Salaam - US envoy says Syria and Lebanon are the next steps for peace in the Middle East
As-salamu alaykum. US envoy Tom Barrack has said that Syria and Lebanon are the “next two vital pieces” in efforts to secure peace in the Middle East, referring to the broader peace plan put forward by the US administration to end the war in Gaza. He warned that Lebanon’s slow progress on disarming Hezbollah could push Israel to “act unilaterally,” risking another conflict in Lebanese lands.
Barrack described the October summit in Sharm El Sheikh as a key moment that set down steps for Gaza - including the release of hostages and a halt to fighting - and said those commitments need ongoing oversight in Gaza. He added that the conversation now needs to move northward to include Syria and then Lebanon.
Speaking from his role as US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, and after taking part in talks on Lebanon, he said the plan’s architecture remains unfinished until Damascus and Beirut are addressed. He urged Congress to lift the Caesar sanctions on Syria, arguing the law had outlived its usefulness and was hampering Syrians trying to rebuild.
On Lebanon, Barrack was more pessimistic. He said a US-brokered ceasefire last year between Israel and Hezbollah had ultimately failed because there is no real enforcement mechanism, and Lebanon bans direct ties with Israel. Under that deal Hezbollah was meant to withdraw north of the Litani River and the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume positions, but Israel still occupies parts of Lebanese territory and continues strikes, leaving a fragile calm with no real peace or full government control.
In an unprecedented move in August, the Lebanese cabinet tasked the army with formally disarming Hezbollah, though Shiite ministers walked out of the cabinet session and Hezbollah resists disarmament until Israeli attacks stop and Israeli forces pull back. While disarmament efforts have begun in the south, many say progress is too slow: the Lebanese military is underfunded and says it cannot fully secure the south until Israeli forces withdraw. Barrack said the cabinet is stuck in sectarian paralysis and warned that Hezbollah’s foreign ties harm Lebanon’s sovereignty, scare off investment and raise Israel’s security concerns.
He argued that regional partners are ready to invest if Lebanon restores the monopoly on legitimate force to the Lebanese Armed Forces, but if Beirut continues to hesitate, Israel might act alone with grave consequences. The World Bank estimates last year’s damage to Lebanon from bombardment at roughly $14 billion; reconstruction has barely begun amid limited government funds and conditional international aid tied to disarmament and reform.
Barrack said the US preferred incentives over coercion - offering aid linked to verifiable disarmament progress and strengthening the Lebanese armed forces - but many initiatives have stalled. He noted Syria’s recent moves toward a border agreement as a first step to securing Israel’s northern frontier and said Hezbollah’s disarmament must be the next step. Lebanon now faces a decisive choice: pursue national renewal or remain mired in paralysis and decline.
May Allah grant peace and stability to the region and guide leaders and communities toward just and lasting solutions.
https://www.thenationalnews.co