LEBANESE DYING FOR IRAN’S INTERESTS, AOUN SAYS
The war erupted on Mar 2 when Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of its ally Tehran. Israel responded with an air campaign and ground operations that have left swathes of southern Lebanon occupied.
More than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and more than one million Lebanese are displaced. The US declared a ceasefire on April 16 but fighting has continued, and Lebanon says Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 strikes since the truce was announced.
Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday in retaliation for Hezbollah fire on northern Israel, triggering a 24-hour direct exchange of fire between Iran and Israel that threatened to wreck Washington’s efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to end their more than three-month-old war.
Aoun told CNN that Lebanon sought a good relationship with Iran based on mutual respect and non-interference, and said Lebanon’s people were being killed to serve Iran’s interests.
In an earlier clip from the interview aired on Friday, Aoun accused Iran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its talks with the United States, in some of his toughest criticism yet of Tehran.
