Smoke rises following an explosion after Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 28, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters)
The memory of Oct. 8, 2023 was not far from Lebanese minds on Saturday, as the United States and Israel carried out large-scale strikes on Iran, which responded by bombing Israeli territory and U.S. bases in the Middle East. Since the start of the attack, Lebanese officials and political parties have spoken with one voice, calling for the country to be kept out of the conflict and for its interests to take precedence over all other considerations, amid fears that Hezbollah could enter the war. The group has maintained radio silence since the morning.
On X, President Joseph Aoun stressed “national responsibility,” insisting on “the need to be prepared and to coordinate efforts among the various constitutional authorities and relevant bodies in order to protect Lebanon.” He said the delicate phase the country is going through requires from everyone “a total commitment to national responsibility and to the primacy of Lebanon’s higher interests and those of the Lebanese people over any other consideration.”
The head of state also said that “shielding Lebanon from the catastrophes and horrors of external conflicts, as well as preserving its sovereignty, security and stability, constitutes an absolute priority.” He called for “uniting efforts and strengthening internal solidarity” to confront the looming challenges and prevent any repercussions on Lebanese territory and its people. “The state, with all its institutions, will remain the primary guarantor of security, stability and the protection of all citizens and the entire territory,” he said.
To assess the “possible repercussions” of the conflict on Lebanon, Aoun held a series of contacts in the morning with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Public Works Minister Fayez Rassamny, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Army Commander Gen. Rodolph Haykal. He had also met Friday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Lebanese Forces, FPM and Kataeb aligned around neutrality
For his part, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged the Lebanese to “place Lebanon’s interests above all calculations.” “In light of the serious developments in the region, I call on all Lebanese to show wisdom and patriotism, putting Lebanon’s interests and those of the Lebanese above all else. I repeat: We will not accept that anyone drags the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity,” he wrote on X.
“National interest comes before any other consideration. Ensure Lebanon’s neutrality. Ensure Lebanon’s neutrality. Ensure Lebanon’s neutrality,” Foreign Minister Joe Raggi, who is close to the Lebanese Forces (LF), also wrote on X.
The Lebanese Forces called for measures to “keep Lebanon completely out of the war.” “The most important thing right now is that all necessary measures be taken to keep Lebanon completely out of the war,” party spokesperson Charles Jabbour told L’Orient-Le Jour.
Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel also wrote on X: “Only neutrality protects Lebanon, and no one has the right to drag us into a new war that does not concern us. The decision must remain exclusively in the hands of the state, and the region’s war must remain in the region,” he insisted.
Independent MP Michel Moawad said that “the Cabinet must convene quickly, Hezbollah must declare itself under the authority of the state, and the government must act to guarantee Lebanon’s neutrality in the face of the conflict.”
Naji Hayek, vice president of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) for foreign affairs, said he hoped that no support front for Iran would be opened from Lebanon. “The country must be kept out of the war,” he told our publication. Former MP Amal Abou Zeid (formerly of the FPM) wrote on X: “The drums of war have sounded on the Iranian front… May God protect the Lebanese front.”
‘No Hezbollah adventure under these circumstances’
On Hezbollah’s side, the watchword appears to be silence. The party has issued no statement and did not respond to requests for comment from L’Orient-Le Jour, while a speech initially scheduled for 3 p.m. by Naim Qassem, as part of a ceremony in the Bekaa, was canceled.
In this context, an official Lebanese source told L’OLJ that “it is still too early to know whether Lebanon will be able to stay out of the conflict that has just begun.” A source close to Ain al-Tineh said that everyone is waiting to see what happens next. “This is a war in which the Americans are directly involved, and Lebanon appears to be just a detail,” said the source close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry, estimating that Hezbollah “will not embark on an adventure under these circumstances.”
A pro-Iranian official told AFP this week, speaking on condition of anonymity, that Hezbollah would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” U.S. strikes against Iran. However, he added that if Washington’s objective “is to bring about the fall of the Iranian regime or to target the Supreme Leader, then Hezbollah will intervene,” stressing that any attack on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be “a red line.” According to him, in the event of an offensive against the Iranian leadership, Israel “would inevitably wage war against Lebanon.”
Hezbollah has been significantly weakened by the Israeli army since opening a support front for Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. A large portion of its leadership has been eliminated and its chief, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed on Sept. 27, 2024, in an Israeli airstrike. However, the group remains reluctant to hand over its arsenal to Lebanese authorities, despite calls from Lebanon’s official government and the international community.
