Iranian embassy says Amani provided 'clarifications' to Lebanese officials

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani provided "clarifications" to Lebanese officials regarding his latest remarks on "disarmament," Iran's embassy said, after he was summoned by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry over perceived interference in Lebanese affairs.

Amani noted that his statements on X were "general... and applied to all countries without exception, including Iran," the embassy added.

The visit to the ministry sought to avoid any possible "misunderstanding between the two countries" over the post's content, the embassy said.

In a post on social network X last week, Amani said the "disarmament plan is a clear conspiracy against states," without saying which or naming Hezbollah.

President Joseph Aoun has pledged to implement a state monopoly on arms.

But it is a "delicate" matter that must be approached through dialogue and carried out when "the circumstances" allow, he said on Sunday.

The United States has been pressing Lebanon's government to disarm Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said Amani was informed of the need to adhere to principles of "state sovereignty and non-interference in their domestic affairs," a statement said, pointing to the Vienna Convention.

Hezbollah, long a dominant force in Lebanon, was severely weakened in the latest war with its arch-foe Israel. The war included an Israeli ground incursion and two months of heavy bombardment that decimated the group's leadership.

A November truce accord was based on a U.N. Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and United Nations peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon.

It calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.

On Friday, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group "will not let anyone disarm" it, adding it was ready for dialogue on a "defense strategy," "but not under the pressure of occupation" by Israel.

In subsequent comments on Wednesday to Lebanese television channel Al-Jadeed, Amani said disarming Hezbollah was "a Lebanese domestic matter" and Iran would "not interfere" in it.

"We will comply with what the Lebanese institutions decide," he said, adding that "in Lebanon there is occupation, there are attacks, there is the Israeli danger, there is a group... that wants to defend itself," he added, referring to Hezbollah.

Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon, but troops remain in five positions that it deems "strategic".