Iran Presents List of Arms Aids to Lebanese Army
TEHRAN (ST)- Iran has presented a list of military tools and weapons to be gifted to the Lebanese army to help the Arab country in its fight against terrorism, senior officials in Beirut said.
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel told the country’s al-Manar TV on Friday night that he would visit Iran at the head of a high-ranking military delegation within the next ten days to study Tehran’s pledged arms aids to Lebanon.
“The details of the arms aids which Tehran is ready to supply to the Lebanese army will be studied in the presence of a delegation of high-ranking officers,” he added.
Moqbel said that the Lebanese army will assess and study Iran’s weaponry proposals after returning to Beirut.
He expressed the hope that other countries would also present Beirut arms gifts proportionate to the needs of the Lebanese army.
On Wednesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced Tehran’s plans to assist the Lebanese army in fighting terrorism.
“The Lebanese army should be strengthened for its campaign against terrorism,” Amir Abdollahian told FNA.
“Any assistance by Iran to the Lebanese army will be within the framework of war on terrorism and the international laws,” he added.
Asked about the US officials’ reaction to Iran’s possible assistance to the Lebanese army, Amir Abdollahian said, “Instead of adventurous measures which merely intensify extremism, the US should avoid preventing reinvigoration of the regional states and armies if it favors a materialization of real and effective war on terrorism.”
Also on Tuesday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani announced that Iran plans to gift a military tool or weapon to the Lebanese army in the near future.
“The gift will be sent in the near future and it will be delivered to the Lebanese defense minister during his upcoming visit to Iran,” Shamkhani said after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Beirut.
Shamkhani pointed to his meeting with the Lebanese prime minister, and said, “We discussed bilateral ties and regional political developments as well as the plots hatched by the Israeli regime to misuse the regional developments.”
On Monday, Shamkhani underlined Tehran and Beirut’s firm will to consolidate security and defense cooperation to thwart common enemies’ plots.
Upon arrival in Beirut Airport in a brief meeting with reporters, the top Iranian security official said that the two governments and nations have had long standing historical relations.
“The main objective of my visit to Lebanon is holding dialogue and consultations on political and security developments in the region and seeking ways for cooperation in confrontation with shared threats against Iran and Lebanon,” Shamkhani underscored.
Iran and Lebanon enjoy cordial relations and have further expanded these ties in recent years.
The two sides have exchanged several delegations of high-ranking officials in the last three years.
M. Wassouf