Iran rejects Beirut’s accusation that it is interfering in internal Lebanese affairs
Spokesman for foreign ministry claims Tehran ‘never had any intention’ of meddling, after Lebanese PM fumed at Iranian official who expressed openness to negotiating Lebanon truce
Iran denied on Monday an accusation from Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that it was interfering in Beirut’s internal affairs over remarks attributed to Tehran’s speaker of parliament.
On Thursday, France’s Le Figaro quoted Iran’s Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as saying that his government was ready to negotiate the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which is seen as a precondition for a ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy.
Mikati raised the ire of the Islamic Republic when he described the official’s comments as a “blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon.”
“Iran has never had any intention or [taken any] action that could be suspected of interfering in the internal affairs of Lebanon,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said during a weekly news conference.
“We hold discussions with any country that has an initiative and a proposal to end the crimes and aggression against Lebanon and the genocide in Gaza,” said Baghaei, adding that there had been a “misunderstanding” regarding Ghalibaf’s reported remarks.
Iran has in recent days intensified its diplomatic outreach, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visiting multiple countries in the region in what he has said is part of a push for ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza as well as ways to contain the conflicts.
“We are happy that we and all the countries of the region have reached this level of maturity and we share the opinion that protecting peace in the region is our common duty,” said Baghaei of the recent visits.
Iran is braced for Israel’s promised retaliatory attack after Tehran launched a barrage of around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1. Iran said it fired the missiles at Israel in retaliation for attacks that killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military.
Baghaei said Iran’s neighboring countries “will not allow their space to be used for an attack on an Islamic country in the region.”
Since October 8, 2023 — the day after the Hamas terror group launched its cross-border assault on Israel that started the ongoing war in Gaza — Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis. Israel said thousands of Hezbollah forces had been ready to invade Israel days later, before they were pushed back by Israeli strikes.
Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group. Israel has vowed to return those residents safely to their homes.
In September, Israel launched a new offensive against Hezbollah, devastating its senior leadership and killing its longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah. Late last month, Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon it says is aimed at pushing back the terror group, destroying its infrastructure and preventing the possibility of an invasion of northern Israel.
