(RAHNUMA) The recent escalation of violence in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, is a stark reminder of the damage caused by Hezbollah’s ongoing confrontation with Israel. With the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike, the conflict has taken on a new dimension. Yet, this tragedy highlights a deeper issue: the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in propping up Hezbollah as a proxy militia, only to abandon it when most needed.
The IRGC’s history of backing and misguiding militias extends beyond Hezbollah. In Palestine, the IRGC funded and armed Hamas, not as a force for Palestinian unity, but as a rival to the Palestinian Authority. The IRGC’s support pushed Hamas to confront one of the world’s most powerful armies, Israel, with devastating consequences. Instead of helping Palestine achieve its rightful statehood, Hamas, armed with IRGC-backed weapons, launched an ill-advised attack that only brought destruction upon Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians paid the ultimate price, while the IRGC and Iran remained on the sidelines, offering no direct intervention.
The same scenario unfolded in Yemen, where the IRGC-backed Houthis resisted the Arab Coalition’s forces. Instead of bringing about a resolution, this resistance resulted in the pulverization of Yemen, a country left in ruins with millions of its people suffering.
In all these cases—whether Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis—the IRGC has consistently manipulated these groups to further its own geopolitical ambitions, leaving them to bear the consequences of their reckless actions. It’s crucial to distinguish the Iranian people from these decisions; they are not responsible. Rather, it is the IRGC’s military strategy that has misled these organizations into hopeless confrontations with far superior forces, offering no real support when it mattered most.
Now is the time for Lebanon to rethink Hezbollah’s place in the country. The Lebanese people should call for Hezbollah’s disbandment as an independent militia, integrating its members and arms into the Lebanese Armed Forces. Hezbollah’s new leadership must reassess its reliance on the IRGC, which has repeatedly failed to come to its aid in times of need.
More broadly, this is the time to pursue a Two-State Solution as the only viable answer for peace in the region. This solution must include the recognition of the State of Israel alongside a sovereign Palestinian state. Only through diplomacy, not arms, can the Arab world ensure the creation of a Palestinian state that exists in peace with Israel, bringing an end to decades of bloodshed and destruction.
Lebanon, and indeed the region, should instead align with the Arab League and prioritize diplomacy over militarism. By working together to end the conflict in Gaza, Lebanon can contribute to realizing Palestinian statehood and securing lasting peace.
