Hezbollah fighter on duty in the village of Aaramta, Jezzine, southern Lebanon.
Iran accuses Trump of having “plunged the Middle East into chaos”. Hezbollah maintains a role in the country’s politics, but an “irresponsible and suspicious act” led to the illegalization of its military activities in Lebanon.
Iran “will not negotiate with the USA”. The guarantee came from the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, in a publication in X this Monday, in which he rejects the news published in the United States according to which Tehran is trying to reopen channels to resume nuclear talks with Washington.
At a time when Israel and the US continue to attack targets in Iranian territory, the official denies the news, which stated that Larijani had sought, through Omani mediators, to relaunch diplomatic contacts in the wake of that of Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, attributed to a joint US and Israeli operation on Saturday.
The Iranian official not only denied this scenario but also intensified his criticism of the American President. He accuses Donald Trump of having “plunged the Middle East into chaos” through “delusional fantasies”. Now, “he fears more American casualties”, wrote the Iranian official.
In another message, Larijani stated that Trump had transformed the motto “America First” into “Israel First”, claiming that the US was “sacrificing American soldiers” to serve Israel’s “power ambitions”.
Attacked and threatened by Israel, Lebanon calls for dialogue
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a ban on military and security activities, declaring them “illegal”, just hours after Israel responded to rocket and drone attacks launched from Lebanon with aerial bombings over south Beirut.
In a public statement, cited by , Salam stated that the Government “imposes a ban on Hezbollah’s military activities and restricts its role to the political sphere”, highlighting the rejection of “any military or security operations launched from Lebanese territory outside the framework of legitimate institutions”.
The head of the Lebanese Government also called on the security forces to “prevent any attacks originating in Lebanese territory” and reiterated the commitment to “the cessation of hostilities” and “the resumption of negotiations”.
The Israeli army admitted invading Lebanon following hostilities: “all options are on the table”.
An armed group and political party allied with Iran, Hezbollah operates autonomously from the Lebanese State. The group stated that the attack carried out this Sunday was in retaliation for that of the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and an action “in defense of Lebanon and its people”, also invoking “repeated Israeli aggressions”.
Israel responded with airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, causing more than 30 deaths and 149 injuries, according to the state-run National News Agency. The escalation occurs in a context in which Hezbollah finds itself weakened after the 2024 war, in which Israel will have eliminated most of the group’s military and political leaders.
Under increasing pressure from the United States and Israel, Lebanese authorities agreed to move forward with the disarmament of Hezbollah. The movement rejected the plan, classifying it as a “USA and Israel” maneuverand refused to hand over weapons north of the Litani River, arguing that the ceasefire signed in November 2024 provided for disarmament only south of that line.
The Government indicated last month that the Armed Forces would need at least four months to complete the second phase of a five-stage plan to dismantle arsenals in the south of the country. This phase covers the area between the Litani and Awali rivers, about 40 km south of Beirut. In January, authorities said they had completed the first phase, between the Litani and the southern border with Israel.
Salam called the Hezbollah attack “a irresponsible and suspicious act” which compromises national security and gives Israel “pretexts” to continue attacks. In Beirut, hundreds of thousands of people are currently fleeing southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the capital, Al Jazeera correspondents report.
