by Fady Noun

The US president warns the parties to respect the ceasefire. Netanyahu fans the conflict and continues to attack Lebanon. Aoun wants to free the country from Iran’s intolerable hold. Addressing the Israelis, he asked them whether they are fed up with a war that has been going on since 1948.

Beirut (AsiaNews) – Israel's bombing of a Hezbollah target in Beirut's southern suburbs appears to have momentarily shaken the landscape of the Middle East conflict.

Such an action, which Iran had warned against, viewing Beirut suburbs an integral part of its “frontline”, prompted a retaliatory strike from Iran against Israel, which, in turn, retaliated against Iran.

Following this flare-up, the Israeli army indicated yesterday that it was preparing for "at least several days of conflict" with Iran, or even a "prolonged campaign”. According to Haaretz, it was acting "in coordination with the United States," which is participating in "air defense efforts."

However, the airstrikes carried out in two successive waves against Iran used “Israeli aircraft only”, the newspaper said, thus, allaying fears of a broader conflagration.

Indeed, Iran’s military said that it would respond "forcefully" in the event of a new attack, i.e. it will not retaliate against Israeli attacks, provided they are limited to those that have already occurred.

Hezbollah, for its part, appears to have submitted to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Israeli army indicated earlier today that the latter had not yet "joined the fighting", by launching attacks against Israel.

Everything seems to indicate that this outbreak will not go any further, unless Israel disrupts the calm by striking again Beirut’s suburbs. In fact, an Iranian official said that, “unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts” must include Lebanon.

“Israel and Iran are seeking an immediate CEASEFIRE!” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are underway, held back by ignorance or stupidity,” the US president wrote.

“We're very close to a final deal with Iran. It'll be a good deal. I don't want it to blow up because of what's happening now,” he said on the eve of this development, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, who said he spoke to him by phone.

President Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had a heated exchange a few days ago, according to Mr. Trump, who expressed his displeasure with the Israeli offensive in Lebanon as he seeks a way out of a conflict that is deeply unpopular in the United States ahead of the midterm elections.

After he was received yesterday at the presidential palace in Baabda, US Ambassador Michel Issa was expected to announce that the United States refused to allow the Iran-Israel confrontation to escalate.

What is certain, however, is that the flare-up on Sunday and Monday is part of Iran’s attempt to assert itself as the holder of the "Lebanese card" and to implement the principle of "unity of fronts" between Iran and Hezbollah’s Lebanese stronghold. “Lebanon is not alone," triumphantly declared the pro-Hezbollah daily Al-Akhbar, published in Beirut, on Monday morning.

Tehran's intolerable hold

However, President Joseph Aoun is striving to wrest Lebanon away from Iran's intolerable hold. Thus, in Washington on 2-3 June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to "implement a ceasefire" and create "pilot zones" controlled by the Lebanese army.

“As a result of U.S.-led negotiations, Israel and Lebanon agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire. The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizballah fire and the evacuation of all Hizballah operatives from the South Litani Sector,” reads a joint statement issued after the two-day talks.

The weak point of this promising agreement is the lack of a date for the ceasefire to take effect. This ambiguity allowed Israel to continue its ground operation in Lebanon and to reach Nabatiyeh.

Israel and Lebanon also agreed, during talks on 2-3 June, to participate in a new round of talks on 22 June aimed at a "comprehensive agreement" that would include a date for the start of the ceasefire.

They also announced their intention to “swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

Still, this did not prevent the Israeli army from playing into Hezbollah's hands and targeting a Lebanese army vehicle travelling within its area of ​​operations, an incident that resulted in three deaths.

In any case, Iran’s IRGC and Hezbollah categorically rejected the agreement reached in Washington, calling it a “capitulation” and a “defeat”. An Iranian newspaper even claimed in a headline that President Aoun was “Netanyahu's chief of staff in Beirut”.

Joseph Aoun speaks out

Responding to Iran’s blatant interference in the country’s internal affairs, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun gave an interview to the US news channel CNN, in which he notably responded to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi by accusing Iran of "using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with Washington," urging him to cease all interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.

For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ADDED that, “no one negotiates on behalf of Lebanon except the Lebanese state”.

In his interview, an angry Aoun said, “It is not your country, it is our country” in response to Iranian arrogance. “It is the Lebanese who are paying the price for your own interests, and our interests do not coincide with yours.”

For the president, Hezbollah also must understand that there is no other way than to sit down and talk, no other way to resolve this problem and save what remains, except through negotiation and diplomacy.

Addressing Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, he said that the “Lebanese people [. . .] are not Qassem -- Naim Qassem’s people”.

Finally, addressing the Israelis, he asked them if they are not fed up with war since 1948, if they truly want to live in peace. To achieve this, the two parties must sit down and talk. It is time for the force of reason to prevail over the logic of force.

Military operations will never guarantee the security of the inhabitants of northern Israel. “We are ready, we are willing, we are committed (to negotiations),” Aoun said. “If you are not, you will never live in peace, safety and security,” he added.

For the Lebanese leader, nothing is impossible. His duty is to save the country, and he is resolved to do so, whatever it takes. “Where there's a will, there's a way.”

• lebanon
• iran
• israel
• joseph aoun
• hezbollah
• negotiations
• war