The former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Joumblatt. (Credit: Photo taken from the PSP's X account)
BEIRUT — Druze leader Walid Joumblatt slammed Iran’s Ali Akbar Velayati for treating Lebanon as a “mailbox” between Tehran and Washington, disregarding the safety of its people.
“We reject the Iranian official’s remarks that turn Lebanon into a mailbox with the U.S., ignoring its people’s safety,” wrote Walid Joumblatt Thursday, amid rising Hezbollah-Israel tensions after Sunday’s strike in Beirut that killed Haytham Ali Tabataba’i and others.
The incident is yet another on the list of Israeli violations of a fragile cease-fire reached with Hezbollah just one year ago.
It was in this context that Velayati stated to the semi-official Tasnim agency that "the ongoing attacks and crimes committed by the Zionist entity against Lebanon show that Hezbollah’s presence has become more important for Lebanon than daily bread," a remark that sparked outrage among several Lebanese officials, who slammed what they called unacceptable Iranian interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs.
The adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also asserted that Israel’s violation of the truce "demonstrated to everyone the catastrophic consequences that Hezbollah’s disarmament would have for Lebanon," confirming that "Iran has supported and will continue to support Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance," and praising the militia’s supposed role as "supporter" and "savior" in the face of Israel.
In his message, Joumblatt also called on Lebanese authorities to address the alleged — but as yet officially unconfirmed — presence in Lebanon of former officials from the Bashar al-Assad regime, who fled Syria after the former Syrian president was toppled by an Islamist coalition.
"Is it true that dozens of officers from the former Syrian regime are residing in Lebanon under the protection of certain parties? What is the authorities’ position on this?" the Druze leader wrote.
After the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024, several top officials of the ousted government found refuge in Lebanon.
In early November, Lebanese judicial authorities received an official request from France for assistance in locating and arresting former members of the regime suspected to be in Lebanon, according to the daily Asharq al-Awsat.
A senior Lebanese judicial source told the Saudi media outlet that the request was addressed to the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Jamal Hajjar, and specifically targets the former director of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Jamil al-Hassan, former director of National Security Ali Mamlouk, and the former head of the investigative branch of the Air Force Intelligence, Abdelsalam Mahmoud.
The source noted that Judge Hajjar had tasked the Internal Security Forces (ISF) intelligence branch with conducting the necessary investigations. Lebanon had already received an Interpol notice requesting the execution of a U.S. arrest warrant for Jamil al-Hassan and Ali Mamlouk.
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