Iran warns West not to interfere in Beirut after blast
BEIRUT — Iran said Friday that Western countries should not take advantage of the huge explosion in Beirut last week that killed scores and wounded thousands of people to dictate their own policies on the tiny Arab country.
The comments by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Beirut came as a senior U.S. official and France’s defense minister were also in the country. The Aug. 4 blast at Beirut’s port, the result of thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate igniting, killed nearly 180 people, injured 6,000 and caused widespread damage in the capital.
Lebanon’s government resigned earlier this week under pressure and consultations between rival groups are ongoing over who will replace Hassan Diab as prime minister.
The blast has swelled popular anger at official corruption and mismanagement. Western leaders have said they will send aid directly to the Lebanese people and that billions of dollars will not be pumped into the country before major reforms take place.
During a visit to Beirut last week, French President Emmanuel Macron met political leaders in Lebanon and called on them to create a “new political order.”
Lebanese local media reported that the U.S. wants the new government in Lebanon to exclude the powerful Iranbacked Hezbollah group, which is considered a terrorist organization by Washington and its allies.
“We believe that Lebanon as government and people are the side that decide on this,” Zarif said after meeting with outgoing Lebanese counterpart Charbel Wehbi. “No foreign side should take advantage of the catastrophic conditions and the needs of Lebanon to impose dictates that are in their interests.”
He described reported U.S. attempts to dictate and impose a government leaving out major Lebanese political factions as “inhumane.” Zarif added that he raised the possibility of cooperation between Tehran and Beirut in the fields of reconstruction and improving Lebanon’s crumbling electricity sector.
He said Lebanon “is sovereign and free” and should be in charge of the investigation into the blast “but other parties can help and we are ready to offer help if asked.”
Meanwhile, President Michel Aoun met Friday with U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale and told him that the priority of the new government will be to conduct reforms and fight corruption, according to Aoun’s office.
On Thursday, Hale said the FBI will join Lebanese and other international investigators in the probe of Beirut’s explosion.
It is still not known what caused the Aug. 4 fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port. But documents have emerged in the wake of the explosion that show the country’s top leadership and security officials were aware of the chemicals being stored at the port.
Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday approved a state of emergency in Beirut, granting the military sweeping powers.