Pro-government Iranian demonstrators wave flags of Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement after Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in Tehran. AFP
“The Iranian missile strike against the Zionist entity in defense of our Lebanese people is a message of moral, political, and field commitment from the Islamic Republic toward Lebanon,” Hezbollah stated. “This comes after this enemy, with full cover from the US administration, went too far in committing its crimes against our country.”
The resistance group condemned Lebanon’s recent criticism of Iran, including a joint statement with Israel and the US against Tehran, as “an unacceptable and condemned alignment” that “serves no one but the Zionist enemy.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has sharply criticized Iran, accusing it of using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with the US and demanding an end to interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.
In a CNN interview on Friday, he told Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Council (IRGC), “It is not your country, it is our country. You are not trying to help us. It is the Lebanese who are paying the price for your own interests.”
Aoun said he remained determined to keep Lebanon out of further conflict, arguing that many Lebanese citizens are weary of repeated wars between Israel and Hezbollah, with the government blaming the group for dragging the country into confrontation with Israel.
Hezbollah, formed in the early 1980s with Iranian support during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, said its actions are in response to continued Israeli strikes and 15 months of violations of the November 2024 ceasefire, based on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1701, as well as Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon.
In October 2023, Israel launched the war on Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah striking occupied Palestine in solidarity with Gaza, which was experiencing the beginnings of Tel Aviv's genocidal war, one that remains ongoing despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October.
Between November 2024 and March 2026, the Lebanese Armed Forces documented daily truce violations by Israel, and the Israeli occupation army stated it had conducted over 500 air strikes during that period, killing at least 331 Lebanese.
Additionally, Israeli officials have openly expressed interest in occupying the south and moving in settlers.
Israel previously occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until its withdrawal in 2000, after years of fighting with Hezbollah and other groups resisting the occupation.
As Israel threatens to occupy Lebanon again, Hezbollah stressed that “Iran is the one supporting Lebanon and not vice versa,” responding to criticism that the Lebanese Shia movement serves only Iran’s interests.
Accordingly, Hezbollah urged Lebanese leaders to “seize the available opportunity and correct its official relationship with the Islamic Republic in a manner that serves the interests of both countries,” and to “benefit from this Iranian support to achieve our national goals,” calling for Lebanon to be included in any broader regional ceasefire framework.
The appeal comes as tensions continue following Iran’s missile strikes on Israel, which Tehran said were carried out in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Hostilities briefly paused after exchanges of fire, though Iran warned it would resume operations if Israeli strikes continued.
Israel's most recent escalation of its war on Lebanon, which started on 2 March—three days after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran—has so far killed at least 3,613 people, injured over 11,072 others, and displaced over 1.4 million of the local population.
A US-brokered ceasefire intended to end Israel’s war on Lebanon took effect on 18 April, but Tel Aviv has continued its strikes and refused to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
In this context, Hezbollah rejected US-mediated direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese authorities, insisting that Lebanon be included in any broader ceasefire arrangement in the US–Israeli war on Iran. Islamabad is spearheading negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at a permanent end to the conflict, which Iran says must include a cessation of Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
The United States and Israel have rejected linking the two tracks, with US President Donald Trump saying he prefers to “separate” negotiations on Lebanon from talks over a potential agreement with Iran.
Short link: