Lebanon welcomed a French-Italian effort to form a multinational coalition that would replace the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after its mission ends in southern Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon looked forward to “any international formula that strengthens the capabilities of its armed forces and safeguards its territorial integrity.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the United States “has not vetoed” the creation of an international force to succeed UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of this year. Salam told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington had not yet taken a position on the idea of forming the force. He said the United States had no problem with the proposed international force, but “has a problem with international peacekeeping forces, which have become a major financial burden on the international organization and donor states in return for weak results in maintaining international peace, with some turning into forces that preserve the status quo and prolong crises.” He said Lebanon had told the UN and friendly countries that it still needed an international force in the south because of the sensitivity of the situation. He said the force would carry out essential tasks Lebanon needs, chiefly monitoring, reporting on developments to international organizations, and serving as a channel of communication with Israel after decades of wars, hostility, and tension. Salam said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had visited Lebanon earlier this year and later sent a representative to discuss the issue before submitting three proposals to the Security Council to create the new force. He said the proposals “will, of course, be open to amendment” so they can fit any security arrangements included in an agreement that may be reached by Lebanese-Israeli negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday: “We want to launch a coalition for the post-UNIFIL arrangement, obviously in coordination with the European Union and the United Nations, to strengthen Lebanon’s sovereignty and that of its armed forces.” Aoun voiced appreciation for the Italian-French emphasis on the need to avoid “leaving any dangerous vacuum in the post-UNIFIL phase.” He said Lebanon looked forward to “any international formula that strengthens the capabilities of its armed forces, safeguards its territorial integrity and prevents its land from becoming an arena for escalation or regional disputes.” UNIFIL’s mandate expires at the end of December under a Security Council resolution adopted in August 2025 under US pressure. Guterres stressed earlier this month the “necessity” of maintaining a UN military presence in Lebanon after UNIFIL’s mission ends, an option feared likely to face opposition from the United States and Israel. In a report to the Security Council, Guterres proposed three options, ranging from about 2,000 to more than 5,500 UN troops, to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and support the Lebanese Armed Forces. France is one of the biggest contributors to the peacekeeping force, which currently includes about 7,500 troops from nearly 50 countries deployed in southern Lebanon near the Blue Line. The force has been deployed since 1978 in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, but its presence has not been enough to prevent repeated rounds of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
