
The notion that the “tsunami of recognitions” of the State of Palestine was
triggered by Hamas’ October 2023 attacks is a distortion of reality. The irony
is that this narrative is repeated both by Netanyahu and by Arab extremists
alike. Benjamin Netanyahu describes recognition and the two-state solution as a
“reward for Hamas” in order to inflame Israeli public opinion and embarrass the
US administration. As for Hamas extremists, they also claim that it is the fruit
of October 7. The truth is exactly the opposite. Hamas launched a wide-scale
attack to abort the “two-state solution” project that Saudi Arabia was
negotiating with former US President Joe Biden’s administration. Washington had
set as a condition for signing a defense and security agreement with Riyadh that
Saudi Arabia recognize Israel, and Saudi Arabia in turn put forth a price for
that recognition – namely, the establishment of a Palestinian state – and
negotiations began. After a few months, Hamas launched its large-scale attack,
knowing that it would be followed by an Israeli war and the sabotage of the
negotiations.
It has become known that Hamas’ decision, like that of the Houthis and
Hezbollah, is tied to Tehran, which is always determined to prevent any
political progress that might curb its drive to dominate the region as a
hegemonic power. Hamas, along with Iran’s axis, has a long record of spoiling
every peace initiative, aligning with the wishes of Israeli extremists. They too
oppose any political project that could lead to the establishment of a
Palestinian state. Hamas sabotaged the “Road Map” in 2003 with two separate bus
bombings that killed forty Israelis. It succeeded once again in undermining the
Annapolis Conference in 2007 and then obstructed Trump’s peace plan in 2020 by
carrying out three separate attacks. This time, with its horrific October 2023
attack, Hamas destroyed itself and its allies, foremost among them Hezbollah,
the Assad regime, and Iran. In this regional vacuum, Netanyahu seeks to double
his gains by destroying Gaza and annexing the West Bank.In this dangerous vacuum
as well, the Saudi-proposed two-state solution project was activated. A race
then emerged between two projects: Netanyahu’s project of liquidating the
Palestinian cause by officially annexing the West Bank and securing the support
of the US administration; and the Saudi project, which France announced it had
joined and adopted, by mobilizing global support for the establishment of a
Palestinian state. For months now, a heated diplomatic battle has been underway,
culminating in 151 countries recognizing Palestine as a state. Before this
historic moment, Israel’s government launched a series of threats to block the
UN vote: tightening the siege on Gaza and depriving its residents of food and
medicine, expanding military operations, turning toward the West Bank by
disrupting banking activity and threatening a financial and economic collapse,
overlooking settler attacks on West Bank residents, permitting further illegal
settlement construction, and succeeding in preventing the Palestinian president
from participating in the United Nations.
Despite all this, the Saudi and French diplomatic mobilization continued and was
crowned by the recognition of Palestine by Britain, France, Canada, and
Australia – the four countries closest to the United States and Israel.
It is a remarkable success. Yet we must caution that these historic diplomatic
achievements are only the beginning. They will provoke the anger of Arab and
Israeli extremists, who will work to create chaos and derail the Palestinian
state project. The crossing attack at the Jordan bridge was aimed at striking
the project, whether orchestrated by Hamas, Iran, or others. And extremists in
Israel are waiting for any attacks to move to the next step: annexing the West
Bank and dismantling the Palestinian Authority. We are living through a new
phase, as most Palestinians and Arabs have come to believe in the two-state
solution, which explicitly means recognizing the State of Israel as well, and
putting an end to 80 years of conflicts, chaos, and hatred. This is an important
development and it will not be achieved easily. The Saudi project may require
support and adoption by the US administration, and if that happens, President
Trump would fully deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
A Year Gone, an Era Fulfilled with Remarkable Achievements
Turki al-Faisal/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23,
2025
A year has passed, an era marked by remarkable accomplishments and a bright
future ahead, led by a steadfast king with a proud legacy. At his side stands a
devoted son, supported by a capable and resilient people. Together, we remember
our founder, who united us under the banner “There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God”, guiding us to confront challenges with
sincerity of purpose and strength of will. We aspire to peace and practice
harmony. We pay little heed to the words of detractors, for we continue firmly
along the path of righteousness. Our deeds speak for themselves: we have worked
to unite Muslims and to secure international recognition of the State of
Palestine. We have stood by our brothers in faith with generous support of
lasting impact, while also extending kindness to humanity at large through noble
acts of giving. The Saudi citizen, meanwhile, embodies honor and generosity.
With firm faith and gracious character, he contributes wholeheartedly to
building our shared future, with strong hands, proud spirits, and unwavering
determination. In this, we remain guided by the words of the late King Abdulaziz:
“Talent without care from its people is like a small plant without nurture or
water. Neither religion nor reason accepts neglect or disregard. Our duty,
therefore, is to tend to our planting so that its trunk grows firm and its
branches spread shade under which we may rest, by God’s will, for a future we
desperately need in this age of creativity, talent, and innovation, all in
service of faith and homeland.”
