Aoun asks, 'Aren't you fed up with war since 1948?'; Beirut parliament speaker backs pullout of both ally Hezbollah and IDF from south Lebanon; IDF chief Zamir reportedly tells ministers: Better a Lebanon ceasefire now, than in a month under same terms
The post Lebanese president says Iran using his country as ‘bargaining chip’ in talks with US appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Ministers said to demand cabinet vote on truce deal, but Netanyahu answers he is waiting for terror group to agree to terms
The post IDF kills Hezbollah chief engineer; 3 troops hurt in Lebanon clashes appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Iranian officials on Thursday denied bombing the Kuwait airport and insisted ceasefire talks with the United States are proceeding.
The post Iran Insists Ceasefire Talks Ongoing, Denies Bombing Kuwait appeared first on Breitbart.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced a ceasefire plan with Israel, but it was quickly rejected by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists.
The post Lebanese President Announces Ceasefire, but Hezbollah Refuses appeared first on Breitbart.
Two days after another ceasefire was announced between Israel and U.S. terrorist designated group Hezbollah, Yulia Bar-Dan was standing outside her temporary home in Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel when the familiar sound of an interceptor echoed overhead.
"There will probably be another siren soon," she told Fox News Digital.
Minutes later, an alert appeared on her phone warning residents in northern Israel to take shelter.
For Bar-Dan, the scene captured the reality of life on Israel's northern border nearly two years after Hezbollah joined the war against Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
After Hezbollah entered the recent war in support of Iran, Washington launched a diplomatic effort aimed at turning the ceasefire into a broader arrangement for Lebanon.
Multiple rounds of talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials have taken place in Washington, and President Donald Trum repeatedly has announced ceasefire understandings aimed at restoring calm along the border. Residents of communities like Manara, Israel, say the rockets, drones and uncertainty never really stopped.
"A ceasefire is supposed to be on both sides," she said. "Not that Hezbollah keeps shooting at us and we just keep absorbing it."
When Fox News Digital first spoke to Bar-Dan in December 2024 during the war, she and her husband had fled Manara, Israel, with their three children and were living out of a single hotel room, unsure whether they would ever return home.
Today, roughly 200 of the kibbutz's 280 residents have returned, Bar-Dan said. But many, including Bar-Dan's family, still cannot live in their original homes because of war damage.
Despite repeated ceasefire announcements, residents say normal life remains elusive.
"There hasn't really been a routine or a quiet day since February," she said.
Schools officially reopened in early June, but Bar-Dan decided not to send her children.
"They take the bus to school," she said. "What if there's a siren on the way? I can't take that chance."
Her frustration is not directed at Hezbollah alone.
Like many residents interviewed by Fox News Digital, Bar-Dan says there is a growing disconnect between the reality experienced on the border and the reality described by politicians.
"It doesn't really matter where the decisions are being made," she said. "The decisions just need to match reality. Right now there is a decision, but the reality is completely different."
A year and a half after most of Manara's residents were evacuated amid fears of a Hezbollah invasion, community leader Yochai Wolfin says residents have developed their own name for the current situation.
"We call it 'the ceasefire war,'" he said.
The phrase has become common in the community.
First came a year and a half of evacuation. Then came the return home. Then came what Wolfin describes as three months of "fire within a ceasefire."
The uncertainty has become part of daily life.
Children study inside shelters. Parts of the kibbutz still lack protected rooms. Construction projects remain unfinished because contractors are reluctant to work so close to the border.
He said many residents increasingly feel that the decisions determining their future are being made far from the communities that bear the consequences.
ISRAEL WARNS IT WILL GO AFTER LEBANON DIRECTLY IF CEASE-FIRE WITH HEZBOLLAH COLLAPSES
"Who knows what tomorrow will bring?" Wolfin said. "We know who is calling the shots. We saw it a few days ago when Trump announced another ceasefire. But for us, the reality on the ground hasn't changed."
The comments come as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned Thursday that northern Israel would remain unsafe as long as Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon, according to Reuters.
In a written statement broadcast on June 4, 2026, Qassem condemned the Washington-mediated framework as "absurd, humiliating, and insulting," calling it a roadmap for surrender.
