News - Middle East: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic strongly supports any agreement between the political parties in Lebanon on electing a new president.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian maintained the Arab country’s authorities have the ability to reach a consensus on electing a president.

He said Iran wants nothing but good for Lebanon, calling on the Lebanese political parties to accelerate the political process in the Arab country and elect a new president.

He also called on “all foreign parties to support the election in Lebanon without interfering in the Arab country’s domestic affairs.”

The Lebanese parliament has failed to elect a new president for a long time amid deepening political stalemate exacerbated by the US sanctions and foreign meddling.

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been mired in a deep financial crisis that has caused the Lebanese pound to lose around 90 percent of its value to the US dollar and led its banking system to collapse, plunging the bulk of Lebanese into poverty.

The economic and financial crisis is mostly linked to the sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Lebanon and West’s intervention in the Arab nation’s domestic affairs.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir-Abdollahian expressed Iran’s readiness to strengthen economic relations with Lebanon and enhance cooperation in the energy field.

He added that the two sides have also discussed the recent agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the situation in Palestine, as well as the latest developments in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Libya.

Upon arriving at Beirut International Airport on Wednesday, the top Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic regards Lebanon’s security as equal to its own.

Amir-Abdollahian is on an official two-day visit to Lebanon, where he is expected to hold talks with senior Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Before his visit to Lebanon, Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Oman for high-level talks with the Arab country's officials.

Source: Press TV