Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Thursday that he would travel to Beirut for talks after his Lebanese counterpart had declined a day earlier to visit Tehran.
The Lebanese foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, told Araghchi he was welcome in Beirut, or that they could meet in a “neutral” country. He later issued a formal invitation. The talks are due to take place as Lebanon seeks to disarm Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group that has held sway in southern Lebanon for decades.
“I could not accept his invitation to visit Tehran under the current circumstances,” Raggi posted on X on Wednesday.
The Lebanese minister said last week that Beirut was seeking to disarm Hezbollah, but that Iran would have the final word on the matter.
On X, Raggi said he stressed in his response to Araghchi that “a strong state can only be built when the state alone, through its national army, has the exclusive right to carry weapons and to decide on issues of war and peace” — a veiled reference to Hezbollah’s extensive arsenal.
He also emphasized that his statement did not mean rejection of dialogue with Iran, and told Reuters late on Wednesday that he had invited Araghchi “in a formal diplomatic letter to come to Beirut to hold talks.”
Araghchi said on X that he would “gladly accept the invitation to come to Beirut,” although he said he found Raggi’s position “bemusing.” He said foreign ministers of countries with “full diplomatic relations” did not need a neutral venue to meet.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi is hosted by Qatar’s leadership in Doha on September 15, 2025, on the sidelines of the 2025 Arab-Islamic extraordinary summit. (MOFA QATAR / AFP)
Demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament have mounted since the onset of a ceasefire between Israel and the terror group just over a year ago.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which ended the October 2023-November 2024 conflict between Israel and a badly weakened Hezbollah, the terror group was to be disarmed and allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy fully across the country as the IDF withdrew. That disarmament has not yet happened, however, despite Lebanon having drawn up a plan to do so.
Lebanon is now under pressure to speed up the process or risk a renewed Israeli military operation.
Israel has retained troops in the country, and regularly conducts strikes that it says are against Hezbollah attempts to rebuild its strength. Araghchi referenced those strikes on Thursday.
“Subjected to Israeli occupation and blatant ‘ceasefire’ violations, I fully understand why my esteemed Lebanese counterpart is not prepared to visit Tehran,” the Iranian minister said.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
