Lebanon is preparing for Thursday’s parliamentary session to elect a new president, but it remains unclear whether a new commander-in-chief will fill the two-year-old vacancy despite a flurry of shuttle diplomacy to Beirut in recent days.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The country has been without a president since October 2022. Since then, a devastating war between Iran and groups its backs and Israel has reshaped the region. This included the assassination of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was seen as Iran’s point man for its so-called resistance of axis. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was also forced to flee after opposition groups toppled his regime at the end of 2024.Meanwhile, Lebanese politicians have repeatedly failed to elect a new president, each time blaming different external parties and developments.Lebanese politicians traditionally would look to regional and global powers to help influence their