A verbal crisis between Lebanon and Iran over the Hezbollah issue

The diplomatic dispute between Beirut and Tehran escalated after statements by the Iranian Supreme Leader’s adviser for international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, in which he said that the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon is “more important than daily bread and water,” provoking angry reactions in Lebanese political circles.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji responded to Velayati’s remarks by affirming that Lebanon’s sovereignty and freedom of internal decision-making are “more important than bread and water,” noting that the Iranian official’s statement reveals the extent of interference in Lebanese affairs.

Raji said in a post on the “X” platform, addressing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, that he had wanted to believe that Iran does not interfere in Lebanon, “until the adviser of its Supreme Leader came out warning the Lebanese of the consequences of disarming Hezbollah.”

He added that what matters to the Lebanese above all else is “their sovereignty, their freedom, and the independence of their internal decision-making,” away from “ideological slogans and regional contexts that have destroyed Lebanon and continue to drive it toward ruin.”

Earlier today, Velayati had stated that “the ongoing Israeli assaults and crimes against Lebanon show that the presence of Hezbollah has become more important than bread and water,” stressing that the group has become “indispensable for Lebanon.”