In an interview aired on LBCI TV on Thursday, Leader of the Lebanese Forces Political Party Geagea claimed that the Iranian ambassador to Beirut has told “Western diplomats to ask the Vatican to convince” Michel Aoun, a veteran Christian politician and founder of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), to withdraw his nomination “so that the presidential election can be held.”
The Iranian embassy said in a statement released on Friday that Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad Fathali has made no recommendation nor has it given any piece of advice to any domestic or foreign sides, Western or non-Western, about presidential candidates in Lebanon.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran always regards the election of Lebanon’s president as an entirely domestic issue and will not interfere in this case based on its Constitution and strategic policy in foreign affairs,” the statement read.
The Iranian embassy also warned that any foreign interference in Lebanon’s presidential election would further complicate the issue.
In mid-December, Ambassador Fathali underscored that election of Lebanon’s next president falls only within the purview of the Lebanese, dismissing any foreign interference in the Arab country’s domestic affairs.
In an interview with a Lebanese daily, Fathali stressed that resolving the 18-month political deadlock in Lebanon, which has created a vacancy for the post of president, is in the hands of the Lebanese political leaders alone.
Any foreign interference, be it positive or negative, will not benefit Lebanon, the ambassador noted.
He also underlined that Iran will never interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
Since May 2014 when President Michel Suleiman stepped down after his six-year-term ended, Lebanon has been without a head of state as lawmakers repeatedly failed to agree on a consensus president.
According to the country’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim.