Lebanon’s prime minister has warned Hezbollah against dragging the country into renewed fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel, saying the country must not once again become a battleground for conflicts driven by outside interests.
Nawaf Salam issued the warning on Wednesday in an apparent message to the Iran-backed group, although he did not name Hezbollah directly.
“Faced with the risks of renewed war in the region, I renew my warning of the dangers of dragging Lebanon into a new senseless adventure in service of outside interests,” Mr Salam said.
He added: “We do not accept the country again becoming a theater for the conflict of others,” saying Lebanon had “already paid a heavy price”.
Southern Lebanon has been a major front in the wider regional conflicts. Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has displaced tens of thousands of people and killed almost 9,000 since October 7 2023, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the conflict with Israel by launching attacks in support of Hamas after the attacks that triggered the war in Gaza. The group later fired rockets and missiles in support of Iran after joint US-Israeli strikes began on February 28.
A fragile ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in June brought an end to most large-scale fighting, but Israeli forces continue to occupy a substantial area of southern Lebanon and sporadic attacks have continued on both sides.
The conflict in Lebanon has also become a major obstacle in negotiations between the United States and Iran. Tehran has repeatedly rejected any agreement with Washington unless it also ends the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to resume strikes on Iran ahead of the US midterm elections, but said as results emerged on Tuesday evening that he had no immediate plans to order further attacks.
