Outrage erupts in Lebanon after Iranian claim that ‘Hezbollah is more necessary than water & bread’ for the country

Outrage erupted in Lebanon on Wednesday after an Iranian official appeared to belittle the country’s economic hardships while praising the presence of Hezbollah as vital to the country’s survival.

“Given Israel’s desire to kill and plunder other lands today, Hezbollah’s existence is more necessary than bread and water for Lebanon,” Iran’s regime affiliated Tasnim News quoted Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He continued by calling Hezbollah the “rescuer of the Lebanese people,” vowing that Iran would “continue to support Hezbollah and Israel’s attacks show the disastrous results of any Hezbollah disarmament.”

“Hezbollah’s presence is an indispensable necessity to Lebanon,” Velayati concluded.

The comments come amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as the Iranian-backed terror group has been increasing the pace of its rearmament efforts despite the Lebanese military ostensibly acting to disarm the group.

Earlier this week, Israel killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the group’s military chief who spearheaded its weapons smuggling and production operations, amid an increase of airstrikes against the terror group.

While the Lebanese government condemned Israel for its "aggression," some Lebanese blame Hezbollah for provoking Israel and bringing destruction over their country due to Iranian interests.

Several Lebanese leaders who are opposed to Hezbollah and Iran’s influence over the country strongly condemned Velayati’s comments.

“What is more important to us than water and bread is our sovereignty, our freedom, and the independence of our internal decision-making, far removed from ideological slogans and cross-border regional contexts that have destroyed our country and continue to drive us toward ruin,” said Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi.

Responding to an earlier post on 𝕏 by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Raggi said he had wanted to believe Iran does not interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs, until Velayati “came out to guide us on what is important in Lebanon and warn us of the consequences of disarming Hezbollah.”

Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces party and a vocal proponent of Hezbollah’s disarmament, wrote on 𝕏: “Mr. Khamenei and his esteemed advisor, if you both cared about the affairs of the Iranians and their sufferings, that would have been better for all of us.”

“For Lebanon is an independent state with its own constitution, governed by a Lebanese authority elected popularly and democratically, and you have no right to interfere in its affairs. And would that the Iranian people enjoy what the Lebanese people enjoy, when you do not interfere in their affairs.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi commented on the issue on Thursday, affirming that “we have never interfered in Lebanon’s internal affairs. It is the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah who make their own decisions.”

He added that “The notion that Iran has been weakened as a result of events in Lebanon is incorrect. This is not consistent with reality. It is precisely these misunderstandings and false assumptions that encouraged Israel to attack us, while they saw that Iran remains powerful.”

Iran’s position of influence over Lebanon was severely weakened by the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah last year, which decimated most of the group’s leadership and degraded large parts of its weapons arsenal, much of which had been shipped from Iran.

This enabled the creation of a new government under President Joseph Aoun, which, with support and pressure from the U.S., has been working to establish a monopoly on weapons in the country.

U.S. officials have pushed for disarming Hezbollah as a condition for helping in funding the country’s rebuilding after a severe, years-long economic crisis and the destructive war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024.

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