Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday accused Iran of effectively occupying Lebanon, slamming Beirut for failing to expel Tehran’s ambassador by a deadline it had set.
In a post on X, Sa’ar revealed that Iranian envoy Mohammad Reza Sheibani was still “sipping his coffee in Beirut,” saying the diplomat remained in Lebanon past a March 29 deadline.
“Lebanon is a virtual state that is, in practice, occupied by Iran. It is a visible occupation that hardly anyone speaks about,” he tweeted. “Hezbollah ministers also continue to serve in the Lebanese government.”
Jerusalem’s top diplomat noted that since March 2, some 5,000 rockets, missiles and drones were fired at the Jewish state from Lebanon, in violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire.
“A large portion of them were fired at Israel from south of the Litani River—an area that the Lebanese army declared in early January to be under its ‘operational control,” he stated, adding, “Lebanon will not regain its freedom until a decision is made in Beirut to confront the Iranian occupation and its proxy—Hezbollah.”
Iranian-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets and suicide drones at Israel from Lebanon on March 2, in retaliation for the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was killed in the opening strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” against the regime on Feb. 28.
In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement with Lebanon, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered Israel Defense Forces troops to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.
