Larijani says US not Iran intervening in Lebanese affairs
Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani advised the Lebanese to preserve the resistance and accused the United States of "ordering" the Lebanese government to implement "a foreign plan", as he met Wednesday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Larijani's visit to Lebanon comes after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise plans to disarm Hezbollah.
Following his arrival in Beirut, Larijani vowed that his government would continue to provide support, after it expressed opposition to the disarmament plan.
The senior Iranian official said his country rejected the plan and that any proposal to disarm Hezbollah should be part of an internal dialogue between the government and the Iran-backed group. He called on the Lebanese people to preserve "the resistance," saying that Iran will stand by Lebanon in case of any Israeli escalation and if Lebanon asks for help.
"We respect any decision taken by the Lebanese government in coordination and cooperation with Lebanon's factions ... and consider Lebanon's unity to be very important but we don't support the foreign orders through which a certain timetable is specified," Larijani said after his meetings, in reference to a paper submitted by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack to Lebanese officials. The proposal includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament.
Larijani said that no foreign power should give orders to Lebanon, adding that it was not Iran but the United States that was intervening.
Aoun had earlier told Larijani that he rejected any interference in the country's internal affairs, branding as "unconstructive" Iran's statements on plans to disarm Hezbollah.
"The one who interferes in Lebanese affairs is the one who plans for you, gives you a timetable from thousands of kilometers away. We did not give you any plan," Larijani said.
He added that Iran currently has "the best relations with Lebanon" and lauded the role that Aoun is playing "in bolstering national unity and unifying ranks inside all Lebanese sects and with all components."
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