Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has underlined Iran’s continued support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid continued Israeli violations.
The top diplomat made the remarks after deplaning at the city’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Tuesday, where he arrived following a visit to Egypt.
“Today, I will meet with senior Lebanese officials,” he told reporters, adding that Iran was “determined to keep up these [bilateral] relations based on mutual respect and the mutual interests between the two countries.”
The official underscored that Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty continued to bear much significance for the Islamic Republic and the broader West Asia region by extension.
“We have supported Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity at every stage,” he said, pledging continued backing on the part of Tehran for such imperatives “in the face of the Zionist regime [of Israel]’s occupation.”
Iran’s continued adherence to non-interference principle
Araghchi, however, clarified that the Islamic Republic’s support for Lebanon should not be misconstrued as a means of political interference.
“This, of course, means the support of a friendly country for its friends in Lebanon,” he stated. “It, by no means, constitutes interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs.”
“No country in the region has the right to interfere in the internal affairs of other regional countries,” he further underlined, backing up his assertion.
Iran’s reaffirmation of support for Lebanon follows a recent escalation in Israeli military aggression against the nation.
On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes on a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed several civilians, including an official with the country’s Hezbollah resistance movement and his son.
Iranian officials swiftly condemned the attack as a grave violation of international law.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the Israeli regime for breaching a November 2024 ceasefire deal “over 2,000 times” and denounced the inaction of international guarantors.
“This proves their (the international players’) promises lack credibility,” he said, also criticizing the United Nations Security Council for remaining silent on the “heinous crimes” being committed against Lebanon.
Baghaei further said the United States and its Western allies were complicit in the Israeli aggression, referring to the countries’ ongoing robust military, political, and intelligence backing for the regime that had significantly enabled it to subject regional nations to its atrocities.
In the face of international inertia and the regime’s empowerment by its allies, the spokesman urged regional states to adopt firmer stances against Tel Aviv’s no-holds-barred policies.
The Israeli violations take place while the regime and Hezbollah reached the ceasefire in late November 2024 in the hope of ending Tel Aviv’s intensified deadly attacks against the country.
The attacks had begun the previous year, simultaneously with the onset of the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The intensified strikes claimed the lives of around 4,000 people in Lebanon, including senior members of Hezbollah that have been defending the country in the face of the regime’s acts of military adventurism.
Press TV’s website
