Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has made the explosive claim that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is now directly commanding Hezbollah military operations inside Lebanon, bypassing the organization's Lebanese political leadership in what would represent a fundamental shift in the group's command structure.
In an interview with Al Hadath, Salam stated that "the decisions being made are no longer Lebanese decisions. Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders are operating from Lebanese territory, directing strikes and refusing de-escalation." The claim, if accurate, would mark the most significant erosion of Lebanese sovereignty since the Syrian occupation ended in 2005.
The allegation comes amid intensifying Israeli strikes across Lebanon and growing domestic frustration with Hezbollah's decision to open a front against Israel following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Over one million Lebanese have been displaced, and infrastructure damage is mounting daily.
Prime Minister Salam, who took office in January with international backing and a mandate to reassert state authority, has been increasingly vocal in criticizing Hezbollah's unilateral military decisions. His latest statement represents the most direct challenge yet to the organization's claim of acting in Lebanese national defense interests.
In this region, today's headline is yesterday's history repeating. The question of who actually controls Hezbollah's military wing has long been contested. The organization insists it maintains independent decision-making as a Lebanese resistance movement, while critics have always characterized it as an Iranian proxy force. Direct IRGC command, if confirmed, would settle that debate definitively.
The sovereignty implications are profound. Lebanese territory being used as a forward operating base for Iranian military commanders would constitute a level of foreign control unprecedented even during the country's 15-year civil war. It would also provide with a stronger legal justification for strikes deep inside Lebanese territory, arguing it faces not a Lebanese organization but Iranian forces operating from Lebanese soil.
