Iranian officials were searched by security at the Beirut airport on Friday, according to Lebanese media, constituting a potential diplomatic incident amid the war with Israel.
Al Jadeed reported that the Iranian delegation accompanying senior adviser Ali Larijani objected to having their bags searched at the airport. As a result, security officials closed the airport’s gates and prevented the delegation from entering. The situation returned to normal following the search, according to the outlet.
The order to search the delegation and close the gates was made by Brig. Gen. Fadi Kfoury, the head of security at the airport, according to LBCI.
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said in a post on X that Larijani was greeted by officials representing Hezbollah and parliament speaker Nabih Berri upon his arrival at the airport on Friday. The embassy did not mention the search.
وصل كبير مستشاري قائد الثورة في الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية الدكتور علي لاريجاني، إلى لبنان في زيارة يلتقي خلالها كبار المسؤولين اللبنانيين وعدداً من النواب ورؤساء الأحزاب والشخصيات السياسية البارزة.
وقد كان في استقباله في مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي، الدكتور خليل حمدان ممثلا… pic.twitter.com/Ne6tgU3B09— السفارة الإيرانية- لبنان (@IranEmbassyLB) November 15, 2024
Why it matters: Larijani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited Lebanon on Friday for meetings with the country’s leaders about the war with Israel. Following a year of cross-border exchanges, Israel invaded southern Lebanon in early October in an effort to deter Hezbollah.
Larijani met with Berri and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday to discuss the situation in Lebanon and the region, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Larijani expressed Iran’s support for Lebanon to reporters following the meeting, saying, “We support the Lebanese nation under any circumstances,” and adding, “We support the resistance under any circumstances” — a reference to Hezbollah.
The adviser said Iran will support any decision Lebanon makes regarding the conflict with Israel. When asked about United Nations Security Council 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, Larijani said, “Anything that the Lebanese authorities and the Lebanese resistance could accept, we are for.”
The resolution calls for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon other than the Lebanese armed forces, for the withdrawal of all forces from the country that do not have the government’s consent and for the Lebanese armed forces and UN peacekeepers to be the sole presence in the country’s south. Hezbollah currently has a strong presence in southern Lebanon.
The visit came amid a push by regional and international powers for a cease-fire in Lebanon. US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson presented Berri with a draft cease-fire proposal on Thursday, Reuters reported.
“We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems,” Larijani told reporters when asked about the US proposal.
Know more: Larijani’s trip to Lebanon followed his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Thursday. The two discussed bilateral relations and the conflict with Israel, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Israel struck Damascus the same day, saying it hit targets belonging to the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas and Iran. Syria said 17 people were killed in the strikes.