Photo Illustration : Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces party and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance
Dr. Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces party, received a response from U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance regarding the letter he had sent concerning the situation in Lebanon, challenges related to Lebanese sovereignty and the role of the state, and the reality facing Christians in the country.
In his response, Vance expressed his appreciation for Geagea’s letter, emphasizing that the United States views the President of the Republic—General Joseph Aoun—and the Lebanese government as the sole legitimate authority in Lebanon. He affirmed Washington’s intention to work with the Lebanese state to enable it to protect its sovereignty and consolidate its legitimate authority.
Vance also clarified that the contacts the U.S. administration is conducting with Iran regarding Lebanon are not intended to grant Tehran any role in determining Lebanon’s future or influencing its decisions; rather, the aim is to ensure Iran exerts pressure on Hezbollah to abide by its obligations and commitments.
Vance noted his ongoing coordination with U.S. officials handling the Lebanon file, reaffirming the administration’s keen interest in developments within the country and its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and legitimate institutions.
This comes after the announcement that Washington is considering the formation of a joint U.S.-Lebanese-Iranian cell to monitor the ceasefire in Lebanon a move that raised a simple but unavoidable question:
How on earth does the United States expect Iran to help disarm Hezbollah?
For more than four decades, Hezbollah has been Iran’s most important regional proxy. Tehran created the organization, trained its fighters, supplied its weapons, financed its operations, and integrated it into Iran’s broader regional strategy.
If Vance’s statement that Iran’s role in the deescalation cell would be to pressure Hezbollah to back the results of the Israeli Lebanese peace talks and to peacefully hand over its arms to the state and become strictly a political party then this would meet the requirements of the the Lebanese authority .
But Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has been very critical of the Lebanese Israeli talks
