BEIRUT - Lebanon’s leaders took an unusually sharp public stance against Iran on Friday, demanding Tehran stop using their country as a battlefield. The rebuke came as Israel and Hezbollah intensified attacks after Hezbollah rejected a U.S.-brokered truce.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Iran directly: “Have mercy on our south, stop treating it as a bargaining chip.” President Joseph Aoun echoed that message, telling CNN, “It’s not your country, it’s our country. It’s not your job to interfere.”
Israel struck over 40 targets in southern Lebanon on Friday, with Hezbollah retaliating. The violence began March 2 when Hezbollah attacked Israel after Tehran’s supreme leader was killed. Over 3,550 people have died since.
The rejected truce demanded a complete Hezbollah ceasefire without halting Israeli operations. Hezbollah insists on a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal. Speaker Nabih Berri said the group would pull back south of the Litani River if those terms were met.
Aoun pressed Israel to show “willingness and commitment to end this war.” He added, “They can flatten the whole country, but they will never achieve their objective. They tried it in Gaza. Hamas still exists.”