Iran diplomat, Hezbollah chief discuss Mideast developments

During a meeting in Beirut on Tuesday, Jaberi Ansari and Nasrallah exchanged views about the latest political developments in the Middle East and the situation in the region, particularly the Syrian and Lebanese issues, PressTV reported.

Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Fat’hali was also present in the meeting.

Jaberi Ansari, who arrived in Beirut on Monday for a three-day visit, held talks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

He said the trip aims to express Iran’s support for national unity in Lebanon and the country’s fight against the Israeli regime and Takfiri terrorists.

The Iranian diplomat is visiting Beirut after the Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun announced the start of the operation, dubbed Jaroud Dawn, on Saturday against Daesh terrorists in eastern parts of the country along the border with Syria.

Separately on Saturday, the Hezbollah resistance movement said that it had started a joint operation with the Syrian army inside Syrian territory, according to al-Manar TV station.

Last month, Hezbollah concluded a joint counter-terrorism campaign with the Syrian army at Lebanon’s highlands of Arsal.

The militants of the al-Nusra Front group, recently renaming itself Fateh al-Sham, withdrew from Arsal following a series of consecutive defeats that forced them to agree to a ceasefire deal.

‘Lebanon, symbol of resistance against Zionists, terrorists’

Meanwhile, Jaberi Ansari also said on Tuesday that Lebanon is the symbol of resistance against the Israeli regime and Takfiri terrorism.

“Lebanon symbolizes coexistence among different Islamic and Christian sects and ethnicities…and the message of my trip to Lebanon and meetings with Lebanese political and religious leaders is that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports this coexistence,” he said in a meeting with Sheikh Naeem Hassan, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Lebanon.

The Iranian diplomat hailed the consensus among Lebanese religious and political leaders and said the Druze played a positive role in forming national understanding and establishing political and social stability.