Successive kings have embodied this vision, launching a scientific renaissance
unmatched in many nations. They did not stop there: they sent our sons and
daughters to the finest universities across the globe, equipping them with the
most advanced knowledge. They returned distinguished and ready to contribute to
the building of the homeland. King Salman, may God protect him, expressed it
best: “Our National Day expresses pride in the homeland’s glories, and in its
standing and unity among nations - the very foundation upon which this towering
edifice was built.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman added: “Our first and greatest wealth, greater
than any other, is an ambitious people, most of them youth, who are the pride of
our nation and the guarantee of its future, with God’s help.”On this day, we
also remember the sixty horsemen who rode with King Abdulaziz to liberate
Riyadh. Without their faith in God and their strong will, they would not have
risked their lives. They embody the words of God: “How many a small group has
overcome a mighty host by God’s permission, and God is with the
steadfast.”Generations after them sacrificed what was most precious to
consolidate the unity and advancement of the holiest land on earth, the place of
the first house of worship, blessed and made a guidance for all; the birthplace
of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, a mercy to the worlds; and the land where divine
revelation descended, a light for humanity.On this occasion, we must thank God
for the blessings he has bestowed upon us: wise leadership, a faithful society,
a secure homeland, prosperity, and a promising future.
We pray: O God, support Your servant, Salman bin Abdulaziz, and grant him
strength in serving Your religion. Grant success to Mohammed bin Salman to guide
us on Your straight path.
Today, we celebrate our wise leadership, and we look forward with hope to the
years to come.
Where Do You Want to Be Next Year?
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/September 23, 2025
I am not one to make definitive, unequivocal claims about any matter, even when
I feel I have enough information to take a position. I will make an exception: I
am confident that, this very day next year, the world will be in a very
different place...
We will find ourselves in a precarious world in which anything could happen!
About two weeks ago, a well-informed source whom I respect told me that in a
matter of months, not years, we will be using artificial intelligence in every
aspect of our lives. Indeed, it is no coincidence that, among the 160 eminent
figures invited to attend the royal banquet King Charles III hosted at Windsor
Castle in honor of his guest President Donald Trump last week, were several
owners of the business developing the cutting-edge technologies of the future.
This technology, foremost among them artificial intelligence, has become
humanity’s ruler and the tool for ruling humanity. The owners of this technology
are the real rulers of our world, as they are the “real owners” of most
governments around the globe, of ruling parties, of special-interest and media
groups, and of the institutions that shape - and distort - public opinion:
through digital and broadcast media, surveillance, monitoring, cyber, and
“post-cyber” data collection.
These “ruling owners,” despite fiercely competing over billions of dollars in
profits, are bound together by a political and factional shared interest to
defeat rising competitors in every corner of the world, especially the Far East.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Tim Cook, CEO of Apple;
and Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, the media of the far-right in the West
and beyond, were among the most prominent of these owners to attend the event in
Windsor. One of Trump’s closest friends, Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of the
giant investment firm Blackstone, which reported revenues of $13.23 billion last
year and net profits of $2.44 billion, was also there.
Yet, despite the vast gulf of wealth separating these magnates from other
businessmen and wealthy individuals, they aspire to global dominance - indeed,
to a worldwide monopoly over all means of control and influence. This is
precisely what is revealed in the conduct of Washington’s “oligarchs,” backers
of President Trump and funders of his political ambitions. This includes the
provocation and unchecked excesses of Elon Musk, and the “media” empire of
Rupert Murdoch, which for decades in Britain, America, Australia, and elsewhere
has cultivated a culture of hatred, resentment, division, and even racial
incitement. This constellation of politics, influence, wealth, and technology
crowned its gathering in Windsor with massive deals that will consolidate its
control further, not only on people’s reactions and choices, but also on how
people think, the values they hold, and the social norms that shape their
relationships with others and with the state and broader society. Accordingly,
the understandings and deals that emerged from the meetings between the “ruling
owners” and their political “subject” led to £150 billion worth of US
investments into the British economy - £90 billion from Blackstone alone.
Meanwhile, far away from Windsor and its financial agreements, both Washington
and London were grappling with the aftermath of two extremely grave
developments:
The first is the assassination of the US far-right activist Charlie Kirk on the
university campus in conservative, Mormon-majority Utah.
The second is the massive far-right protests against immigration and immigrants,
and in defense of their country’s white Christian identity, on the streets of
London.
Despite the arrest of the suspect, Tyler Robinson, the full details of Kirk’s
assassination, especially the motives behind it, are still being investigated.
Nonetheless, it has deepened the divide within American society between Trump’s
camp - as Kirk was among its staunchest supporters - and his opponents. His
rivals believe that Trump’s insistence on honoring Kirk as a “national hero” and
his assault on unsympathetic journalists cross a line. They see the president’s
positions as veiled hostility toward all the American communities that Kirk had
openly antagonized and incited against.
Indeed, many political analysts dread the frightening level of polarization in
the US. They are terrified that Trump could take his pursuit of critics and
opponents - in the media, universities, and state institutions - further.
Another “Robinson” was at the center of events in London.
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a far-right British
activist hostile to Muslims, immigrants, and Black people. He has co-founded
several extremist groups, and he has been convicted of racially motivated
violence. Yet, after Robinson and the organizations he worked with had long
remained on the fringes of political life, his movement has become a force to be
reckoned with; it can mobilize over 150,000 demonstrators and send them into the
heart of London. The peril of this new state of affairs cannot, of course, be
reduced to a single individual or organization. Since Trump’s victory in the
United States and the rise of Britain’s anti-European Brexit isolationists, the
far-right has stopped being a marginal actor. It has now, unfortunately, imposed
itself electorally as it continues to rise in the polls across the West,
blackmailing governments and imposing its agenda at times, even on competitors.
