Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned on Wednesday, November 4, against dragging his country into a new war, in a message widely read as directed at Hezbollah, as speculation grows that the United States and Israel could renew strikes on Iran now that the US midterm elections are over. “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,” Salam said, without explicitly naming Hezbollah, the Associated Press reported.
Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe
“We do not accept the country again becoming a theatre for the conflict of others,” Salam added, saying Lebanon had “already paid a heavy price”, AP reported. Speaking after a meeting with President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace, Salam stressed that decisions on war and peace must rest exclusively with the state and its constitutional institutions, and that the government would not accept Lebanon becoming an arena for conflicts imposed by external actors or armed groups.
Source: Meridian Zero
“Protecting Lebanon is a national responsibility that requires prioritising its supreme interests above any other consideration,” Salam said. He added that Lebanon could not afford confrontations whose consequences would fall primarily on its own population, particularly in the south, which has already suffered heavy losses in lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.
Source: Meridian Zero
A second warning: Lebanese hands out of Arab states’ affairs
Salam also strongly condemned the involvement of Lebanese individuals or groups in the internal affairs of Arab countries, particularly through military activities threatening their security, and specifically referred to recent announcements by Yemen’s government. He warned that such actions could damage Lebanon’s relations with Arab states and harm the interests of its citizens. The reference was to Yemen Interior Minister Ibrahim Ali Haidan’s accusation on Tuesday that 21 foreign experts — 14 from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and seven from Hezbollah — are directing Houthi operations in Yemen; Hezbollah rejected that accusation as “baseless”, Al Jazeera reported.
Source: Meridian Zero / Al Jazeera
That accusation — and Hezbollah’s denial — were reported in full earlier. Read the earlier development here: Yemen accuses IRGC and Hezbollah of sending 21 experts to back Houthis
Why the warning, and why now
Southern Lebanon has been a major front in the region’s interlinked conflicts: fighting between Hezbollah and Israel’s military has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and killed almost 9,000 people since October 7, 2023, according to the Lebanese health ministry, AP reported. Hezbollah first pulled Lebanon into the war by launching strikes on Israel in support of Hamas after the 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war, and then by firing rockets and missiles in support of Iran after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.
Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe
A fragile ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah in June has halted most large-scale fighting, but Israeli forces still occupy a large section of southern Lebanon and sporadic attacks continue on both sides, AP reported. On Wednesday itself, Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the town of Qabrikha in the Marjeyoun district killed one person and wounded another, the Petra news agency reported — the daily reality behind Salam’s warning.
Source: Associated Press / Petra via Fana News
What is solid
- Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned on Wednesday against dragging Lebanon into a new, senseless adventure in service of outside interests, AP and Meridian Zero both reported
- Salam said decisions on war and peace must rest exclusively with the state, speaking after meeting President Joseph Aoun
- Salam condemned Lebanese involvement in Arab states’ internal affairs and specifically referred to the Yemeni government’s announcements
What is only claimed
- Salam did not name Hezbollah; that his message was directed at the group is the reading of AP and Al Jazeera, not his stated wording
- No Hezbollah response to Salam’s Wednesday warning had been reported in these accounts; its “baseless” denial was to Yemen’s experts accusation, a separate statement
Lebanon is a sticking point in the US–Iran talks
The Lebanon front is not a side issue in the wider war diplomacy: it has proven a major sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran, because Tehran has consistently rejected any peace deal with Washington that does not also end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, AP reported. That means a renewed US-Iran clash would test exactly the line Salam drew on Wednesday — whether Hezbollah fires in support of Tehran again, as it did in March, and whether Beirut can stop it.
Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe
Trump’s signals, and what happens next
President Donald Trump threatened repeatedly ahead of the US midterm elections to renew strikes on Iran, but told the Financial Times as results came in on Tuesday evening that he had no immediate plans to order attacks, AP reported. Al Jazeera noted heightened speculation in recent days of renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran following the US midterms and Israel’s general election. What happens next depends on decisions in Washington, Tehran — and, on Salam’s warning, on whether Hezbollah again makes Lebanon’s decision for it.
Source: Associated Press / Al Jazeera