The Daily Populous Monday June 8th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by bbc.com and submitted by One-Emu-1103

Lebanese president accuses Iran of using it as 'bargaining chip'

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Iran of using his country as a bargaining chip in peace talks with the US.

In an interview with CNN, Aoun addressed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the main backers of Hezbollah, and said: "It's not your country, it's our country."

"(Iran is) using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with US."

He said: "You are not trying to help us... the people of Lebanon are paying the price... for the sake of your own interest."

Aoun said he would take "whatever it takes" to save his country from conflict and that he is "committed" to negotiations to end the war. Addressing Israel, he said: "If you are not, you will never live in peace, safety and security."

He criticised the Israeli military strategy in dismantling Hezbollah, saying they can only be "dealt with" by the Lebanese government if Israel withdraws.

“They can invade the whole country, they can flatten the whole country, but they will never be able to achieve their objective,” Aoun said of Israel.

In response to the interview, Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X that had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, "we'd have a deal long ago".

He said: "Based on Mr. Aoun's comments, one would think it's Iran that has occupied 1/5 of Lebanon, displaced 1/4 of Lebanese and bombing his country on daily basis."

Laurie_Van_Carr on June 7th, 2026 at 21:27 UTC »

Loathsome though the Iranian regime is, they do seem to be playing the hand they've been dealt pretty well.

They seem to have understood that what stands in the way of them getting an acceptable deal out of Trump is that Israel will immediately sabotage it to pursue its own maximalist aims.

So, by making it explicit that they will retaliate against Israeli actions in Lebanon, they're trying to drive a wedge between Israel and Trump as a means of constraining Israel.

Given Trump's indiscipline and all-encompassing self-interest, that seems like a pretty plausible strategy.

ComprehensiveKiwi489 on June 7th, 2026 at 20:03 UTC »

Apparently, Trump had a comment a few minutes ago, where he stated that he was about to sign a deal with Iran on Monday or Tuesday, but then this happened. The levels of delusion is insane.

One-Emu-1103 on June 7th, 2026 at 19:48 UTC »

Iran has fired multiple waves of missiles at northern Israel

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Corps Guard (IRGC) says this is "the beginning of a full week of continuous strikes"

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it is working to intercept the threats and sirens have been sounded in "several areas across the country"

It had warned it was "preparing for potential fire" after Israel hit the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier on Sunday - a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was "in response to Hezbollah's firing at Israeli territory"