Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday expressed support for Hezbollah after the terrorist group rejected a Lebanese government plan to disarm it.
"Any decision on this matter will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself. We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions," Araghchi said in a television interview, as quoted by AFP.
The Iranian Foreign Minister further claimed that Hezbollah has "rebuilt itself" following setbacks during its war with Israel last year.
Araghchi’s comments come a day after Lebanon’s cabinet tasked the army with formulating a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of 2025.
The decision follows mounting US pressure and forms part of the framework set out in a November ceasefire agreement aimed at halting over a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, which included two months of intense warfare.
Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem quickly denounced the disarmament proposal brought by US envoy Tom Barrack, asserting that it amounted to impositions rather than negotiations.
“Whoever looks at the deal Barrack brought doesn't find an agreement but dictates,” he said.
Iran is a major sponsor of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and in the past has vowed to always support the group.
A report in March of last year revealed that Iran is using European ports to provide cover for shipments of weapons to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.