By Nohad Topalian | 2024-10-29

BEIRUT -- The Iranian regime's meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs has sparked strong condemnation, with figures across the political spectrum saying it amounts to "unacceptable interference" in the country's sovereign affairs.

The firestorm was ignited October 17, when Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqher Ghalibaf said the Iranian regime was ready to negotiate the mechanisms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 with France.

Ghalibaf’s pronouncement constitutes "interference in Lebanese affairs, and an attempt to establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon," caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in response.

He stressed that negotiations regarding the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 "are being undertaken by the Lebanese state."

And he emphasized that "everyone should support Lebanon in its direction, and not seek to impose new guardianships that are rejected by all national and sovereign considerations."

In a statement on X, Lebanese Forces Party head Samir Geagea said Mikati's response "gives us a glimmer of hope" that the Lebanese state "has begun to assume its responsibilities."

Mikati "expresses the point of view of every true Lebanese," he said.

Lebanon speaks for Lebanon

Strong Republic bloc MP Ghassan Hasbani, former Deputy Prime Minister, described Ghalibaf's statements as "an unacceptable interference in Lebanon's affairs that undermines the sovereignty of the Lebanese state."

"His statement is evidence of Iran's hidden intention to negotiate over the blood of the Lebanese," he told Al-Fassel.

"The one negotiating on behalf of Lebanon is the Lebanese state, as an essential step to prevent the consolidation of [the Iranian regime's] guardianship over Lebanon," he said.

"This was expressed by Mikati in the first important official position that refocuses on Lebanese sovereignty, after Iran plunged Lebanon into a war that it had nothing to do with," he said.

"We will not accept the continuation of Iranian influence in Lebanon, nor the logic of Hizbullah's statelet within the state," Hasbani added.

"After Iran's intentions were exposed, we are seeing a noticeable increase in calls to put an end to Iranian influence and Hizbullah's statelet in Lebanon."

Ghalibaf's words can be seen as "evidence of the Iranian regime's exploitation of the war in Lebanon to serve its interests," Lebanese MP Waddah al-Sadiq told Al-Fassel.

This transgresses "all boundaries that govern relations between states," he said.

"For the first time, Mikati, as a Lebanese official, dared to respond to Iran, and we ask him to stick to this position," he said.

He noted that Mikati had previously asked Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi not to interfere in Lebanon by supporting the Amal-Hizbullah duo.

"We have entered the stage of working to restore sovereignty, build the state and implement the laws after the wall Hizbullah raised was shaken," he said.