Lebanon’s president and prime minister say their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Over the past three weeks, Israel has stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, detonating pagers and walkie-talkies owned by its members, dropping bunker-busting bombs on Lebanese sites where the group's leaders were thought to be meeting and assassinating Nasrallah and other Hezbollah commanders.

One of Israel’s most feared scenarios has long been that Iran would unleash an attack on it in coordination with its powerful network of proxy militias.

Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful regional ally, has signaled privately that it does not intend to attack Israel, but Lebanon’s military has bolstered its presence in the country’s south to prevent rocket fire.

Top Lebanese officials said Monday they want to prevent the country, which is still recovering from the recent Israel-Hezbollah war, from being dragged into the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

According to Information Minister Paul Morkos, President Joseph Aoun stressed during a cabinet session on Monday, June 16, the need to “do everything possible to keep Lebanon away from conflicts in which we have no role.