Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that he will visit Beirut for discussions after receiving a formal invitation from his Lebanese counterpart, who had previously declined to travel to Tehran for direct talks the day before.
On Wednesday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji said “current conditions” prevented him from traveling to Tehran, but stressed that the move did not mean rejection of dialogue with Iran, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Raji told Reuters late on Wednesday that he had invited Araghchi “in a formal diplomatic letter to come to Beirut to hold talks.”
Araghchi says on X that he would “gladly accept the invitation to come to Beirut,” although he said he found Raji’s position “bemusing.” He says foreign ministers of countries with “full diplomatic relations” did not need a neutral venue to meet.
“Subjected to Israeli occupation and blatant ‘ceasefire’ violations, I fully understand why my esteemed Lebanese counterpart is not prepared to visit Tehran,” Araghchi adds.
Raji said on Wednesday that Lebanon was ready to open a new phase of relations with Iran based on mutual respect, sovereignty and non-interference.
He added that no strong state could be built unless the government held the exclusive right to bear arms, in an apparent reference to calls to disarm Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group.