Lebanon alone must decide its own future Iran foreign minister

World 15:18 14.08.2020
Only the Lebanese people and their representatives can decide the country's future, Iran's foreign minister said on a visit to Beirut on Friday, following the massive blast at the city's port that killed 172 people and prompted the government to resign, EDNews.net reports citing Yeni Safak.
 
Iran backs Lebanon's powerful armed movement Hezbollah, which along with its allies helped form the outgoing government. The United States classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
 
Mohammed Javad Zarif was speaking after senior U.S. and French officials met President Michel Aoun in a flurry of Western diplomacy that has focused on urging Lebanon to fight entrenched corruption and enact long-delayed reforms in order to unlock international financial aid to tackle an economic crisis.
 
"In our view it is not humane to exploit the pain and suffering of the people for political goals," Iran's Zarif told a joint televised news conference with Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister.
 
"We believe that the government and the people of Lebanon should decide on the future of Lebanon."
 
Lebanese had been staging angry protests against a political elite blamed for the country's many woes even before the Aug 4. blast, which injured 6,000 people, damaged swathes of the Mediterranean city and left 300,000 homeless. Some 30 people remain missing.
 
Aoun tweeted that he had held separate talks on Friday with both U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and French Defence Minister Florence Parly.
 
"EMPTY PROMISES"
 
Hale said on Thursday the United States' FBI would join a probe into the blast at a hangar in the port where highly-explosive material detonated in a mushroom cloud. Hale called for an end to "dysfunctional governments and empty promises".
 
International humanitarian aid has poured in but foreign states have linked any financial assistance to reform of the Lebanese state, which has defaulted on its huge sovereign debts.
 
Zarif said Tehran and private Iranian companies were ready to help Lebanon with reconstruction and rehabilitating the country's electricity sector.
 
France's navy helicopter carrier Tonnerre docked at the wrecked port, where Lebanese authorities say more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored for years without safety measures.
 
Aoun has promised a swift investigation into the blast. He has said the probe would look into whether the cause was negligence, an accident or "external interference".
 
Representatives of the victims' families held a news conference and read out an appeal to the United Nations Security Council urging it to appoint an international investigation commission and refer the blast to an international court.
 
"The Lebanese government's negligence and corruption have played a major role in this crime. Only an independent neutral investigation and prosecution will reveal the truth, punish those responsible and do justice," said a website set up on behalf of the victims (victimsofbeirutmassacre.com).
 
State news agency NNA said questioning of some ministers due to take place on Friday had been postponed as the judge appointed for the task said he did not have the authority to question government ministers.
 
The resignation of the cabinet has added to the uncertainty. Agreement on a new government is likely to prove very difficult in a country with deep factional rifts and a sectarian power-sharing system.
 
The country's senior Christian cleric, who has said Beirut must keep out of regional conflicts, voiced concern on Thursday that a new Lebanon was being "cooked in the kitchens" of foreign countries, without naming them.
 
"They have started cooking things that are not in Lebanon's interest at all but rather in the interest of politicians and factions, which we reject completely and will fight against," Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said in a sermon.
IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

WB allocates $2M for preparation of sustainable development project in Baku
22:00 02.07.2025
Malaysia inviting Azerbaijan to participate in trade incentive program
21:45 02.07.2025
Malaysia expects further expansion of palm oil trade with Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
EBRD updates current portfolio of projects in Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
12 Georgian MPs lose parliamentary mandates
21:00 02.07.2025
Asan Jakishev: Kazakhstan strengthens status as key transit hub in region
20:40 02.07.2025
Zakharova: 'We call on Baku to take measures to return ties to level of strategic alliance'
20:30 02.07.2025
Kyrgyz ambassador to Azerbaijan also appointed as envoy to Georgia
20:20 02.07.2025
Bangladesh court sentences ex-Premier Hasina in contempt case; first conviction since ouster
20:00 02.07.2025
Russia says reduction or cessation of Western arms supplies to Ukraine brings conflict closer to its end
19:45 02.07.2025
Israeli prosecution cancels Netanyahu’s corruption trial sessions next week over US visit
19:30 02.07.2025
Mamasadyk Bakirov: Kyrgyzstan creates all necessary conditions for business
19:15 02.07.2025
Lachin holds panel session on Role of Women in Urban Development
19:00 02.07.2025
Central banks of Azerbaijan, Georgia mull implementation of systems supported by AI
18:45 02.07.2025
Azerbaijani military personnel participate in International Anatolian Eagle-2025
18:30 02.07.2025
Shavkat Mirziyoyev to open Uzbekistan park in Baku
18:15 02.07.2025
Peskov: Head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Azerbaijan's prosecutor general mull problematic issues
18:00 02.07.2025
South Korean ex-premier, minister summoned over Yoon’s martial law probe
17:45 02.07.2025
Trump says Israel has agreed to 'necessary conditions' to finalize 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
17:30 02.07.2025
DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal ‘does not address serious crimes committed in the east': Amnesty International
17:15 02.07.2025
China again urges its citizens to avoid travel to Iran
17:00 02.07.2025
Australia's Qantas says 6 million customer accounts accessed in cyber hack
16:45 02.07.2025
US accuses UN expert of ‘economic warfare’ over report on companies aiding Israeli occupation
16:30 02.07.2025
150 National Guard troops reassigned from Los Angeles security mission to wildfire response
16:00 02.07.2025
Israeli strikes kill another 29 Palestinians in Gaza Strip
15:45 02.07.2025
Revenue of China’s software industry grows by 11.2%
15:30 02.07.2025
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev’s one-on-one meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev begins
15:20 02.07.2025
Zakharova: Friendly relations between Russia, Azerbaijan extremely important
15:15 02.07.2025
President of Northern Cyprus arrives in Azerbaijan
15:00 02.07.2025
COP29 president: US withdrawal from Paris agreement won't stop global climate movement
14:45 02.07.2025
President of Uzbekistan arrives in Azerbaijan on state visit
14:30 02.07.2025
Saudi Arabia receives written message from Iran
14:15 02.07.2025
Percentage of female students studying in Azerbaijan revealed
14:00 02.07.2025
Five of Russia's neighbors withdraw from Ottawa Treaty
13:45 02.07.2025
Bahar Muradova: Azerbaijan ready to share experience in expanding women's economic rights
13:30 02.07.2025
Prosecutor General's Office: Ziyaddin Safarov died in vehicle of Russian law enforcement agencies
13:15 02.07.2025
Adviser to Uzbek FM: Relations with Azerbaijan demonstrating steady growth in all areas
13:00 02.07.2025
ECO: Significant steps should be taken to increase women's digital skills
12:45 02.07.2025
Some Russian groups want to create crisis in relations with Azerbaijan
12:30 02.07.2025
Israel-Iran ceasefire set to drive oil prices toward $60 range: Experts
12:15 02.07.2025
Hamısı