Jumblat Visits Iran Embassy, Lauds Zarif Call for Foreign Forces to Leave Syria

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Monday lauded Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's call for the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Syria, urging Lebanese leaders to rise above petty details and form an all-embracing cabinet.

Following a 2-hour meeting at the Iranian embassy in Beirut with Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi, which was followed by a dinner banquet, Jumblat welcomed “the breakthrough that happened after the major framework agreement between the Islamic republic and and Western powers.”

“This is very important and will reflect positively on the region,” Jumblat said, adding that the nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group “won't be at anyone's expense.”

“We know that the Islamic republic -- as I understood from Minister Zarif during the Phoenicia dinner – is with forming an all-embracing cabinet” in Lebanon, Jumblat went on to say.

The PSP leader called on Lebanese parties to “rise above petty details in the coming hours or days so that we go unified to an all-embracing cabinet.”

Jumblat reminded everyone that “we're on the eve of a presidential election and any solidarity is very important, especially after the terrorist acts that targeted Tripoli, Dahieh and the Iranian embassy” in Beirut.

“This terrorism does not differentiate between one group and another or between one sect and another; it strikes everywhere,” Jumblat warned.

Asked about the exclusion of Iran from the Geneva II peace conference, Jumblat said: “There's no doubt that, at the right time, the Islamic republic together with the neighboring countries -- Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the major powers -- will play an essential role in resolving the Syrian crisis.”

Jumblat also reminded of Iranian FM Zarif's statement on the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Syria, describing it as “very important.”

“It reminds me of the initiative of Speaker (Nabih) Berri, who had called four months ago for an end to Lebanese interference in Syria,” Jumblat added.

On Friday, Zarif denied his country had sent Hizbullah members to fight in Syria, saying the Tehran-backed group “made its own decision."

Asked if he would call for Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria, he added: "What I can ask is for all foreign elements to leave Syria and for the Syrian people to decide their own future.”