Iranian minister says Tehran backs Lebanon in its push to end Israel's military presence

Iran’s overseas curate says Tehran supports Lebanon’s efforts to unit Israel to extremity its subject beingness successful parts of the country, including diplomatic moves to expel those helium called occupiers

BEIRUT -- Iran’s overseas curate said Tehran supports Lebanon’s efforts to unit Israel to extremity its subject beingness successful parts of the country, including diplomatic moves “to expel the occupiers.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added connected Tuesday that Iran looks guardant to relations with Lebanon based connected communal respect nether the caller circumstances successful the state pursuing the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Araghchi’s sojourn comes aft Iran’s main Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, was weakened by the 14-month war with Israel that near overmuch of the Iran-backed group’s governmental and subject leadership dead.

Araghchi’s sojourn is his archetypal since October, which came astatine the tallness of the Israel-Hezbollah warfare that ended a period aboriginal with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The warfare killed much than 4,000 successful Lebanon, displaced implicit 1 cardinal radical and caused demolition that the World Bank said volition seashore $11 cardinal successful reconstruction.

Since the warfare ended, service commandant Joseph Aoun was elected president and salient jurist and diplomat Nawaf Salam became the country’s premier minister. Both Aoun and Salam person repeatedly said that lone the authorities volition monopolize the usage of weapons successful Lebanon.

The sojourn besides comes aft the authorities of Syrian President Bashar Assad was removed from powerfulness successful December by insurgent group’s opposed to Iran’s power successful the region. Assad was 1 of Tehran’s closest allies successful the Arab satellite and his state was a main nexus for the travel of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.

Aoun told the visiting Iranian authoritative during their gathering that Beirut wants “to fortify relations from authorities to authorities with Iran.” Aoun’s comments were released by his office.

Over the past decades, Iran funded Hezbollah with billions of dollars and sent each types of weapons to the Lebanese radical enjoying wide power successful the tiny Mediterranean federation through.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah warfare ended, Lebanese authorities person taken choky measures astatine Beirut’s airdrome to forestall the travel of funds from Iran to Hezbollah and flights by Iranian companies person been suspended to Beirut.

“We look guardant to having relations (with Lebanon) based connected communal respect and non-interference successful each country’s interior affairs,” Araghchi told reporters aft gathering Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He added that Iran backs a nationalist dialog successful Lebanon betwixt rival groups.

Iran condemns the concern of Lebanese territories “by the Zionist entity and supports each efforts exerted by the Lebanese authorities and radical to expel the occupiers done immoderate mode including diplomatic methods," Araghchi said, referring to five posts Israel refused to retreat from earlier this year.

Iranian companies are acceptable to instrumentality portion successful Lebanon’s reconstruction if the Lebanese authorities wants that, Araghchi said.

Earlier Tuesday, Araghchi held talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Rajji, and discussed Iran’s ongoing negotiations with the United States implicit Tehran’s atomic program.

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