[News] Lebanese voices reject US-backed deal, defend Resistance

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lebanese-voices-reject-us-backed-deal--defend-resistance>
Lebanese voices reject US-backed deal, defend Resistance
Al Mayadeen English
June 5, 2026
------------------------------

Political parties, religious figures, and ministers accused Lebanese
authorities of weakening the country's position through direct negotiations
and distancing themselves from key regional allies.

   - [image: Lebanese voices reject US-backed deal, defend Resistance]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/6/5/4a6e1117-df20-4692-a979-ddd925fa93c0.jpeg?v=2&width=1000>
   A fighter from the Hezbollah movement holds the Lebanese and the party's
   flag during a press tour in a mountainous area around the Lebanese border
   town of Arsal on July 25, 2017. (AFP)

Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan criticized the performance of
Lebanon’s political authorities and their recent decisions
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/berri-blasts--ceasefire--agreement-as--rigged--in-favor-of>
.

Writing in a post on X, he stated that the United States administration is
negotiating with Iran and has even moved toward engaging with the
resistance in Lebanon. He added that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also
maintaining contact with Tehran despite everything that has happened,
stressing that all of this is positive for reaching an agreement and
reducing tensions in the region, which would inevitably reflect on Lebanon.

The Lebanese official attacked the government measures, saying: “As for the
authorities in Lebanon, they have taken the decision to expel the Iranian
ambassador and cut off any communication with Iran and the resistance,
instead of seeking common ground to protect Lebanon from the repercussions
of external and internal pressures.” He mocked these measures, saying:
“Wise, well-studied, and rational decisions… an unprecedented farce,
unfortunately.”
National Banner Party rejects US-Israeli deal as “surrender terms”

In a similar vein, the National Banner Party strongly condemned the
proposed understandings
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/resistance--berri-united-on-demand-for-full-ceasefire--hezbo>,
describing them as an American–Israeli list of conditions aimed at imposing
surrender, subjugating Lebanon, and achieving through diplomacy what the
occupation failed to achieve through war. It stressed its rejection of any
agreement that does not explicitly include a full Israeli withdrawal, an
end to hostilities, and the prevention of violations of Lebanese
sovereignty.

The party warned against attempts to ignite internal strife and create a
rift between the army and the resistance in service of enemy objectives. It
called on the authorities to abandon the path of direct negotiations, which
it said deepens divisions, arguing that a state which conspires against its
own sources of strength and equates the occupier with the rightful party is
not acting with national responsibility.
Mufti warns "Israel" could have reached Baabda without Resistance role

Grand Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan addressed a message to President
Joseph Aoun, urging him to “stop statements that do not befit the
presidential office, which exists to represent common ground rather than to
tear apart the Lebanese national fabric.”

He further stated that “defending security concessions to the Israeli
entity does not justify such positions,” adding that without the “legendary
resistance,” which wore down Israeli military capabilities along the
southern border, Israeli forces would have reached the Baabda Palace. He
also asserted that Iran provided the most significant historical support
for Lebanon’s 2000 withdrawal, and continues to uphold its commitment to
protecting Lebanon from "Israel’s Greater wars.”
"A third liberation will take place in 2026"

The Association of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon (Tajammu al-Ulama
al-Muslimin) issued a statement condemning a coordinated campaign launched
by President Joseph Aoun in his interview with *CNN* and by Prime Minister
Nawaf Salam during his meeting with foreign ambassadors against the Islamic
Republic of Iran, accusing it of "meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs".
It described these accusations as false and unacceptable.

The association further stressed that Iran has been sincere in its support
and has endured significant hardships, and that because of this, a “third
liberation” will take place in 2026. It added that the positions of both
the president and the prime minister are categorically rejected and do not
represent the will of the majority, which supports the resistance according
to opinion polls.
Atallah: Negotiating from a position of weakness does not make peace

In a post on X, Lebanese Minister Ghassan Atallah stated that “those who
believe peace can be imposed by force are mistaken, and those who believe
submission leads to stability are even more mistaken. True peace is not
built on power balances alone, but on justice, dignity, and rights. As for
stability imposed under pressure, it is nothing but a temporary truce that
postpones explosion rather than preventing it.”

Atallah emphasized that an authority which abandons its sources of strength
and negotiates from a position of weakness does not make peace, but instead
entrenches dependency and incapacity. He added that a resistance that fails
to transform its sacrifices and achievements into a strong and just state
leaves its gains vulnerable to erosion and waste.

These intense positions come following disappointing results from direct
negotiations held between the Lebanese authorities and "Israel" under
United States sponsorship.

Under the agreement declared yesterday, the Lebanese Resistance Hezbollah
is required to withdraw from South Lebanon, while "Israel" is granted
freedom of movement on Lebanese territories, essentially entrenching the
occupation of the southern lands.

When the agreement was publicized, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim
Qassem responded in a pointed message on Thursday, condemning the
Washington declaration on Lebanon
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheikh-qassem-slams-washington-declaration--calls-direct-tal>
as a tool of subjugation, rejecting ongoing direct negotiations, and
reaffirming the Resistance's commitment to fighting until full Israeli
withdrawal.

*Read more: Resistance destroys Merkava tanks, exposes empty Shaqif Castle
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/resistance-targets-iof-gatherings--exposes-empty-shaqif-cast>*
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