![\"Hizbullah](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/nasrallah_hanged.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The ultra-conservative daily Kayhan<\/em>, which usually reflects the positions of the Iranian leader Khamenei, headlined on August 9, 2020: \u201cDoes Macron support the Lebanese people, or is he an accomplice to explosion\u2019s suspects?\u201d<\/p>\n In the body of the article, there was a reference to Israeli \u201cmilitary provocations\u201d on the Lebanese-Israeli border that preceded the explosion and to \u201cMacron\u2019s unwelcomed visit,\u201d which evoked “bitter memories” of Lebanon\u2019s colonial past. Kayhan<\/em> wrote that Macron threatened international sanctions if Lebanon does not introduce a series of needed reforms and political change.<\/p>\n Earlier, on August 6, 2020, Kayhan <\/em>suggested in an editorial entitled: \u201cThe explosion in Beirut is an incident or a terrorist plot.\u201d It wrote that maybe the \u201cterror organization CENTCOM (the U.S. Army Central Command, responsible for operations in the region)\u201d and its ally Israel stand behind the Beirut explosion. After all, the paper continued, \u201can \u2018attack\u2019 was mentioned by President Trump, who tweeted after the explosion.\u201d The newspaper said the tweet, which was later deleted, could provide answers to the explosion.<\/p>\n In this spirit, Ibrahim Al-Amin, a columnist for the left-leaning Al Akhbar<\/em> newspaper who is close to Hizbullah, criticized in an op-ed on August 7, 2020, after Macron\u2019s visit all those who called for the return of French colonialism to Lebanon and who gave extensive and sympathetic press coverage to the visit. For example, Al -Amin wondered whether anyone bothered to ask Macron about the \u201ckidnapping\u201d and arrest of the Lebanese citizen George Abdullah (arrested in 1984 and sentenced to prison after being convicted of the murder of the Israeli diplomat Yaakov Simantov and the American military attach\u00e9 in Paris). In the past, Al-Amin hinted in several articles that French citizens should be kidnapped to secure the release of George Abdullah.<\/p>\n Al-Amin also questioned whether anyone reminded Macron about French soldiers\u2019 deployment in Lebanon following Israel\u2019s 1982 invasion of Lebanon “These French soldiers from an occupation force were killed in Lebanon by Hizbullah fighters who acted in the spirit of the French resistance to the Nazi occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n Al-Amin added that despite all of France\u2019s attempts to revive the French spirit in Lebanon, its colonial role in the country are over. \u201cIn light of the Lebanese Nakba [the port blast],\u201d the timing the French president chose to arrive in Lebanon and offer his assistance with the support of the United States, the allies in the Persian Gulf (mainly Saudi Arabia), and Israel is not accidental. It evoked suspicion that France wanted to distribute aid not through Lebanese governmental institutions, but through civil society organizations, which would open a window of opportunity for Western intelligence organizations to become involved in Lebanon\u2019s affairs through these aid organizations.<\/p>\n Al-Amin concluded by saying that Macron had nothing to offer Lebanon other than elitism and Western terms intended for the re-colonization of Lebanon, which some Lebanese citizens yearn for. The worst thing that might happen is that Macron can provoke an internal controversy that could push some people to cry out for French aid and intervention. However, Macron has to know that Lebanon has changed, and he has to \u201cwake up from his dreams before September rains.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Kayhan<\/em> newspaper expounded on the threats to the region from France, the United States, and Israel on August 11, 2020:<\/p>\n While the people of Beirut are still in a state of deep shock\u2026 the regimes of the United States and West Europe, especially France, are playing dirty politics\u2026 including a threat to undermine the elected government. Macron is mistaken if he thinks that Paris can still dictate to Beirut as it used to do between the two world wars of the last century\u2026.<\/p>\n It is ridiculous for the French president, or for that matter the president of the United States, to impose their wills on the Lebanese people and government on the pretext of forcing western-oriented reforms that neither guarantee Lebanon\u2019s independence and territorial integrity nor resolve the economic hardships of the people, let alone save them from the aggressions of the illegal Zionist entity next door in Occupied Palestine\u2026. The current economic crisis in Lebanon is the result of sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, which have caused the Lebanese pound to lose more than 80 percent of its value.<\/p>\n The unruly scenes of the past few days in Beirut where rioters on the payroll of the West, the Zionists, and Arab reactionary regimes are trying to disturb the peace of the survivors by posing as patriots and calling for the resignation of the elected government, warrants tough disciplinary measures from the authorities in order to prevent chaos\u2026. As usual, the legendary anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah, has declared its support for the nation, pledging to mobilize all efforts to help overcome the present crisis, in addition to its heroic role in guarding the southern frontiers of Lebanon against any provocative move by Israel.<\/p>\n In view of these facts, Macron should be told without the least formalities, that his unwarranted visit has caused enough damage, and now he is no longer welcome in Beirut.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said, \u201cIt is natural for people to be frustrated.\u201d But it would be \u201cunacceptable if some individuals, groups, and foreign countries use the incident as a pretext for their purposes and intentions.\u201d Regarding Macron\u2019s visit, Mousavi declared, \u201cSome countries have been trying to politicize this blast for their own interests\u2026the blast should not be used as an excuse for political aims … if America is honest about its assistance offer to Lebanon, they should lift sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the explosion in the Beirut port, Iran and Hizbullah have clear interests in limiting French intervention specifically, as well as Western and Arab involvement in general in Lebanon and reducing the demonstrations and protests within Lebanon against Hizbullah. It took time for both Hizbullah and Iran to reduce the international and internal pressure on them following the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri in 2005. [A special international tribunal is scheduled to give a verdict next week against Hizbullah personnel on trial in abstentia for the murder.]<\/p>\n Now, Iran and Hizbullah are facing a similar task, taking into account the dire economic situation in Lebanon and its inability to receive aid via its damaged port. In addition, Iran\u2019s ability to help Lebanon via Hizbullah has diminished dramatically since it faces ongoing sanctions. Against the background of the volatile Lebanese demonstrations, which started on October 17, 2019, against corruption, the dire economic situation, and food shortages, the protests may resume and continue for a long time. Now more than ever, protesters will demand a change of government and the weakening of Hizbullah grip, which poses more than ever an obstacle to international aid in Lebanon.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Notes<\/p>\n 1<\/a> https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZareiReza3\/status\/1292242904900042752<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/a>\u00a0https:\/\/www.tasnimnews.com\/fa\/news\/1399\/05\/20\/2324687\/%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%82-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%A7-%D8%B3%D8%B1%DA%A9%D9%88%D8%A8-%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C\/photo\/1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Iran\u2019s Kayhan<\/em> newspaper: \u201cDoes Macron support the Lebanese, or is he an accomplice to the explosion\u2019s suspects?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2211,"featured_media":82497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6874,128,116,115],"tags":[743],"coauthors":[6142],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Kayhan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/kayhan_macron_frontpage.jpg?resize=420%2C424&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Iran\u2019s Threats<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lebanon_tasnim.jpg?resize=640%2C446&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Limiting French Intervention<\/h3>\n