Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, April 21, 2026. (Credit: Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in an interview published Friday by the British daily The Times that Iran’s rejection of the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel was not merely a political stance, but a message through which Tehran sought to emphasize that the final decision-making power in Lebanon remains in its hands.
According to the prime minister, Iran wanted to show the world that Lebanon is nothing more than a "pawn," viewing the announcement of its position before any official statement from Hezbollah as evidence of the extent of Tehran’s influence within the party. Salam added that the reconstruction of territories destroyed by the war can only be carried out through the Lebanese state and its official institutions.
Salam also asserted that the influence of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard extends beyond Hezbollah’s military and security branches to encompass the party’s decision-making process. He said the party’s former secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in 2024, had greater room for maneuver, while current Iranian influence is more direct and decisive.
