Army chiefJoseph Aoun elected Lebanon’s president after position left vacant since 2022 [Video]

Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys U.S. approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

In a speech to the chamber, Aoun, 60, vowed to work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, drawing loud applause as lawmakers from Hezbollah — which runs its own military forces — sat still.

He promised to rebuild south Lebanon and other parts of the country he said had been destroyed by Israel, and also to prevent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which was mired in economic and political crises even before the latest conflict.

“Today, a new phase in the history of Lebanon begins,” he said.

The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Shia Muslim Hezbollah badly …