Zarif's Meetings in Lebanon Focus on Nuclear Agreement

Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, emphasized during his meeting with representatives of Palestinian groups residing in Lebanon that Iran will "always" stand by the "resistance of Lebanon and Palestine" in their "confrontation" with Israel, and this "glorious" path will continue. According to the state news agency IRNA, Zarif described the Vienna nuclear agreement as a victory for the so-called "resistance" and stated that Iran is ready to engage in dialogue and cooperation with "friendly and brotherly" countries in the region to resolve problems. The Islamic Republic of Iran refers to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as other Palestinian groups opposed to Middle East peace, and the Syrian government as the "resistance front" against Israel. In this meeting, Ali Barakeh and Abu Imad al-Rifai, representatives of the Islamic resistance groups (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, also described the Vienna nuclear agreement as a "great victory" for "all the nations of the region, especially Lebanon and Palestine." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, had stated on Saturday, July 18, that the Islamic Republic would not abandon support for its "friends" in the region following the Vienna nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, also emphasized on Saturday, July 25, that Iran would continue to support its allies in the region after the Vienna nuclear agreement. The Secretary-General of Hezbollah described the outcomes of events like the Vienna nuclear agreement as "positive and valuable" for Lebanon and the region during his meeting with Zarif. During his visit to Lebanon, Zarif also met and discussed with Tammam Salam, the Prime Minister, and Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. On Wednesday morning, Zarif also met with Samir Muqbel, the Lebanese Minister of Defense. This meeting with the Lebanese Minister of Defense comes at a time when the Lebanese government has not yet agreed to receive a "military gift" from Iran for its army. The proposal for a "military gift" from Tehran to Lebanon was raised in early September 2014 during a visit by Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, to Beirut. However, Hussein Dehghan, the Iranian Minister of Defense, had implicitly reported on Saturday, December 20, 2014, that the Lebanese government opposed receiving a "military gift" from Iran for its army. About a month after Iran's proposal to Lebanon, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia had paid three billion dollars for a contract to deliver French weapons to the Lebanese army. In a joint press conference with Gebran Bassil, his Lebanese counterpart, Zarif also stated that he had proposed dialogue between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council during his visit to Qatar. In this joint press conference, Zarif also referred to the Israeli Prime Minister, saying: "Today, with the resolution of the nuclear issue, the main excuse for the continuation of the crimes of the Zionist regime has been taken away from Netanyahu, and that is why we see Netanyahu is saddened these days because the world has been able to resolve an issue through dialogue."