Thus, humanity and the human species are facing an existential threat amid the
onslaught of racism, greed, and technology. Here, it is not the tragedies of
Gaza that I have in mind, nor any of the places currently suffering and bleeding
out. I have in mind every country in the world where human emotions and values
have vanished. In my view, no immigrant community in the West is safe anymore;
none of them even has the right to feel safe.
ربط فيديو ونص الكلمة التي ألقاها الرئيس دونالد ترامب
باللغة الإنكليزية اليوم في الأمم المتحدة
Link to the video and text of the speech delivered by President Donald Trump in
English today at the United Nations
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147572/
23 september
Trump Speaks at U.N.
September 23/2025
https://www.rev.com/transcripts/trump-speaks-at-un
Donald Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly. Read the transcript
here.
The Assembly will hear an address by His
Excellency, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America. I request
protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly.
Thank you very much, very much appreciated. And I don't mind making the speech
without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working. I feel very
happy to be up here with you nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the
heart. I can only say that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big
trouble. Hello, Madam First Lady. Thank you very much for being here. Madam
President, Mr. Secretary General, First Lady of the United States, distinguished
delegates, ambassadors, and world leaders. Six years have passed since I last
stood in this grand hall and addressed a world that was prosperous and at peace
in my first term. Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I
forged on two continents. An era of calm and stability gave way to one of the
great crises of our time. And here the United States, four years of weakness,
lawlessness, and radicalism under the last administration delivered our nation
into a repeated set of disasters. One year ago, our country was in deep trouble,
but today, just eight months into my administration, we are the hottest country
anywhere in the world and there is no other country even close. America is
blessed with the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest
military, the strongest friendships, and the strongest spirit of any nation on
the face of the earth.
This is indeed, the golden age of America. We are rapidly reversing the economic
calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price
increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we've never had before.
Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery
prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated. The
only thing that's up is the stock market, which just hit a record high. In fact,
it hit a record high 48 times in the last short period of time. Growth is
surging. Manufacturing is booming. The stock market, as I said, is doing better
than it's ever done. And all of you in this room benefit by that, almost
everybody. And importantly, workers wages are rising at the fastest pace in more
than 60 years, and that's what it's all about, isn't it? In four years of
President Biden, we had less than $1 trillion of new investment into the United
States.
In just eight months since I took office, we have secured commitments and money
already paid for $17 trillion. Think of it, four years, less than a trillion.
Eight months, much more than $17 trillion is being invested in the United
States, and it's now pouring in from all parts of the world. We've implemented
the largest tax cuts in American history and the largest regulation cuts in
American history, making this once and again, the best country on earth to do
business. And many of the people in this room are investing in America, and it's
turned out to be an awfully good investment during this eight month period. In
my first term, I built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had
the best economy ever, history of the world, and I'm doing the same thing again,
but this time it's actually much bigger and even better. The numbers far surpass
my record-setting first term.
On our southern border, we have successfully repelled a colossal invasion. And
for the last four months, and that's four months in a row, the number of illegal
aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero. Hard to believe, because
if you look back just a year ago, it was millions and millions of people pouring
in from all over the world, from prisons, from mental institutions, drug
dealers, all over the world they came, they just poured into our country with
the ridiculous open-border policy of the Biden administration. Our message is
very simple. If you come illegally into the United States, you're going to jail
or you're going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that,
you know what that means.
I want thank the country of El Salvador for the successful and professional job
they've done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our
country, and it was under the previous administration that the number became
record-setting, and they're all being taken out. We have no choice, and other
countries have no choice because other countries are in the exact same situation
with immigration. It's destroying your country and you have to do something
about it. On the world stage, America is respected again like it has never been
respected before. You think about two years ago, three years ago, four years
ago, or one year ago, we were a laughingstock all over the world. At the NATO
summit in June, virtually all NATO members formally committed to increased
defense spending at my request from 2% to 5% of GDP, making our alliance far
stronger and more powerful than it was ever before.
In May, I traveled to the Middle East to visit my friends and rebuild our
partnerships in the Gulf, and those valued relationships with Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, and the UAE and other countries are now, I believe, closer than ever
before. My administration has negotiated one historic trade deal after another,
including with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, South Korea,
Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and many, many others. Likewise,
in a period of just seven months, I have ended seven unendable wars. They said
they were unendable. You're never going to get them solved. Some were going for
31 years, two of them, 31, you think of it, 31 years. One was 36 years, one was
28 years. I ended seven wars. And in all cases, they were raging with countless
thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo
and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, a vicious, violent war that was. Pakistan and
India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
It included all of them. No president or prime minister. And for that matter, no
other country has ever done anything close to that, and I did it in just seven
months. It's never happened before. There's never been anything like that. Very
honored to have done it. It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of
the United Nations doing them. And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did
not even try to help in any of them. I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders
of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call
from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal. All I got from
the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the
middle. If the First Lady wasn't in great shape, she would've fallen. But she's
in great shape.
We're both in good shape, we both stood. And then a teleprompter that didn't
work. These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator
and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much. And by the way, it's working now.
It just went on. Thank you. I think I should just do it the other way. It's
easier. Thank you very much. I didn't think of it at the time because I was too
busy working to save millions of lives, that is the saving and stopping of these
wars, but later I realized that the United Nations wasn't there for us. They
weren't there. I thought of it really after the fact, not during. Not during
these negotiations, which were not easy. That being the case, what is the
purpose of the United Nations? The UN is such tremendous potential. I've always
said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential, but it's not even coming
close to living up to that potential. For the most part, at least for now, all
they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow
that letter up.
