Zarif Meets Hariri, Berri, Salam, Says Iran Ready to Cooperate with 'All Lebanese Sects'
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced Tuesday that Tehran is willing to cooperate with “all Lebanese sects and components,” on the second day of an official visit to Lebanon.
“We are fully ready to cooperate with the brotherly Lebanese people and all its sects and components,” said Zarif after talks with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri at the Center House.
“The approach of wisdom, rationality and democracy has triumphed in the Lebanese political arena,” he noted.
The Iranian visitor also said that he expressed to Hariri Tehran's “determination to cooperate and show openness towards the brotherly Lebanese republic in all fields, during the current government's term as well as under the next government's term.”
Turning to the regional developments, Zarif said he discussed with Hariri the various conflicts in the region and stressed the need to “reconcile political viewpoints among the various regional forces in order to find the appropriate political solutions.”
Speaking after talks with caretaker Prime Minister Tammam Salam earlier in the day, Zarif called for a speedy formation of the new government.
And after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, the top Iranian diplomat said the parliament speaker's role is “essential and constructive.”
“We support his national approach and we hope that the Lebanese government will be formed soon,” he added.
Zarif had held talks on Monday with President Michel Aoun and caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.
Aoun, who is allied to Iran-backed Hizbullah, was elected last week as Lebanon's 13th president, which ended around two and a half years of presidential and political vacuum.
Aoun's election and Hariri's appointment as PM-designate have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
The process of forming a government could take months, with horsetrading likely to revolve around the distribution of key posts like the finance, defense and energy ministries.
Hariri is likely to struggle with his government's policy statement, which will have to make reference to Israel, as well as the war in Syria, both potential flashpoints with Hizbullah.
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