Beirut (TDI): Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Youssef Raji, announced on Wednesday that he had declined a standing invitation to visit Tehran for the immediate future.
Instead of traveling to Iran, the minister proposed an alternative arrangement; to hold the bilateral discussions in a mutually agreed-upon neutral third country.
Raji attributed his decision to postpone the visit to unspecified “current conditions,” without offering further details on the nature of these circumstances.
However, he was quick to emphasize that the decision to decline the trip should not be interpreted as a rejection of the principle of dialogue with Iran.
The original invitation had been extended just last week by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with the stated purpose of engaging in talks concerning the future of bilateral ties between Beirut and Tehran.
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The Foreign Minister of Lebanon affirmed that Lebanon is prepared and willing to inaugurate a new and constructive phase of relations with Iran. This readiness, however, is contingent upon very specific and non-negotiable foundations for the relationship.
That future ties must be built strictly on mutual respect and unconditional recognition of each country’s independence and sovereignty and a firm commitment to non-interference in the internal affairs of the other under any pretext whatsoever.
In a clear and unmistakable reference to the continuous domestic and international calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese armed movement and long-time Iranian ally, Raji further underscored a fundamental pillar of statehood.
By asserting that no truly strong and stable state can be built unless the government holds the exclusive and undisputed legal right to possess and control all weapons within its borders.
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Hezbollah, which was once a dominant political force wielding wide-ranging influence over the Lebanese state apparatus, saw its military strength and political sway severely curtailed by extensive Israeli strikes last year, an offensive that ultimately concluded with a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The organization has since faced escalating domestic opposition and international pressure demanding that it surrender its arsenal and place all its military assets fully under the control of the legitimate Lebanese state.
The refusal to travel to Iran by the Lebanese Foreign Minister follows several high-profile diplomatic engagements, including a visit to Beirut in August by Iran’s Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, who warned Lebanon against potentially confusing its enemies with its friends.
