Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel said Lebanon is facing a coordinated political and media campaign targeting key national figures, as he reaffirmed support for Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi and senior Lebanese officials during a solidarity visit to Bkerke on Tuesday.

Gemayel led a delegation that included MPs Salim Sayegh, Nadim Gemayel, and Elias Hankach, along with members of the Kataeb Party’s political bureau.

Speaking after the meeting, Gemayel said the party stood firmly behind Patriarch al-Rahi amid what he described as an orchestrated campaign against him, while also voicing strong support for both President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

“We fully stand by Patriarch al-Rahi and reject the campaign being waged against him,” Gemayel said. “We also support President Aoun, who has the courage to open a new chapter in Lebanon’s history; one built on stability, prosperity, and peace.”

He added that the positions taken by the president “reflect our own,” and praised the government’s efforts to restore sovereignty.

“We also salute Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the ministers working to restore stability and State authority. This process will not be reversed, because the vast majority of Lebanese are rallying behind it,” he said.

Gemayel argued that the broader political and religious leadership in Lebanon is under attack as part of what he described as a foreign-backed campaign.

“The campaign against the patriarch, the president, the prime minister, and the Kataeb Party is being led by Hezbollah,” he said. “Hezbollah is part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Qassem Soleimani was effectively its commander in the region. Iranian officials themselves have repeatedly confirmed this connection. What we are witnessing is not a Lebanese campaign. It is an Iranian one targeting Lebanon’s institutions and symbols.”

He said responsibility now lies with Lebanon’s Shiite community to reject attempts to frame the conflict in sectarian terms.

“There is a real responsibility on the Shiite community to reject this rhetoric and Hezbollah’s attempts to pit them against their fellow Lebanese,” he said.

Gemayel questioned what he described as the group’s claim to representation.

“The real question is: how many of the 1.2 million Shiites does this rhetoric actually represent?” he said. “We are convinced a large part of the Shiite community rejects this approach. We are waiting for that rejection to be expressed, starting with Speaker Nabih Berri, who is the most representative figure after Hezbollah.”

He added that many had expected a stronger stance from Berri and other Shiite figures “against dragging the community into confrontation with other Lebanese.”

Gemayel also accused Iran of bearing responsibility for Lebanon’s long-running crises, calling for international accountability.

“What Iran is doing in Lebanon is a crime against the country, and it should be held accountable under international law,” he said. “There are legal provisions against recruiting Lebanese citizens and dragging a country into wars and destruction for the benefit of a foreign state.”

Gemayel also lamented the fact that Hezbollah has repeatedly sent Lebanese fighters into regional conflicts.

“They sent young men to fight in Syria, then into Gaza-related battles in 2024, where thousands were killed, and today they are being sent into wars on behalf of Iran,” he said. “We are talking about tens of thousands of Lebanese lives lost in conflicts that have nothing to do with Lebanon’s national interest.”

“How long are we going to allow Hezbollah to hold this country, its people, and its youth hostage?” Gemayel asked. “We hope the momentum initiated by President Aoun will extend into the Shiite community, because Lebanon can only be built on partnership. Iran cannot be allowed to continue hijacking Lebanon.”

The Kataeb chief said his party is actively working to challenge what he called a “culture of allegiance to foreign agendas.”

“We are confronting this ideology that demands loyalty to outside powers and sacrifice for causes unrelated to Lebanon,” he said. “The Lebanese Republic cannot coexist with this mindset. The starting point must be loyalty to Lebanon itself—its unity, its people, and its security.”

Addressing recent remarks attributed to Speaker Nabih Berri referencing “Anjar and Awkar,” in what appeared to be an insinuation of ongoing U.S. influence over Lebanon in comparison with past Syrian tutelage, Gemayel categorically rejected any equivalence.

“There is no comparison,” he said. “Anjar was associated with assassinations and the destruction of Lebanese sovereignty, including the killings of President Bachir Gemayel and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”

“Awkar, on the other hand, is a place where 300 American personnel were killed in Lebanon. The difference is simple: one represents a history of killing, the other represents a presence that is trying to help Lebanon move out of the crisis it has been pushed into,” he stated.