BEIRUT: Military supplies “appropriate for ground battles against terrorists” are ready to be shipped from Iran to Lebanon, according to the Islamic Republic’s semiofficial Fars News Agency.
“What we are supplying to the Lebanese Army is a rapid reaction in response to a possible threat,” Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Monday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, with the aim of consolidating national authority and reinforcing security in Lebanon, is ready to supply the needs of the Lebanese Army, and share its experience with this country’s army for fighting terrorist and takfiri groups,” Dehghan said.
Lebanese Defense Minister Samir Moqbel is currently in Tehran to discuss, among other things, possible Iranian military aid to the embattled Lebanese Army.
Moqbel said that Iran’s military support would play an important role in helping the country push back radical Islamist groups ensconced in the border regions.
According to Al-Manar TV, Moqbel visited multiple weapons productions facilities on his trip.
The Lebanese Army has been engaged in intermittent ground clashes with terrorist groups along the country’s eastern border for almost two months. More than a dozen soldiers were killed when militants affiliated with the Nusra Front and ISIS briefly took over the northeastern town of Arsal in early August.
In separate meetings Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Moqbel that that ignoring the extremist groups along Lebanon’s borders was “a big mistake,” according to the country’s state-run Press TV.
Iran has expressed a commitment to support both the army and the resistance group Hezbollah, which has sent significant assets to Syria to fight alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as in the past, will stand by the Lebanese nation’s resistance and Army and is fully prepared for political, security and intelligence cooperation in order to counter extremist and terrorist groups,” Zarif said.
Moqbel is expected to return to Lebanon with Iranian military aid, according to Fars News Agency.
Earlier on his trip Moqbel met with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who insisted that his country would stand by the people of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, who he said are all fighting terrorism.
Iran’s pledge of military aid has been a source of controversy in Lebanon since it was announced three weeks ago.
It is unclear whether Lebanon will actually accept the aid package, as several ministers affiliated March 14 have expressed concern that such a deal would breach U.N. sanctions against Tehran.
Iran’s former ambassador to Beirut, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, dismissed such concerns.
“They say the aid breaks sanctions, but it is just a gift and there is no money in return,” Roknabadi said, according to the Associated Press. Iran had initially suggested sending military aid to Lebanon several years ago, he added.
Since 2007, Iran has been barred from importing and exporting weapons by a United Nations embargo.
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