Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Beirut, Toufic Samadi, on Friday following statements by the Iranian diplomatic mission in Lebanon and Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations regarding a recent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital.
Samadi was received Friday by the ministry’s secretary-general, Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, at the request of Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji. During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat was confronted with several questions related to the incident.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry strongly disputed claims that four Iranians killed in an Israeli strike on the Ramada Hotel in Beirut’s Raouche district on the night of March 7 held diplomatic status, stating that neither their alleged status nor their presence in Lebanon had been approved by the ministry.
The overnight Israeli strike targeted the seaside hotel on Beirut’s waterfront. The Israeli army said it had killed four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological military arm of the Islamic Republic, as well as one member of Hezbollah.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations, however, accused Israel of having “assassinated” four Iranian diplomats posted in Lebanon. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the mission described the strike as “a serious terrorist act and a grave violation of international law.”
The letter listed the names and positions of the individuals allegedly killed: Majid Hassani Kondsar, second secretary at Iran’s embassy in Lebanon; Alireza Bi-Azar, third secretary; Hossein Ahmadlou, attaché; and Ahmad Rasouli, a staff member on assignment.
Speaking at a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York on March 10, Iran’s ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused the UN Security Council of “turning a blind eye” to what he described as a “war crime.”
During the meeting at the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, Issa also raised several examples of what he described as Iran’s failure to respect decisions taken by the Lebanese government. He cited, in particular, a statement by the Revolutionary Guards referring to joint operations with Hezbollah.
An official written note was also handed to the Iranian chargé d’affaires, in which Lebanon firmly rejects any interference in its internal affairs. Beirut reiterated its commitment to international law and the principle of non-interference, stressing that relations with Tehran must be based on equality and reciprocity.
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