Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel on Thursday called for a clear European stance against Iran’s influence in Lebanon, warning that the country has effectively been turned into a base for Tehran’s regional agenda.

Speaking at the European People’s Party Summit in Brussels, Gemayel laid out four key priorities, urging European leaders to take a more active role in addressing the crisis.

Gemayel said Lebanon “has fallen under Iran’s control over the past twenty years,” describing it as having been transformed into “a military base affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.” He pointed to a wave of political assassinations that have marked the country’s recent history, including the killing of his brother, MP Pierre Gemayel, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and other figures linked to the Cedar Revolution, which he said were part of efforts to impose control over Lebanon’s political system.

He warned that Iran has pursued a similar strategy in countries such as Iraq and Syria, cautioning that failure to confront this approach would allow it to expand across the Middle East and pose a direct threat to Europe and “free peoples.”

Referring to Hezbollah, Gemayel said the group’s military capabilities proved to be also a threat to European countries, notably Cyprus. He argued that Iranian influence should be viewed as a direct risk to the European Union, not merely a regional issue, adding that “the only way to end this danger is the fall of this regime, as it cannot be contained as long as it exists.”

As part of his proposals, Gemayel first called for a clear European position on Iran’s role in Lebanon and support for Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese government in dismantling Hezbollah’s parallel military structure.

Second, he urged concrete support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, highlighting what he described as a stark imbalance between the roughly $400 billion provided to Ukraine and the approximately $500 million allocated to Lebanon’s military, raising concerns about its ability to confront armed groups without adequate resources.

Third, Gemayel called for backing an initiative by President Joseph Aoun to launch direct negotiations with Israel, aimed at moving toward peace after decades of conflict, stressing that such a step would require serious European support aligned with EU values.

Fourth, he emphasized that the Kataeb Party is defending the same principles on which the European Union is founded, despite operating in what he described as a highly complex environment. He said safeguarding these values in Lebanon requires significant sacrifices and urged European countries to keep Lebanon high on their list of priorities.

The EPP summit is attended by top European leadership, including President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party and head of its parliamentary group. Also attending is Dolors Montserrat, the EPP’s secretary-general.

Several heads of state and government are also taking part including Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, and Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany, along with the prime ministers of Luxembourg, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Finland, Croatia, Latvia, Austria, and Poland.