Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi, May 14, 2026. (Credit: Arun Sankar / AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday urged Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who had called on Tehran the previous day to stop ‘’interfering’’ in Lebanon's affairs, to ‘’save’’ the country from its ‘’real enemy,’’ Israel.
’’Based on Mr. Aoun's remarks, one might think that it was Iran that occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of the Lebanese population and is bombing the country every day,’’ Araghchi wrote in a post on X. ‘’If Lebanon were a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached a deal a long time ago. Save Lebanon from your real enemy, President,’’ he added.
On Friday, Aoun called on Iran to stop ‘’intervening’’ in Lebanese affairs following the collapse of a new truce announced by Washington between Israel and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement. ‘’This is not your country, it's ours [...] You have no business intervening in our country,’’ Aoun said in a message directed at Iran, while also urging Hezbollah to pursue diplomatic avenues. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam similarly called on Iran to stop using Lebanon as a ‘’means of leverage’’ in negotiations with the United States.
On Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon agreed to ‘’implement a cease-fire’’ and establish ‘’pilot zones’’ under the control of the Lebanese Army following two days of talks in Washington.
Tehran maintains that any agreement with Washington to end the war, which began on Feb. 28 with an Israeli-American bombing campaign, must include an end to hostilities on the Lebanese front and an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory. Hezbollah entered the conflict on March 2, launching missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the Israeli-American strike on Tehran.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon between March 2 and June 5 killed 3,558 people and wounded 10,870 others, according to the Health Ministry. On the Israeli side, 27 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in Lebanon, according to the army.
