In a post on X on Saturday, Araqchi sharply criticized comments made by Aoun about Tehran’s alleged influence in the Arab country, urging him to focus on Lebanon’s real enemy rather than Iran.
“Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President,” the top diplomat said in response to Aoun's remarks during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour a day earlier.
He further noted that Aoun’s comments overlooked the primary threat facing Lebanon and misidentified the source of the country’s current challenges.
“Based on Mr. Aoun's comments, one would think it is Iran that has occupied one-fifth of Lebanon, displaced one-quarter of the Lebanese people, and is bombing his country on a daily basis," Araqchi said.
He further rejected Aoun’s claim that Iran was using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States, saying, “Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached a deal long ago.”
In the CNN interview on Friday, Aoun delivered a message to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), saying “It's not your country, it's our country,” after Commander of the IRGC Quds Force Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani said the minimum demand of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement is a full Israeli withdrawal to the positions it held before the outbreak of the 40-day war.
Aoun further claimed that Iran is treating Lebanon as leverage in its talks with Washington, saying such an approach was "unacceptable."
He also called on Hezbollah to embrace diplomacy as the only path toward ending the conflict with Israel.
This came after the announcement of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between the Lebanese government and the Tel Aviv regime.
Despite the so-called ceasefire, Israeli aggression continues unabated. The regime’s forces persist in bombing villages and towns across southern Lebanon, systematically destroying homes, public facilities, and civilian infrastructure.
Recent Israeli strikes have killed and injured several Lebanese civilians. The occupation army has also issued forced displacement orders targeting residents of three towns in the Sidon and Nabatiyeh areas.
The war has claimed at least 3,526 lives since March 2, according to the latest figures released by Lebanon's Health Ministry on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continue to suffer mounting casualties and equipment losses in southern Lebanon, as Hezbollah maintains its steadfast resistance in solidarity with Gaza and the broader regional struggle against Zionist expansionism.