🔶 Lebanon’s foreign minister asks Iran to stop interfering in the country’s internal affairs

Youssef Reji, Lebanon’s foreign minister, at the fifty-second session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states in Iraq, urged Iran to end its interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs and its sending of weapons and money to Hezbollah.

Reji also called for an end to Iran’s attacks and those of its allies on the Gulf Cooperation Council member states and Jordan, and opposed any restrictions on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab.

The Lebanese foreign minister, emphasizing the need to grant an exclusive role over weapons to Lebanon’s official institutions, said Hezbollah is responsible for drawing this country into two wars with Israel in October 2023 and March 2026. At the same time, he condemned Israel’s attacks and the occupation of parts of Lebanese territory, and stressed the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817 regarding attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, as well as Resolution 1701 regarding the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and strengthening the Lebanese government’s control over security. He also said the 1949 ceasefire agreement and the Arab Peace Initiative are among the frameworks emphasized by Lebanon.