BEIRUT: Iran’s top security chief Ali Larijani reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment to supporting Lebanon during a visit on Wednesday, as the Lebanese government ordered its army to draft a plan to disarm the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Larijani’s trip follows Iran’s vocal opposition to Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, a group once considered better armed than the Lebanese military before its 2024 conflict with Israel.
“If the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,“ Larijani, head of Iran’s National Security Council, told reporters upon arriving in Beirut.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters lined the airport road to welcome Larijani, who briefly stepped out of his car to acknowledge their chants of solidarity.
During his visit, Larijani is set to meet Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally.
Iran has faced setbacks in its rivalry with Israel, including a 12-day war in June, while Hezbollah’s influence has waned since a November 2024 ceasefire with Israel.
The US-backed Lebanese government has since taken steps to curb Hezbollah’s power, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” alongside groups like Hamas and Yemen’s Huthi rebels.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, a key conduit for Iran-Hezbollah arms transfers, has further disrupted supply routes to Lebanon.
Iran has condemned Lebanon’s disarmament push, with Hezbollah denouncing the move as a “grave sin”. – AFP
