Tehran ‘willing to engage in negotiations,’ Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf quoted as saying Mikati accuses Iran of trying to ‘establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon’ BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday issued a rare rebuke of Iran, charging it with “blatant interference” over remarks attributed to its parliament speaker on a UN resolution on Hezbollah and Lebanon. The Security Council resolution, adopted in 2006 and which states that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon, has come into focus during the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. In remarks published by France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf said that “Tehran would be willing to engage in concrete negotiations on enforcing Resolution 1701, with France acting as a mediator between Hezbollah and Israel.” This is seen as a precondition for a ceasefire. Le Figaro reported that Qalibaf “does not say that Hezbollah did not respect Resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah’s retreat beyond the Litani River.” Mikati hit back, accusing Iran of “blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon.” He said in a statement that “the issue of negotiating to implement international Resolution 1701 is being undertaken by the Lebanese state. Everyone is required to support it in this direction, not to seek to impose new mandates.” Mikati said that Lebanon’s foreign minister would summon Iran’s charge d’affaires to seek clarification on Qalibaf’s remarks. He said “he had communicated to both the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the speaker of the Iranian Shoura Council during their recent visits to Lebanon that it is crucial to understand the Lebanese situation, particularly as Lebanon is currently facing unprecedented Israeli aggression.” He also said that “Lebanon is actively working with its allies, including France, to pressure Israel to cease hostilities.” Mikati emphasized that “the responsibility for negotiating the implementation of Resolution 1701 lies with the Lebanese state.” “Everyone should support this approach rather than seek to impose new and unacceptable forms of tutelage, which are rejected on both national and sovereign grounds,” he said. Qalibaf visited Beirut on Oct. 12. Araghchi had previously violated the Lebanese state’s sovereignty on Oct. 4, when he ignored the road map to end the war launched by parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt just two days before his arrival. The road map did not mention Hezbollah and focused on implementing a ceasefire, electing a president and enforcing Resolution 1701. During his meetings with Berri and Mikati, Araghchi believed that “Lebanon won’t remain without the Resistance.” His statement was met with official disapproval, especially as Lebanon is currently facing the destructive Israeli military machine. French President Emmanuel Macron was among those who rejected the Iranian stance. “Iran made the brazen choice of putting Lebanese at risk and protecting itself, which accelerated the start of Israeli operations,” he said after the European summit in Brussels. Hezbollah, he said, “has obligations, foremost among them the renunciation of weapons, terrorism and violence, and it must allow the Lebanese to come together.” Qalibaf received harsh criticism within Lebanon, while Mikati was praised. Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, said the prime minister’s stance “gives us a glimmer of hope that the state, albeit unfortunately after the devastating events, has begun to take responsibility.” He said he hoped Mikati would “go further and say that the government demands a ceasefire based on the implementation of Resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701, as this is the only way to stop the ongoing massacres in Lebanon.” Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, said: “Mikati’s stance is a good step toward restoring the state’s prestige, sovereignty and decision-making power and we support such steps to put an end to the blatant interference in Lebanese affairs. It is necessary to follow through by asserting the state’s authority on the ground.” Bilal Hchaimeh, an independent lawmaker who is close to the Future Movement, called for the “rejection of any foreign interference in the sovereign affairs of our country, especially when it concerns negotiations related to our national security.” A source close to Qalibaf said on Al-Mayadeen TV that “what the government and the resistance in Lebanon support regarding the ceasefire, Iran will support as well.” He said also that “what was reported about Qalibaf is completely incorrect” and that “cooperation with Europe aims to help reach a ceasefire agreement supported by the government and the resistance in Lebanon.” Meanwhile, fierce clashes continued between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, with Israeli airstrikes causing further destruction in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa. The death toll over the past 24 hours was 45, with 179 injured, according to the government’s emergency committee. Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said: “The devastation and destruction of many villages along the Blue Line and even beyond is shocking. We’ve been targeted several times, five times under deliberate attack.” He said also that “a trace of the possible use of white phosphorous” had been seen close to a UNIFIL base. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, head of Lebanon’s High Relief Commission said that the cargo from four of the 10 Saudi planes carrying aid for displaced people in Lebanon had been unloaded and that the last of the flights would land at Beirut airport on Tuesday. He said that an executive delegation from the Kingdom, under the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had also arrived in Lebanon “to work alongside the commission, assist in the distribution of donations and familiarize themselves with the needs of the displaced.” The aid was greatly welcomed, he said. About 1.2 million people have been displaced from Lebanon’s south, the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more than half of them now living in shelters. On Friday, Hezbollah’s military media reported the targeting of the settlement of Zevulun with a “large salvo of rockets, with sirens sounding in Acre, Haifa Bay and vast areas in the Galilee.” In a statement to the residents of 23 southern towns, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “For your safety, you must evacuate without delay and move to the north of the Awali River.” The airstrikes focused on the area of Nabatieh, targeting residential and commercial buildings in Aita Al-Shaab, Ramyah, Dhayra, Boustane, Maroun Al-Ras and Yaroun, as well as on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil, Marwahin and Tarbikha in the western sector. Hezbollah’s military media said: “The enemy’s losses, as observed by the party, amounted to around 55 dead and more than 500 wounded officers and soldiers. In addition, 20 Merkava tanks, four military bulldozers, an armored vehicle and a troop carrier have been destroyed, and two ‘Hermes 450’ drones have been downed.”