Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called on Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to recognise and confront Lebanon’s true adversary.

In a message posted on his X account on Saturday, Araghchi wrote, “Based on Mr. Aoun’s comments, one would think it’s Iran that has occupied one-fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of its population, and is bombing the country daily.”

He added, “Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached a deal long ago,” and urged the Lebanese leader to “save Lebanon from your real foe.”

The Iranian foreign minister’s remark came after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Iran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the United States.

In an interview with CNN, Aoun said “the people of Lebanon are paying the price … for the sake” of Iran’s interests, and were “fed up” with war between Israel ​and Hezbollah — comments reflecting deep divisions along Lebanon’s confessional and political faultlines.

“They are ​using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the ⁠United States,” Aoun said of Iran, according to excerpts of the interview published on ​the CNN website. “It’s unacceptable.”

Earlier, Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reaffirmed support for Lebanese resistance groups and called on Israel to withdraw to its positions prior to what he described as the “recent US-Israeli imposed war on Iran.”

Qaani also expressed confidence in Lebanon’s ability to withstand Israeli aggression, stating, “the Lebanese fighters will soon see the results of their courageous resistance.”