It's empty words and empty words don't solve war. The only thing that solves war
and wars is action. Now, after ending all of these wars and also earlier
negotiating the Abraham Accords, which is a very big thing for which our country
received no credit, never receives credit. Everyone says that I should get the
Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements, but for me, the real prize
will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with the mothers and fathers
because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and un-glorious
wars. What I care about is not winning prizes. It's saving lives. We saved
millions and millions of lives with the seven wars, and we have others that
we're working on and you know that. Many years ago, a very successful real
estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation
and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex.
I remember it so well. I said at the time that I would do it for $500 million,
rebuilding everything. It would be beautiful. I used to talk about, "I'm going
to give you marble floors, they're going to give you terrazzo." The best of
everything. "You're going to have mahogany walls, they're going to give you
plastic." But they decided to go in another direction, which was much more
expensive at the time, which actually produced a far inferior product. And I
realized that they did not know what they were doing when it came to
construction and that their building concepts were so wrong, and the product
that they were proposing to build was so bad and so costly, it was going to cost
them a fortune. And I said, "And wait until you see the overruns." Well, I
turned out to be right. They had massive cost overruns and spent between two and
$4 billion on the building and did not even get the marble floors that I
promised them.
You walk on terrazzo. Do you notice that? As far as I'm concerned, frankly,
looking at the building and getting stuck on the escalator, they still haven't
finished the job. They still haven't finished. That was years ago. The project
was so corrupt that Congress actually asked me to testify before them on the
tremendous waste of money because it turned out that they had no idea what it
was, but they knew it was anywhere between two and $4 billion as opposed to 500
million with a guarantee, but they had no idea. And I said, "It costs much more
than $5 billion." Unfortunately, many things in the United Nations are happening
just like that, but on an even much bigger scale, much, much bigger.
Very sad to see whether the UN can manage to play a productive role. I've come
here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation
in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous
world. And it's a world that we'll be much happier with. A dramatically better
future is within our reach, but to get there, we must reject the failed
approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest
threats in history. There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the
most powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man of which the United
States, as you know, has many. Just as I did in my first term. I've made
containing these
… these threats a top priority, starting with a nation of Iran. My position is
very simple, the world's number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to
possess the most dangerous weapon. That's why shortly after taking office, I
sent the so-called Supreme Leader a letter making a generous offer. I extended a
pledge of full cooperation in exchange for a suspension of Iran's nuclear
program. The regime's answer was to continue their constant threats to their
neighbors and US interests throughout the region and some great countries that
are right nearby. Today, many of Iran's former military commanders, in fact, I
can say almost all of them are no longer with us, they're dead. And three months
ago in Operation Midnight Hammer seven American B-2 bombers dropped the 14
30,000 pound H-bombs on Iran's key nuclear facility totally obliterating
everything. No other country on earth could have done what we did. No other
country has the equipment to do what we did. We have the greatest weapons on
earth. We hate to use them, but we did something that for 22 years people wanted
to do.
With Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity demolished, I immediately brokered an
end to the 12-day war, as it's called, between Israel and Iran, with both sides
agreeing to fight no longer.
As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a ceasefire in
Gaza, we have to get that done, have to get it done. Unfortunately, Hamas has
repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace, and we can't forget October
7th, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is
seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too
great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for
these horrible atrocities, including October 7th, even while they refuse to
release the hostages or accept a ceasefire instead of giving to Hamas and giving
so much because they've taken so much, they have taken so much, this could have
been solved so long ago, but instead of giving in to Hamas ransom demands, those
who want peace should be united with one message, release the hostages now. Just
release the hostages now. Thank you.
As we have got to come together, and we will come together, got to get it done,
we have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it. We have to get
it done. We have to negotiate, immediately, have to negotiate peace. We got to
get the hostages back. We want all 20 back. We don't want two and four. As you
know, I got, along with Steve Witkoff and others that helped us, Marco Rubio, we
got most of them back. We were involved in all of them, but I always said, the
last 20 are going to be the hardest, and that's exactly what happened. We have
to get them back now. We don't want to get back two and then another two and
then one, and then three and have this process. No, we want them all back.
And we want the actually 38 dead bodies back too. Those parents came to me and
they want them back, and they want them back very quickly and very badly, as
though they were alive. They want them. They want them every bit as much as if
their son or daughter were alive.
I've also been working relentlessly stopping the killing in Ukraine. I thought
that would be, of the seven wars that I stopped, I thought that would be the
easiest because of my relationship with President Putin, which had always been a
good one. I thought that was going to be the easiest one. But in war, you never
know what's going to happen. There are always lots of surprises, both good and
bad. Everyone thought Russia would win this war in three days, but it didn't
work out that way. It was supposed to be just a quick little skirmish. It's not
making Russia look good, it's making them look bad.
No matter what happens from here on out, this was something that should have
taken a matter of days, certainly less than a week, and they've been fighting
for three and a half years and killing anywhere from 5 to 7,000, young soldiers,
mostly, mostly soldiers on both sides, every single week from 5 to 7,000 dead
young people. And some in cities, much smaller numbers where rockets are shot,
where drones are dropped. This war would never have started if I were president.
This was a war that should have never happened. It shows you what leadership is,
what bad leadership can do to a country. Look what happened to the United States
and look where we are right now in just a short period of time. The only
question now is how many more lives will be needlessly lost on both sides.
