Title: Lebanon Seizes Opportunity in Hezbollah's Struggles with Natural Gas Discoveries
The election of General Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president brought an end to a two-year political vacuum, ushering in a new era for the nation. The power struggle leading to this stalemate was crystal clear - Hezbollah, the prominent Shiite terrorist group, was advocating for its preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, to become president. Lebanon's president was traditionally a Christian, and Frangieh, a prominent Maronite figure with strong Syrian ties, was considered an acceptable candidate for Hezbollah.
However, two months in late 2024 changed the balance of power. Israel successfully dismantled a significant portion of Hezbollah's leadership, infrastructure, and supplies, pushing the group into a state of weakness and confusion. Simultaneously, Syria's Bashar Al-Assad fell, and Iran suffered significant losses, leaving Hezbollah leaderless and struggling for a footing.
Seizing this opportunity, other political parties partnered to elect Aoun, who, as a former Lebanese armed forces commander, lacked allegiance to Hezbollah. Now, as president, Aoun faces an arduous task of upholding the ceasefire with Israel while rebuilding his nation. Known for his cautious approach in deploying the Lebanese Army, Aoun has made it clear that he envisions a Lebanon where the State retains control over all weapons.
Lebanon remains fractious, with significant challenges confronting Aoun. However, this nation also maintains a unique opportunity to boost its economy and secure its future through natural gas deposits off its Mediterranean coastline. These reserves, located in a disputed maritime area with Israel, could provide Lebanon with much-needed economic stability and reliable energy.
Historically, Lebanon has been unable to reach an agreement with Israel regarding these gas assets due to Hezbollah's intervention. After years of conflict, in 2022, both nations agreed to a joint development pact, giving each nation specific rights to the disputed fields. Israel's consideration of scrapping the pact following Hezbollah's relentless aggression largely put natural gas production on hold.
Presently, Hezbollah remains weakened and humiliated, questioning why its future should continue to be dictated by its own interests rather than those of Lebanon as a whole. For Aoun, seizing this opportunity to expedite the offshore drilling process could yield substantial benefits for Lebanon becoming politically and economically stable.
In 2024, just two months before the Hamas massacre, an offshore drilling rig arrived at the Qana natural gas field, marking the first significant outcome of the natural gas agreements. Despite the promising economic prospects for the entire country, Hezbollah's military actions resulted in Lebanon's devastating power outage.
Energy security remains vital for nations to succeed economically, and Aoun understands the significance of this opportunity. For the betterment of Lebanon and the region, Aoun's ability to establish peaceful cooperation with Israel could prove to be a turning point, bringing stability and prosperity to his struggling nation and leading the world towards a safer future.
In this new era of Lebanese politics, President Aoun, with no allegiance to Hezbollah, sought to uphold the ceasefire with Israel and rebuild Lebanon while maintaining control over all weapons, as per the UN Resolution 1701. With Hezbollah weakened after Israel's dismantlement of its leadership and infrastructure, Aoun saw an opportunity to expedite the offshore drilling process for Lebanon's natural gas deposits, a move that could bring economic stability and political stability to his nation.
