- Lebanese premier tells Larijani that ties with Iran depend on mutual respect for sovereignty during Beirut meeting

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL

Iran’s top security official hailed Saudi Arabia on Saturday as a “friendly” country, welcoming Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem’s initiative to hold dialogue with the kingdom.

“I commend Hezbollah’s initiative to engage in dialogue with Saudi Arabia, because it is a friendly country to us, and there are consultations between us,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told a press conference in Beirut following talks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Larijani arrived in the Lebanese capital early Saturday to participate in ceremonies commemorating the assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and top group leader Hashem Safieddine.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in September, and Safieddine in October.

“Lebanon is small geographically, but a strong state in confronting Israel,” Larijani said.

“Today is a day of cooperation as we face one enemy (Israel), and Qassem’s stance is completely correct and right.”

On Sept. 19, Qassem called on Saudi Arabia to open “a new page” with Hezbollah and launch dialogue to address past problems.

Larijani described Hezbollah as “a stronghold for the Lebanese people, and any political development in the context of supporting the Lebanese people is welcomed by us.”

“If Israel attacks Iran, it will receive a strong response, and we in Iran are ready to deal with all scenarios,” he said.

Separately, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with Larijani in Beirut and said that “the soundness of Lebanese–Iranian relations should be built on mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs,” according to a statement from the Lebanese Cabinet.

The issue of disarming Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, remains a major point of friction between Beirut and Tehran. In a televised speech in August, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi voiced support for Hezbollah’s decisions after Lebanon’s government proposed a plan to strip the group of its weapons.

“Any decision on this matter ultimately belongs to Hezbollah,” Araghchi said at the time. “We support the group from afar but do not interfere in its decisions,” he added.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry responded the following day, condemning Araghchi’s remarks as “an unacceptable interference in the country’s internal affairs and sovereign decisions.”

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s government approved the army’s plan to centralize all weapons under state control. It welcomed the plan and decided to keep its content and deliberations confidential.

On Aug. 5, the Cabinet formally adopted the policy to restrict all arms—including Hezbollah’s arsenal—to the state. It tasked the army with developing and implementing the plan by the end of 2025.

Qassem has repeatedly rejected any disarmament, saying the group will not hand over its weapons “until the Israeli occupation ends.”

A ceasefire was reached in November 2024 following a year-long cycle of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel that began in October 2023. The conflict escalated into a full-scale Israeli offensive by September 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and around 17,000 injuries.

Under the terms of the truce, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 2025. However, it has so far only partially pulled out troops and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.