Lebanon FM lashes out at Iran amid ambassador impasse: What to know
Lebanese officials have grown more frustrated at Tehran over its perceived meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs by making repeated comments about its ally, Hezbollah, and the importance of its weapons, at a time the country is working to extend control over all arms.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s foreign minister escalated his war of words with Tehran over the weekend, calling Iran’s role in Lebanon and the region “extremely negative,” even as Iranian officials insisted that bilateral ties remain strong and downplayed reports that Beirut is delaying the accreditation of a new Iranian ambassador.
Speaking at the weekly press briefing in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, “The diplomatic relationship between Iran and Lebanon is longstanding and strong, and it continues to exist.”
“Iran has an ambassador to Lebanon, and Lebanon’s new ambassador to Tehran has already taken up his post,” he noted. “The relevant requests and the process of introducing the ambassador [to Beirut] have been underway for some time, and we hope that this process will proceed in a normal manner and that our new ambassador will be stationed in Beirut.”
What happened: Baghaei’s comments appeared to be a response to a report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is close to the Iran-backed Hezbollah paramilitary group. The paper claimed that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has delayed accrediting Iran’s newly appointed ambassador to Beirut.
