The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), MP Gebran Bassil, met on Tuesday with the Iranian Foreign Minister’s special envoy for Middle Eastern affairs, Mohammad Reza Sheibani.
Officially, the meeting was aimed at discussing the ongoing war in Lebanon and its repercussions, according to Lebanese news agencies.
However, Bassil’s meeting with Sheibani raised eyebrows, especially following the FPM’s leader’s recent interview with Al-Hadath, where he criticized Hezbollah for starting the war by initiating attacks on Israel, and asserted that his party is not allied with Hezbollah, a claim he reiterated in light of the ongoing tensions.
Furthermore, he asserted that Hezbollah stumbled when it prioritized Shiite unity over national unity in Lebanon, thereby risking further division within the country.
Speculation has arisen regarding the intentions behind the meeting: Is Sheibani seeking to gauge Bassil’s stance on the resistance, or is he trying to encourage Bassil to continue supporting the axis of resistance?
Interestingly, the Iranian special envoy did not engage publically with any political leaders except for Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Minister of Culture Mohammad Mortada, both close to Hezbollah.
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