BEIRUT - Lebanon’s Parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Jan 9, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

Joseph Aoun president Thursday, ending a political deadlock that had kept the office vacant since October 2022. Aoun, 60, won 99 of 128 votes. The election of Aoun, widely seen as the preferred candidate of the U.

Iranian state TV on Friday showed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps touring an underground missile base used in an attack against Israel, hours after fighters marched through Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday welcomed the election of his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun after the country went more than two years without a head of state, saying unity will "defeat" Israel.

Lebanon’s parliament has elected its US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

1920 - The League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France, which creates the State of Greater Lebanon out of the provinces of Mount Lebanon, north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Bekaa. 1926 - Lebanese Representative Council approves a constitution and the unified Lebanese Republic under the French mandate is declared.

The outcome showed the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group after its devastating war with Israel.

As the country endured economic crisis and a devastating war, lawmakers failed 12 times to pick a head of state. They have now settled on Joseph Aoun, the leader of the military.

The January 2025 election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanese president marks a shift toward sovereignty and stability following Hezbollah's weakened influence after its war with Israel. Aoun faces major tests in governance,

Israeli officials are worried Hezbollah might resume fighting once ceasefire ends • IDF strikes Hezbollah target in Lebanon

With a nearly unanimous 99 out of 128 votes, the Lebanese parliament elected the head of the army, Gen. Joseph Aoun, as Lebanon’s 14th president on Jan. 9. In a strong inaugural speech Aoun laid out an ambitious agenda premised on regaining the Lebanese state’s monopoly of the use of force,