Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday during his visit to Beirut that Iran intends to deepen relations with Lebanon, presenting his visit to the country’s capital as an “opportunity to enhance political and economic cooperation.”
Speaking to reporters, Araghchi said the talks focused on exchanging views with Lebanese officials, while Iranian state media reported that he arrived with a delegation of political and economic figures.
He also pointed to bilateral trade of around $110 million last year, arguing there was room to expand economic ties, despite Lebanon’s deep financial crisis.
Diplomatic Tensions
The visit follows a diplomatic rebuff in December, when Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi declined an invitation to Tehran and instead asked Araghchi to come to Beirut, a move widely seen as signaling a more cautious Lebanese stance toward Iran.
Araghchi’s remarks also coincided with an announcement by the LAF, on Thursday, that it had completed the first phase of a plan to assert control over areas south of the Litani River and was entering a more advanced stage of enforcement. The disarmament process would primarily affect Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian group whose military presence has long undermined Lebanese state sovereignty.
Notably, Araghchi has previously dismissed the army’s plan as a “doomed effort,” underscoring the growing tension between Iran’s regional agenda and Lebanon’s attempts to reclaim full control over its territory.
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