For residents of Israel's northern border communities, the statements reinforced what many say they have been experiencing for months: a ceasefire that exists on paper but not in daily life.
Naor Shamia, who heads Manara's emergency response team, says residents increasingly worry that temporary emergency measures are becoming permanent.
"The fear isn't today," he said. "The fear is that this becomes years. We are in a deadlock."
Across the border region, similar concerns are heard.
In the community of Adamit, resident Yael Cohen-Arazi described the contrast between the beauty surrounding her and the reality of living under constant threat.
"Every morning I wake up and think I'm living in paradise," she said in footage provided to Fox News Digital by the Israeli news agency TPS-IL. "Then there are the explosions that shake my soul."
Her children, she said, have spent so much of their lives under fire that they no longer know what normal looks like.
"I tell them there are children who don't live like this," she said.
Back in Manara, Israel, another alert interrupted the afternoon.
Bar-Dan says she is not angry anymore. Mostly, she is tired and sad.
"I feel bad for the soldiers," she said. "Every day there is another casualty, and there is still no solution."
Yet she insists she is staying.
"This is our home," she said. "Someone has to live on the borders of this country."
Then another explosion sounded in the distance.
North targeted with rockets and drones; IDF strikes reported in Lebanon, at least 5 said killed; terror group chief calls on Beirut to halt 'farce' of talks, as Aoun touts 'last chance' for comprehensive truce
The post Soldier killed in anti-tank missile attack as Hezbollah rejects Lebanon ceasefire proposal appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework contingent on Hezbollah ending its attacks.
The post Following U.S.-Mediated Talks, Israel and Lebanon Agree to Ceasefire if Hezbollah Ends Attacks appeared first on Breitbart.
After talks in DC, Lebanon agrees its army will take full control of specified security areas, though unclear how they will be created; sides agree ceasefire dependent on halt to terror group's activity
The post Israel and Lebanon agree to renew truce, create ‘pilot’ zones where Hezbollah is banned appeared first on The Times of Israel.
President Donald Trump confirmed reporting that he had strong words for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
The post Trump to Netanyahu: Time to Wrap It Up in Lebanon appeared first on Breitbart.
Manuela Dviri led the call for Israel to leave its northern neighbor after her son Yoni was killed in 1998. Today, as the military strengthens its foothold there, she doubles down
The post 28 years after her son fell serving in Lebanon, activist mother slams IDF’s return appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Renewed rocket and drone fire has exposed limits of Israel's battlefield gains -- but with Trump blocking escalation and Lebanon unable to disarm the terror group, there's no straightforward path ahead
The post Between Beaufort and Beirut, Israel faces narrowing options against Hezbollah appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Two rockets, suspected Hezbollah drone shot down over Galilee Panhandle, morning after Home Front Command eases restrictions
The post IDF strike reported near Beirut, sirens blare in north after peace talks in DC appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Crews raise concerns about flying close to airstrikes, penalties for reporting safety incidents; airline says flights are based on risk assessments with government, aviation authority
The post Lebanon launches safety audit of Middle East Airlines as pilots point to wartime danger appeared first on The Times of Israel.
PM said to fear Trump will further restrict Israel's freedom of action against Hezbollah; at least 4 said killed in strikes on southern Lebanon; reservist, 3 soldiers hurt in drone strike
The post Fresh Israel-Lebanon talks begin in DC, as IDF eases safety restrictions in northern Israel appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Assistant secretary-general says Israel's push into northern neighbor violates UN resolution, as does Hezbollah's refusal to disarm; France holds terror group, Iran responsible for fighting
The post At UN Security Council, envoys blame Hezbollah for Lebanon violence, pan Israeli response appeared first on The Times of Israel.
