Then, a Saudi delegation headed by the kingdom’s envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, flew into Beirut for the second time in a week. It held a blitz of meetings with various political parties. By the time they left, there was only one candidate left: the US-backed Aoun.

With an Israel-Hamas cease-fire set to begin, the shock waves from their war have reshaped the region in unexpected ways.

With the fall of Assad in December, the election of Aoun and Salam in Lebanon marks the second dramatic political shift in Israel’s neighborhood dynamics in less than two months.

With top general’s election, the United States and Saudi Arabia aim to draw Lebanon further from Iran. To do that, a new government has to convince Hezbollah that their days of armed resistance are over.

A Muslim cleric who refused to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization ... Educational Center where he “wished death upon Saudi Arabia” for its military intervention in Yemen.

In Riyadh meeting, US and Saudi Arabia agreed they had 'once in thirty-year opportunity' to sideline Hezbollah with election of new president

The Presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system and has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022.

The new president, Joseph Aoun, is a favorite of America, France, and Saudi Arabia. He even gets a cautious endorsement from Israel amid skepticism

The Lebanese parliament finally voted on a new president on Thursday following two years of deadlock. Joseph Aoun the head of the country's armed forces won a majority of the votes.

The weakening of Hezbollah in last year's war with Israel allowed Lebanon's long deadlocked parliament to reach consensus around a president who has the confidence of the international community.Deadlock in parliament between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs had stalemated a dozen previous attempts to elect a president,

In a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who had called to congratulate him on winning the elections, Aoun said, “Saudi Arabia would be the first destination in his visits abroad”

After Aoun's term ended in October 2022, Hezbollah backed Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement, a political party with a strong influence in northern Lebanon. Frangieh also had close ties with former Syrian president Bashar Assad.