Iran FM rebukes Lebanese president over remarks on Tehran's role

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has strongly criticised comments by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tehran’s influence in Lebanon, urging him to focus on what he called the country’s “real foe” rather than Iran.

In a post on X on Saturday, Araghchi responded to Aoun’s remarks in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour a day earlier, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s Press TV.

Araghchi said the Lebanese president’s comments ignored what he described as the main sources of Lebanon’s challenges, adding: “Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr President.”

He further rejected Aoun’s suggestion that Iran was using Lebanon as leverage in negotiations with the United States, saying: “Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we would have reached a deal long ago.”

In the CNN interview, Aoun told Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that “it’s not your country, it’s our country”, following comments by IRGC commander Brigadier General Esmaeil Qaani referencing Hezbollah’s demand for a full Israeli withdrawal to pre-war positions.

Aoun also said Iran was treating Lebanon as leverage in talks with Washington, calling such an approach “unacceptable”. He urged Hezbollah to pursue diplomacy as the only path to ending the conflict with Israel.

News.Az