TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a high-profile visit to Lebanon on Monday afternoon. 

He is accompanied by a large delegation comprising of around 45 economic and political magnates.

Upon arriving at Rafic Hariri International Airport, Zarif told reporters that "Iran will always stand with Lebanon".

He congratulated the Lebanese people for the election of their new president, saying, “The Lebanese will be able to make their country’s political future on their own.”

Zarif’s visit comes days after Lebanon’s parliament elected Michel Aoun as the country’s new president, breaking a political impasse that has left the post empty for more than two years.

Zarif is expected to hold talks with Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri, and his counterpart Gebran Bassilin addition to a number of political and spiritual dignitaries, over the latest developments in Lebanon and the region.

Aoun enjoys the support of Hezbollah, an Iranian ally.

“Although Lebanon is a small country, it plays an influential role in the region and Iran is quite aware of that. Therefore, Iran has never stopped consultations with the country,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters on Monday.

Pointing to the importance of the visit, Qassemi said Zarif will hold talks on bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly on the Syrian crisis.  

This is Zarif’s third visit to Lebanon in his tenure as Iran’s foreign minister.

After the two-day visit to Lebanon, Zarif will begin a tour of Eastern Europe which includes Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Qasemi announced. 

The European tour, the official said, is geared to restore Iran’s political, economic and cultural ties with the European countries to the pre-sanctions period 

MH/PA