Iran’s Velayati Continues High-Profile Meetings in Beirut

Following his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in Beirut on Friday, Velayati met with the Arab country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

In comments after his meeting with Berri, Velayati said the speaker was in agreement with Iran’s position that the Syrian city of Raqqah must be recaptured from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The SDF recaptured Raqqah, the former de facto capital of Daesh (ISIL), last month.

The Iranian official also held a meeting with Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, the Daily Star reported.

During the meeting, Velayati and Nasrallah exchanged views about the latest regional developments.

He also met with President Michel Aoun, who said after the meeting that Iran could play an effective role in the return of Syrian refugees to Syria, a statement from the presidential palace reported.

The two sides reportedly discussed the current regional and international situation, and military and political developments in Syria and Iraq.

They also discussed ongoing contacts to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

The president expressed his desire to “strengthen and develop” bilateral ties, and the pair discussed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s invitation for Aoun to visit Tehran.

Velayati praised efforts by Aoun and Hariri’s government to maintain stability in Lebanon, which he said helped “to achieve great victories against terrorist organizations in Lebanon,” the statement said.

“Lebanon is today considered one of the most secure and stable countries in the region. ... The victory achieved by Lebanon is the result of the tripartite equation of the (Lebanese) Army, the resistance (Hezbollah) and the people,” Velayati said after the meeting.

Velayati also met with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, after which he praised Lebanon’s foreign policy as taking a deliberate and active course since Bassil took the post, according to a statement from the foreign minister’s press office.

Velayati arrived in Beirut on Thursday to attend the second International Union of Resistance Scholars conference.