A Lebanese political source told the newspaper Nidaa al-Watan that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s latest warning was also aimed at Tehran’s armed proxies in the region. The source said it was a signal that they should move to back Iran if a new conflict breaks out.
The source warned against Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into another round of war. Any such step, the source said, would take Lebanon “back to square one” and amount to a rebellion against decisions taken by the Lebanese state. The source added that it would wreck the efforts of President Joseph Aoun and the government to secure lasting stability and peace. That is the central goal of Lebanon’s negotiations with Israel, which Hezbollah continues to oppose and has tried to derail.
Concern is growing in Beirut over the possibility of a third round of fighting with Israel. Hezbollah has reportedly assured Lebanese officials that it will not join any new confrontation between Iran, the United States and Israel, according to the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat. But Aoun remains uneasy, the paper reported, because he received similar assurances before the war resumed in March, and Hezbollah went back on them.
Hezbollah opened fire on Israel on March 2, days after the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Israel responded with strikes across Lebanon and a ground operation in the south. The Lebanese government has since banned Hezbollah’s military activity.
It is not the first time Nidaa al-Watan has reported such a message from Tehran. In July, the paper reported that Iran had told its regional allies, including Hezbollah, to prepare for a broader war. It said the message was delivered at meetings in Tehran on the sidelines of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral, where allies were told that “the waiting period” was nearing its end.
