Lebanon's Presidency rejects ‘misleading’ Israeli portrayal of President Aoun’s Vatican encounter with Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif — statement

The media office of Lebanon’s Presidency denied Sunday that President Joseph Aoun had any prior knowledge of or relationship with Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, a Druze spiritual leader in Israel, after a photo showing the two shaking hands circulated via Israeli media.

In a statement, the office clarified that while President Aoun was walking to his seat during Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration mass at St. Peter's Square earlier in the day, a Druze cleric approached and greeted him. 

The president did not know the individual, nor had they met before. It was later revealed that the man was Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif.

The statement accused the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation of deliberately sharing the image with a misleading caption for "suspicious purposes that fool no one."

“These types of manipulative tactics are well-known practices of Israeli media at international events,” the presidency added, stressing that such portrayals do not reflect Lebanon’s official stance, nor that of President Aoun.

“There is no need to spread such falsehoods or serve the interests of the Israeli enemy,” the statement concluded.