The Lebanese government, under its president Joseph Aoun, has been making a determined effort to assert its authority over the rogue Iranian-backed terrorist Hezbollah organization that once operated inside Lebanon as a virtual “state within a state”.  Although much weakened by Israel’s military and other more covert operations, Hezbollah is still too powerful to be controlled by the government.  Since it entered the war on March 2 in support of Iran, it has been launching an average of 150 rockets a day into northern Israel, some coordinated with Iranian missile attacks. 

The Lebanese presidency and cabinet have declared Hezbollah’s crossborder attacks “unlawful” and not authorized by the state, stressing that no nonstate actor has the right to drag Lebanon into war.

On March 9 Aoun outlined a fourpoint plan calling for a “total ceasefire,” Hezbollah’s disarmament, and international support to strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces, coupled with direct LebaneseIsraeli talks under international auspices.  In an online conference with senior EU officials, Aoun described the plan as a path towards “permanent security and stability arrangements on our borders”, but declared it was conditional on a halt to Israeli strikes inside Lebanon.

Perhaps as a sign of the sincerity of his intentions, on March 24 Aoun declared Iran’s ambassador-designate Mohammad Reza Sheibani persona non grata, and gave him five days to leave the country.  Lebanon objects to the close connection between Hezbollah and Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accusing the IRGC of “commanding Hezbollah’s operations” in the current conflict.

On March 30 it emerged that........

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