Lebanese President: Naim Qassem Does Not Represent Lebanon, and Iran Exploits Us for Negotiations

SadaNews - After Hezbollah's rejection of the ceasefire agreement announced by the United States following four rounds of direct talks between the delegations of Israel and Lebanon, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed that the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, does not represent all the Lebanese people.

Aoun added in an interview with CNN today, Friday, that his message to Iran is that "our interests do not align with yours." He emphasized that "the Lebanese are paying the price for Tehran's own interests."

He also clarified that "the Iranian Revolutionary Guard must understand that Lebanon is our country, not theirs."

"Hostility with Israel Must End Forever"

Additionally, he confirmed that the Lebanese side has made significant progress in negotiations with Israel. He considered that "the agreement could be a pathway towards fair and lasting peace."

He warned that military solutions will never bring peace to northern Israel. He viewed that "the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel must end forever."

He also believed that "the two countries have a great opportunity to live in safety and peace."

Regarding the possibility of meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that it "will not happen unless an agreement that ends the war is reached."

"This War is Not Our War"

For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reiterated that the war being fought in the south is not "Lebanon's war."

Salam called on Iran during the "Launch of the Second Urgent Humanitarian Appeal" conference today to stop exploiting southern Lebanon as a card to strengthen its position at the negotiating table. He said, "Iran should have mercy on our south, and stop treating it and its people as a card to improve its negotiation conditions."

These statements came after the Secretary-General of Hezbollah criticized on Thursday the proposed ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States, considering it an insult to the country. He rejected the withdrawal of party members from southern Lebanon, calling for a ceasefire across all of Lebanon, not just in the southern suburbs of Beirut or "specific" areas in the south, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territories.

Meanwhile, Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, which established Hezbollah in 1982, considered that "the minimum demands of the resistance" in Lebanon is for Israel to withdraw to the positions it controlled before the outbreak of the war on March 2nd.

While Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that his country will not withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and will continue its operations. He clarified that the condition for not bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut is tied to Hezbollah stopping its attacks on "northern Israel."

The latest agreement announced last Wednesday after four rounds of direct talks between the delegations of Israel and Lebanon in Washington stipulates that Hezbollah withdraw from the south, cease its attacks on "northern Israel," and deploy the Lebanese army in a number of areas described as "experimental" initially, then later Israeli forces will withdraw from some southern villages.

It was also noted that Israel commits, in return for this withdrawal, not to target the southern suburbs of Beirut unless Hezbollah continues to target "northern Israel."

It is worth mentioning that a previous ceasefire agreement announced by the United States last April did not hold, as Israel continued its intensive airstrikes on southern Lebanon and expanded its forces' incursion into the southern region of the Litani River.