Biden UN speech not strong or promising, says Lebanon's Foreign Minister

US the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East and Lebanon, Abdallah Bouhabib says

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib addresses the UN Security Council in January. Photo: UN

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Lebanon's Foreign Minister criticised US President Joe Biden's UN speech on Tuesday, describing it as “not strong” and “not promising”, saying it offered no solutions to his country's issues.

“We want peace. It's not easy to get it, and we can only get it … the United States is the key to our salvation,” Abdallah Bouhabib told an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In his speech before the General Assembly, Mr Biden warned against “full-scale war” in the Middle East and called for diplomatic solutions on Lebanon and in Gaza.

Mr Bouhabib spoke after Lebanese authorities reported that Israeli strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, an ally of Hamas in Gaza, had killed more than 500 people, including 50 children, and wounded 1,835.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to continue the aerial bombing campaign against Hezbollah, as Israeli jets launched attacks on sites linked to the Iran-backed Lebanese group.

“The United States is the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East and with regard to Lebanon,” Mr Bouhabib said, adding: “I think we are not able to do it on our own – we need some help.”

He said the number of displaced Lebanese is “probably approaching half a million”.

Mr Bouhabib said that Hezbollah becomes “legitimate” in the context of occupation.

“Israel still occupies small part of Lebanon. I don't think it exceeds 100 square kilometres, and therefore justifies a resistance,” he said.

He said Tehran is risk-averse and seeks to avoid a major escalation, as it could draw in the US and Iran.

“They don't want an overall war. I don't think they want to be involved in a war. And from the beginning, I heard it from them [Iranians], from the former foreign minister, that they want a ceasefire immediately, rather than have a war,” said Mr Bouhabib.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in near daily cross-border exchanges since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, leading to the conflict in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 18 attacks on Israel, while the Israeli military reported that about 300 rockets had been fired across the border by the group.