Lebanon takes another step toward civil war? "Only by force"

Two sharp articles in a Lebanese newspaper call for ending the involvement of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon. Writer Iskandar argues that what Iran took by force to control the Shia can only be taken back by the force of the Lebanese state. Al-Faqali counts Hezbollah's dead and challenges the organization's long-standing slogan that it does not abandon its men. The articles convey a clear message: Hezbollah paid a heavy price, but Lebanon is far from liberation from Iranian influence.

Two sharp articles published in a Lebanese newspaper mark an escalation in internal tension in Lebanon against Iran. Writer Iskandar argues that the decisive blow against the Iranian regime can only come from within Iran itself, and that in Lebanon the struggle is twofold: against Tehran's external influence and against the internal structures that allowed it to establish itself. He calls on the Shia public to reclaim decision-making from the "rule of the jurist," but estimates the chance of this in the near term is low. According to him, what Iran took by force to control the Shia can only be taken back by the force of the Lebanese state. Al-Faqali counts Hezbollah's dead and argues that every name means a family, every body means a story, and every final number opens a larger question about the war's outcomes. He challenges Hezbollah's long-standing slogan that it does not abandon its men, given that some bodies remained under the rubble. Both articles convey a clear message: Hezbollah paid a heavy price in the campaign, but Lebanon is still far from full liberation from Iranian influence and from the internal conflict over the future of the organization's weapons.