As if Lebanon’s burdens were not heavy enough, Tehran has now decided to dispatch an envoy to take stock of its standing inside the country. Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is heading to Beirut, carrying what have been described as “special messages” from the Iranian leadership. His visit comes as Lebanese voices grow increasingly insistent on the need for full sovereignty and a single, legitimate armed force under the authority of the State.

But what messages is Larijani bringing? And who tasked him with the mission of “inspecting” Lebanon?

This is no routine diplomatic trip. Larijani’s visit follows a barrage of public Iranian statements openly backing Hezbollah’s arsenal and insisting it remain outside the control of the Lebanese State; a direct affront to international legitimacy, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and an even deeper affront to the Lebanese people, who are exhausted from living under what they see as a hijacked State.

Sources close to the Foreign Ministry told kataeb.org that “the best thing Iran can do for Lebanon is to take its hands off, ask its proxies to hand over their weapons, and integrate into the State instead of using it as a tool to impose its will.”

“If Tehran truly cares about Lebanon’s stability, as it claims, it should stop treating the country as a testing ground and a regional postbox," the sources said.

The concern over Larijani’s visit, they stressed, is not limited to its substance but extends to what it represents. The message, they said, is clear: Lebanon continues to be treated as a forward Iranian outpost in the region, even as what remains of its State institutions crumbles, political deadlines are indefinitely suspended, and sovereignty is slowly but steadily eroded.

This anxiety, they stressed, is not mere political analysis but a realistic reading of an untenable situation.

“If Larijani truly values his country’s relationship with Lebanon, he should come to listen rather than dictate, and he should respect Lebanon’s borders rather than treat it as an advanced front in the Vienna talks," the sources stressed. 

Charles Jabbour, head of the Media and Communications Department for the Lebanese Forces Party, was blunt. Speaking to kataeb.org, he said “Iran has no right to interfere in Lebanon’s affairs," deeming Larijani’s visit as "unacceptable" in both form and substance.

"Iran must understand that its geographic borders end at its own territory, not at Beirut’s southern suburbs,” he said. “Enough tampering with the fate of the Lebanese!” If Tehran still believes Hezbollah is its unbeatable arm in Lebanon, it is living in a fantasy. Lebanon’s sovereign decision has already been made, and any attempt to overturn it will fail.”

A Kataeb Party official struck a similar note, declaring that “the decision is firm: there will be no infringement on sovereignty from now on.” He argued that Iran, through Hezbollah, is trying to improve its position in negotiations with Washington by using Lebanon as a bargaining chip; a strategy pursued at the expense of the Lebanese people and their future.

“If Larijani’s visit is aimed at renewing pledges of allegiance or inspecting weapons, we say to him: those days are over. From now on, anyone visiting Lebanon must deal with a State, not a militia.”

In this context, Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel was the first to demand explicitly that the Iranian ambassador be summoned over Tehran’s open interference in Lebanon’s affairs. Speaking from the Grand Serail on Monday, Gemayel reaffirmed his position, stressing that “the latest Iranian statements are wholly unacceptable, and Tehran must respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and the interests of its people, not treat it as a pawn in a regional power bazaar.”