China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to
purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much
Russian energy and Russian energy products, which as you know, I found out about
two weeks ago and I wasn't happy. Think of it, they're funding the war against
themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not
ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to
impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed,
I believe very quickly. But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations,
all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the
exact same measures. I mean, you're much closer to the city. We have an ocean in
between, you're right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can't be doing
what they're doing. They're buying oil and gas from Russia while they're
fighting Russia.
It's embarrassing to them, and it was very embarrassing to them when I found out
about it. I can tell you that. But they have to immediately cease all energy
purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we're all wasting a lot of time. So I'm ready
to discuss this. We're going to discuss it today with the European nations all
gathered here. I'm sure they're thrilled to hear me speak about it, but that's
the way it is. I like to speak my mind and speak the truth.
As we seek to reduce the threat of dangerous weapons today. I'm also calling on
every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and
for all, and biological is terrible and nuclear is even beyond, and we include
nuclear in that. We want to have a cessation of the development of nuclear
weapons. We know and I know and I get to view it all the time, "Sir, would you
like to see?" And I look at weapons that are so powerful that we just can't ever
use them. If we ever use them, the world literally might come to an end. There
would be no United Nations to be talking about. There would be no nothing.
Just a few years ago, reckless experiments overseas gave us a devastating global
pandemic, yet despite that worldwide catastrophe, many countries are continuing
extremely risky research into bio-weapons and man-made pathogens. This is
unbelievably dangerous. To prevent potential disasters I'm announcing today that
my administration will lead a international effort to enforce biological weapons
convention, which is going to be meeting with the top leaders of the world by
pioneering an AI verification system that everyone can trust. Hopefully the UN
can play a constructive role and it will also go, be one of the early projects
under AI. Let's see how good it is because a lot of people saying it could be
one of the great things ever, but it also can be dangerous, but it could be put
to tremendous use and tremendous good, and this would be an example of that.
Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should, too often, it's actually
creating new problems for us to solve. The best example is the number one
political issue of our time, the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It's
uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an
assault on Western countries and their borders. In 2024, the UN budgeted $372
million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying
into the United States. Think of that, the UN is supporting people that are
illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out. The
UN also provided food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards to illegal
aliens, can you believe that, on the way to infiltrate our southern border.
Millions of people came through that southern border. Just a year ago, millions
and millions of people were pouring in, 25 million altogether over the four
years of the incompetent Biden administration, and now we have it stopped.
Totally stopped. In fact, they're not even coming anymore because they know they
can't get through. But what took place is totally unacceptable. The UN is
supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them. In the United
States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be
permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our
sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net.
We have reasserted that America belongs to the American people, and I encourage
all countries to take their own stand in defense of their citizens as well. You
have to do that because I see it. I'm not mentioning names. I see it and I can
call every single one of them out. You're destroying your countries. They're
being destroyed. Europe is in serious trouble. They've been invaded by a force
of illegal aliens like nobody's ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring
into Europe, and nobody's doing anything to change it, to get them out. It's not
sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they're doing
just absolutely nothing about it.
And I have to say, I look at London where you have a terrible mayor, a terrible,
terrible mayor and it's been so changed, so changed. Now they want to go to
Sharia law, but you're in a different country, you can't do that. Both the
immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe
if something is not done immediately. This cannot be sustained. What makes the
world so beautiful is that each country is unique, but to stay this way, every
sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders. You have the
right to control your borders, as we do now, and to limit the sheer numbers of
migrants entering their countries and paid for by the people of that nation that
were there and that built that particular nation at the time. They put their
blood, sweat, tears, money into that country, and now they're being ruined.
Proud nations must be allowed to protect their communities and prevent their
societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before with
different customs, religions, with different everything. Where migrants have
violated laws, lodged false asylum claims or claimed refugee status for
illegitimate reasons, they should, in many cases, be immediately sent home. And
while we will always have a big heart for places and people that are struggling
and truly compassionate, answers will be given. We have to solve the problem and
we have to solve it in their countries, not create new problems in our
countries. And we are very helpful to a lot of countries that are just not able
to send their people anymore. They used to send them to us in caravans of 25,
30,000 people each, these massive caravans of people pouring into our country,
totally unchecked and unvetted, but not anymore.
According to the Council of Europe, in 2024, almost 50% of inmates in German
prisons were foreign nationals or migrants. In Austria, the number was 53% of
the people in prisons were from places that weren't from where they are now. In
Greece, the number was 54%. And in Switzerland, beautiful Switzerland, 72% of
the people in prisons are from outside of Switzerland. When your prisons are
filled with so-called asylum seekers who repaid kindness, and that's what they
did, they repaid kindness with crime, it's time to end the failed experiment of
open borders. You have to end it now. I see it, I can tell you.
I'm really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell. In America,
we've taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration. Once we
started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing
illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming. They're not
coming anymore. We're getting a lot of credit, but they're not coming anymore.
This was a humanitarian act for all involved because on the trips up,
Thousands of people a week were dying. Women were being raped. Nobody's ever
seen anything like it. Raped, horribly beaten, raped. On the trip up, the
journey up, it was a long, it was a long walk. It was a long, arduous journey
indeed, and it was also a historic victory against human trafficking throughout
the region. What we did was a victory and we saved so many lives of people that
wouldn't make the journey. That journey was loaded up with death. Loaded up with
death. Dead bodies all along. All along the roads of jungles to get up. They go
through jungles, they go through areas so hot, you couldn't breathe. They were
dying of suffocation, areas so hot, that you couldn't breathe. Dead bodies all
over. By them not coming, we're saving tremendous numbers of lives. My people
have done a fantastic job in doing what they did, and the American public agrees
with it.
