Hariri Says Jalili's Visit 'Unwelcome', Slams 'Suspicious Objectives'

Former prime minister Saad Hariri said a visit on Monday to Lebanon by Saeed Jalili, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was “unwelcome in this critical period during which the Syrian people are suffering the most horrible types of massacres and destruction at the hands of Bashar Assad’s regime and its foreign protectors.”

“This visit also contradicts with the interest of the Lebanese people who cannot dissociate themselves from showing solidarity with their brothers in Syria or from the unified Arab stance demanding the resignation of Bashar Assad and an end to the Iranian regime’s interference in the Arab affairs in general and the Syrian and Lebanese affairs in particular,” Hariri added in a statement.

“This visit’s objectives are very suspicious at this specific timing that comes after (Syrian Foreign Minister) Walid Muallem’s trip to Tehran and the numerous threats launched by Iran’s political and military leaderships, especially what has been recently voiced by the Iranian defense minister,” Hariri went on to say.

Earlier on Monday, Jalili called for intense consultations between Tehran and Beirut to preserve stability and security in the region.

“We should work together through the intense consultations and exchange of viewpoints in the service of the Islamic nation and the interest of the countries and peoples in the region,” Jalili said at the Beirut airport.

The coordination should also lead to “the consolidation of security, calm and stability in the region,” he said ahead of his talks with top Lebanese officials.

Jalili first met with President Michel Suleiman at his summer residence in Beiteddine and then held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

He is expected to meet with Premier Najib Miqati and Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour later in the day. Reports have said that the Iranian official could also hold talks with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Jalili hailed the “strategic ties” between Iran and Lebanon and said Lebanon is now known at the regional and international level as the “symbol of resistance.”

Hariri said “Iran must know that all these threats and suspicious moves will not help delay the inevitable downfall of its ally Bashar Assad, whose latest indication was the defection of Syrian’s prime minister today.”