...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...-Israel war, even as Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging cross-border fire.
Mikati said he feared an escalation, with the border skirmishes stoking concerns that Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's Iran-backed Hezbollah could launch its own war with Israel.
"I am doing my duty to prevent Lebanon from entering the war" raging further south, Mikati told AFP in an interview.
Cash-strapped Lebanon is facing the possibility of war essentially leaderless, as political divisions have left the country without a president for almost a year, while Mikati has headed a caretaker cabinet for about a year and a half.
"Lebanon is in the eye of the storm," Mikati said.
"I cannot rule out an escalation because there is a race to reach a ceasefire before escalation spreads in the entire region."
Hezbollah and allied Paleostinian factions in Lebanon have exchanged fire with Israel almost daily since Hamas's October 7 assault on Israel.
Iran-backed or affiliated groups have also launched attacks on Israel from Syria, and targeted U.S. forces stationed in Syria and Iraq.