I mean, I was very proud to see this morning. I have the highest poll numbers
I've ever had. Part of it is because of what we've done on the border. I guess
the other part is what we've done in the economy. Joe Biden's policies empowered
murderous gangs, human smugglers, child traffickers, drug cartels, and
prisoners. Prisoners from all over the world. The previous administration also
lost nearly 300,000 children. Think of that. They lost more than 300,000
children, little children who were trafficked into the United States on the
Biden watch, many of whom have been raped, exploited and abused and sold. Sold.
Nobody talks about that. The fake news doesn't write about it with many others,
young children who are missing or dead. And we found a lot of these children and
we're sending it back and we've been sending it back to their parents. They said
nobody knows who they are.
They said, "Where do you come from?" And they'll give us a country and we'll
find out and we'll figure it out, or we'll bring them back to their homes. And
the mother and father rushed to the door and their tears in their eyes. They
can't believe that they're seeing their son or daughter, their little son or
daughter again. We've done almost 30,000 of them so far. Any system that results
in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil, yet that is exactly what
the globalist migration agenda has done, and it's what it's all about. In
America, those days, as you know, are over. The Trump administration is working
and we are continuing to work to track down the villains that are causing this
problem. And also, as I said, to get back the 30,000 we've already returned.
Now, I think we're going to have another…. We're going to find a lot. You're not
going to find all of them. More than 300,000. They're lost or they're dead.
They're lost, or they're dead because of the animals that did this. To protect
our citizens, I've also designated multiple savage drug cartels as forest. And
you see this and you see it happening right before your eyes. Let's put it this
way. People don't like taking big loads of drugs in boats anymore. There aren't
too many boats that are traveling on the seas by Venezuela. They tend not to
want to travel very quickly anymore. And we virtually stopped drugs coming into
our country by sea. We call them the water drugs. They kill hundreds of
thousands of people. I've also designated multiple savage drug cartels as
forest… foreign terrorist organizations along with two bloodthirsty
transnational gangs, probably the worst gangs anywhere in the world.
MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Tren de Aragua is from Venezuela, by the way. Such
organizations torture, maim, mutilate and murder with impunity. They're the
enemies of all humanity. For this reason, we've recently begun using the supreme
power of the United States military to destroy Venezuelan terrorists and
trafficking networks led by Nicolas Maduro to every terrorist thug smuggling
poisonous drugs into the United States of America. Please be warned that we will
blow you out of existence. That's what we're doing. We have no choice. Can't let
it happen. I believe we lost 300,000 people last year to drugs. 300,000.
Fentanyl and other drugs. Each boat that we sink carries drugs that would kill
more than 25,000 Americans. We will not let that happen. Energy is another area
where the United States is now thriving like never before. We're getting rid of
the falsely named renewables.
By the way, they're a joke. They don't work. They're too expensive. They're not
strong enough to fire up the plants that you need to make your country great.
The wind doesn't blow. Those big windmills are so pathetic and so bad, so
expensive to operate, and they have to be rebuilt all the time and they start to
rust and rot. Most expensive energy ever conceived. And it's actually energy.
You're supposed to make money with energy, not lose money. You lose money, the
governments have to subsidize. You can't put them out without massive subsidies.
And most of them are built in China, and I give China a lot of credit. They
build them, but they're very few wind farms. So why is it that they build them
and they send them all over the world, but they barely use them? You know what?
They use coal, they use gas, they use almost anything, but they don't like wind,
but they sure as hell like selling the windmills.
Europe on the other hand, is a long way to go with many countries being on the
brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda. And I give a lot of
credit to Germany. Germany was being led down a very sick path both on
immigration by the way and on energy. They were going green and they were going
bankrupt. And the new leadership, new leadership came in and they went back to
where they were with fossil fuel and with nuclear, which is good, it's now safe
and you can do it properly. But they went back to where they were and they
opened up a lot of different plants, energy plants, energy-producing plants, and
they're doing well. I give Germany a lot of credit for that. They've said, this
is a disaster. What's happening? They were going all green. All green is all
bankrupt. That's what it represents.
And it's not politically correct. I'll be very badly criticized for saying it,
but I'm here to tell the truth. I don't care. It doesn't matter to me. I'm in
New York City, I'm feeling a lot safer. Crime, we're getting crime down. And by
the way, speaking of crime, Washington D.C., Washington D.C. was the crime
capital of America. Now, it's a totally… After 12 days, it's a totally safe
city. Everyone's going out to dinner, they're going out to restaurants. Your
wife can walk down the middle of the street with or without you. Nothing's going
to happen. My people have done a fantastic job. And yes, I called in the
National Guard and the National Guard took care of business. And they weren't
politically correct, but they took care of business. We got 1,700 career
criminals out, brought them back to where they came from, the countries where
they came from or put them in jails. Washington D.C. is now a totally safe city
again and I welcome you to come. In fact, we'll have dinner together at a local
restaurant and we'll be able to walk. We don't have to go by an armor-plated
vehicle. We'll walk right over there from the White House. They've given up
their powerful edge. A lot of the countries that we're talking about and oil and
gas, such as essentially closing the Great North Sea oil. Oh, the North Sea. I
know it so well. Aberdeen was the oil capital of Europe and this tremendous oil
that hasn't been found in the North Sea. Tremendous oil. And I was with the
Prime Minister I respected, like a lot. And I said, "You're sitting with the
greatest asset." They essentially closed it by making it so highly taxed that no
developer, no oil company can go there. They have tremendous oil left and more
importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn't even been found yet.
