Lebanon Tells Iran to Stop Using Their Country in War

Lebanon's top leaders told Iran to stop interfering in their country's business on Friday. Lebanon's president and prime minister said Iran should not use Lebanon as a 'bargaining chip' when Iran talks with the United States. This happened as Israel and the group Hezbollah continued fighting, even after a peace deal was supposed to stop the violence.

Lebanese officials reported that Israel attacked about 40 places in southern Lebanon on Friday. Some of these attacks hurt people living there. At the same time, Hezbollah said it used drones and rockets to attack Israeli soldiers who had entered southern Lebanon. The fighting continued even though leaders had tried to make peace.

Lebanon got pulled into this bigger Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel in early March. This happened because Iran's top leader had been killed in February. Iran supports Hezbollah with weapons and money. Lebanon did not want to be part of this fight.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke directly to Iran's leaders during a news conference on Friday. 'Have mercy on our south, stop treating it and its people as merely a bargaining chip to improve the terms of your negotiations,' he said. He added that Lebanon is a free country that does not want to be used as a 'mailbox for the messages of others.' The prime minister was very angry about Iran's interference.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had a similar message for Iran when he talked to CNN news. 'It's not your country, it's our country,' he said clearly. 'It's not your job to interfere into our country.' Both leaders were angry that Iran was treating Lebanon like it belonged to Iran. They wanted Iran to respect Lebanon's independence.

Lebanon and Israel had agreed to a new peace deal this week through talks in Washington. The deal said Hezbollah had to stop all fighting completely. However, it did not say that Israel had to stop its attacks. Hezbollah rejected this deal on Thursday because they thought it was unfair.

The fighting has caused serious problems for people living in the area. Israel has moved deeper into Lebanon than it has in 20 years. On Friday, Israel told people in nine towns and villages to leave their homes immediately for safety. Many families had to flee with just the clothes on their backs.