US informs Lebanon that Israel has 'no intention' to escalate

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon informed the country that Israel had no intention of escalating hostilities as long as no attacks were launched from Lebanon, the Lebanese presidency said in a statement.

The message came as Lebanese authorities fear Iran-backed Hezbollah could become embroiled in renewed conflict with Israel after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on Saturday and Tehran responded with missile attacks.

"President Joseph Aoun received, through the U.S. Ambassador to Beirut... a message from his administration confirming that the Israeli side has no intention of escalating the situation against Lebanon, as long as there are no hostile acts from the Lebanese side," the Lebanese presidency said in a statement.

Hezbollah on Saturday called upon "the countries and peoples of the region to stand against" the U.S.-Israeli attack, warning that "its dire consequences will affect everyone without exception if left unchecked."

It did not state whether it had decided to intervene.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon refuses to be dragged into war.

"I reiterate that we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity," Salam said on X.

Later on Saturday, Salam said his government was making diplomatic contacts to avoid any repercussions from the conflict.

In response to the U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran fired missiles at Israel as well as several Gulf countries that host U.S. forces.

The Lebanese foreign ministry condemned the Iranian attacks on Gulf countries.

Many airlines, meanwhile, announced the cancellation of their flights to airports in the Middle East, including Beirut.

Salam however said Beirut's "airport remains open" and that "the national carrier's flights are continuing", though Middle East Airlines was forced to cancel flights to and from Arab countries that closed their airspace.

- 'Sparing Lebanon' -

Just before the operation against Iran began, Israel announced it was carrying out strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the Israeli strikes had targeted mountainous areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Aoun stressed on Saturday that "sparing Lebanon the disasters and horrors of external conflicts, and preserving its sovereignty, security and stability, are an absolute priority".

The U.S. urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country while commercial options are available and warned against travel to the country, according to a statement from its embassy in Beirut.

Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, was expected to deliver a speech on Saturday but it was postponed due to "recent developments".

A Hezbollah official told AFP on Wednesday that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of "limited" U.S. strikes on its backer Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a "red line".

Qassem has previously said that his group is in a "defensive position", but it would consider itself targeted by any U.S. attack on Iran.

Hezbollah did not intervene in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June, which the U.S. briefly joined.

The Lebanese group emerged weakened from over a year of war with Israel which a November 2024 ceasefire sought to halt.