Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) shakes hands with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday. Larijani is in Beirut to meet with senior Lebanese officials to discuss bilateral relations and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office/EPA
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected Wednesday “any interference” in his country’s internal affairs, telling a top Iranian visiting official that no group in Lebanon is allowed to carry weapons or seek strength and support from outside forces.
Aoun’s firm comments were made during a meeting with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani at the Presidential Palace in Baabda shortly after his arrival in Beirut.
“We reject any interference in our internal affairs, regardless of its source,” he said, according to a statement released by the Presidential Palace. Aoun emphasized that Lebanon does not interfere in the internal affairs of any other state, including Iran, and therefore expects the same in return.
Iran, which has funded and armed Hezbollah since the group’s formation in the early 1980s, has criticized a Lebanese cabinet decision last week that endorses the objectives of a U.S.-proposed plan to disarm the militant group.
The decision also mandates the Lebanese Army to develop a strategy for enforcing a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.
Hezbollah, which was significantly weakened during last year’s war with Israel, rejected the cabinet decision and the deadline it has set for the group to lay down its weapons.
Aoun, backed by the majority of the country’s constituents and political parties, remained firm in his stance, emphasizing that “no party, without exception, is permitted to bear arms or seek support from abroad against fellow Lebanese.”
He maintained that the Lebanese state and its armed forces were responsible for the security of all Lebanese without exception, adding that “any challenges posed by Israel or others are challenges to all Lebanese, not just a specific group.”
While he dismissed recent remarks by Iranian military and political officials regarding Lebanon’s decision to disarm Hezbollah and other armed groups as “not constructive,” Aoun affirmed that his country remains “keen to cooperate with Iran within the bounds of sovereignty and mutual respect.”
“It is natural for the Islamic Republic of Iran to pursue its national interests, but we in Lebanon also seek to secure our own interests,” Aoun said.
Larijani, who also met with House Speaker Nabih Berri, said that Iran seeks to strengthen its relations with the Lebanese state, but advised Lebanon to “preserve and appreciate the resistance” that Hezbollah has been leading against Israel.
“I am in charge of Iran’s national security, and I am telling you, Iran has no intention at all to interfere in the affairs of any country, including Lebanon,” Larijani told reporters after meeting Berri, Hezbollah’s main ally who negotiated on its behalf the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement brokered by the United States and France to end the 14-month war with Israel.
Larijani said, however, that other countries and outside forces should not “give orders” to Lebanon, referring to the United States handing Lebanese officials a roadmap for disarming Hezbollah.
“The Lebanese people are courageous and capable of taking their decisions by themselves,” Larijani said in calling for “a friendly, inclusive and serious dialogue” between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah to achieve “sound decisions” over the issue of arms.
He called on the Lebanese to “distinguish between a friend and an enemy,” warning them of Israel, which “has become a predatory animal.”
“We still advice you to preserve the resistance and value it highly,” he said.
Referring to the 12-day war that broke out between Israel and Iran last June, Larijani said “your friend is the one who confronted Israel, and you should know the difference.”
“Our message revolves around one point: for Iran, it is important that the countries in the region be independent in their decision-making and not need to receive instructions from across the oceans,” he said.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also firmly rejected the recent statements by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader on International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati and the deputy commander of the Quds Force for Iranian Coordination, Brig. Gen. Iraj Masjedi, stating that Hezbollah would never be disarmed.
Salam said in a statement after meeting Larijani that the Iranian remarks, which included direct criticism of decisions by Lebanon’s constitutional authorities and contained “explicit threats,” were “a blatant violation of diplomatic norms and an infringement upon the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty.”
“Neither I nor any Lebanese official would ever allow ourselves to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs, such as favoring one faction over another, or opposing sovereign Iranian decisions,” he said, stressing that the Lebanese government decisions “are not a topic for discussion in any other country” and that the Lebanese will not accept “guardianship or dictates from anyone.”
Salam insisted that Lebanon “does not need lectures from anyone” after he has long been a leading defender of the Palestinian cause and has paid “a high price” in its resistance against Israel.
He noted that Lebanon is a small country that has long suffered from external interference, and “it is time to turn that page.”
“Lebanon will not accept being used as a platform for settling scores or a battleground for regional messaging,” he also told reporters after the meeting with Larijani.
Hezbollah, which reportedly lost the bulk of its military capabilities in ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting its positions in southern and eastern Lebanon, accepted the ceasefire accord to stop a war that killed or wounded more than 20,000 people and left border villages in southern Lebanon in ruins.
The Iran-backed Shiite group has been trying to resist mounting pressures to drop arms, arguing that Israel remains a threat and should first withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories, stop its daily aggressions and targeted assassinations, as well as release a number of Lebanese prisoners.
Lebanon’s decision to set a timeline for Hezbollah disarming was mainly motivated by the risk of another devastating war with Israel and of losing well-needed funds to rebuild its war-devastated regions.
