An Israeli strike has eliminated yet another senior operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Lebanese soil. This time, the target was Hussein Mahmoud Marshad al-Jawhari, an alleged Quds Force commander accused by Israel of orchestrating Iran-directed operations against it from Syria and Lebanon. His killing, along with others in near-daily Israeli drone strikes, is not an isolated incident, it is a symptom of a far deeper and more dangerous malaise eating away at Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Lebanon today stands at a crossroads. It can either continue to tolerate the presence of Iranian military operatives who are systematically dragging the country into regional confrontation, or it can finally assert its independence by severing relations with Tehran and expelling the IRGC and its Quds Force proxies who are trying to resurrect Hezbollah’s military machine.

The facts are stark. Despite a ceasefire that came into effect in November 2024 after more than a year of cross-border hostilities linked to Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, Israeli strikes have continued almost daily. According to the United Nations, more than 300 people have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire, including at least 127 civilians. Nearly 1,600 Israeli strikes were recorded between January and late November. Israel justifies these attacks by pointing to Hezbollah’s continued military presence and Iran’s shadowy hand directing operations from Lebanese territory.

Whether one accepts Israel’s justification or not, one reality cannot be denied, Lebanon is paying the price for hosting a foreign revolutionary army that answers not to Beirut, but to Tehran. The IRGC’s Quds Force is not a........

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