Exclusive JNews Lebanon
In recent hours, Lebanon has experienced an unprecedented political and diplomatic earthquake, manifested in the drawing of a sovereign ceiling—the fiercest and most daring in the history of Lebanese-Iranian relations. In synchronized stances highly significant in their timing and tone, President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led an official sovereign uprising against the “persistent insolence” of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which had rushed to attempt to abort the “Washington Framework Agreement” emerging from the fourth round of negotiations. This uprising was not merely a reaction; rather, it constituted an immediate restoration of the stature of the State, placing Tehran and its local proxy, “Hezbollah,” in a highly embarrassing diplomatic and popular position.
Baabda’s Earthquake via CNN: “Lebanon is Not Your Country”
In a decisive interview with the American network CNN, President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun shattered all traditional diplomatic ceilings, directing a direct and shocking message to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, saying: “Lebanon is not your country… it is our country,” stressing that the Lebanese are tired of wars and the settling of regional scores at the expense of their blood.
President Aoun put the dots on the strategic i’s, announcing:
- Iran is not trying to help Lebanon, and our interests do not align with those of Tehran, which uses the country as a bargaining chip in its international negotiations with Washington.
- Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qasim “does not represent the Lebanese people.”
- There is no way forward for Hezbollah except to sit and negotiate under the ceiling of the State and diplomacy, stressing with unprecedented boldness that “the state of enmity between Israel and Lebanon must end forever” to reach a just peace that preserves sovereignty.
Nawaf Salam from the Serail: Have Mercy on Our South.. We Are Not a Mailbox
Simultaneously, and from the platform of launching the Second Lebanon Flash Appeal at the Grand Serail—aimed at securing $331.5 million to support 1.4 million displaced persons—Prime Minister Nawaf Salam launched his political missiles toward the Iranian axis. Salam expressed the shock of the Lebanese that “the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was the first to reject the ceasefire before any other party,” continuing by saying: “If I may address Iran with a word, it is to have mercy on our South, and to stop dealing with it and its people as merely a card to improve the conditions of its negotiations… Lebanon is not a card on anyone’s table, and the South is not a reserve front for anyone.”
Behind the Scenes of Hezbollah
On the other side, private sources told JNews Lebanon, intersecting with what Middle East expert Barak Ravid suggested via Axios, about highly dangerous backstage dynamics governing the party’s relationship with its Iranian shadow. Information indicates that senior Hezbollah officials have begun to feel a “real murmur of discontent regarding the magnitude of the crude Iranian interference in the course of the negotiations.” There is an impression within the corridors of the party that Tehran is pushing toward a complete suicide for the resistance and its environment to protect its regional files, making the party feel a loss of the independence of its Lebanese decision-making in favor of the Iranian agenda.
This murmuring explains the “maneuvering margin” played by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Despite Berri issuing a statement describing the Washington text as “hybrid, booby-trapped, and unjust” because it imposes a unilateral ceasefire on the party without reciprocal restrictions on Israel, Berri did not announce a rejection of the agreement. Instead, he outlined counter-proposals based on parallelism and synchronicity (Hezbollah’s withdrawal south of the Litani in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from recently occupied territories).
In the same context, the position of the former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Joumblatt, was not far off, as he warned via “X” against the ambiguity and contradiction in the joint statement, fearing falling into the trap of a “new Oslo” where the rights of the South and its people would be lost.
The Urgent Baabda-Riyadh Line and Pakistani Mediation
Diplomatically, JNews Lebanon has learned that a highly important phone call took place between President Joseph Aoun and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during which Aoun thanked the Kingdom for its continuous stance in calming the situation and ending the escalation. Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed bin Salman renewed Riyadh’s absolute keenness on Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
In a prominent military-political development, the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Rudolf Heykal, is heading today to Islamabad on an official visit at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, Asim Munir. Our sources confirm that the visit has regional dimensions that go beyond logistical support for the army; Pakistan plays an essential role as a secret, indirect mediator in the complex US-Iranian negotiations file, making Heykal’s visit bear strategic implications whose results will appear in the near and long term.
Read also Exclusive- Does “Hezbollah” Really Plan to Blow Up the Qaraoun Dam? Here is the Full Truth
The Field Under the Ashes: A June 22 Round Under Fire?
On the ground, the Israeli military machine continues to consume villages. The South witnessed belts of fire and violent raids targeting Tyre, Ghandouriyeh, Touline, Qalawayh, and Zibdine (where 5 martyrs fell, including a paramedic), leading to extensive destruction inflicted upon “Bank Audi” in the vicinity of Jabal Amel Hospital, injuring 12 citizens. This coincides with urgent evacuation warnings that included the towns of Sarafand, Tefahta, Babliyeh, Marwaniyeh, Anqoun, and Kfar Fila.
Between the sovereign uprising of Aoun and Salam, Berri’s backdoor guarantees, and Hezbollah’s murmurs against Iranian guardianship, it seems that the days separating us from the fifth round of negotiations in Washington, scheduled for June 22, will be loud and written in fire… Will Lebanon succeed in wresting its free will, or will it remain a mailbox burning with the messages of others?
