Abdollahian urges Lebanese officials to elect a president

Iran's foreign minister called on Lebanon Thursday to overcome political deadlock and elect a president, urging foreign governments not to interfere in the choice.

"We encourage all sides in Lebanon to expedite the election of a president," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a press conference, after he met with caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in the capital Beirut.

"We will support any election and agreement reached between all Lebanese sides... and we call on other foreign parties to respect the choice of the Lebanese without interfering in the country's affairs," he added.

Lebanon, in the throes of a crushing economic crisis, has been without a president for almost six months amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.

"Lebanese officials and all political parties and sides in the country have the capacity and the competence to reach a consensus on electing the president," said Abdollahian, on his second visit to Beirut this year.

Countries including France, the United States and Saudi Arabia hold regular consultations on Lebanon. Their representatives met in February in Paris to discuss the crisis, without achieving any tangible progress.

Iran's top diplomat said he and Lebanese counterpart Bou Habib discussed "comprehensive cooperation between Iran and Lebanon" and Iran's readiness "to further strengthen the ties in economy, trade, tourism, science, technology and other fields".

Abdollahian expressed Iran's willingness to help Lebanon with the electricity file and offered the crisis-hit country a fuel donation, Bou Habib said after the meeting.

He added that he has discussed with his Iranian counterpart the Iranian-Saudi thaw.

"We hope that the Iranian-Saudi agreement would reflect positively on Lebanon," Bou habib cheerfully said.

Media reports had said that Abdollahian might ask Tehran’s allies in Lebanon to consider ending their support for Suleiman Franjieh’s presidential nomination to protect the renewed relation with Riyadh.

Abdollahian also met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and is reportedly set to meet with Lebanese MPs at the Iranian Embassy, before travelling to ally Damascus on Friday.

Lebanese Forces MPs and MP and presidential candidate Michel Mouawad were not invited to the meeting, media reports said, while Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel, MP Camille Chamoun and other Change MPs decided to boycott it.