TEHRAN - Lebanon’s top diplomat, Youssef Raggi, has raised eyebrows inside the Arab country with his unfriendly remarks against Iran and the Hezbollah resistance movement. 

In his latest remarks, Raggi, a member of the Lebanese Forces (LF) party, denounced Iran’s “role in Lebanon” as “extremely negative”, whilst also alleging that Hezbollah “cannot handover its weapons without an Iranian decision.”

Before that, in a post on social media addressing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, he said, “I genuinely wanted to believe what you said that Iran does not interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs.”

Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, a parliamentary member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, said that the remarks made by Raggi “represent the Lebanese Forces (party) more than they represent the Lebanese government.”

Al-Hajj Hassan called on Foreign Minister Raggi to activate Lebanon’s diplomatic efforts. 

He emphasized that “His Excellency the minister speaks about averting (an Israeli regime) strike, the very minimum is that he should not adopt a narrative that mirrors the Israeli regime and American narratives used to justify attacks.”

“The least he can do is to activate his diplomatic work first, and to mobilize Lebanese diplomatic missions to explain to the world that Lebanon has adhered to the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities since November 27, 2024, more than a year ago, while the Zionist enemy has not adhered to this agreement at all and continues to attack Lebanon.”

He added "Today, incidentally, there was Israeli aggression against the south while the minister was making his statements. He could have mentioned that today there was Israeli aerial aggression against several southern villages. It seems he was not aware; perhaps his office did not inform him that an Israeli attack had taken place today.”

On the liberation of the south and resistance achievements, al-Hajj Hassan said: “His Excellency the minister did not liberate the south. It was the weapons of the resistance that liberated the south in the year 2000, at a time when the minister and the party he belongs to were in a different position. He cannot claim this achievement for himself or his party. The same applies to the heroic resistance in 2006 and the confrontation with the takfiri groups in the border areas, at a time when the minister and his party were standing and watching.”

Wassim Ismail, an international relations researcher, pointed out “the (Lebanese) foreign ministry’s exaggerated reactions under the guise of ‘sovereignty’ come at a time when the same ministry ignores blatant U.S. interference in Lebanese affairs.”

Responding to the Lebanese foreign minister on social media, users sharply denounced the remarks. One wrote, “Sir, we live in the age of information. Nothing is hidden from anyone anymore. Don’t turn against your own country.”

Another commenter demanded accountability, saying, “Not a word about the Israeli enemy bombing your country daily? Resign.”

Others questioned the very notion of “stability” being invoked. “Stability is when you get bombed 3,000 times a year and have more and more of your land occupied,” one post decried, referring to the ongoing deadly Israeli regime’s aggression.

Several users argued that blaming Iran obscures the real problem. As one put it, “Blaming Iran deflects from the real issue: Israeli (regime’s) ongoing erosion of Lebanese sovereignty. The conversation should not be reduced to regional scapegoating when the imminent threat to Lebanon is clear.”