Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Top Lebanese intel chief, mediator with Syria steps down

Top Lebanese intel chief, mediator with Syria steps down

A Lebanese intelligence chief who has mediated the release of Westerners held in Syria and also acted as a mediator within Lebanon stepped down Wednesday after attempts to extend his term failed.
Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim’s term as a head of the General Security Directorate ends Thursday, when he reaches retirement age of 64 in Lebanon. On Wednesday afternoon, he left his office and was replaced by Brig. Gen. Elias Baisary as acting head of the agency.

“We will continue the march in different fields to serve Lebanon,” Ibrahim said before leaving.

Ibrahim, who headed General Security Directorate since 2011, is known for wide connections with different local, regional and international figures, including the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Syrian government and Western nations.

A Shia Muslim, he was tipped to eventually replace longtime Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who turned 85 in January. When asked by local media whether he intended to replace the speaker, Ibrahim said: “May God grant Speaker Berri a long life.”

Under Lebanon’s power-sharing agreement, the country’s president has to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shia. Ibrahim said if offered a ministerial job, he would like to become foreign minister.

Ibrahim’s term ends at a time when Lebanon has no president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in late October, with a deeply divided parliament unable to elect a successor. The country is also without a fully-functional government, with Prime Minister Najib Mikati heading a caretaker Cabinet.

Mikati indicated last week that Ibrahim’s term may be extended but no parliament session was held to do this nor has Berri scheduled one.

A rarity in Lebanon, Ibrahim had good ties with Hezbollah, the United States and the international community, making him a key political mediator. At times, he also acted as a diplomatic representative for Lebanon abroad, roles usually outside a top security official’s mandate.

One of his biggest cases was that of American journalist Austin Tice, missing in Syria since August 2012. The US says Tice is being held by the Syrian government while Damascus denies holding him. Last year, Ibrahim met with US officials in Washington as part of his mediation efforts for Tice’s release and later went to the Syrian capital of Damascus but did not reach a breakthrough.

In 2019, Ibrahim’s mediation led to the release of American Samuel Goodwin, who was held for two months in Syria. That same year, Ibrahim mediated the release of Kristian Lee Baxter, a Canadian citizen held in Syrian prisons for almost a year.

Ibrahim was among eight Lebanese officials charged in January by the judge investigating the massive August 2020 port blast in Beirut that killed nearly 220 people. The charges were never specified.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×