BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Iran’s foreign minister toured Lebanon’s border with Occupied Palestine Friday during a visit to the Arab nation, and was documented looking out at the Zionist-controlled territories.
Hussein Amir-Abdollahian took the tour with a number of Lebanese parliamentarians and members of Hezbollah, after meeting with the resistance movement’s chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Amir-Abdollahian said Nasrallah assured him that “the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance are in their best condition ever”.
He said the two also discussed the recent Iranian-Saudi deal to restore diplomatic ties, and its effect on the region.
At the lookout point toward Occupied Palestine from the town of Maroun al-Ras, Amir-Abdollahian said “positive developments in the region will lead to the collapse of the Zionist entity,” adding that “Zionists understand only strength.”
The minister echoed Nasrallah’s assertion that the Zionist regime is in its worst shape and facing multi-layered political, social and security crises.
“Lebanon’s resistance proved that the Zionists only understand the language of force and that resistance is the most important option that has brought security, comfort and preservation of territorial integrity to Lebanon,” he said.
The minister said Iran continues to “support the resistance in the face of the Zionist enemy” and will back Lebanon “even in difficult days.” He also planted a tree in the area.
The Iranian diplomat’s visit could be seen as something of a response to Zionist foreign minister Eli Cohen’s trip to Turkmenistan last week, where he opened an embassy just a few miles from the border with Iran.
On Thursday, visiting Beirut, Amir-Abdollahian urged the government there to overcome political deadlock and elect a president.
“We will support any election and agreement reached between all Lebanese sides… and we call on other foreign parties to respect the choice of the Lebanese without interfering in the country’s affairs,” he added.
Lebanon, in the throes of a crushing economic crisis, has been without a president for almost six months amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.
A caretaker cabinet with limited powers has been at the helm since May last year after legislative polls gave no side a clear majority.
“Lebanese officials and all political parties and sides in the country have the capacity and the competence to reach a consensus on electing the president,” said Amir-Abdollahian, on his second visit to Beirut this year.
Countries including France, the United States, and Saudi Arabia hold regular consultations on Lebanon. Their representatives met in February in Paris to discuss the crisis, without achieving any tangible progress.
Nasrallah has warned that the next president cannot be close to Washington, which he has accused of “intervening” in Lebanon.
Iran’s top diplomat said he and Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib discussed “comprehensive cooperation between Iran and Lebanon” and Iran’s readiness “to further strengthen the ties in economy, trade, tourism, science, technology and other fields.”
He said a new chapter has opened in collective cooperation in the region. “Regional countries will have a very bright future.”
The visit to Beirut was his first visit to Lebanon since Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement in China last month to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions.
“The agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is important for peace in the region,” Bouhabib said.
Amir-Abdollahian also met with Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and announced country’s readiness to cooperate with Lebanon and assist the country to handle its energy crisis and construct power plants.
Mikati highlighted the importance of relations between Lebanon and Iran and welcomed Tehran’s agreement with Riyadh to restore diplomatic relations.
Separately, the Iranian minister met Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, the secretary general of Palestine’s Islamic Jihad movement, and a number of Lebanese lawmakers.