The Lebanon government on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) ordered Iran’s Ambassador to leave country.

The Foreign Ministry said Tehran’s diplomatic representative in the tiny war-torn country has to leave by Sunday (March 29, 2026), declaring him persona non grata.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 24, 2026

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Denise Rahme told The Associated Press that Iran’s Embassy will still have a Charge d’Affaires to head its diplomatic mission.

The Lebanese government has been critical of Iran and accuses its elite Revolutionary Guard of operating in Lebanon alongside the Hezbollah militant group and dragging the country into another war with Israel.

Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials operating in the country.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Sunday that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are commanding Hezbollah’s operations in the group’s ongoing war against Israel.

In an interview with the Al Hadath network, Mr. Salam once again lashed out at Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into the West Asia war by firing rockets on Israel.

“It was declared that this war was in retaliation for the assassination of Khamenei, so this means this war was imposed upon us,” he said.

Referring to the incident in which an Iran-made drone hit a British base in Cyprus earlier this month, Mr. Salam said “that was the Revolutionary Guard, which is present and, unfortunately, is managing the military operation in Lebanon”.

“These people have forged passports and entered the country illegally,” he added.

An Iranian-made drone hit a British base in Cyprus earlier this month, with Nicosia saying the drone was probably fired by Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and not from Iran itself.

Mr. Salam referred to the IRGC announcing joint operations with Hezbollah against Israel as proof of their commanding of the war in Lebanon.

The Lebanese government decided this month to ban any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the country.

Beirut also took the unprecedented step of imposing a ban on Hezbollah military activities and called on the group to hand over its weapons to the state.

“We are committed to the decisions we have made and we are working to implement them,” Mr. Salam said.