TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made a high-profile visit to Lebanon on Friday, meeting his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Rajji upon his arrival in Beirut.

The visit came at a delicate time as the Zionist regime of Israel, the United States, as well as certain factions within Lebanon are putting pressure on the country’s officials to downgrade ties with Iran.

Recently, Lebanese Foreign Minister Rajji had said he was ready to meet his Iranian counterpart in a third country. However, Araghchi said friendly countries don’t need intermediaries.

In an interview with the Tehran Times last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the new Iranian and Lebanese ambassadors were starting their diplomatic missions.  

Iran’s top diplomat was also due to hold separate meetings with Lebanon’s Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, President Joseph Aoun, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Araghchi, who is accompanied by an Iranian trade delegation, also met Lebanon’s economy minister.

Earlier on Wednesday, Araghchi paid tribute to the martyred Lebanese resistance leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at his tomb, declaring that “We continue to support the resistance and its great goals in confronting the occupation and oppression of the Zionist regime.”

“On behalf of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all the people of Iran, I send greetings to all fighters for the path of truth, justice, and resistance,” Araghchi stated.

He added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the independence, national unity, and the territorial integrity of Lebanon and will continue to do so.”
The foreign minister also called for an “end to the occupation of all occupied lands by the Zionist regime, especially the occupied parts of Lebanon.”

Araghchi further said, “We seek to expand our relations with all stakeholders of the Lebanese government and hope that relations between Iran and Lebanon will expand in all political, economic, cultural, scientific, and other fields.”