Abdollahian: Iran has not and will not interfere in Lebanese presidential election

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, has revealed that an official invitation has been extended to the Saudi foreign minister to visit Tehran.

Regarding Lebanon, he emphasized that Iran has not and will not interfere in the Lebanese people's election of their president, and when they agree on any person, Tehran will extend all its support. 

He also stated that the Lebanese political forces have the necessary competence to choose a president for the republic.

"We support the election of a new president as well as the harmony and consensus among the Lebanese, and we encourage the completion of the political process through the recommendations that we give fraternally to our friends in Lebanon. What we heard and saw during our meetings suggests optimism," he said during a press conference.

He added that the official meetings he held with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker Nabih Berri, and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, focused on the prospects of bilateral relations between the two countries and political developments regionally and internationally. 

“Iran is keen on consensus and convergence between political forces to elect a president for the republic,” he stressed.

In response to a question, he said that “it is natural that dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia has positive effects on the region and Lebanon.”

“We believe that influential Lebanese political forces have the ability and necessary competence to complete the political process and choose a president for the republic." 

"In the past months, I heard a question from high-level officials in Lebanon asking when Iranian-Saudi relations will return to their course to solve some issues in Lebanon. Yesterday, I said that the Iranian-Saudi agreement has been reached, but Lebanon has not yet elected a president for the republic," the Iranian envoy added.

Regarding the electricity dossier, Abdollahian pointed out that "the negotiations we are conducting regarding bilateral cooperation between Iran and Lebanon in the fields of gas, oil, and electricity are inclined to development.”

“The main problem facing Iranian-Lebanese cooperation in the electricity sector is US pressures and the fear of those concerned about sanctions," he stressed.

"US sanctions are a failed policy, and under these unjust sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran exports a lot of electricity, especially to Iraq," he concluded by saying.