Hezbollah Official Slams Lebanon’s President, Says the Government Is Serving Israel and Hostile to Iran

Since Joseph Aoun accused Iran of exploiting Lebanon for its own needs, the terror group has intensified its public criticism.

Hezbollah parliament member Hussein al-Hajj Hassan attacked Lebanon’s president over his criticism of Iran. Hassan said, “The government is eager to be hostile toward Iran and eager to serve Israel’s interests.”

The United States is advancing a pilot project in the “yellow line” area that would include an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army. Nabih Berri held a four-hour discussion with a Hezbollah delegation about the “Washington Declaration.” The IDF would keep a presence at key security points until the agreement is fully implemented.

According to sources in Lebanon, Israel is trying to limit Iranian influence in the south of the country.

While the United States is trying to promote an arrangement on the northern border, the dispute between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah continues to escalate. The terrorist organization is attacking the president over his criticism of Iran. Against this backdrop, Israel is seeking to establish facts on the ground in southern Lebanon, in an effort to limit Tehran’s future influence.

“He should consult the resistance. The resistance is part of the Lebanese people,” the lawmaker said. “The way the resistance has been addressed recently has led to tension, and he did swear to uphold and preserve Lebanese unity. The government is in conflict with the resistance, which is the only military force today fighting on the ground, and there should be a dialogue about how Lebanon can benefit from the resistance’s strength.”

Hassan continued, “Why do we want to be hostile toward Iran? Why does the government want to be hostile toward Iran? Why is the government so eager to be hostile toward Iran, and so eager to serve Israel’s interests? There is something strange here. Suppose, and this is not true, again suppose this is not true, that Iran is interfering in Lebanese affairs. Israel occupies Lebanon, strikes and bombs. Do you hurry to the enemy’s side, and are you eager to fight Iran and be hostile to it? Why?”

Behind the scenes of the talks to end the war in Lebanon, efforts are continuing to formulate a formula acceptable to the parties. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Diyar reported that Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met last night with a Hezbollah delegation for more than four hours at his home to discuss their comments on the “Washington Declaration.” He presented explanations he received from the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, and another meeting was agreed upon.

According to the report, there is a serious American proposal that would define the “yellow line” area as a pilot zone, with four gradual steps to be implemented simultaneously, an Israeli withdrawal, deployment of the Lebanese army, withdrawal of Hezbollah operatives, and the return of residents. The IDF would maintain a presence at key security points until the agreement is fully implemented.

At the same time, assessment in Beirut is growing that Israel is trying to shape the rules of the postwar period. Lebanese political sources told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria: “The Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon is intended to strengthen the separation between the Lebanese and Iranian dossiers, and to prevent Iran from establishing its new equations, especially after its announcement that it would respond if the Israeli strikes continue.”

The sources also said, “Israel seeks to prevent Iran from establishing an equation linking northern Israel to the Beirut Dahiyeh, and will test Tehran’s seriousness in insisting on that link.”

The sources said that the evacuation warning issued yesterday to residents of Tyre and its surroundings, followed by strikes in the city and nearby areas, came in the context of “Israel’s attempt to seize the initiative and impose rules of engagement on Hezbollah and its Iranian ally.”