Top Iranian officials meet Hezbollah chief in Beirut
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (C) and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) meet with Sheikh Naim Qassem, the secretary general of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 25, 2025. IRNA
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with the secretary general of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah in Beirut.
Lebanon’s al-Manar media outlet reported on Wednesday that Qalibaf and Araghchi met with Sheikh Naim Qassem before leaving Lebanon. Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, also attended the meeting.
The Iranian officials and the Hezbollah leader exchanged views on the latest developments in Lebanon and the broader region.
Qalibaf and Araghchi were in Lebanon to attend the funeral ceremony of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, and the chief of the resistance movement’s Executive Council, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, which was held in the Lebanese capital on Sunday.
Nasrallah, who had been the leader of Hezbollah for over 30 years, was killed in an Israeli air strike on southern Beirut on September 27 last year. The same large-scale air strike also resulted in the death of Abbas Nilforoushan, a high-ranking commander in Iran’s Quds Force.
Safieddine had been selected to succeed Nasrallah but was later killed in another Israeli strike.
In response to their deaths, Iran launched approximately 200 missiles at Israel in October as an act of retaliation.
Hezbollah postponed funeral ceremonies for both leaders due to fears of Israeli attacks on the ceremony.