Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Friday made a rare rebuke to Iran and said Tehran’s envoy should be summoned over reported comments by a senior Iranian official that it would be ready to help “negotiate” to implement a U.N. resolution on Lebanon.
Lebanese PM Najib Mikati said in a statement the comments amounted to “a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs”.
Criticism of Iran by top Lebanese officials is unusual, particularly given Tehran’s sponsorship of the powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which is currently locked in battles against Israeli troops along Lebanon’s southern border.
In an interview published in France’s Le Figaro on Thursday, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf was quoted as saying his country would be ready to “negotiate” with France to implement United Nations Resolution 1701.