BEIRUT — Lebanon's Foreign Ministry declared Iran's ambassador to Beirut persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country by the end of the week. The decision came after the Lebanese government declared all military activities by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah illegal following rocket attacks on March 2, 2026.

Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi instructed the Foreign Ministry's secretary-general to summon the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Lebanon to inform him that the approval of the Iranian ambassador to Beirut had been withdrawn. Raggi said that Iran's new ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Shibani, would be declared persona non grata and was requested to leave Lebanese territory no later than March 29, 2026.

The most recent Israel-Hezbollah war broke out on March 2, 2026. Israel and the United States began attacks on Iran, and Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel two days after those attacks began. During the war, Israel's military killed several members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard in strikes around Lebanon.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Iran's Revolutionary Guard is commanding Hezbollah's operations in Lebanon. He said that Hezbollah's firing of missiles toward Israel threw Lebanon into a confrontation that the government was not willing to get involved in. "It is not the duty of the Lebanese to avenge Khamenei's killing," said Salam, referring to attacks on Iran that killed top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

After Hezbollah fired rockets on March 2, 2026, the Lebanese government declared all military activities by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah illegal. He said that Hezbollah should hand its weapons over to the state. After an emergency Cabinet meeting in early March 2026, he said only the state should decide on matters of war and peace.

The Lebanese government ended visa-free entry to Lebanon for Iranian citizens. Iranian commercial planes have been banned from landing at Beirut airport for more than a year. Salam said Iran's Revolutionary Guard was behind the firing of drones from Lebanon toward the Mediterranean island of Cyprus earlier this month.

On March 8, 2026, an Israeli strike hit a hotel in Beirut's Raouche district, killing four Iranian citizens. An Israeli strike in Beirut's southeastern suburb of Hazmiyeh killed Mohammed Ali Kourani, a Lebanese official in the Quds Force.

Hezbollah criticized the decision to declare Iran's ambassador persona non grata. "This reckless and condemned step serves neither Lebanon's supreme national interests, nor its sovereignty or national unity; rather, it constitutes a blow against them," said Hezbollah. The Foreign Ministry said the decision to expel Iran's ambassador does not mean Lebanon is severing its diplomatic relations with Iran.