5 at Five: Iranian Escalation and Division in Tunisia... Aoun: Negotiation Does Not Mean Surrender

Lebanese President Michel Aoun confirmed during his reception today, Wednesday, at Baabda Palace of the new board of the Lebanese Cultural University in the World, "that we are working through negotiation to establish security and stability, especially in the south, and negotiation does not mean surrender."

He pointed out, "As President of the Republic, I will take any path that leads me to Lebanon's interest, and the important thing in that is to remove the specter of war, rebuild, stabilize people on their land, revive Lebanon economically, and develop its state."

The judicial investigator in the Beirut Port explosion case, Judge Tarek Bitar, headed today, Wednesday, to Bulgaria to interrogate the owner of the Rhosus ship that transported the ammonium nitrate shipment to Lebanon, which explosion caused the disaster, according to a judicial source who informed AFP.

Bitar's long-awaited move came after a Bulgarian court refused to extradite to Lebanon the Russian-Cypriot ship owner Igor Grechushkin (48 years old) to question him about the shipment whose explosion on August 4, 2020, resulted in the death of more than 220 people and injured thousands.

Iranian escalatory positions towards Lebanon have attracted notable attention, especially as they harmonized with the positions of Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, who also affirmed that he would not hand over the party's weapons "even if the sky fell to the earth."

Information indicates that what the Secretary-General of Hezbollah will declare in the coming days will also emphasize that the weapons remain, amid questions about whether this is part of maneuvers and morale boosting within its supportive environment or in the context of indirect negotiations with the Israelis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed today, Wednesday, that "relations between Iran and Russia are advanced and fruitful," noting that "the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between the two countries was signed in 2025, and the heads of state discussed last week in Turkmenistan the details of cooperation within this framework."

He added in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Moscow that "strengthening relations between the private sectors of the two countries is a necessity," pointing out that "Iran's relations with the Eurasian Economic Union are very important, and we are interested in expanding bilateral cooperation. We also discussed the Rasht-Astara railway line, which will contribute to developing the North-South corridor route."