Alwaght | News & Analysis Website

Alwaght-Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign affairs adviser to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited Beirut on Monday to attend and address a meeting of Muslim world scholars on Palestine and to hold talks with Lebanese top officials.

Upon arrival, Velayati was welcomed by Iran’s Ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Fathali and a number of political and religious officials of Lebanon.

After being welcomed and sitting in a press conference at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, he went to Ain al-Tineh the residence of Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, and accompanied by Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, had a one-hour talk with Berri.

Addressing the reporters after his meeting with Nabih Berri, Velayati pointed to Yemeni crisis and called for talks in an impartial country under the supervision of the UN, rejecting the idea of Saudis hosting the peace talks as they are one side of the problem.

Referring to talks held in Riyadh, the Iranian official conditioned the talks to an immediate halt to the brutal aggression of Saudis against innocent Yemeni civilians.

Commenting on his meeting with Nabih Berri, the President of the Center for Strategic Research of Iran’s Expediency Council called him an old comrade and friend and highlighted the close ties between Iran and Lebanon.

Expressing his satisfaction over Iran-Lebanon relationship, Velayati reiterated that all Tehran-Beirut talks were to extend the bilateral ties and examine regional issues.

Touching upon the victories achieved by Hizbullah along with the Syrian army in confronting the armed takfiri groups in Syria's Qalamoun region, Velayati said it contributes to strengthening the axis of resistance not only in Lebanon and Syria, but in the whole region and worldwide.

The Iranian official's trip to Beirut comes two days after Hizbullah chief Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address that Takfiri groups have been pushed out of large areas of Syria's Qalamoun region. Qalamoun is a mountain range along the Syrian border where Syrian troops backed by Hizbullah are fighting against the militants.

Velayati arrived in Lebanon on Monday to attend and address a meeting of Muslim world scholars on Palestine.

Earlier on Monday, he also held a meeting with Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, where the secretary general of Hezbollah has praised Iran’s support for the resistance front.

Later on, Velayati also held talks with Free Patriotic Movement Leader Michel Aoun.

Velayati, who is also head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran's Expediency Council, also held a meeting with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, during which the two sides discussed key regional issues as well as bilateral ties.

In the Monday meeting, which was also attended by Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, the Lebanese prime minister hailed Iran’s role and position in the region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has an important position in resolving certain international and regional issues,” he explained.

Salam further noted that Tehran-Beirut ties are important and influential, and called for the expansion of relations between the two countries.

Velayati described the ties between Iran and Lebanon as very decisive, and called for efforts to further expand the relations.

He also urged Islamic countries to remain united and tap into the existing potentials for resolving regional issues.

Following the meeting, Velayati told reporters that Tehran and Beirut enjoy key, strategic and instrumental relations.

He hoped that Lebanon would be able to elect a president for the Arab country, which has been without a head of state for more than nine months now.

The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great significance to efforts by the Lebanese government and nation to strike a balance and establish peace and stability in the region in the face of extremist and Takfiri groups, he said.

According to the Iranian official, the Lebanese premier also praised Iran’s constructive role in the region during their meeting at the government palace.

Lebanon has been without a president for more than nine months as Lebanese lawmakers have failed for 22 times to elect a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, who left office at the end of his mandate in May last year.

The power vacuum in Lebanon comes as the Arab country is also battling against Takfiri and terrorist groups.

Lebanon is suffering from the spillover of militancy in neighbouring Syria, where foreign-backed militants are fighting the government forces.