Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has appeared to encourage Tehran to convince Hezbollah, which it supports, to agree to a deal that could require the militant group to withdraw from the Israel-Lebanon border.
Mikati discussed the proposal with Ali Larijani, the senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, in Beirut on Friday.
The caretaker prime minister said the Lebanese government wants the war to end and resolution 1701 to be implemented ”in all its details,” according to a statement on the talks issued by his office.
A Lebanese official confirmed that Beirut has received a copy of a draft proposal based on UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
Hezbollah officials are said to be studying the draft.
According to Lebanese media, US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson gave a draft proposal to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who has been leading the talks representing Hezbollah.
After meeting Mikati and Berri, Larijani said the main purpose of his visit was ”to loudly say that we will stand by Lebanon’s government and people.”
Asked if he was trying to thwart US ceasefire mediation, Larijani said, ”We are not trying to blow up any effort, but we want to solve the problem and we will stand by Lebanon, whatever the circumstances.”
Iranian support critical to Hezbollah’s military power
Iran is a main backer of Hezbollah and for decades has been funding and arming the Lebanese militant group.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on 7 October last year which ignited the war in Gaza, prompting exchanges between the two sides ever since.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken hostage.
Israel escalated its strikes in Lebanon in late September, vowing to cripple Hezbollah and end its barrages in Israel, and launched a ground operation into the country.
More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire – 80% of them in the past month – according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
