The New York Times confirmed that the administration of US President Donald Trump warned that Lebanese leaders have a limited time to disarm “Hezbollah”, otherwise the country may lose financial support from the United States and the Gulf states, as well as the possibility of renewed an Israeli military campaign. The warning came before an important ministerial meeting in Beirut on Friday.
A decisive moment in the history of Lebanon
US officials have described the current stage as a “critical moment” in the history of Lebanon, where the Lebanese government has been discussing a plan to force the party -backed by Iran for decades to hand over its weapons.
Increasing American and regional pressure
The newspaper pointed out that the United States, along with Israel, intensified pressure on Beirut in order to move decisively and not to submit to Hezbollah’s threats to raise violence.
Historical background
The New York Times reminded that Lebanon was a challenge to successive American administrations, starting with President Dwight Eisenhower, who sent 14,000 American soldiers in 1958, passing by Ronald Reagan, who deployed 1,200 naval infantry as peacekeeping forces during the Lebanese Civil War, before they withdrew after a bombing carried out by Hezbollah in 1983 and killed 241 soldiers.
File less prominent but …
The newspaper pointed out that the Trump administration’s interest in Lebanon did not receive the same level of attention it attached to the mediation attempts in Ukraine or Gaza, but Lebanon may represent a better opportunity to achieve political penetration, in light of the faltering of other efforts.
