Did Lebanon’s President Confront Larijani? / Response of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretariat to the Lebanese President

Joseph Aoun, the President of Lebanon, disclosed details of his meeting with Ali Larijani in Beirut.

According to Rokna, citing Russia’s RT website, Aoun said that Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, “heard very harsh words from me and appeared extremely tense. I told him: The Shia of Lebanon are my responsibility, not yours. These positions surpass any form of commentary. I forced him to conceal his tension to the point that his legs trembled. He left the palace in a state of shock, then returned and requested another meeting, but I did not receive him.”

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has visited Beirut twice in recent months, where he met with President Joseph Aoun. During those meetings, the Lebanese president told Larijani: “The tone we recently heard from some Iranian officials is not helpful, and the friendship we seek—one that brings Lebanon and Iran closer—should not be achieved through one Lebanese group or faction, but through all Lebanese.

“We oppose any interference in our internal affairs by any party, and we want Lebanon to remain safe and stable so that the interests of all Lebanese, without discrimination, are secured. Lebanon, which has never interfered in the affairs of any country, including Iran, and has respected their sovereignty, does not accept interference by anyone in its internal affairs.”

President Joseph Aoun, in an interview with the Lebanese outlet Asas Media, claimed: “Hezbollah’s military wing is finished. Hezbollah is aware of this but is seeking an honorable exit. The Shia of Lebanon, after forty years of suffering with no end in sight, are exhausted.”

Lebanese and foreign media outlets have republished this interview.

The president made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury headed by Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the U.S. President for Counterterrorism.

The Lebanese president claimed: “The Shia, after forty years of struggle with no clear horizon, are exhausted. Musa al-Sadr once said that we would be in the front lines defending Palestine when everyone participates in this, but we will not fight alone; rather, we will negotiate, and we have no choice but negotiation. Gaza, after a severe war, has been completely destroyed, and now they are all sitting at the negotiating table.”

He added: “We have no choice but negotiation; either we will be one country—one state—or we will no longer exist.”

Joseph Aoun stressed the need to pressure Israel to stop its continuous attacks on Lebanon and to compel Tel Aviv to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the agreement reached last year. He said this would lead to the full deployment of the Lebanese Army in the south and the activation of the army’s plan for implementing the arms monopoly provision.

Aoun reiterated that the option of negotiation, which he has repeatedly announced, stems from the reality that war has achieved nothing. Negotiations require a conducive environment and, above all, the cessation of hostilities and the achievement of stability in the south. He noted that this option is supported by the United States and other countries.

The Lebanese president added that the country’s next phase requires “negotiation, not war.” Referring to the Gaza conflict, he said: “It was completely destroyed and then everyone returned to the negotiating table.”

He emphasized that he is a “statesman” and is not pursuing political gains; rather, his goal is to “build a normal country in which the Lebanese live with dignity and prosperity and pass it on to future generations.”

The U.S. delegation also expressed its readiness to assist Lebanon in its efforts to achieve security and stability in the south, to support the Lebanese Army in extending state authority over all Lebanese territory, to eliminate armed elements, and to empower legitimate security forces to fully carry out their responsibilities.

Response of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretariat to the President of Lebanon

The Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has called for the publication and review of the full video recording of Ali Larijani’s meeting with the President of Lebanon.

According to Al Mayadeen, citing informed sources within the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, what has been published regarding the content of the meeting between the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the President of Lebanon is entirely false and lacks accuracy.

The network, citing these sources, added: “We consider it completely unlikely and far from reality that such crude and meaningless statements were ever uttered by the President of Lebanon. We believe that the Lebanese presidency possesses the full video file of this meeting, and it is sufficient for it to be published so that the truth becomes clear to everyone.”