Thread by @arminarefi

EXCLUSIVE. Massad Boulos, Donald Trump's new Middle East advisor and father of one of the president's sons-in-law, reveals in an interview @LePoint his vision for the region, which shakes things up in #Lebanon, #Gaza, #Israel & #Iran ⬇️.
A THREAD🧵 1/11
lepoint.fr/monde/liban-is…

SON-IN-LAW. Massad Boulos, 53, is a Lebanese-American businessman who built his fortune selling cars in Nigeria. He was thrust into Donald Trump's inner circle after his son Michael Boulos married Tiffany Trump, one of the US president's daughters, in 2022. 2/11 ⬇️

VISION. «The vision is to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East », says Massad Boulos in his exclusive interview with @LePoint, describing a region that « has been suffering for a long time ». « We have four years of work and we hope to achieve something that will be sustainable for the future and generations to come.» 3/11 ⬇️

HEZBOLLAH. On the ceasefire agreement reached last week between #Israel and #Hezbollah, Trump's new Middle East advisor believes that there was « a misunderstanding at the beginning, especially in Lebanon, where it was believed that the ceasefire only covered the region south of the Litani river ». According to Massad Boulos, the text calls for « the disarmament of all armed groups, militias and paramilitary groups » and would therefore include #Hezbollah, a mission that he believes falls to the Lebanese army, including north of the Litani river. Asked by @LePoint about the repeated violations of the ceasefire by the Israeli army since last week, Trump's advisor responds : « Yes, that's true, but we see the same thing on the other side. »
4/11 ⬇️

LEBANON. While Lebanese MPs are to meet on January 9 to try to elect a new president, Massad Boulos believes that « we must not hurry, to elect anyone, anyhow ». Donald Trump's new Middle East advisor believes that « the Lebanese can wait another two or three months to do things properly, as part of a comprehensive agreement », which would include the reforms needed to rebuild the country and its institutions. He also stresses the need to « ensure that the opposition, which today makes up almost half of Parliament, is well represented ». 5/11 ⬇️

SYRIA. Trump's new Middle East advisor refuses to comment on the fate of Bashar al-Assad, but simply states that several countries will have a role to play in #Syria: Turkey, Russia, the United States, as well as other countries in the region, including Iran. 6/11⬇️

HOSTAGES. The day after Donald Trump gave #Hamas an ultimatum to obtain the release of the Israeli hostages still being held in #Gaza, Massad Boulos says the US president does not want to link the fate of the Israeli hostages to issues about the day after in Gaza. « The first thing is to release the hostages immediately and make this exchange », Trump's new Middle East advisor emphasizes. « We can deal with all the other points afterwards. » 7/11 ⬇️

GAZA. According to Donald Trump's new Middle East advisor, « the war is practically over » in #Gaza and « there is practically no more significant military activity » there. Nevertheless, @LePoint emphasizes that the north of the palestinian enclave is still submitted to a relentless siege by the Israeli army since the beginning of October. « That is why this agreement [on the release of the hostages] is part of a temporary ceasefire », responds Massad Boulos. 8/11 ⬇️

ISRAEL. Massad Boulos believes that « President Trump's priority is to resume talks on the Abraham Accords, with, of course, Saudi Arabia [coming] first ». However, Riyadh has ruled out any recognition of #Israel without a Palestinian state. « The question of a road map that would lead to a Palestinian state is an important part of the discussions between the USA and Saudi Arabia », responds Donald Trump's new Middle East advisor. « It must be remembered that Saudi Arabia is not demanding the creation of a Palestinian state today, but is asking for a vision and a road map on this subject, that's all », adds Boulos. 9/11 ⬇️

IRAN. Undoubtedly, the most sensitive subject in the Middle East for Donald Trump in the coming months remains the Islamic Republic of #Iran and its controversial nuclear program. « President Trump is very clear that he absolutely does not want Iran to have a nuclear program », insists Massad Boulos in his exclusive interview @LePoint . « Of course, he will once again pursue his 'maximum pressure' [campaign] against Iran », namely the adoption of new sanctions against Tehran. Could the US president elected go so far as to support a regime change this time ? « He did not talk about regime change », recalls Trump's new Middle East advisor, « but only about a nuclear agreement, as well as the fact that he was ready to run serious negotiations with the current regime » on the nuclear issue, Iran's ballistic program as well as Tehran's proxys' activities in the region. 10/11 ⬇️.

ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW about Donald Trump's future policy in the Middle East in the four coming years is in this exclusive interview of Massad Boulos, his new Middle East advisor, to @LePoint, France's leading weekly newsmagazine ⬇️.

11/11 END.lepoint.fr/monde/liban-is…