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The Lebanese government on Sunday called on Hezbollah to "immediately surrender" its weapons, while strongly condemning Iranian attacks targeting Arab nations amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon, Youssef Raggi, stated in a post on X that during his participation in a meeting of the League of Arab States Council at the level of foreign ministers, he voiced Lebanon's "strong condemnation and unequivocal denunciation" of Iranian aggressions against the Arab Gulf states, Jordan, and Iraq and emphasised that such hostile acts violate international norms and standards. Raggi highlighted the Lebanese government's emergency session decision following Hezbollah's missile launches at Israel, which prohibits the group's military and security activities and mandates the immediate surrender of its weapons. He expressed regret that Hezbollah has repeatedly disregarded Lebanon's national interests to serve external agendas, defending Iran and dragging Lebanon into conflicts in which it has no stake, thereby provoking Israeli military operations against Lebanese territories. "I expressed my profound regret that Hezbollah has once again disregarded Lebanon's supreme interests to serve external agendas, engaged in defending Iran, and dragged Lebanon into a war in which it has no stake, thereby provoking harsh Israeli military operations against Lebanese areas," the foreign minister said. "I affirmed that Hezbollah acts unilaterally, isolated from the Lebanese state and its legitimate institutions, and that the Lebanese government and the Lebanese people are innocent of these actions and their consequences," the post added. The development comes amid escalated tensions in West Asia, following the killing of 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28. The strikes also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic. In retaliation, Tehran launched counter-strikes targeting American military bases in multiple Arab countries and Israeli assets across the region. Israel, along with the US, continued its strikes on Tehran, with Tel Aviv widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militant groups. Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released operational figures highlighting a week of combat against Hezbollah in Lebanon, detailing the scale of its air, sea, and ground operations. According to a post on X, the IDF stated that over 600 terror targets were struck across Lebanon using approximately 820 munitions. The operations resulted in the elimination of 190+ terrorists, including Abu Hamza Rami, the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Lebanon, along with several senior commanders. The IDF further reported that 27 waves of strikes were conducted in Beirut, including five waves targeting the Dahieh area, a Hezbollah stronghold. (ANI)
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