5th round of talks to be held at US State Department; Lebanese army says 2 troops wounded in IDF strike; France's FM: No justification for Israeli troops to stay deep inside Lebanon
The post Hezbollah and IDF trade fire despite nominal truce as Lebanon-Israel talks to resume appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Cpt. Dr. Ori Yosef Silvester is the army's 14th fatality since the start of the Iran ceasefire; Lebanon says heavy damage caused by strike near hospital in Tyre
The post IDF doctor killed, 7 hurt by Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Report says Tehran and its allies set agenda to completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, as Iranian FM warns strikes on Hezbollah violate truce
The post Iran freezing exchange of messages with US over Israeli attacks in Lebanon – Tasnim appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Staff Sgt. Adam Tzarfati is army's 13th fatality since start of now-eroded ceasefire; terror group keeps up attacks, fires rockets at Tiberias for first time in almost 2 months
The post IDF soldier killed, 3 hurt, in Hezbollah drone attack near newly seized Beaufort Castle appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Announcement comes after Hezbollah, battering northern Israel and hitting IDF troops in Lebanon, reportedly rejects US de-escalation offer; UNSC set to discuss expanded IDF ground op ahead of more peace talks between countries
The post Israel says it will renew strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut after lobbying for US green light appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Hezbollah has begun unleashing "game changing" waves of "lethal" nighttime drones against Israel, a defense expert warns, with the attacks contributing to casualties, defense breaches and plunging parts of the border region into chaos, according to reports.
Escalating deployments by Hezbollah had also prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene an emergency security meeting on May 30 following a surprise Hezbollah strike, amid reports of "utter chaos" as Israeli forces scrambled to respond.
"These nighttime drones are the very small Category 1 and Category 2 drones," defense expert and Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell told Fox News Digital.
"They are generally used by squads on the ground to go and conduct tactical lethal missions or surveillance missions right in theater immediately. What they are able to do is use thermal sensors to be able to fly at night and use heat signatures to spot IDF troops," he said.
ISRAEL SAYS IT IS STRIKING HEZBOLLAH TARGETS IN LEBANON
"Hezbollah now has nighttime capabilities, which is game changing," Chell added.
"What you will see is an escalation of the use of drones and the innovation of asymmetric warfare in that particular area by Hezbollah," he warned.
Chell’s comments came amid reports of makeshift defenses with nets being deployed against the backdrop of a significant shift in the conflict.
Israeli soldiers have resorted to buying commercial fishing and soccer nets to entangle the incoming aerial threats, according to reports.
"This means that there is a whole other set of countermeasures that the IDF has to put in place, whether it is electronic jamming, net guns or the use of netting just to put in front of installations or in front of vehicles to try to stop the final impact of the drone if it is a strike drone," Chell added.
"The IDF will have to change a lot of their tactics regarding their ability to move around and conduct operations at night. Now they will have to factor in the fact that Hezbollah has nighttime capabilities to at least do observation using thermal cameras, as well as strike capabilities."
Netanyahu called a meeting with top officials following an intense Hezbollah rocket and drone blitz that caught the military off guard on Saturday.
According to a report by Channel 13, the Israeli army was surprised by the scale of the fire as well as Hezbollah's decision to shift its operational policy in response to the expansion of Israel’s ground operations beyond the Litani River.
Reports from the ground described "utter chaos" in parts of the north. While rockets were said to have hit the cities, Hezbollah simultaneously launched waves of drone strikes.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has also touted the militant group’s drone capabilities, calling them an effective weapon against Israeli forces operating near and inside southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu has also described Hezbollah's drone capabilities as a major threat given the difficulty in detecting them.
"Hezbollah have got a supply line or supply chain of some sort set up," Chell added before stating that they are not "using stuff that is groundbreaking; this is very old technology and tactics that they are using."
"That said, somebody is making the equipment available to Hezbollah — whether it is coming via Iran, China, Russia, Afghanistan or the black market, someone is getting enough product and feeding it into their supply chains," Chell warned.
PM vows 'dramatic shift' in policy against Hezbollah, which is pounding northern Israel, with barrages Sunday triggering sirens in Acre and Haifa area; France seeks emergency UNSC session over Israel's advances
The post ‘We returned stronger than ever’: Netanyahu hails capture of Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Political writer Tal Schneider explains why Israel's hands are tied as Hezbollah fires missiles at the north; plus, possible dates for elections
The post Daily Briefing May 31: After 26 years, IDF retakes Lebanon’s Beaufort fortress appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Defense minister hails Israeli flag flying again over the crusader fortress, a symbol of Israel's previous wars in Lebanon; Staff Sgt. Michael Tyukin, 21, was an only child who moved to Israel from Ukraine
The post Soldier killed in Hezbollah drone strike in Lebanon; IDF captures strategic Beaufort Castle appeared first on The Times of Israel.
