Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized Iran strongly. “This is not your country,” he told Iran in an interview with CNN on Friday (June 5).
Lebanon's president has accused Iran of using his war-torn country as a bargaining chip in its conflict with the United States and Israel. He demanded that Tehran stop interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs.
In a rare and exclusive interview at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Beirut, Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese people were 'disgusted' with the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is a powerful Iranian-backed militant group and political force that is seen as another state within a state in Lebanon.
Lebanon's president spoke to CNN at a time when a ceasefire with Israel remains in limbo and his small country is once again embroiled in one of the most serious regional conflicts between Iran and Israel.
Addressing Iran, he said, “You are not trying to help us… the people of Lebanon are paying the price… for your own interests. Our interests… do not match your interests.”
He also took a swipe at Iran's elite military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), saying, “It's not your country, it's our country.”
Aoun rejected a statement by the Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon as part of the US-Iran ceasefire deal.
“They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States. This is unacceptable,” he said.
Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement on Wednesday to implement a ceasefire, but it is dependent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah shelling and the full withdrawal of all Hezbollah members from southern Lebanon.
“Negotiations have been difficult until a major breakthrough has been made. This agreement could be the way forward to a just and lasting peace,” Aoun said.
Hezbollah, which was not part of the accord, rejected the deal on Wednesday, saying it did not guarantee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
