Lebanon seeks clarification on Iranian remarks

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, May 10, 2014
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Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Friday asked his foreign minister to seek clarification from Iran regarding remarks by one of its former top military officials concerning southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.

General Rahim Safavi, former head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and current military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said earlier that "Iran's influence has reached the Mediterranean, our defensive line is in southern Lebanon border with Israel, and Syria is our bridge to Africa and Asia."

The Iranian official's statement has drawn a wave of criticism from various Lebanese officials and politicians.

Lebanon's March 14 camp, a political coalition that opposes the Syrian government and backs the rebels, accused Iran of clearly interfering in Lebanon's domestic affairs and considered the statement as a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, saying it is "turning south Lebanon into a battleground between Iran and Israel."

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group, is considered by the March 14 camp as Iran's military wing in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has enjoyed financial and military supports of Iran since its foundation in 1982 amid Lebanon's war with Israel. It is currently fighting on the side of the Syrian government against the rebels in Syria.

Earlier in January Tehran said that supporting Hezbollah is a principle of Iran's foreign policy, and that it will continue to throw its weight behind the movement. Endi

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