Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during a debate organized by L'Orient-Le Jour at the Grand Serail, on Sept. 14, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in an interview published Sunday that Hezbollah made a "strategic mistake" by entering the regional war, emphasizing that activities by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threaten Lebanon’s national security.
Speaking in an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Salam stated that the visa restrictions implemented for Iranians are linked to information obtained about activities by Revolutionary Guard members that could jeopardize Lebanon’s national security.
During a Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail on March 5, Salam called for the arrest of any Iranian national in Lebanon associated with the IRGC. The Cabinet also established a visa system for Iranians entering the country.
Israel, for its part, threatened to target Revolutionary Guard members and Iranian diplomats in Lebanon. In the early predawn hours of Sunday, Israel held tight to its threat by carrying out a drone strike on a Raouche hotel targeting "Corps of Lebanon" members of the al-Quds force.
Salam further added that "the Lebanese state is doing everything in its power politically and diplomatically to end the Israeli war against Lebanon," while stressing that "diplomatic efforts have not yet yielded the hoped-for results, due to the link between the situation in Lebanon and regional crises, as well as the ongoing war in the region."
The prime minister nevertheless noted his government’s determination to implement its recent decisions, particularly those banning Hezbollah’s security and military activities. He stated that the state, through the armed forces and judiciary, is fulfilling its duty in this respect, but that wartime conditions make it more difficult to enforce these measures.
At the end of February, just before the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran broke out, Salam stated that the second phase of the militia disarmament plan, particularly for Hezbollah, would be "achievable in four months" if the Lebanese Army "has the same conditions."
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