Hezbollah chief thanks Iran for ongoing support against Israel

BEIRUT (AFP): Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has thanked a senior Iranian official for his country’s ongoing support in confronting Israel, the Lebanese militant group said on Thursday.

For decades, Tehran has been the main backer of the group, which emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel that saw its arsenal pummeled and senior commanders killed.

Qassem met with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani, who arrived in Beirut on Wednesday, and thanked Iran “for the ongoing support to Lebanon and its resistance against the Israeli enemy,” the group said in a statement.

He also thanked Iran for its support for Lebanon’s “unity, sovereignty and independence,” and emphasized “the brotherly relations between the Lebanese and Iranian people.”

Larijani’s visit came after the Lebanese government tasked the army with drawing up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year.

Recent statements from Iranian officials in support of Hezbollah keeping its weapons have angered Lebanese officials.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Larijani on Wednesday that “we reject any interference in our internal affairs,” adding that “it is forbidden for anyone… to bear arms and to use foreign backing as leverage.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was equally firm, saying that “Lebanon will not accept, in any form, any interference in its internal affairs, and expects from the Iranian side a clear and explicit commitment to respect these principles.”

Larijani said that “any decision that the Lebanese government makes in consultation with the resistance is respected by us.”

“The one who interferes in Lebanese affairs is the one who plans for you, gives you a timetable from thousands of kilometers away. We did not give you any plan,” he said.

He was alluding to Washington, which put heavy pressure on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah and even presented a detailed proposal, including a timeline, for the process.