Hezbollah defies Lebanon, for Tehran

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declared Wednesday in a televised speech that negotiating with Israel "under fire" amounted to imposed surrender, calling for unity and vowing his fighters were prepared to continue "without limits."

Strong words. But they come with a critical caveat: the Lebanese government has formally banned Hezbollah from any military activity on Lebanese soil. Qassem is not speaking as a state actor,  he is speaking as the head of a terrorist organization openly defying his own country's authorities.

Hezbollah is not an independent force. It is financed, trained, armed and directed by Iran, which ordered the group to attack Israel on March 2nd. What Qassem presents as resistance is in reality a proxy war fought on Lebanese territory, at Lebanon's expense, for Tehran's strategic interests.

As Iran's own leadership fractures under the pressure of war and internal power struggles, Hezbollah's defiant posturing looks increasingly like a cornered actor playing out a script written in Tehran, whether Lebanon wants it or not.

The Lebanese people deserve better than a militia that wages wars they never voted for, on orders from a foreign power.