No group in Lebanon is permitted to bear arms or rely on foreign backing, President Joseph Aoun told a senior Iranian official on Wednesday, days after the cabinet approved the objectives of a US-backed roadmap to disarm the Iran-aligned Hezbollah terrorist group.
During a meeting in Beirut with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's top security body, Aoun warned against foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, saying the country was open to cooperation with Iran but only within the bounds of national sovereignty and mutual respect.
“Lebanon, which respects the sovereignty of other nations, including Iran, will not accept interference in its internal affairs,” he said.
"The friendship we seek with Iran must be with all Lebanese, not through one sect or component alone," Aoun said, according to a statement from his office.
Larijani said the Islamic Republic supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and does not interfere in its decision-making.
"Any decision taken by the Lebanese government in consultation with the resistance is respected by us," he said after separate talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal movement is an ally of Hezbollah.
By "resistance," Larijani was alluding to the Shi'ite Muslim militant Hezbollah, which was founded in 1982, grew into a "state-within-a-state" force better armed than the Lebanese army and has repeatedly fought Israel over the decades.
"Iran didn't bring any plan to Lebanon, the US did. Those intervening in Lebanese affairs are those dictating plans and deadlines," said Larijani.
He said Lebanon should not "mix its enemies with its friends - your enemy is Israel, your friend is the resistance."
"I recommend to Lebanon to always appreciate the value of resistance."
The US submitted a plan through President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, setting out the most detailed steps yet for disarming Hezbollah, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since its devastating war with Israel last year.
Hezbollah has rejected repeated calls to relinquish its weaponry although it was seriously weakened in the war, with Israel killing most of its leadership in airstrikes and bombings.
It was the climax of a conflict that began in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along Lebanon's southern frontier in support of its Palestinian Islamist ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.
Aoun added that recent language used by some Iranian officials had not been helpful, and reaffirmed that the Lebanese state and its armed forces were solely responsible for safeguarding all citizens.
Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran supported any decision Hezbollah makes, adding that this was not the first attempt to strip the group of its weapons.
Lebanese cabinet approves US-proposal for disarming Hezbollah
Lebanon's information minister said the cabinet had approved on Thursday only the objectives of a US proposal for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year, along with ending Israel's military operations in the country, but they did not discuss the full details of it.
The plan, submitted by US President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, sets out the most detailed steps yet for disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since last year's war with Israel, according to a copy of a Lebanese cabinet agenda reviewed by Reuters.
Additionally, while traveling to Beirut, Syria's government refused to let the Iranian plane transporting Larijani. Syria's decision forced the Iranian plane to detour over Turkish airspace and Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.
This is a developing story. Amichai Stein contributed to this report.