The Lebanese Government Declares Hezbollah's Military Action Illegal

On the third day of the US-Israeli offensive against the Iranian regime (the joint operation "Roar of the Lions"), developments accelerated on the military front and spread to Lebanon.

During the night of Sunday, March 1st, to Monday, March 2nd, and throughout Monday, the Lebanese front erupted in violence following missile attacks launched by Hezbollah against northern Israel, particularly the Haifa region. Brazenly disregarding the clear position of almost all local political factions and, above all, the central government, which explicitly warned the pro-Iranian party against any attempt to become involved in the Iranian conflict, Hezbollah nevertheless made the suicidal decision to drag Lebanon into this war (yet another pointless war) to avenge the death of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, killed last Saturday, February 28, during the first Israeli airstrike in Tehran.

The reaction to this reactivation of the South Lebanon front was swift. Less than an hour after the missile strikes, Israel launched intense airstrikes, along with a naval bombardment, against the southern suburbs of Beirut and some towns in the southern part of the country. One of these raids targeted MP Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc and deputy secretary-general of the party. This attack also left around thirty people dead.

At the same time, the Israeli army published a list of some fifty villages in South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, emphasizing that residents should evacuate these localities. This call caused massive traffic jams on the outskirts of the southern suburbs and on the roads of South Lebanon throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning.

On Monday morning and afternoon, the raids against the suburbs and villages of South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley continued. Israel announced that it had killed two senior Hezbollah officials, including the head of intelligence.

The Shiite party's decision to become involved in the Iranian conflict has provoked an outcry in political circles, particularly within the government. President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam explicitly condemned Hezbollah's behavior, stressing that it was intolerable for Lebanon to be drawn into a war that did not concern it.

The Government and Berri's Position

On Monday morning, the Council of Ministers held an extraordinary marathon meeting at the Baabda Palace, at the end of which Mr. Salam read an official statement indicating that the government now considers Hezbollah's military and security actions "illegal" and "prohibited." The statement specifies that the Lebanese army has been tasked with taking all necessary measures to implement this decision, particularly regarding the surrender of the pro-Iranian group's weapons to the state and the arrest of violators. Speaking out against any missile or drone launches toward Israel, the government called on Hezbollah to henceforth limit its actions to purely political matters.

This decision by the Council of Ministers clearly constitutes a fundamental turning point, as it formally recognizes the illegality of Hezbollah's military apparatus and, consequently, officially strips the Shiite party of the status of "resistance movement" that it has stubbornly claimed for itself and, above all, imposed on the Lebanese authorities for decades.

In this context, it should be noted that, according to sources close to the Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Amal Movement, Nabif Berri, he has supported the state's position regarding the now illegal nature of Hezbollah's militia. These same sources assert that, in light of recent developments, Mr. Berri has decided to withdraw the political support he had been providing to the pro-Iranian group. If this information is confirmed, it would imply a break, or at the very least a chill, between Amal and Hezbollah.

It is worth recalling in this regard that in the 1980s, a veritable war, which lasted for several months, pitted the two Shiite factions against each other. It ended in a defeat for the Amal movement, which has since aligned itself politically with the pro-Iranian party. If it is confirmed that Mr. Berry supports the Council of Ministers' decision to deem Hezbollah's military and security actions illegal, this would constitute a severe blow to the alliance between the two Shiite factions, an alliance that has hampered Lebanese political life since the late 1980s. This turning point would be all the more significant as it would occur within the context of the current decline of the Iranian mullahs' "empire" under the blows ofof the American-Israeli offensive (codenamed "Roar of the Lions").

American and British Positions

Regarding the progress of Operation "Roar of the Lions," American and Israeli aircraft continued their intensive raids on Monday against Iranian military positions, including air defense systems and missile depots and launch sites. After securing and fully controlling Tehran's airspace, the Israeli Air Force gained control of western Iran. This air superiority allows the two allies to systematically destroy Iranian missile stockpiles.

At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continued its intermittent missile strikes against Gulf countries, even reaching the British base in Cyprus.

On the political front, President Donald Trump indicated in an interview with a US newspaper that he did not rule out sending ground troops "if necessary." The White House chief also specified that the operation was ahead of schedule thanks to the elimination of several high-ranking Iranian officials in the first hours of the offensive. He further indicated that "the main operation has not yet been launched."

For his part, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth outlined the objectives and scope of the offensive against Iran during a meeting with US military officers and soldiers. Mr. Hegseth explained that Iran's ballistic missile arsenal and the regime's nuclear program posed a real danger to the United States and its allies. The US Secretary emphasized the need to bring down the regime in Tehran.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed this sentiment, stressing the need to destroy Iran's missile stockpiles and launch sites. He indicated in this context that his government had given a favorable response to the American request to use British bases to launch raids against Iranian military positions.