The leader of the Kataeb party, Sami Gemayel, during a speech on April 12, 2025. (Credit: @LebaneseKataeb/X)
BEIRUT — Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel harshly criticized Iran and Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon, calling on the Lebanese state to "free Lebanon from Iranian tutelage," in a video posted on X on Monday.
"The problem is that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is the one making the decisions, and the one bringing misery upon Lebanon," Gemayel said. "The state has to make a decision: Does it want to continue leaving all of us, the Lebanese people of all sects, ... hostage to Iran’s ambitions to use Lebanon as an arena to settle its scores ..., while sacrificing an entire country?" he continued.
"The state has to make a decision to free Lebanon from Iranian tutelage, and to free the Shiite community from the tutelage of Hezbollah and Iran," Gemayel added.
The Kataeb party, like other parties opposed to Hezbollah, stepped up its criticism of the Iran-linked party, after it opened support fronts in solidarity with Gaza and Iran in Oct. 2023 and March 2026 respectively. Israel killed more than 8,950 people in Lebanon in the two wars between 2023-24 and 2026. While hostilities subsided in June, the Israeli army continues to demolish southern Lebanese villages, which remain under its occupation, on daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has been engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, which led to a framework agreement signed in June. The agreement mainly calls for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in exchange of Hezbollah's disarmament through a gradual process. However, there has not been progress in the past two months, with the negotiations still stuck at the first phase of the "pilot zones" project.
