The former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Joumblatt, in Clemenceau, on August 27, 2025. Photo Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour
As the U.S. offensive has begun against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which responded by striking American bases in the region, former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt said in an interview with L'Orient-Le Jour that "a long war with unimaginable consequences" has just begun. The Druze leader hopes that Hezbollah "will not give Israel a pretext to attack Lebanon."
"From the start, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu wanted war. There was the sham of negotiations [first in Oman, then Geneva] just for appearances, with unacceptable conditions [for Iran]," Joumblatt said.
During the rounds of talks between the United States and Iran in recent weeks — contrary to American and Israeli wishes — the Iranian regime refused to discuss its ballistic missile program and its support for militias, agreeing only to discuss the nuclear file.
‘If there are once again massive attacks in the South, our houses must be open’
Walid Joumblatt directly accused the United States of using a false pretext to launch its offensive against Iran. "The pretext for war [as Donald Trump laid out during his Saturday speech, editor’s note] is that Iran could now hit the United States with its new missiles. This strangely reminds us of Saddam Hussein’s fictitious missiles, which triggered the war against Iraq [in 2003]," the former Lebanese official said.
At that time, the Bush administration had highlighted the alleged imminent threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program and allegations of links between Iraqi security services and al-Qaida.
"This will not be a walk in the park but a long war, everywhere, with unimaginable consequences," the Druze leader predicted.
"When it comes to Lebanon, let us try to strengthen national unity and stop the grand speeches and analyses that are beyond our ability to act. Everything is irrelevant now — even the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament. Let us hope it does not give Israel a pretext to attack Lebanon," Joumblatt then said.
"Only national unity can shield us. I call on the Lebanese people to show maximum cohesion, and, if there are once again massive attacks in the South, our houses must be open," he continued.
According to him, the Gulf countries "are completely out of their depth. They have no weight." "The whole world carries no weight and has no preventive capacity," he regretted. Before concluding: "We are going through tough times. It is necessary to show humility in the face of this terrible war that defies all understanding. But what can you do, when some leaders are adventurers and madmen, one has to expect anything."
In Lebanon, officials are calling for Lebanon to be kept out of the conflict. Hezbollah, for its part, has observed radio silence ahead of a speech by Naim Qassem scheduled at 3 p.m.
