The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon has firmly rejected recent claims by Lebanese politician Samir Geagea about Tehran, saying the Islamic Republic is not interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs, including the country’s presidential election. In an interview on LBCI TV on Thursday, Leader of the Lebanese Forces Political Party Geagea claimed that the Iranian ambassador in Beirut has told “western diplomats to ask the Vatican to convince” Michel Aoun, a veteran Christian politician and founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, to withdraw his nomination “so that the presidential election can be held”. In a statement on Friday, the embassy said the Iranian envoy has made no recommendation nor has it given any piece of advice to any domestic or foreign sides, including westerners or non-westerners, about presidential candidates in Lebanon, Press TV reported. “The Islamic Republic of Iran always regards the election of Lebanon’s president as a domestic issue and based on its constitution and strategic policy … it will not interfere in this case,” it added. It warned that any foreign meddling in Lebanon’s presidential election would further complicate the issue. Since May 2014, when former president Michel Sleiman ended his term in office, Lebanon has been without a president.
