Lebanon's Foreign Minister Joe Raggi delivered a scathing indictment of Hezbollah, accusing the group of once again sacrificing Lebanon's national interests on the altar of Iranian foreign policy.
Joe Raggi © FER
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Joe Raggi did not mince his words Sunday at an emergency Arab League session convened to condemn Iran's missile attacks against Gulf states, Jordan and Iraq.
Raggi delivered a scathing indictment of Hezbollah, accusing the group of once again sacrificing Lebanon's national interests on the altar of Iranian foreign policy.
"Hezbollah has once again ignored Lebanon's supreme interests to serve foreign agendas, dragging Lebanon into a war that does not concern it," he declared, holding the group directly responsible for triggering "brutal Israeli military operations against several Lebanese regions."
The minister was unequivocal: "Hezbollah takes its decisions in isolation, without any regard for the state and its official institutions. The Lebanese government and people are not responsible for these acts and their consequences."
A Government Order Hezbollah Simply Ignores
On March 2, the Lebanese government took the unprecedented step of banning all Hezbollah military activities and ordering the group to immediately surrender its weapons to the state — a decision taken hours after Hezbollah fired its first rockets into northern Israel.
The order has been completely ignored. Hezbollah continues its attacks despite a rising death toll, massive civilian displacement and the Lebanese state's explicit prohibition.
It is the starkest possible illustration of Lebanon's fundamental dilemma: a government that can legislate but cannot enforce, facing a militia that obeys Tehran, not Beirut.
Raggi also expressed Lebanon's full solidarity with the Gulf states, Jordan and Iraq, all targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes following the US-Israeli operation that killed Supreme Leader Khamenei on February 28.
The message from Beirut is clear: Lebanon did not choose this war. Hezbollah chose it, for Iran.
Israel is not seeking an endless war with Iran and will coordinate with the United States on when to end the fighting, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday, declining to publicly state a timeline for when the conflict could end.
US envoy Steve Witkoff declared Tuesday evening on CNBC that "almost all of Iran's uranium enrichment and conversion capabilities have been destroyed" following the joint US-Israel strikes launched on February 28.
Lebanon's Hezbollah is applying lessons from its last war with Israel as it braces for a possible full-scale Israeli invasion and protracted conflict, returning to its roots in guerrilla warfare in south Lebanon, four Lebanese sources said.
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