Strengthening cooperation between Iran and Hezbollah: Implications of meeting between Amir-Abdollahian and Nasrallah in Lebanon
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited
the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on September 1, coming from Syria, during which
he held discussions with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which
dealt with the latest developments in the situation in Lebanon and the region,
especially as they coincided with Israel continuously threatening to launch a
military operation if Hezbollah does not stop threatening the Israeli forces in
the border area with Lebanon and given that Tehran considers Hezbollah its main
arm in Lebanese territory, which this meeting confirmed.
Iranian motives
It is also remarkable that the Iranian regime is currently
trying to intervene to resolve the “presidential vacancy” crisis that Lebanon
has been witnessing since last October following the end of President Michel
Aoun’s term, which was confirmed by Amir-Abdollahian upon his arrival in
Beirut, saying, “We will discuss with the various parties in Lebanon reaching
understandings that lead to the election of a new president for the Lebanese
Republic.” This indicates that the mullah regime is keen on having a president
in Lebanon who serves the Iranian agenda and interests on Lebanese soil, which comes
within the framework of the plan to “export the revolution” and Tehran’s
efforts to control a number of countries in the region, most notably Yemen,
Syria, Lebanon, and also Iraq, through its arms spread in these countries.
On the one hand, the meeting between Amir-Abdollahian and
Nasrallah may be aimed at strengthening cooperation between Iran and Hezbollah
to find a president who is compatible with the various Lebanese political
forces and at the same time serves Iran, in addition to strengthening military
cooperation between the Lebanese militia and Tehran in order to repel Israeli
attacks in the region, as Iran does not hesitate to provide various types of
weapons to Hezbollah, which explains why the latter recently displayed its
military arsenal as a pressure card to deliver a message to Israel that the militia
is capable of confronting the Israeli forces in the south of the country. At
the same time, the mullah regime wants to tell Israel that it will not give up
supporting its proxies in the region by various means, which was confirmed by Amir-Abdollahian
saying, “Tehran continues to support Lebanon, its army, people, and
resistance... Lebanon has an important position, and cooperation with it is in
the interest of both countries.”
In addition to the foregoing, Iran is seeking to strengthen
cooperation in the economic field with Lebanon, as Amir-Abdollahian announced
that Iranian companies are ready to solve Lebanon’s electricity problem, which
reveals an Iranian desire to continue the incursion into Lebanese territory
with various tools that allow it and its arms to influence and control
decision-making institutions.
Mullahs' approach
Regarding the implications of the meeting that brought
together Amir-Abdollahian and Nasrallah, Dr. Masoud Ibrahim Hassan, a
researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, said that the meeting confirms that
Iranian policies with regard to its affiliated militia in the region were not
affected by any of the recent treaties concluded by Iran to restore relations with
Saudi Arabia or other countries of the region.
Hassan pointed out in a special statement to the Reference
that the Iranian approach has not changed, and Tehran will not stop supporting this
militia, even if it made some concessions during the past few months to open
new horizons for it at the regional and international levels, which is what the
Arab countries of the region should pay attention to and impose conditions on
Iran, most notably abandoning support for its militias in the countries of the
region, whether in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon or Yemen.
