LEBANON’S PM MIKATI SAYS HE REJECTS IRANIAN INTERFERENCE IN LEBANESE MATTER

Fri 18 October 2024:

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has instructed the Foreign Minister to summon the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires in Beirut following reports that Tehran expressed readiness to negotiate over a UN resolution related to Lebanon.

Lebanon’s caretaker PM Mikati said he rejected Iranian interference in a Lebanese matter, after the speaker of Iran’s parliament said Tehran was ready to negotiate with France on implementing a UN resolution concerning southern Lebanon.

In an interview with Le Figaro on Thursday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf indicated Iran’s openness to talks with France regarding UN Resolution 1701, which focuses on reducing tensions with Israel after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Mikati asserted that the responsibility for negotiating the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 rests solely with the Lebanese state.

“We are surprised by this position, which constitutes a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon,” a government statement quoted Mikati as saying.

He added that negotiating to implement UN resolution 1701 was a matter for the Lebanese state.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Unusual language from Mikati as he rejects Iranian interference

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reporting from Beirut, Lebanon

It’s unusual language coming from Mikati, who accused Iran of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty. This is the first time the prime minister has made such a statement.

Yes, Lebanon is facing this war but at the same time there’s already a fight for post-war Lebanon which has been the playground for regional powers in a power struggle.

Iran sent two of its high-ranking officials to Lebanon in recent weeks in a show of support, but many understood this as a message to Lebanon that Iran has a seat on the negotiating table.

In an interview with Al Jadeed last year, Mikati reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to Resolution 1701, stressing his efforts to prevent the country from being dragged into a war with Israel amid the Gaza escalation.

He stated: “I am fully fulfilling my duty in this regard, and various countries are cooperating to establish stability and peace in Lebanon. My efforts are focused on this goal. I had a week full of communications with numerous heads of state and world leaders, and there was a shared understanding that we, as a government, are working with all relevant parties to keep Lebanon out of any war.”

Italian PM visits Lebanon after UNIFIL incidents

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Lebanon today, her office said, the first head of state or government to visit since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah last month.

The premier was welcomed at Beirut International Airport by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, with whom she was due to hold talks before making a joint statement to the press.

Italy has around 1,000 troops as part of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which has come under repeated fire in recent days.

Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week, with the latest seeing the UN force accuse Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of their positions.

Meloni has condemned the incidents as “unacceptable”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22