Official Lebanon, led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, is not abandoning the path it has chosen: continued direct negotiations with Israel.
This is a bold step, as anyone in the Lebanese leadership who supports this approach faces significant criticism from Hezbollah and its supporters, along with publications that in some cases amount to explicit incitement.
Caricature of the Lebanese president shaking hands with a bloody Israeli hand
Aoun is portrayed by the Shiite-Iranian axis as being puppeteered by the United States and Israel. Cartoons, images and mocking posts are being widely circulated on social media.
Despite the attacks he has faced, Aoun said in recent days that “negotiation is safer than war, but it will not solve the problem immediately. It is a process that takes time. We have no other choice. Negotiation is not surrender, as some see it, nor is it concession. It is a solution to stop wars with the lowest possible cost. We will not back down from our choice. Negotiations may encounter obstacles or delays in reaching the set goal, but they will continue.”
Prime Minister Salam also stated that “the negotiation path we have chosen is the fastest and least costly for Lebanon and its people.”
Among the online incitement against Lebanese officials supporting direct negotiations are cartoons and short videos by Yemeni cartoonist Kamal Sharaf, a supporter of the Houthis and the Iranian axis. In one video he published, Aoun is shown shaking hands with a blood-stained Israeli hand and becoming stained by it. In another cartoon, Aoun is depicted smiling against a backdrop of American support while the Lebanese flag burns.
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In an Iranian newspaper published Monady calls Aoun 'the manager of Netanyahu’s office'
In an Iranian newspaper published Monday, Aoun was called “the manager of Netanyahu’s office” in Beirut, with a stamp on his forehead bearing Netanyahu’s face.
An AI-generated image circulated in recent days shows a Hezbollah operative stepping on the president. Hezbollah supporters also attempted to promote hashtags such as “Joseph Aoun is a traitor,” “Nawaf Salam is an agent,” “[Foreign Minister] Youssef Raggi is an agent” and “shameful negotiations.”
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, aligned with Hezbollah, has also joined the choir in recent weeks, calling for the government’s resignation and publishing headlines such as “Aoun and Salam continue to surrender” and “Aoun rushes toward peace, not reconstruction.”
Hezbollah strongly opposes recent decisions by the Lebanese government, including those restricting the organization’s military and security activity in the country, decisions on concentrating weapons under state control and disarming the group, as well as the decision to hold direct negotiations with Israel. It should be noted that Hezbollah supports negotiations, but only indirect ones.
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Cartoons by Yemeni cartoonist Kamal Sharaf, a supporter of the Houthis and the Iranian axis
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has repeatedly referenced what he calls the government’s “mistakes” in his speeches. In a speech on Saturday, May 24, he said that “if the government is unable to ensure sovereignty, it should resign.”
Hezbollah argues that the Lebanese leadership is making empty concessions to Israel and that only the group’s military power remains to defend the country from what it describes as American and Israeli takeover plans. In a message published on behalf of Qassem on Thursday, he called on officials to stop direct negotiations.
All of this also comes against the backdrop of increasingly sharp exchanges between Aoun and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the broader Iranian leadership.
Aoun opposes Iranian interference and over the weekend sharply criticized the Iranian government, saying: “You are not trying to help us. The Lebanese people are paying the price for your interests. Stop interfering in Lebanon’s affairs.”
Iran continues to deny any such interference. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded harshly to Aoun’s remarks on Saturday, saying: “One might think Iran is the one occupying a fifth of Lebanon, displacing a quarter of its population and attacking it every day.”
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Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Salam, attended the launch ceremony for the development and reopening of the Qlayaat Airport in northern Lebanon
Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Salam, attended the launch ceremony for the development and reopening of the Qlayaat Airport in northern Lebanon on Saturday. This is an airport Hezbollah previously opposed reopening, and the Lebanese government is now promoting its return to civilian flights.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and the western Beqaa region continue, along with sirens in Israel, and each major strike in Lebanon adds pressure on the leadership to once again explain its choice of negotiations. On Saturday, the Lebanese army reported the deaths of two officers and a soldier in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in the south of the country, and overnight two women were killed in a strike near Sidon.
Aoun and Salam condemned the strikes but still came under fire. One user wrote overnight on X that “following his statements against Iran, Israel is rewarding Aoun by brutally assassinating Lebanese army commanders.” Alongside the text, an AI-generated image was published showing Aoun standing next to an Israeli flag wearing a kippah.