"...There is no permanent fix to the Lebanese crisis..."

"... So what we have is the Lebanese political actors lacking any sovereignty — in other words, whatever their dispute is, it has to be resolved by a negotiation settled by the regional and international players. In the case of Iran, it is backing the most powerful element in the country, i.e. Hezbollah, which not only is a political movement and has a wide social presence, it also possesses a military wing — which, by the way is far more powerful than the Lebanese armed forces. That gives Iran a very powerful tool in terms of being able to project power. The Iranians can use Hezbollah against Israel, as we saw in the 2006 war, which undermines U.S. interests in the region. Therefore, Iran has a tool with which to play with and to be able to shape American behavior and extract concessions.
Ultimately, there is no permanent fix to the Lebanese crisis. It’s a cyclical issue which will crop up every now and then because Lebanon ultimately is a chessboard for regional and international players to use in terms of pursuing their political objectives."