IDF Home Front Command tightens guidelines, as Nahariya hospital moves operations underground; Lebanese PM accuses Israel of 'scorched-earth policy' but defends ongoing peace talks
The post Israel shuts schools near Lebanon border amid repeated Hezbollah rocket, drone attacks appeared first on The Times of Israel.
None injured in relentless attacks as military expects increased fire; army strike hits artillery command center; Lebanese officials said disappointed by talks with Israel at Pentagon
The post Hezbollah fires barrages of rockets and drones at north as IDF expands south Lebanon op appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Israeli and Lebanese military delegations opened Pentagon-mediated talks Friday morning in Washington, launching a new U.S.-brokered security coordination track aimed at preventing renewed escalation along the Israel–Lebanon border and shoring up a fragile ceasefire reached in mid-April.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital, "As we have continuously stated, the only path to lasting peace is through direct negotiations between the two sovereign governments."
The discussions mark a shift from diplomatic negotiations into direct military coordination, with talks expected to focus on ceasefire enforcement, border stability, Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon and the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in containing Hezbollah.
ISRAEL MOVES TOWARD CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH HEZBOLLAH: REPORTS
The talks come weeks after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire first reached during the broader regional conflict tied to the U.S.–Iran war. While large-scale fighting has eased, Israeli forces continue operating inside parts of southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah maintains drone and rocket capabilities, keeping tensions high along the border.
The ceasefire was extended on May 15 for another 45 days, creating pressure on both sides to show progress before the current arrangement expires.
But analysts say the central question overshadowing the talks is whether Lebanon can realistically curb Hezbollah’s military power without risking internal collapse.
"This will be the first meeting between representatives of the militaries since the start of the negotiation process between Lebanon and Israel," Ahmad Sharawi, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told Fox News Digital.
Representing Lebanon in the talks is Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, who previously served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon, an area where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence. Hezbollah is the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist organization designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization.
"What we should expect is talks regarding de-confliction and what the expectations are for the LAF in terms of the broader disarmament plan against Hezbollah’s weapons," he said.
Sharawi said the chances of a broader breakthrough remain limited so long as Hezbollah remains heavily armed and politically entrenched inside Lebanon.
"The biggest obstacle here is that the Lebanese state is yet to present a feasible plan to disarm Hezbollah," he said.
LAWMAKERS QUESTION WHETHER US MOVING FAST ENOUGH TO CAPITALIZE ON HEZBOLLAH'S WEAKENED STATE
He pointed to the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire agreements, which placed responsibility for disarming Hezbollah on the Lebanese state.
"We are yet to see the confiscation of one single bullet from Hezbollah," Sharawi said.
He also warned that Hezbollah’s deep support among Lebanon’s Shiite population complicates any attempt to move toward normalization with Israel.
"There’s a fear of a civil war," he said. "That also accounts for the Lebanese state’s unwillingness to disarm Hezbollah."
The talks opened as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled Israel intends to maintain military pressure on Hezbollah despite the negotiations.
Sharawi argued the Trump administration nevertheless appears determined to push the process forward as part of a broader effort to weaken Iranian influence in the region.
"The reason behind these meetings is that President Trump is really trying to push for a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon," he said. "Peace between these two countries could really undermine Hezbollah and its influence in Lebanon."
WALTZ SAYS TRUMP HAS CREATED 'BEST CHANCE IN OUR LIFETIME' TO BREAK HEZBOLLAH’S GRIP ON LEBANON
Israeli analysts similarly described the talks less as a breakthrough and more as a strategic signal aimed at Hezbollah.
"The war between us and Hezbollah is continuing," Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former head of the Research Division of Israeli Military Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.
"There is no doubt the Lebanese government does not have a monopoly on the use of force in Lebanon."
Kuperwasser said expectations for an immediate diplomatic breakthrough should remain low but argued the talks themselves send an important political message.
