Qalibaf has reportedly hinted in an interview with Le Figaro on Thursday that Tehran might be open to negotiating with Paris on implementing UN Resolution 1701, which stipulates that only the Lebanese army can be deployed in South Lebanon.
According to the French daily, Qalibaf has expressed his desire for a ceasefire in South Lebanon as soon as possible. To achieve this, the Parliament speaker suggested that Iran would be willing to engage in concrete negotiations on enforcing Resolution 1701, with France acting as a mediator between Hezbollah and the Israeli regime.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in August 2006, aims to end hostilities between the Israeli regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon, strengthen the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and call for the disarmament of armed groups outside of Lebanese state forces.
Qalibaf also defended Iran's ballistic missile strikes on Israeli targets on October 1, L’Orient Today reported.
On October 1, Iran responded to the Israeli assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC general Abbas Nilforoushan by launching as many as 200 ballistic missiles toward the Zionist regime’s military and intelligence bases all over the occupied Palestinian territories.
"History has taught us that the Zionist regime only understands the language of force. It attacked our diplomatic mission in Syria, martyring several senior Iranian officials. Despite our response on April 13, 2024, it persisted, assassinating Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran during an official ceremony. If we did not retaliate, the Zionist regime would continue to attack us !" Qalibaf emphasized.
Before heading to Geneva, where he gave the interview to Le Figaro, Qalibaf visited Beirut last Saturday, personally piloting the plane that landed at Beirut airport. He met with several Lebanese officials, including outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.