Iran's legislative chief utilized a high-profile summit alongside prominent Lebanese figures to signal that Tehran's material and political commitment to its regional paramilitary network will not be sacrificed during diplomatic talks with Washington, CNN reported.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf conducted an official meeting Sunday with an assembled delegation of high-ranking Hezbollah administrators. The members of the terrorist group, featuring senior figure Mohammed Fenish, traveled to Iran to participate in the state-led funeral processions honoring the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to an operational summary published by Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Ghalibaf lauded Hezbollah's strategic execution throughout the latest regional conflict, characterizing their battlefield performance as “a historic turning point."
The parliamentary chief asserted that the deployment effectively validated what he characterized as the unbreakable coordination tying Iran to its satellite resistance movements.
Turning to state policy, Ghalibaf made it clear that Tehran has no intention of scaling back its regional footprints to satisfy Western powers, emphasizing that backing Iran’s armed proxies, “and Hezbollah in particular," remained an “Islamic and revolutionary duty."
The state-run media dispatch further detailed that Ghalibaf stressed that Iran had maintained “definite and fundamental lines" in its negotiations with the United States and that “one of these red lines is the issue of the Resistance Front and Lebanon".
Iran has insisted that the issue of Lebanon must be a part of the negotiations with the US on a permanent ceasefire following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the sides.
The US, for its part, seeks to separate the two issues and has brokered a separate agreement between Israel and Lebanon. The deal outlines a multi-stage Israeli military withdrawal from Lebanese territory and stipulates that Hezbollah must disarm.
Hezbollah has refused to disarm and declared that "Without Hezbollah, nothing will pass."
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem strongly condemned the framework agreement, describing it as a "humiliating and disgraceful" deal that, he claimed, amounts to a surrender of Lebanon's sovereignty.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently rebuked Tehran for exploiting his war-torn nation as leverage against the United States and Israel, overriding the desires of the Lebanese public.
“It’s not your country, it’s our country," Aoun said. “(Iran is) using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the US."
He added, “You are not trying to help us … the people of Lebanon are paying the price … for the sake of your own interest. Our interests … do not coincide with your interests."