BEIRUT/NEW YORK — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Iran on Friday to stay out of the country’s affairs and the ongoing conflict with Israel in one of his strongest rebukes of Tehran's role, while a prominent Shiite leader expressed conditional support for Hezbollah pulling back from the south.Aoun told CNN that Iran is interfering in Lebanon’s affairs as part of its war against the United States.“It’s not your country. It’s our country … It’s not your job to interfere in our country,” Aoun told the outlet in an interview. “Our people are being killed. Our house is being destroyed. They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with the United States. It’s unacceptable.”In an exclusive interview with CNN, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour his message to the IRGC and Iran. https://t.co/V3msdvKCG1 pic.twitter.com/Nrjn6wqPcA— CNN (@CNN) June 5, 2026
Iranian officials have repeatedly called for Lebanon to be included in any ceasefire agreement with the US and regularly praise Hezbollah for its fight against Israel. Addressing Hezbollah, Aoun said the group “must understand” that the only solution is to “sit and talk.”Aoun appealed to Israel to continue negotiating with Lebanon, acknowledging the security concerns in northern Israel resulting from Hezbollah rocket fire. “For the Israeli government, it’s a time for the power of reason to prevail over the reason of power,” he said. “Military solutions will never provide you with security and safety to the northern people.”“The majority of the Lebanese people are fed up with wars,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells me, and has stark words for Hezbollah’s leader: “It’s the Lebanese people, they are not Naim Qassem’s people.”@LBpresidency pic.twitter.com/heR21BK7aT— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) June 5, 2026
