The election of Lebanon’s next president falls only within the purview of the Lebanese and any foreign interference in the Arab country’s domestic affairs is unhelpful, Iran’s ambassador in Beirut said.
In an interview with a Lebanese daily, Mohammad Fathali added that resolving the 18-month political deadlock in Lebanon, over the vacant post of president, is in the hands of Lebanese political leaders alone, Tasnim News Agency reported.
“Any foreign interference, be it positive or negative, will not benefit Lebanon,” he said. Fathali underlined that Iran will never interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon.
For a year and a half since 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 Shia Muslim.