And what a tremendous asset for the United Kingdom. And I hope the prime
minister's listening because I told it to him three days in a row. That's all he
heard. North Sea oil, North Sea, because I want to see them do well. I want to
stop seeing them ruining that beautiful Scottish and English countryside with
windmills and massive solar panels that go seven miles by seven miles taken away
farmland, but we're not letting this happen in America. In 1982, the executive
director of the United Nations Environmental Program predicted that by the year
2000, climate change would cause a global catastrophe. He said that it will be
irreversible as any nuclear holocaust would be. This is what they said at the
United Nations. What happened? Here we are. Another UN official stated in 1989
that within a decade, entire nations could be wiped off the map by global
warming. Not happening.
It used to be global cooling. If you look back years ago in the 1920s and the
1930s, they said, global cooling will kill the world. We have to do something.
Then they said global warming will kill the world. But then it started getting
cooler. So now they could just call it climate change because that way they
can't miss climate change because if it goes higher or lower, whatever the hell
happens, it's climate change. It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the
world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you're involved in
that. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions
made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons were wrong.
They were made by stupid people that of course their country's fortunes and
given those same countries, no chance for success. If you don't get away from
this green scam, your country is going to fail.
And I'm really good at predicting things. They actually said during the
campaign, they had a hat, the best-selling hat. Trump was right about
everything. And I don't say that in a braggadocious way, but it's true. I've
been right about everything. And I'm telling you that if you don't get away from
the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. And if you don't stop
people that you've never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your
country is going to fail. I'm the President of the United States, but I worry
about Europe. I love Europe. I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it
being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys
everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer. You're doing
it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct and you're
destroying your heritage.
They must take control strongly and immediately of the unmitigated immigration
disaster and the fake energy catastrophe before it's too late. The carbon
footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions and they're heading
down a path of total destruction. The carbon footprint, it was a big, big thing.
A few years ago, I remember hearing about the carbon footprint and then
President Obama would get into Air Force One, a massive Boeing 747 and not a new
one, an old one with old engines that spew everything into the atmosphere. He
talked about the carbon footprint, we must do… Then he'd get in and he'd fly
from Washington to Hawaii to play a round of golf, and then he'd get back onto
that big beautiful plane and he'd fly back and he'd talk about, again, global
warming and the carbon footprint. It's a con job at extreme cost and expense.
Europe reduced its own carbon footprint by 37%. Think of that. Congratulations
Europe. Great job. You cost yourself a lot of jobs, a lot of factories closed,
but you reduced the carbon footprint by 37%. However, for all of that sacrifice
and much more, it's been totally wiped out and then some by a global increase of
54%, much of it coming from China and other countries that are thriving around
China, which now produces more CO2 than all the other developed nations in the
world. So all of these countries are working so hard on the carbon footprint,
which is nonsense by the way. It's nonsense. It's interesting. In the United
States, we have still radicalized environmentalists and they want the factories
to stop. Everything should stop. No more cows. We don't want cows anymore. I
guess they want to kill all the cows. They want to do things that are just
unbelievable and you have it too.
But we have a border, strong, and we have a shape, and that shape doesn't just
go straight up. That shape is amorphous when it comes to the atmosphere. And if
we had the most clean air, and I think we do, we have very clean air, we have
the cleanest air we've had in many, many years. But the problem is that other
countries like China, which has air that's a little bit rough, it blows. And no
matter what you're doing down here, the air up here tends to get very dirty
because it comes in from other countries where their air isn't so clean and the
environmentalists refuse to acknowledge that. Same thing with garbage.
In Asia, they dump much of their garbage right into the ocean. And over about a
one-week and two-week journey, it flows right past Los Angeles. You've seen it,
massive amounts of garbage. Almost too much to do anything about, flowing past
Los Angeles, past San Francisco, and then somebody would get in trouble because
he dropped a cigarette on the beach. The whole thing is crazy. The primary
effect of these brutal green energy policies has not been to help the
environment, but to redistribute manufacturing and industrial activity from
developed countries that follow the insane rules that are put down, to polluting
countries that break the rules and are making a fortune. They're making a
fortune.
European electricity bills are now four to five times more expensive than those
in China, and two to three times higher than the United States, and our bills
are coming way down. You probably see that. Our gasoline prices are way down. We
have an expression drill [foreign language 00:46:18]. Common to see one.
Entire societies must be rejected immediately, and it must be immediate. That's
why in America, I withdrew from the fake Paris Climate Accord, where, by the
way, America was paying so much more than every country. Others weren't paying.
China didn't have to pay until 2030. Russia was given an old standard that was
easy to meet, a 1990 standard. But for the United States, we're supposed to pay
like a trillion dollars. And I said, "This is another scam." The fact is United
States has been taken advantage of by the world for many, many years, but not
any longer, as you probably noticed.
I unleashed massive energy production and signed historic executive orders to
hunt for oil. But we don't have to do much hunting because we have the most oil
of any nation, anywhere, oil and gas in the world. And if you add coal, we have
the most of any nation in the world. Clean. I call it clean, beautiful coal. You
can do things today with coal that you couldn't have done 10 years ago, 15
years. So I have a little standing order in the White House. Never use the word
coal, only use the words clean, beautiful coal. Sounds much better, doesn't it?
