Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was in Lebanon on Friday after meetings with leaders of Gulf countries earlier in the week in Qatar, where he and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian endeavored to shore up relations with some of Iran’s closest neighbors.
In Lebanon the goal was to underscore Iran’s strong ties to Lebanon and solidarity with the Lebanese people as the Israeli military attacked areas controlled by the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is close to Iran.
Mr. Araghchi also appeared eager to convey Iran’s readiness to support a deal involving a joint cease-fire in Lebanon and in Gaza — even as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed Iran’s readiness to fight Israel if the Islamic Republic is attacked again. Mr. Khamenei made his comments at Friday prayers in Tehran.
The twin images of diplomacy and defiance underscored Iran’s difficult position as it endeavors to assert itself but also limit damage to its land and people.
Mr. Araghchi described his discussion with Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, as involving “very good negotiations and consultations,” according to Iranian Press TV, a government channel.
In a news conference he elaborated, saying that: “Iran supports the efforts for a cease-fire, provided that first, the rights of the Lebanese people are respected and it is accepted by the resistance, and second, it comes simultaneously with a cease-fire in Gaza,” according to the official state Islamic Republic News Agency.
The “resistance” is shorthand for the armed groups allied with Iran in countries across the Middle East, most importantly, in this context, Hezbollah.
While Mr. Araghchi raised the idea of a cease-fire, it is hard to imagine such a deal in the near-term because with Israel’s fatal attack on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a week ago, hostilities have only spiraled. Mr. Araghchi’s trip to Lebanon came as fears mounted that Israel could counterattack Iran soon in retribution for Iran’s attack Tuesday on Israel, which was in retribution for the killing of Mr. Nasrallah and leaders of other militant groups allied with Iran.
Israel’s targets in Lebanon — it has bombed the country almost daily since Mr. Nasrallah’s assassination — have been Hezbollah leaders and their weapon stockpiles. However, the bombing has also killed civilians and put to flight more than a million Lebanese, who are fearful they will be caught in the crossfire, according to the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim militant group formed in the 1980s during the chaos of Lebanon’s civil war with the guidance of Iran. The intent was that it would fight the Israeli occupation in Lebanon and support the struggle of Palestinians in Israel. Since then, Hezbollah has become a powerful political force in Lebanon as well as a military one.
In a tweet on the platform X, Mr. Araghchi wrote: “I am in Beirut—alongside members of our Parliament and Red Crescent Society—to make clear that Iran will ALWAYS stand with people of Lebanon.” He called on other regional governments “to also display steadfastness in their support for Lebanon, especially amid onslaught by the Israeli regime.”
According to Iran’s state run Press TV, the foreign minister brought food and medicine with him for distribution to displaced Lebanese people.
At Thursday’s meetings in Doha, both Mr. Araghchi and Mr. Pezeshkian appeared eager to show their alliance with Gulf countries, even as some of Iran-linked groups in Iraq have threatened to attack the oil and gas assets of the United Arab Emirates because of their relationship with Israel.
Publicly, however, they focused on their ties to their Arab neighbors. “Our neighbors are our priority,” said Mr. Araghchi in his tweet from Doha, adding “Dialogue is a must.”
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