File- Lebanon’s FM Youssef Raji
Lebanese foreign minister said Tuesday his country feared its infrastructure could be hit by Israeli strikes if the situation with Iran escalates.
The comments from Youssef Raggi came amid a massive US military buildup in the Middle East that suggested Washington was prepared to wage a potentially sustained campaign against Iran.
“There are signs that the Israelis could strike very hard in the event of an escalation, potentially including strategic infrastructure such as the airport,” Raggi told reporters in Geneva.
“We are currently conducting diplomatic efforts to request that, even in the event of retaliation, Lebanese civilian infrastructure not be targeted,” he said.
He stressed that his country’s leadership had been very clear: “This war does not concern us.”
Israel has sent an indirect message to Lebanon that it would target civilian infrastructure including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in a US-Iran war, two senior Lebanese officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
On Monday, Washington ordered non-emergency personnel to leave its embassy in Beirut as anticipation rose of a possible conflict.
Lebanon fears it could feel the repercussions of war in Iran, especially if Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah are involved in the conflict.
Israel last Friday carried out deadly strikes on Hezbollah command centres in eastern Lebanon and targets linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in the south, killing and injuring dozens of people.
Hezbollah said Saturday that eight of its fighters had been killed, and vowed renewed “resistance”.
Lebanon’s government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was badly weakened in a recent war with Israel, and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to do so.
Over the last few months, the military has, through its limited capabilities, worked to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and tunnels and confiscate weapons.
It declared in January the completion of the first phase of its plan, which tackled the area south of the Litani river, located around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Israel.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of re-arming, has criticised the army’s progress as insufficient, and has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the group.
Salam urges Hezbollah not to drag lebanon into another war
In an interview with the newspaper Nidaa Al-Watan, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam indicated that “we have no control over the course of Iranian-American relations.” However, he simultaneously urged Hezbollah not to drag the country into a new adventure, saying: “The Gaza adventure came at a high cost to Lebanon, and we hope we will not be dragged into another one.”
DIASRMING HEZBOLLAH
Regarding the completion of the process of restricting the use of weapons, the Prime Minister affirmed that the Cabinet is proceeding with its decision, without hesitation or ambiguity, as it is an irreversible sovereign choice. However, he acknowledged that the pace of implementation north of the Litani River is linked to a number of factors, including the results of the upcoming conference to support the Lebanese army in Paris next month, about which Salam expressed optimism regarding its chances of success, noting that the countries calling for it, the United States, France and Saudi Arabia, will be keen to provide the elements for its success.
Israel dealt heavy blows to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah during a war in 2024, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with thousands of its fighters and destroying much of its arsenal.
Hezbollah was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address last month that the group was “not neutral” in the standoff between Washington and Tehran”.
“”We are determined to defend ourselves. We will choose in due course how to act, whether to intervene or not,” Qassem said.
REUTERS/ TNA /ELNASHRA /YA
