Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Iran and Hezbollah do not speak for the Lebanese people, warning that Tehran is using Lebanon in its confrontation with the United States and Israel.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun sharply criticized Iran and Hezbollah on Friday, accusing Tehran and its Lebanese ally of treating Lebanon as a bargaining tool in regional negotiations and disregarding the interests of the Lebanese people.
In an interview with CNN, Aoun said Lebanese citizens are exhausted by years of conflict and destruction, much of it driven by forces outside Lebanon’s elected government.
Speaking directly to Iran, Aoun said Tehran’s involvement in Lebanon has not served the country’s people.
“You are not trying to help us,” Aoun said. “The people of Lebanon are paying the price for the sake of your own interest.”
“Our interests do not coincide with your interests,” he added.
Aoun also criticized Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long supported and armed Hezbollah. He said Iran has no right to dictate Lebanon’s future or use its territory as leverage in negotiations.
“It’s not your country, it’s our country,” Aoun said.
The Lebanese president specifically rejected a statement issued Wednesday by the Revolutionary Guards demanding that Israel withdraw from Lebanon as part of a broader ceasefire arrangement involving the United States and Iran.
“They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the U.S.,” Aoun said. “It’s unacceptable.”
His remarks came as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon remained uncertain. Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement this week intended to halt fighting, but the deal depends on Hezbollah stopping attacks and withdrawing its fighters from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah was not part of the negotiations and quickly rejected the agreement.
Aoun also responded directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, who called the ceasefire a “surrender” and claimed it lacked support among the Lebanese public.
“The Lebanese people are not your people,” Aoun said.
Aoun said Lebanese citizens from multiple religious communities, including many Shiites, have told him they are tired of recurring wars with Israel and the repeated destruction of homes, towns and families.
“They deserve not seeing their homes destroyed every five to 10 years,” Aoun said.
The president said entire Lebanese families have been wiped out in the fighting and emphasized that Hezbollah does not own or represent the people who have suffered from the conflict.
“They are Lebanese people,” Aoun said. “They are not Naim Qassem’s people.”
Aoun has pledged to strengthen the authority of the Lebanese state and reduce Hezbollah’s military dominance, which has expanded over decades with Iranian support. Hezbollah remains one of Lebanon’s most powerful political and armed forces, but Aoun said many Lebanese citizens increasingly want stability, sovereignty and an end to conflicts shaped by foreign agendas.
The comments marked one of Aoun’s most direct public rebukes of both Iran and Hezbollah, placing Lebanon’s government at odds with Tehran-backed forces as the country faces the possibility of renewed war or a tenuous ceasefire.
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