As Khamenei's aide visits Lebanon, is Iran signaling de-escalation?
Ali Larijani said he delivered a "message" from Iran's supreme leader to Lebanon's prime minister amid scenarios of a potential cease-fire between Tehran's proxy, Hezbollah, and Israel.
TEHRAN — Ali Larijani, a senior aide to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was on a diplomatic tour in Beirut on Friday, meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
"I conveyed the supreme leader's message to Nabih Berri," he told Iran's state TV, noting that his visit was meant also as an expression of continued support "under any circumstances" for the Lebanese nation and government.
Larijani said he had relayed to the Lebanese officials that Tehran "is seeking to solve the problems, while [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is ruining the efforts."
During his meeting with the two Lebanese officials, Larijani assured them of the Islamic Republic's commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and the "resistance," a term Tehran uses to refer to its network of proxies across the region.