"The purpose of these talks is first and foremost to send a message to Hezbollah and also to the Americans," he said. "Both sides are prepared to sit together against Hezbollah and signal that they are moving, even if slowly, toward normalization between Israel and Lebanon."
He argued Hezbollah has been weakened politically and militarily by the ongoing conflict and by growing frustration among Lebanese civilians displaced by the fighting.
"For years, Hezbollah portrayed itself as the defender of Lebanon," Kuperwasser said. "Now many Lebanese see Hezbollah as responsible for the suffering Lebanon is experiencing."
Kuperwasser added that while Israel supports strengthening the Lebanese army, Beirut fears direct confrontation with Hezbollah could ignite another civil war.
"The Lebanese government fears military action against Hezbollah would lead to civil war," he said. "That fear shapes everything."
The talks also come amid mounting domestic pressure inside Israel, where critics of Netanyahu have accused the government of pursuing containment rather than decisive military victory against Hezbollah.
Speaking Friday during a visit to Israel’s northern front, Netanyahu said Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River and were operating across multiple parts of Lebanon.
"We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, across the entire front and striking Hezbollah hard," Netanyahu said.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s leadership is attempting to balance growing American pressure with fears of internal instability and renewed sectarian conflict.
Following Friday's meeting, the Pentagon issued a statement, saying, "Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby hosted military delegations from the State of Israel and the Republic of Lebanon to launch the security track supporting the ongoing talks between the two nations.
"The delegations engaged in productive, military-to-military talks focused on building practical frameworks for regional security and stability. The progress and tangible outcomes from these discussions will directly inform the Department of State-led political track, which is scheduled to reconvene next week.
"The Department of War deeply values its strategic partnerships with both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The Department supports Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, free of armed non-state actors, and welcomes the commitment of both militaries to these historic efforts. These are essential steps toward realizing President Trump's vision for a lasting peace in the Middle East.
"The United States anticipates reconvening soon to continue the security track."
Neither the Israeli Embassy in Washington nor the Lebanese Embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment.
The U.S.-designated Lebanon-based terrorist movement Hezbollah exploits children from its version of the scout movement to carry out jihadi missions that result in their deaths, according to a recent report on Lebanon’s MTV television network.
The Lebanese network’s report — translated by the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) — comes amid U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and Beirut.
The report claims that Hezbollah gives child fighters heroes’ funerals and publicly glorifies them before their peers in order to encourage other children to follow in their footsteps. The MTV report said Hezbollah believes that every drop of bloodshed by child soldiers brings victory closer.
ISRAEL POUNDS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS, DARING LEBANON TO RECLAIM SOVEREIGNTY FROM IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXY
It also claimed that Hezbollah uses its scout movements to cultivate an entire generation of obedient children prepared to die, through rhetoric that glorifies death and martyrdom. The MTV report, according to the MEMRI translation, said that "Hezbollah child soldiers have been used since the 1980s by this outlaw armed group. Not just as armed fighters but as Khomeini-loyal scouts."
The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reportedly exploited the use of Iranian children during the country’s 1980-1988 war against Iraq.
Matthew Levitt, a leading scholar on Hezbollah from the Washington Institute, said that "Hezbollah's recruitment and radicalization of youth through its Mahdi Scouts is long documented," other experts talking to Fox News Digital concurred.
"Hezbollah has boy scouts, and they have been taught jihad, and it is a well-known thing in Lebanon," Mideast expert Walid Phares told Fox News Digital.
UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS
The Lebanon expert said they could be termed "children jihadists" who are preparing to become full Hezbollah fighters. Phares said they mostly assign them [the children of Hezbollah fighters] to spying and transporting ammunition. He argued if the scouts are getting funding from a ministry or national boy scouts association in Lebanon, they should be sanctioned if they have the evidence.
Multiple Fox News Digital Emails and phone calls to the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM) were not immediately returned. The U.S. branch of WOSM referred Fox News Digital to WOSM, which is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A Hezbollah expert from the Israel Alma Research and Education Center, Sarit Zehavi, called for action against the exploitation of children by the terror group.
