Iranian minister says Tehran backs Lebanon in its push to end Israel's military presence
BEIRUT (AP) — Iran's foreign minister said Tehran supports Lebanon's efforts to pressure Israel to end its military presence in parts of the country, including diplomatic moves 'to expel the occupiers.'
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added on Tuesday that Iran looks forward to relations with Lebanon based on mutual respect under the new circumstances in the country following the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Araghchi's visit comes after Iran's main Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, was weakened by the 14-month war with Israel that left much of the Iran-backed group's political and military leadership dead.
Araghchi's visit is his first since October, which came at the height of the Israel-Hezbollah war that ended a month later with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The war killed more than 4,000 in Lebanon, displaced over 1 million people and caused destruction that the World Bank said will coast $11 billion in reconstruction.
Since the war ended, army commander Joseph Aoun was elected president and prominent jurist and diplomat Nawaf Salam became the country's prime minister. Both Aoun and Salam have repeatedly said that only the state will monopolize the use of weapons in Lebanon.
The visit also comes after the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad was removed from power in December by insurgent group's opposed to Iran's influence in the region. Assad was one of Tehran's closest allies in the Arab world and his country was a main link for the flow of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.
Aoun told the visiting Iranian official during their meeting that Beirut wants 'to strengthen relations from state to state with Iran.' Aoun's comments were released by his office.
Over the past decades, Iran funded Hezbollah with billions of dollars and sent all types of weapons to the Lebanese group enjoying wide influence in the small Mediterranean nation through.
Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended, Lebanese authorities have taken tight measures at Beirut's airport to prevent the flow of funds from Iran to Hezbollah and flights by Iranian companies have been suspended to Beirut.
'We look forward to having relations (with Lebanon) based on mutual respect and non-interference in each country's internal affairs,' Araghchi told reporters after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He added that Iran backs a national dialogue in Lebanon between rival groups.
Iran condemns the occupation of Lebanese territories 'by the Zionist entity and supports all efforts exerted by the Lebanese government and people to expel the occupiers through any way including diplomatic methods,' Araghchi said, referring to five posts Israel refused to withdraw from earlier this year.
Iranian companies are ready to take part in Lebanon's reconstruction if the Lebanese government wants that, Araghchi said.
Earlier Tuesday, Araghchi held talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Rajji, and discussed Iran's ongoing negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
AP PHOTOS: Life in Iran's capital, Tehran, as high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the US go on
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As I prepared to take a photograph of an anti-American mural outside of the former U.S. Embassy in Iran's capital recently, a passerby called out to me. 'Take any picture you like, they'll remove all of them later,' the man said. It was a telling moment as the murals have long been a feature of the U.S. Embassy compound, which has been held and run by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a cultural center since the 1979 student-led hostage crisis there destroyed ties between Iran and the United States. Today, Iran is talking to America about a possible diplomatic deal over its nuclear program and the idea of ties between the West and the outside world again seems possible, though difficult. The thing about taking pictures and working as a photojournalist in Tehran, my hometown, is that Iranians will come up to you in the street and tell you what they think. And sometimes, even when they won't say something out loud, I'll see it in the images I capture. That's particularly true with the gradual change we have seen in how women dress, whether in ancient corridors of Tehran's Grand Bazaar or in the tony streets of northern Tehran. Women are forgoing the mandatory hijab, or headscarf, even as hard-liners try to pressure a renewed enforcement of the law against what they call the "Western Cultural Invasion.' The government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has meanwhile been urging restraint by police and others over the hijab. There are enough problems right now in Iran is their thought, particularly as Iran's economy remains in dire straits. U.S. sanctions have decimated it. Iran's rial currency has plummeted in recent years. That economic hardship has made people more distrustful of the country's theocracy. And so people continue their daily lives in Tehran as they wait for any news after five rounds of talks so far between Iran and the U.S. You can see it in my photos. A carpet-seller waits to sell his wares in a darkened bazaar corner. Women without hijabs smoke shisha, or water-pipe tobacco. Another woman, wearing an all-black, all-encompassing chador, prays in a mosque's courtyard. It can all appear contradictory, but that's life here. Tehran, home to some 10 million people, is the ever-growing beating heart of Iran. And as it awaits the results of the negotiations, it can feel like it is skipping beats in anticipation. ___
