Lebanon's President and Prime Minister told a visiting senior Iranian official on Wednesday of their deep dissatisfaction at criticism from Tehran about plans to disarm Hezbollah, in a powerful rebuke of the group's main backer.
President Joseph Aoun told Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, that such remarks were “unhelpful” and that Lebanon “does not accept anyone interfering in its internal affairs”.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam singled out comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during his meeting with Mr Larijani. Such comments marked a "blatant departure" from diplomatic norms and respect for sovereignty, he said.
Mr Larijani's visit comes a week after the Lebanese government agreed on a move to disarm Hezbollah in a historic decision.
Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed Shiite paramilitary force and political party, is the only non-state group to hold arms since the Lebanese civil war ended in 1990.
“The friendship we seek to establish between Lebanon and Iran must not be with one sect or one Lebanese component, but with all Lebanese,” Mr Aoun told Mr Larijani, according to statement from the presidential office and an aide to the president.
“Lebanon, which absolutely does not interfere in the affairs of any other country and respects its privacy, including Iran, does not accept anyone interfering in its internal affairs,” he said, comments echoed later by Mr Salam.
“No party, without exception, is permitted to bear arms or seek external support,” Mr Aoun said.
Mr Larijani told Mr Aoun “Iran does not wish to see any disruption to its friendship or relations with the Lebanese state and people”, the presidency statement said.
Speaking to reporters later after a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Mr Larijani said Iran urged Lebanon to keep Hezbollah armed while insisting Tehran did not interfere in Lebanese internal affairs.
He described Israel as a predatory animal that Hezbollah stood up to, insisting that the only country that interfered with Lebanese affairs was the US by demanding a “timetable” for Hezbollah's disarmament.
Hezbollah was once the region's most powerful non-state armed group but has seen its power diminish after losing its top leadership and much of its arsenal during a war with Israel last year.
Mr Larijani arrived in the Lebanese capital from Baghdad, where he made his first foreign visit since being appointed to the role.
He was received at the airport by officials from Hezbollah and representatives of Mr Berri, who organised the visit. Mr Berri heads the Amal Movement, a Hezbollah ally.
“If … the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,” Mr Larijani said upon landing in Beirut.
Dozens of supporters waving Iran and Hezbollah flags gathered along the airport road to welcome Mr Larijani. He briefly stepped out of his car to greet them as they chanted slogans of support.
Mr Larijani visited Mr Berri after meeting Mr Aoun. His meeting with Mr Salam took place after a session of the Lebanese cabinet.
He later went to the tomb of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah who was assassinated by Israel last year.
“We may have lost him, but his sons, raised in his school of thought, live on," Mr Larijani said.
Mr Salam's cabinet last week agreed to end the presence of all non-state armed groups in Lebanon and endorsed the objectives of a US plan that would lead to the disarmament of Hezbollah, despite Shiite ministers walking out in protest before the vote. Authorities had earlier ordered the Lebanese army to prepare a plan – to be delivered by the end this month – to disarm Hezbollah by the year's end.
The plan has sparked fury from Hezbollah, which has said it will treat the decision as if it does not exist. Nightly protests against the move have broken out in areas with traditional Hezbollah support.
Under the US proposals, Israel would withdraw fully from Lebanon in conjunction with the disarming of Hezbollah, but there is little faith this will materialise given its conduct in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. In spite of the obstacles, Mr Aoun has pledged to ensure the state will have all weapons under its control.
Multiple Iranian officials have blasted Lebanon's push to disarm Hezbollah and have said it will not take place. Mr Velayati said Tehran is “certainly opposed to the disarmament of Hezbollah”.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry described the comments as “a flagrant and unacceptable interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs".
"This is not the first such interference. Some senior Iranian officials have repeatedly overstepped by making unwarranted statements," it said.
Foreign Minister Youssef Ragi, nominated by the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces, did not appear on the agenda of Mr Larijani's visit.
