In a message apparently aimed at the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Lebanon’s prime minister warned Wednesday against any steps that could drag the country into renewed fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel.
“Faced with the risks of a resumption of war in the region, I renew my warning about the dangers of dragging Lebanon into a new senseless adventure in the service of external interests,” Nawaf Salam declared on Wednesday, without explicitly mentioning Hezbollah.
Southern Lebanon is a major front in interrelated regional conflicts, fighting between Iran’s allies Hezbollah and the Israeli army, driving tens of thousands of people from their homes and killing nearly 9,000 since October 7, 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Hezbollah, long a powerful political and paramilitary force in the country, dragged Lebanon directly into war with Israel by launching strikes on the Jewish state in support of Hamas after the 2023 terrorist attacks sparked the war in Gaza, then firing rockets and missiles in support of Iran after the joint US-Israeli strikes began on February 28.
The conflict in Lebanon has proven to be a major sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran, as Tehran has consistently rejected any peace deal with Washington that does not also end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
A fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in June ended most large-scale fighting between the two sides, but Israeli forces still occupy much of southern Lebanon and sporadic attacks are carried out by both sides.
“We do not accept that the country once again becomes the theater of someone else’s conflict,” Salam added, saying that Lebanon had “already paid a heavy price.”
President Trump repeatedly threatened before the US midterm elections to renew strikes against Iran, but he told the Financial Times as the results came in on Tuesday evening that he had no immediate plans to order attacks.
CBS/AFP
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