But we stand ready to provide any country with abundant, affordable energy
supplies if you need them, when most of you do.
We're proudly exporting energy all over the world. We're now the largest
exporter. In the United States, we want trade and robust commerce with all
nations. Everybody. We want to help nations. We're going to help nations, but it
must also be fair and reciprocal. The challenge with trade is much the same with
climate. The countries that followed the rules, all their factories have been
plundered. It's really sad to watch. They've been broken. They've been broken by
countries that broke the rules.
That's why the United States is now applying tariffs to other countries. And
much as these tariffs were, for many years, applied to us, uncontrollably
applied to us, we've used tariffs as a defense mechanism under the Trump
administration, including my first term, where hundreds of billions of dollars
in tariffs were taken in. And by the way, we had the lowest inflation and now we
have very low inflation. The only thing different is that we have hundreds of
billions of dollars flowing into our country. But this is how we will ensure
that the system works for everyone and is sustainable into the future. We're
also using tariffs to defend our sovereignty and security throughout the world,
including against nations that have taken advantage of former U.S.
administrations for decades, including the most corrupt, incompetent
administration in history. The sleepy Joe Biden administration.
Brazil now faces major tariffs in response to its unprecedented efforts to
interfere in the rights and freedoms of our American citizens and others with
censorship, repression, weaponization, judicial corruption, and targeting of
political critics in the United States. I have a little problem saying this
because I must tell you, I was walking in and the leader of Brazil was walking
out. We saw him and I saw him, he saw me and we embraced, and then I'm saying,
can you believe I'm going to be saying this in just two minutes? But we actually
agreed that we would meet next week. We didn't have much time to talk, like
about 20 seconds. They were, in retrospect, I'm glad I waited because this thing
didn't work out too well. But we did talk. We had a good talk and we agreed to
meet next week, if that's of interest. But he seemed like a very nice man,
actually. He liked me, I liked him. And I only do business with people I like.
I don't, when I don't like them, I don't like them. But we had, at least for
about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry. It's a good sign. But also in the
past, Brazil, can you believe this? Unfairly tariffed our nation. But now
because of our tariffs, we are hitting them back and we're hitting them back
very hard. As President, I will always defend our national sovereignty and the
rights of American citizens. So I'm very sorry to say this, that Brazil is doing
poorly and will continue to do poorly. They can only do well when they're
working with us. Without us, they will fail just as others have failed. It's
true.
Next year the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our glorious
independence, a testament to enduring power and American freedom and spirit. We
will also be proudly hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and shortly thereafter,
the 2028 Olympics, which is going to be very exciting. I hope you all come. I
hope that countless people from all over the globe will take part of these
great, these will be great celebrations of liberty and human achievement, and
that together, we all can rejoice in the miracles of history that began in July
4th, 1776 when we founded the Light to All Nations. And it's something really
that an amazing thing came out of that date. It's called the United States of
America. In honor of this momentous anniversary, I hope that all countries who
find inspiration in our example will join us in renewing our commitment values,
and those values, really, that we hold so dear together.
Let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect religious liberty,
including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It's called
Christianity. And let us safeguard our sovereignty and cherish qualities that
have made each of our nations so special, incredible, and extraordinary.
In closing, just want to repeat that immigration and the high cost of so-called
green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large
part of our planet. Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast because of
their policies on these two subjects. You need strong borders and traditional
energy sources if you are going to be great again. Whether you have come from
north or south, east or west, near or far, every leader in this beautiful hall
today represents a rich culture, a noble history, and a proud heritage that
makes each nation majestic and unique, unlike anything else in human history or
any other place on the face of the earth.
From London to Lima, from Rome to Athens, from Paris to Seoul, from Cairo to
Tokyo, and Amsterdam to right here in New York City, we stand on the shoulders
of the leaders and legends, generals and giants, heroes and titans who won and
built our beloved nations, all of our nations, with their own courage, strength,
spirit, and skill. Our ancestors climbed to mountains, conquered oceans, crossed
deserts, and trekked over wide open plains. They charged into thunderous
battles, plunged into grave dangers, and they were soldiers, and farmers, and
workers, and warriors, and explorers, and patriots. They built towns into
cities, tribes into kingdoms, ideas into industries, and small islands into
mighty empires. You're a part of all of that. They were champions for their
people who never gave up and who never ever gave in. Their values, defined our
national identities. Their visions forged our magnificent destiny. Everybody in
this room is a part of it in your own way.
Each of us inherits the deeds and the myths, the triumphs, the legacies of our
own heroes and founders who so bravely showed us the way. Our ancestors gave
everything for homelands, that they defended with pride, with sweat, with blood,
with life, and with death. Now, the righteous task of protecting the nations
that they built belongs to each and every one of us. So together, let us uphold
our sacred duty to our people and to our citizens. Let us protect their borders,
ensure their safety, preserve their cultures, treasures, and traditions, and
fight, fight, fight for their precious dreams and their cherished freedoms, and
in friendship and really, a beautiful vision.
Let us all work together to build a bright, beautiful planet, a planet that we
all share, a planet of peace and a world that is richer, better, and more
beautiful than ever before. That can happen. It will happen. It will happen, and
I hope it can happen and start right now, right at this moment. We'll turn it
around. We're going to make our countries better, safer, more beautiful. We're
going to take care of our people. Thank you very much. It's been an honor. God
bless the nations of the world. Thank you very much. Bye.
Thank you.
On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the United States.