Salam says Iran Guards commanding Hezbollah operations in Lebanon

Salam's claim on IRGC control

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards are commanding Hezbollah's operations in the group's ongoing war against Israel. In an interview Sunday with the Al Hadath network, Salam lashed out at Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war by firing rockets on Israel. He said the war was declared in retaliation for the assassination of Khamenei, and that it was imposed upon Lebanon.

Referring to the incident in which an Iran-made drone hit a British base in Cyprus earlier this month, Salam said that was the Revolutionary Guard, present and, unfortunately, managing the military operation in Lebanon. He added that these people have forged passports and entered the country illegally.

An Iranian-made drone hit a British base in Cyprus earlier this month, with Nicosia saying the drone was probably fired by Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and not from Iran itself. Salam referred to the IRGC announcing joint operations with Hezbollah against Israel as proof of their commanding of the war in Lebanon.

Lebanon bans IRGC

The Lebanese government decided this month to ban any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the country. Beirut also took the unprecedented step of imposing a ban on Hezbollah military activities and called on the group to hand over its weapons to the state. Salam said that they were committed to the decisions and were working to implement them.

War context and responsibility

Salam argued that the war in Lebanon was declared in retaliation for the assassination of Khamenei and that the conflict was imposed upon Lebanon.