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday. The rules were usually stricter for Communist Party members, who could miss out on promotions or bonuses if they had a third child. Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024. Vietnam isn't the only Asian country with low fertility. But, unlike Japan, South Korea or Singapore, it is still a developing economy. Nguyen Thu Linh, 37, a marketing manager in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, said she and her husband decided to have only one child because they wanted to give their 6-year-old son the best education and upbringing that they could afford. 'Sometimes, I think about having another child so my son can have a sibling, but there's so much financial and time pressure if you have another child,' she said. Vietnam introduced rules blocking families from having more than two children in 1988 to reduce pressure on limited resources after years of war, first with France and then the United States, as the country transitioned into a more market-oriented economy. The population rose from about 62 million then to just over 100 million in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. Vietnam's 'golden population' period — when working age people outnumber those who depend on them — began in 2007 and is expected to last until 2039. The number of people who can work is likely to peak in 2042 and, by 2054, the population may start shrinking. All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly increases. Birth rates in Vietnam aren't falling evenly. In Ho Chi Minh City — the country's biggest city and economic hub — the fertility rate in 2024 was just 1.39 children per woman, much lower than the national average. At the same time, nearly 12% of the city's population was over 60, putting pressure on welfare services. To help, local officials started offering about $120 to women who have two children before turning 35 last December. It also offers some of the most generous family benefits in the region, including six months of fully paid maternity leave and free healthcare for children under 6. Tuition in government schools is free until the age of 15 and, starting in September it'll be free till the end of high school. Vietnam is also dealing with a unbalanced gender ratio, partly due to long-standing preferences for sons. According to state media, the distortion is more concentrated in Vietnam's northern Red River delta, which includes Hanoi. Doctors aren't allowed to tell parents the baby's sex before birth, and sex-selective abortions are banned. But despite this, some still hint at the baby's sex using coded language, said state media VN Express, citing a government report. On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine for choosing a baby's sex before birth to $3,800, state media reported. China imposed a one-child policy in 1979 amid worries about overpopulation. But as the country faces growing concerns about the long-term economic and societal challenges of an aging population, it has been slowly easing the policy to allow a second child and then a third child in 2021, but with little success in boosting birthrates. ___ Associated Press journalist Hau Dinh contributed to this report. Aniruddha Ghosal, The Associated Press
Hamilton Spectator
43 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
AP PHOTOS: Life in Iran's capital, Tehran, as high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the US go on
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As I prepared to take a photograph of an anti-American mural outside of the former U.S. Embassy in Iran's capital recently, a passerby called out to me. 'Take any picture you like, they'll remove all of them later,' the man said. It was a telling moment as the murals have long been a feature of the U.S. Embassy compound, which has been held and run by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a cultural center since the 1979 student-led hostage crisis there destroyed ties between Iran and the United States. Today, Iran is talking to America about a possible diplomatic deal over its nuclear program and the idea of ties between the West and the outside world again seems possible, though difficult. The thing about taking pictures and working as a photojournalist in Tehran, my hometown, is that Iranians will come up to you in the street and tell you what they think. And sometimes, even when they won't say something out loud, I'll see it in the images I capture. That's particularly true with the gradual change we have seen in how women dress, whether in ancient corridors of Tehran's Grand Bazaar or in the tony streets of northern Tehran. Women are forgoing the mandatory hijab , or headscarf, even as hard-liners try to pressure a renewed enforcement of the law against what they call the 'Western Cultural Invasion.' The government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has meanwhile been urging restraint by police and others over the hijab. There are enough problems right now in Iran is their thought, particularly as Iran's economy remains in dire straits. U.S. sanctions have decimated it. Iran's rial currency has plummeted in recent years. That economic hardship has made people more distrustful of the country's theocracy. And so people continue their daily lives in Tehran as they wait for any news after five rounds of talks so far between Iran and the U.S. You can see it in my photos. A carpet-seller waits to sell his wares in a darkened bazaar corner. Women without hijabs smoke shisha, or water-pipe tobacco. Another woman, wearing an all-black, all-encompassing chador, prays in a mosque's courtyard. It can all appear contradictory, but that's life here. Tehran, home to some 10 million people, is the ever-growing beating heart of Iran. And as it awaits the results of the negotiations, it can feel like it is skipping beats in anticipation. ___ See more AP photography at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
