Unprecedented Lebanese action against Iran at the UN

An unprecedented Lebanese initiative practically stole the spotlight locally on Wednesday from two major events: the resumption of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations in Washington and the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.

On the eve of these two crucial meetings due to their impact on the regional conflict, Beirut submitted a memorandum to the UN in which it challenges claims made by Tehran to protest to the UN Security Council against the Israeli strike that killed four of its diplomats at the Ramada Hotel in Raouché last March.

In this memorandum, Lebanese diplomacy criticizes the Islamic Republic, accusing it of violating the Geneva Convention on diplomatic relations and interfering in Lebanese internal affairs, according to Independent Arabia, which reported on it.

Lebanon also accuses Tehran of drawing it into a destructive war that does not concern it through its military arm, Hezbollah.

This initiative by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, aimed at putting facts in their proper context, is part of a continuing effort by the government, which had banned Hezbollah's paramilitary activities and declared Tehran's ambassador to Beirut, Mohammad Reza Chibani, persona non grata.

Its significance on the eve of the third round of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington lies in the dual message it sends: on one hand, the determination of the Lebanese state to move forward with the process supposed to allow it, in due course, to restore its sovereignty over the entire territory. On the other hand, an official, though implicit, Lebanese acknowledgment of Hezbollah's allegiance to the mullah regime.

In the text, Lebanon affirms its right to hold Iran internationally accountable and to ensure it bears the consequences of its repeated violations of its international obligations, according to Independent Arabia, which said it had access to the document's contents.

The media reported that Lebanon had filed a complaint with the UN. However, in a clarification issued in the evening, the Foreign Ministry specified that it was actually a response to Iranian letters addressed to the Security Council. Beirut chose to respond because Tehran had presented inaccurate information in its name.

Iran's ambassador to the UN had seized the Security Council after the attack, accusing Israel of a serious violation of international law by targeting four Iranian diplomats who were exercising the functions of official representatives of a sovereign member state on the territory of another sovereign state.

Lebanon, for its part, explained that the so-called diplomats killed were actually members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It based its claims on photos of them in military uniforms with their ranks clearly displayed.

Beirut provided these clarifications to the UN because in its letter, Iran had stated it had informed Lebanese authorities of the four diplomats' travel to the Ramada Hotel before their assassination. Lebanon, however, stated there was no coordination, citing an official note from March 16 in which the Iranian embassy acknowledged that it had not been able to inform the Foreign Ministry of the presence of the four diplomats at the Ramada Hotel. Furthermore, the ministry recalled that it had requested an updated list of Iranian diplomats in Lebanon twice without receiving a response.

Beirut also detailed in the document the harmful interventions of the IRGC in the country and reminded, to illustrate a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention, the launch of the first coordinated attack with Hezbollah since the beginning of the war in February.

It was on March 11, a week after the government's decision to ban Hezbollah's paramilitary activities. That day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps itself announced the coordinated strikes during which about fifty sites were targeted in Israel.

A Political Lever

Far from having a direct impact on Thursday's Lebanese-Israeli dialogue, the Lebanese initiative is nonetheless likely to serve as a political lever for a Lebanon eager to prove it wants to regain control of decisions on war and peace, heretofore mortgaged by Hezbollah. This signal is all the more critical as Israel remains focused on securing its communities on the northern border with Lebanon.

For now, Lebanon's main concern remains halting hostilities that have already claimed at least 2,882 deaths, including 200 children. It is around this objective—rejected so far by Israel—that Thursday's two-day talks between the Lebanese and Israeli delegations will open, led respectively by former ambassador Simon Karam and Yechiel Leiter, head of the Israeli diplomatic mission in Washington, and composed, among others, of military officials.

The discussions are expected to be difficult due to divergent priorities. Lebanon wants above all strict respect for the ceasefire of April 17 and an end to Israeli destruction in border villages to allow the return of displaced southerners.

Israel, for its part, demands a clear plan for Hezbollah's disarmament, a condition it had already set in November 2024 in the ceasefire agreement that ended the war also launched by this pro-Iranian group in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Tel Aviv had already made clear it will not withdraw from the buffer zone it continues to expand in the south as long as Hezbollah remains considered a threat.

To reaffirm its determination to neutralize this group, the Israeli military intensified strikes Wednesday against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. It also targeted four vehicles in the Chouf and southern Lebanon coastal areas. A total of nine people were killed, including two children. Evacuation calls were also issued for villages. Residents of nine localities in the Israeli line of fire were ordered to leave toward open areas.

The Beijing Summit

At the regional level, attention is focused on the talks that U.S. President Donald Trump will have with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his two-day visit to Beijing, where he arrived Wednesday.

A summit with major global stakes, from international trade to war in Iran to Taiwan.

The American president should notably seek China's help in his diplomatic confrontation with Iran, especially since it risks leading to a resumption of military operations should Tehran maintain its positions, which are unacceptable to Washington.

Central to the negotiations is the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran remains determined to control because the revenue from tolls exceeds that from oil sales, Tehran stressed Wednesday. An option practically unacceptable globally due to its strategic geopolitical and commercial impact.

Another important matter on the agenda of the Beijing discussions is economic cooperation, to which Donald Trump attaches particular importance, as evidenced by the composition of the delegation accompanying him, made up of about fifteen top business executives.