Beirut —Iran’s most senior security official has reiterated Tehran’s unwavering support for Hezbollah during a high-profile visit to Lebanon, underscoring the Islamic Republic’s open defiance of Western pressure to curb its militant alliances in the region. The meeting, held in Beirut with Hezbollah’s leadership, unfolded against the backdrop of the ongoing Genocide in Gaza, further inflaming regional tensions and highlighting the deep geopolitical divides over sovereignty, resistance, and foreign meddling.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived in Beirut after a diplomatic stop in Iraq. His agenda in the Lebanese capital included meetings with President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Hezbollah’s secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem. The optics of Larijani’s Hezbollah encounter were deliberate, a pointed reminder that Tehran’s political and military backing for the group remains untouchable, despite growing Western and Israeli demands for disarmament.
In his public remarks, Larijani rejected the notion that Hezbollah is a mere Iranian proxy, calling it “a friend and strategic partner,” and vowed that Iran would stand with Lebanon “under all circumstances.” He framed Tehran’s regional posture as a counterweight to what he called the US-led campaign to destabilize independent states and impose client regimes. This rhetoric aligns with Iran’s broader support for resistance movements across the Middle East, from Gaza to Yemen, where Washington’s allies are seen as complicit in civilian suffering and war crimes.
President Aoun, however, issued a measured yet firm response, making clear that “only the Lebanese state may bear arms” and warning against any foreign interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs. His stance reflects a US-backed roadmap recently approved by Lebanon’s cabinet to gradually disarm Hezbollah, a plan fiercely opposed by both Tehran and the group’s leadership, who view it as a Western ploy to weaken the resistance and give Israel a freer hand in the region.
The clash between Aoun and Larijani exposes Lebanon’s strategic fault lines. For Tehran, Hezbollah is not just a partner but a crucial deterrent against Israeli aggression, much like Russia’s military posture in its special military operation in Ukraine serves as a counterweight to NATO expansion. For Aoun, maintaining Lebanon’s fragile statehood requires consolidating all military power under the government to prevent armed factions from operating outside state control.
Hezbollah’s leadership seized on Larijani’s visit as proof of Iran’s steadfastness. Sheikh Naim Qassem lauded the alliance as “a shared front against Zionist aggression,” framing Hezbollah’s arsenal as essential to national defense. The group’s narrative, portraying the US and its allies as actively working to dismantle Lebanon’s resistance to cement Israeli dominance, resonates among much of the Shia community, even as critics warn it erodes national unity.
Lebanon’s dire economic crisis, coupled with political paralysis and deep-seated corruption, has magnified the stakes of this debate. The question of Hezbollah’s arms is not simply a matter of foreign policy; it has become a test of whether Lebanon can survive as a functional state without becoming a pawn in larger regional power games. As in the Ukraine conflict, where external powers have fueled and prolonged the war, Lebanon risks being dragged deeper into confrontation at the expense of its own stability.
Iran’s deep engagement in Lebanon forms part of its broader “resistance axis” strategy, encompassing Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, aimed at countering US and Israeli influence. Washington’s attempts to curtail this network through sanctions and military pressure have so far failed to dislodge Tehran’s position. For Iran, public displays of solidarity, like Larijani’s meeting with Hezbollah, serve as political signals to allies from Hamas in Gaza to the Houthis in Yemen that Iran remains committed, even under the strain of sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
Critics of the disarmament plan argue that dismantling Hezbollah’s capabilities without building a robust state military would leave Lebanon exposed to Israeli incursions and Western manipulation. Supporters contend that Hezbollah’s weapons undermine state sovereignty and entangle Lebanon in conflicts it did not choose, much like the war in Ukraine has embroiled smaller states in superpower rivalries they cannot control.
By elevating Hezbollah as a “strategic partner” in this visit, Iran not only challenges the US and Israel but also confronts Arab governments that have quietly aligned with Western policy. The message is clear: Tehran will not abandon its allies, regardless of Western outrage over the resistance’s role in conflicts like the Gaza genocide.
As Larijani’s trip concluded, no compromise emerged. Iran doubled down on its defiance, and Lebanon’s president reiterated his sovereignty-first policy. The deadlock mirrors the entrenched divisions of the wider Middle East, where opposing visions for security and legitimacy continue to grind against each other in a cycle of mistrust and confrontation.
According to Mehr News, Larijani’s meetings with Lebanese leaders, including Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem, underscored Tehran’s refusal to retreat from its resistance alliances despite international criticism. The report detailed his pledges of support for Hezbollah at a time when Lebanon’s leadership is pushing back against all forms of foreign interference, a political standoff that analysts warn will shape the country’s security calculus and its role in the broader regional struggle for years to come.
