TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran is ready for dialogue aimed at boosting bilateral relations with Lebanon, while stressing that Iran does not interfere in the country’s internal affairs, and that it does not require a third party to arrange discussions with Beirut.

Iranian officials are indeed in close contact with their Lebanese counterparts on a regular basis. Araghchi’s official visit to Beirut in June, where he met with Lebanon’s leadership, followed similar visits earlier in the year by the Iranian parliament speaker and security chief.

“My dear friend Youssef Rajji, the foreign minister of Lebanon, has invited me for negotiation in an interview with MTV Lebanon,” Araghchi wrote in Arabic on his account on X in response to an invitation by Rajji for talks. “We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon but we welcome any dialog with the aim of advancing bilateral relations between Iran and Lebanon,” he said.

It is unclear why Rajji saw the need to ask Araghchi to initiate talks on television, given that his country already maintains close, ongoing communication with Iran.

In his post on X, Araghchi added that “there is no need for a third country. I invite my colleague Youssef to travel to Tehran, and if I am invited to travel to Beirut, I will gladly accept.”

Arab media with ties to the West and Western blocs have actively tried to drive a wedge between Iran and Lebanon over the past several years. 

Last week the Asas Media news portal quoted Lebanese President Michel Aoun as saying he had used “very harsh” words toward Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Larijani, during Larijani’s visit to Beirut in August. The outlet claimed Larijani had tried to intervene in affairs of Lebanon’s Shia community but Aoun told him that the Lebanese Shias are his responsibility, not Iran’s.

Although Asas Media deleted the report shortly after publication, Iran still reacted. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon said the outlet was “known for attempts to muddy Iran–Lebanon ties”. Al-Mayadeen quoted Iran’s SNSC denying the alleged encounter and calling on the president to release the meeting’s video footage.

Aoun’s office has yet to publish the footage, but a video filmed by a journalist after the meeting resurfaced following last week's controversy. In the video, Larijani is seen telling Aoun that he is "sorry he had to be frank" and thought Lebanon "must be aware of everything." Aoun is seen smiling and dismissing his concerns.

In separate remarks to Lebanese journalists during that trip, Larijani said certain media outlets are trying to provoke enmity between Iran and Lebanon and to pit the two countries against each other, while the real enemy of both is someone else.

Lebanon is currently grappling with near-daily air assaults by Israel despite a ceasefire that came into effect in November 2024. The regime has also occupied several positions in southern Lebanon, and reports suggest it is preparing to launch a new, massive wave of aggression against the Lebanese, after its previous one killed thousands of people. 

Israelis say they will continue to attack the country and kill Lebanese people until Hezbollah has been disarmed. Hezbollah has been the most formidable force defending Lebanon against the regime over past decades. It was formed in 1982 in response to an Israeli invasion that reached Beirut. The group made its first ties with Iran roughly two decades after its formation. Israel, however, appears to believe that weakening Iran–Lebanon ties would lead to Hezbollah’s dismantlement. Iranians have repeatedly said that, while they back anti-imperialist and anti-Israeli forces in the region, they are not those forces’ arms suppliers or policy makers.

Israelis are ultimately looking to establish "Greater Israel," a vision of a Jewish state that includes several Arab territories, including the entirety of Lebanon.