Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday congratulated Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun on becoming president, after more than two years of a presidential vacuum in the politically unstable Arab state.
“I congratulate Lebanon upon the election of a new President, following a lengthy political crisis. I hope that this choice will contribute towards stability, a better future for Lebanon and its people and to good neighborly relations,” Sa’ar wrote on X.
The minister’s message came after more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with a ceasefire agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon on Nov. 26.
Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday, became the fifth Lebanese Armed Forces commander to be elected by parliament as president.
Dressed in civilian clothing, he arrived at parliament earlier on Thursday to be sworn in, having stepped down from his military post.
In a speech addressing the nation, Aoun said that this was a “new era” in Lebanon, pledging to stir it away from its economic and political woes, CNN reported. He promised to “monopolize weapons” in the country, making a clear reference to the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah.
As for the Jewish state, he said, “The Lebanese state—I repeat the Lebanese state—will get rid of the Israeli occupation. My era will include the discussion of our defensive strategy to enable the Lebanese state to get rid of the Israeli occupation and to retaliate against its aggression.”
While not receiving formal endorsement from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Aoun was elected after both rallied support for his presidency, CNN reported.
U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson said on Thursday she is “very happy” about Aoun’s election as president.
Johnson, alongside other foreign envoys, attended the parliamentary session in which Aoun was elected. France, which also pushed for his election, said that his presidency turns a new page for the country.
France’s foreign ministry called for Lebanon to now appoint a government capable of carrying out reforms for economic recovery, stability, security and sovereignty.
Meanwhile Iran, whose so-called “axis of resistance” in Lebanon and Syria suffered heavy blows from the war with Israel and the collapse of the Assad’s regime in the face of a Sunni jihadist uprising, congratulated “our brotherly Lebanon” on X.
“We wish His Excellency success in his mission, and we look forward to working together to strengthen relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanon,” Iran’s embassy in Beirut tweeted in Arabic.
Michel Aoun, who was president from October 2016 to October 2022, is not related to Joseph Aoun and was backed by Hezbollah.
Joseph Aoun enlisted in the army in 1983, during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. He will now serve in the presidential post reserved for the Maronite Christian sect as set by the country’s political foundations.
