Biden Congratulates Aoun on his Election as Lebanon’s New President

Jan. 10, 2025

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) President Joe Biden spoke with Lebanon’s new president, Gen. Joseph Aoun, former commander of the Lebanese army, following his election on Thursday by the Lebanese parliament.

Aoun’s election came after two years of stalemate, created by Hizbollah, in forming a new government. 

Aoun’s election is yet one more reflection of the enhanced stability in the Middle East following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria; the defeat of Hizbollah in Lebanon; and, more broadly, the setback that those events represent for Iranian influence in the region.

Aoun’s election was supported by the U.S., France, and Saudi Arabia. It follows the visit earlier this week to Beirut of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who played a key role last November in arranging a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel that is now in the process of being implemented.

Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani is among those who have  joined in offering his warm wishes to the new Lebanese president.

Read More: PM Barzani congratulates Lebanon’s newly elected president

The hope of the Lebanese population is that now that they have a president, it will help the country secure international support so it can emerge from the economic crisis it now suffers.

Lebanon has paid dearly for the war triggered by Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7, 2023, cross border assault into Israel. The following day, Hizbollah began to attack Israel, claiming that it was acting in support of the Palestinians. Predictably enough, Israel responded by attacking Hizbollah in Lebanon.

The ensuing conflict caused $6.5 billion in losses in Lebanon, as The New York Times reported. 

In addition, Israel decimated the group’s ranks last September, as it triggered a long-planned attack using explosive pagers. It then assassinated Hizbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a targeted airstrike in south Beirut.

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine more destructive decision-making, both for Hizbollah and Lebanon more broadly, than that of Hizbollah’s leadership going back to October 2023.

Biden on Aoun’s Election

The White House first issued a statement on Thursday, in which Biden welcomed Aoun’s election. It then posted a summary of the discussion between the two leaders.

“Today, the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament convened a session of Parliament to elect Lebanon’s next President, and an overwhelming majority of Lebanon’s Parliament voted in favor of Joseph Aoun,” according to Biden’s statement, which then added, “I congratulate him on his election as President of Lebanon.”

Biden’s statement expressed the hope that Aoun would be successful in implementing the ceasefire with Israel, which calls for the implementation of a 2006 UN Security Council Resolution—1701. That resolution requires Hizbollah and Israel to leave southern Lebanon, so the Lebanese Army becomes the only armed force there.

“President Aoun will provide critical leadership as Lebanon and Israel fully implement that cessation of hostilities and as hundreds of thousands of people return to their homes and Lebanon recovers and rebuilds,” Biden stated.

“President Aoun has my confidence,” the U.S. president affirmed, and “I believe strongly he is the right leader for this time.”

After releasing that statement, the White House posted a read-out of Biden’s telephone call with Aoun. 

“The [two] Presidents agreed that the time is now to fully implement the cessation of hostilities announced on November 26, 2024, and for Lebanon and its people to recover and rebuild,” it stated.

Biden “pledged to continue U.S. support for Lebanon’s security forces and for Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction, as President Aoun works with the United States and Lebanon’s true friends in the international community towards a Lebanon that is once again secure, sovereign, and prosperous,” it added.