Iran has by no means sought conflict within the area, the nation’s overseas minister has mentioned on a go to to Lebanon to debate Israel’s conflict on Gaza and its impression on regional safety.
“Iran and Lebanon confirm that war is not the solution, and that we absolutely never sought to expand it,” International Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian mentioned at a information convention alongside Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s overseas minister, in Beirut on Saturday.
Nevertheless, he threatened that any widespread assault by Israel on Lebanon can be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “last day”.
His go to to Beirut got here as the US and Israel have continued guilty Iran and its aligned armed teams in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen for escalating tensions within the area by way of assaults on US and Israeli targets.
“After months of aggression by the Zionist regime [Israel] in Gaza and the West Bank, Tel Aviv has not achieved any of its stated goals,” Amir-abdollahian informed reporters.
“The continuation of America’s support for the Zionist regime and for Netanyahu will have no results but a final defeat,” he mentioned.
در بیروت با آقایان نجیب میقاتی، نخستوزیر دولت پیشبرد امور لبنان، نبیه بری، رئیس پارلمان، زیاد نخاله، دبیرکل جنبش جهاد اسلامی و برخی مقامات حماس و فلسطین و همچنین سیدحسن نصرالله دبیرکل حزبالله لبنان دیدار کردم.
علاوه بر مناسبات دوجانبه میان ایران و لبنان، مهمترین تحولات منطقه… pic.twitter.com/MT92FB1YGS— H.Amirabdollahian امیرعبداللهیان (@Amirabdolahian) February 10, 2024
Throughout his go to, the Iranian diplomat met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Ziad Nakhale, the secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad Motion, and a few Hamas officers. He additionally met Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
‘Arab problem that requires an Arab solution’
After his conferences in Lebanon, Amir-abdollahian is scheduled to go to the Syrian capital Damascus, the place Iran additionally allegedly wields affect over different teams. He’s then because of head to Qatar, which has been the primary mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Some political analysts seen the Iranian overseas minister’s journey tour to Lebanon and different regional international locations as a means of influencing the end result of negotiations on the Gaza conflict.
Iran was not represented in Saudi Arabia at a gathering on Thursday, the place ministers from Arab nations mentioned initiatives for Gaza after the conflict ends.
“Interestingly, the exclusion of Iran and inclusion of Qatar is something for us to take note of because the Saudis were saying that this is an Arab problem that requires Arab solutions. Iran, of course, wants to have a say in what transpires once the war is over,” Mehran Kamrava, a political analyst, informed Al Jazeera.
On Saturday, Amir-abdollahian mentioned a political answer was the one technique to finish the Gaza battle, and that Tehran was in talks with Riyadh on the difficulty.
![Iran FM in Lebanon](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2023-10-13T062733Z_209335970_RC2IR3AXIY0M_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-LEBANON-IRAN-1707493781.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C507)
Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr mentioned that this the Iranian overseas minister’s third journey to the area for the reason that conflict started and, this time, he harassed that Palestinians themselves should determine their future.
Furthermore, Khodr identified that his journey to Lebanon additionally coincided with the Israeli menace to widen its assaults on Hezbollah if it doesn’t get safety ensures alongside the border.
After 17 years of relative calm alongside the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah and the Israeli military started launching assaults within the space on October 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,100 individuals there, and Israel launched a relentless assault on Gaza that has killed greater than 28,000 Palestinians.
Hezbollah officers have mentioned they may cease attacking Israeli navy posts when Israel’s assault on Gaza ends.
On Friday, Amir-abdollahian informed reporters in Beirut that “Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon have courageously and wisely carried out their deterring and effective role”.
He mentioned Tehran will proceed “its strong support to the resistance in Lebanon, as we consider Lebanon’s security as the security of Iran and the region”.