Lebanese Foreign Minister, Joe Rajji. (Credit: Ministry press office)
Lebanon "has received warnings from Arab and international parties about a large-scale operation by the Israeli army against Lebanon, but that intense diplomatic contacts are ongoing in an attempt to avoid it," said Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Joe Rajji during an interview with Qatari channel Al Jazeera, which is set to air Friday night according to his communications office.
“We have received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing a large military operation against Lebanon,” Rajji told Al Jazeera. However, he specified that the Lebanese authorities “are intensifying diplomatic contacts to shelter Lebanon and its key facilities from any new Israeli strike.”
These remarks were shared by the Qatari channel and the minister’s press office as the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon, Alaa Moussa, said Friday that “we have no choice but to work to spare Lebanon any escalation of Israeli aggression,” during a press conference held at the Baabda Presidential Palace.
Earlier in the day, Israeli jets carried out a wave of air raids on several areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa. Israel fought an intense war in Lebanon in 2023/2024 after Hezbollah opened a “support front” with Gaza.
Despite the November 2024 cease-fire, Israeli attacks in Lebanese territory remain daily. The party has not responded, but Israel accuses it of seeking to rebuild its military branch weakened by the war.
The Lebanese government, for its part, has decided to reclaim the exclusive right to bear arms. While Hezbollah refuses to disarm nationwide, it does not oppose the army dismantling its infrastructure in the South.
In his interview, the foreign minister confirmed that “the Lebanese state has initiated a dialogue with Hezbollah for it to hand over its weapons, but it refuses to do so.”
“Hezbollah’s arms have proven ineffective for supporting Gaza as well as for protecting Lebanon, and have caused a new Israeli occupation,” he maintained.
The Israeli army still occupies five key points in southern Lebanon along the border.
Iran’s role is 'very negative'
Commenting on ongoing talks with Israel, Rajji asserted that “meetings of the mechanism committee [tasked with monitoring the cease-fire] do not constitute negotiations in the traditional sense.”
In early December, President Joseph Aoun appointed a civilian representative to this committee, where Lebanon and Israel had until this point been represented only by military officials. It is the first time in decades that civilians have participated in direct discussions between the two countries.
“We aspire to return to the armistice agreement [signed in 1949 with Israel by neighboring countries, including Lebanon], and we are still far from a peace deal,” added the minister.
Asked about the role of Iran, the sponsor of Hezbollah, Rajji did not mince words, calling it “very negative” and saying Iranian policies are “sources of instability.”
“We have a problem with Iran and are open to dialogue, provided that country stops interfering in our internal affairs,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently invited his Lebanese counterpart to visit Iran on an official trip, but the latter suggested meeting in a third country.
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