BEIRUT // Iran will supply the Lebanese army with military equipment to be used in fighting Muslim extremist groups, a visiting senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
The announcement marks the first time that Iran has said it would give Lebanon military assistance. Tehran has offered help in the past but such offers did not materialise because of sharp divisions among Lebanese political groups over Iran.
Iran is the main backer of Lebanon’s militant Hizbollah group, which has a force more powerful than the Lebanese national army. The group has thousands of rockets and missiles – many of them from Iran.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, did not elaborate on the type of military equipment that Iran would provide. He told reporters in Beirut on Tuesday that the details would be announced during an upcoming visit by Lebanon’s defence minister to Tehran.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, Lebanese military official said any military grant from Iran to Lebanon would still need the approval of the Lebanese government.
For the past two months, the Lebanese army has been fighting Muslim militants near the border with Syria. In early August, extremists crossed into Lebanon from Syria, capturing 20 soldiers and policemen. Two of the soldiers have since been beheaded and one has been killed in captivity.
Hizbollah has used the threat posed by the ISIL militant group in neighbouring Syria to justify sending its militia to fight alongside Syrian president Bashar Al Assad’s forces.
The US has also recently sent several arms shipments to Lebanese troops to fight extremists.
* Associated Press
