Lebanonupdated 1h ago2 min read
Joseph Aoun Warns Lebanon Could Be Drawn Into War As Israeli Drones Fly Over Beirut
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Lebanon risks being drawn into a wider war amid Israel-Iran tensions. U.S. warns Hezbollah entry could prompt Israeli strikes on Dahieh and southern Lebanon.
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Aoun warns of wider war
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun warned that wars “can only end through negotiation and dialogue,” as fears grew that Lebanon could be drawn into a wider regional confrontation. Aoun said “The course of wars always differs from what the parties to the conflict expect,” while Israeli drones flew intensively over Beirut on Wednesday amid heightened tensions.
A Lebanese official source said senior officials received repeated warnings about the consequences of Hezbollah becoming involved in any renewed military confrontation between Israel and Iran. Sidon MP Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri said “Lebanon will inevitably be affected by the continuing US-Iranian tension,” as Israeli military expansion continued in southern Lebanon.
Unconfirmed US warning report
The Lebanese news site Al-Anba claimed that the United States warned high-ranking Lebanese officials that Israel would strike Beirut’s Daḥyā district and expand its control in southern Lebanon if Hizballah entered a conflict involving the United States alongside Iran. The report said very senior Lebanese officials led by Joseph Aoun were engaged in behind-the-scenes efforts to persuade Hizballah not to enter a new confrontation.
انتخاب also said the report claimed Lebanese officials were working to persuade Hezbollah not to enter into a new confrontation, and that the report had not been confirmed by any other source yet. انتخاب repeated the same claim, saying Al-Anba said Tel Aviv would attack the Dahieh district of Beirut and expand its zone of control in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah decided to enter the fighting in support of Tehran.
Negotiations and Hezbollah restraint
Arab News said Lebanese and Israeli military delegations completed two days of direct technical talks at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, with US participation, and that the discussions resumed after a break of about two-and-a-half months. Arab News reported that the Lebanese delegation focused on demands including an end to Israeli bulldozing in border towns, a halt to airstrikes and demolitions, and full implementation of the security arrangements in the south.
A source directly involved in the U.S.-sponsored Lebanese–Israeli negotiations relayed warnings from foreign visitors to Hezbollah, urging the Iran-backed party to refrain from military involvement in the event of a new war on Tehran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told MPs that “the likelihood of a renewed confrontation between Iran and the United States is far higher than betting on the success of mediation.”