"The only way to bring a change is to designate all of these allegedly civilian activities of Hezbollah and close the movement of its scouts, and enable the Shiites of Lebanon to have a different source of services, whether it is educational, formal or informal, which will be part of the Lebanese state, and not part of Hezbollah. The loyalty will be to the Lebanese state and not to Khomeini and the Islamic Republic."
She added, "This is only something Lebanon can do with a lot of international pressure, of course, led by the United States."
An Israeli diplomat, Tammy Rahamimoff-Honig, posted on X: "Hezbollah sacrifices Lebanese children to further the ambitions of the Iranian regime. This isn’t ‘resistance’. It’s child abuse."
Lebanon’s Ambassador to the U.S. declined to provide comment for this article.
The Lebanese government filed a sharply worded complaint with the United Nations arguing that the Islamic Republic of Iran has abused diplomatic immunity by refusing to recall its ambassador after Beirut demanded his expulsion and to stop alleged terrorist activities on its soil, according to a recently surfaced letter from late April.
The disclosure of the letter, which is reportedly a precedent-setting move by Lebanon, comes amid a second day of talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon to normalize relations (the countries are in a state of war) and dismantle the Iranian-regime-backed Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday that "The United States facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon have resumed today and are ongoing. The atmosphere of talks has been very positive, even exceeding expectations."
FAMILY OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE TORTURED IN LEBANON WINS LANDMARK CASE AGAINST IRAN
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott wrote on X on Friday that "On May 14 and 15, the United States hosted two days of highly-productive talks between Israel and Lebanon. The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress. The State Department will reconvene the political track of negotiations on June 2 and June 3."
He added that, "In addition, a security track will be launched at the Pentagon on May 29 with military delegations from both countries. We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border."
As the sides report back to their capitals, the potentially game-changing letter in which Lebanese ambassador to the U.N. Ahmad Arafa, slammed Iran for inserting alleged terrorists from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) into Lebanon "under the guise of diplomatic activity," has given hope to critics of Iran and Hezbollah.
Arafa said, according to the letter, that Iran committed "unlawful acts in blatant defiance of the decisions of the Government of Lebanon." He continued, "This Iranian conduct constitutes direct and blatant interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon and drags the country into a war it did not choose to become involved in."
The U.S. and the European Union have classified the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
The letter took the Iranian Ambassador to Beirut, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, to task for "blatant interference" in Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s U.N. letter, Beirut argued that Iran is violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and interfering in Lebanon’s state of affairs.
When asked about the details of the letter, a spokesperson for Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S. declined to comment. The spokesperson also declined to weigh in on the current talks with Israel in Washington.
Walid Phares, a leading U.S. expert on Lebanon and the Mideast, told Fox News Digital that "Many have considered the Lebanese memo to the U.N. as the start of the Lebanese government change of attitude towards Iran and a sign of escalation by Beirut. While the tone of the letter and its narrative make people feel that there is a government resistance to Iran and Hezbollah reality is still lesser."
He added that "The subject of the last quarrel is a legal change of status regarding the presence of Iranians on Lebanese soil. The Lebanese government has decided not to grant Iranians, government, and private citizens an automatic visa waiver, which upset Iran and Hezbollah. Besides, Tehran is furious at the fact that the Lebanese government has not been helpful in dealing with the elimination of a number of IRGC members killed in Lebanon by Israel. Tehran blames the foreign ministry of Lebanon, particularly foreign minister Youssef Raggi, for the ‘lessening of solidarity with Iran."'
According to Phares, "Raggi represents a Lebanese Christian bloc in the parliament, who is not sympathetic to the regime. However, the actual talks in D.C. are designed by the Lebanese government to show the Trump administration that the ‘state wants to talk’ but not to reach an agreement that would trigger Hezbollah's wrath. The leaders of the Lebanese state are not yet where the U.S. and Israel expect them to be."
A regional official well-versed in the U.N. dispute told Fox News Digital that Lebanon "argued that Iran had not given the Lebanese foreign ministry the list of all Iranians and the details about their place of stay. And that’s why Israel targeted that hotel in Lebanon in which six were killed, which is true."
The official said that "Iran had not told the foreign ministry of Lebanon about those six people."
