Yemeni Houthi militants have launched a verbal assault on the Lebanese presidency and government following their recent strong stances against Iran's continued entanglement of Lebanon in regional conflicts through Hezbollah.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati have both issued sharp and unprecedented statements condemning the Iranian regime and its proxy, Hezbollah. These declarations came in response to perceived obstruction of negotiations with Israel aimed at halting the ongoing conflict and securing withdrawal from Lebanese territories.
President Aoun, in an interview with CNN, vehemently rejected the notion of Lebanon being used by Iran as a "bargaining chip" in negotiations with the United States. Addressing a statement from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that opposed an agreement with Israel, Aoun declared, "This is not your country, it is our country." He further urged Hezbollah to embrace negotiation as a means of "salvaging what remains," emphasizing diplomacy as the sole path out of the current crisis and noting the Lebanese people's weariness of war and recurring destruction.
Prime Minister Mikati, echoing a similar assertive tone, delivered strong political messages to Iran and Hezbollah during the launch of the Second Urgent Humanitarian Appeal in conjunction with the United Nations. He expressed surprise that the IRGC was the first to reject a ceasefire understanding in Lebanon, commenting that this confirmed "this war is not our war and it is not fought for us, but on our land and at the expense of our people." Mikati directly appealed to Iran to "have mercy on southern Lebanon and cease treating it and its people as mere pawns to improve its negotiation terms," asserting that Lebanon "refuses to be turned into a mailbox for others' messages or an open battlefield for their wars, nor a bargaining chip on anyone's table, and the South is not a reserve front for anyone."
This escalation in rhetoric coincided with a tangible development, delayed for over 50 years, which observers view as a significant indicator of the Lebanese leadership's seriousness in curtailing Iran's influence via Hezbollah. Prime Minister Mikati announced the commencement of rehabilitation works for Qleiaat Airport, with plans to make it operational within months as a second airport in the country, complementing Beirut International Airport, which has been Lebanon's sole air gateway. Beirut Airport's proximity to the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, has historically made it a critical leverage point for the party, through control and potential disruption of access roads.
These Lebanese positions and actions have reportedly incensed the Iranian regime and its regional proxies. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, in a tweet responding to President Aoun's statements, denied accusations of Iran using Lebanon as a bargaining chip, sarcastically remarking that if Lebanon were such a chip, an agreement would have been reached long ago. He further implied, with a condescending tone, that Aoun's remarks suggested "Iran occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of the Lebanese, and bombs its country daily," before commanding the Lebanese president to "save Lebanon from your real enemy, Mr. President."
The Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement in Yemen, considered an Iranian proxy, also joined the criticism. A statement attributed to Abdulwahid Abu Ras, a Houthi official and deputy foreign minister, condemned an alleged Israeli strike on a Lebanese army vehicle in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of two officers and a soldier. Abu Ras questioned Prime Minister Mikati's commitment to the Lebanese army and the ongoing conflict. He further challenged the Lebanese presidency, asking if it was time for those in the Baabda Palace to support their army, resistance, and people against their "real enemy, the criminal Zionist entity." Abu Ras reiterated the Iranian and Hezbollah stance against negotiations with Israel, reaffirming the Houthi movement's solidarity with Hezbollah.
