Hezbollah delays meeting with Lebanon president, signals tensions over PM choice

Hezbollah and Amal were set to tell Lebanon's President Aoun they back caretaker PM Nabib Mikati for the Sunni-designated post in the sectarian political system.

Lebanon's army chief Joseph Aoun sits at the presidential palace, after he was elected as the country's President, in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025 | Reuters file photo

Beirut: The Iran-backed Hezbollah group postponed an appointment with President Joseph Aoun on Monday at which it was due to communicate its preference for the post of prime minister, political sources said, indicating tensions in the process.

The Shi’ite group and its ally the Shi’ite Amal Movement had been due to tell Aoun they wanted caretaker Prime Minister Nabib Mikati to stay in the post, which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian political system.

But the two Shi’ite groups delayed their meeting as it became clear that another candidate, International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam, looked set to emerge from the process with the most support among lawmakers, the sources said.

Aoun is required to designate the candidate with the greatest support among Lebanon’s 128 lawmakers.

 

(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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