Qalibaf: Ceasefire in Lebanon as important as ceasefire in Iran

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says Tehran considers a ceasefire in Lebanon as important as a ceasefire in Iran, stressing that Iranians have never forgotten their Lebanese brothers.

In a telephone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri on Thursday, Qalibaf emphasized that Iran has been “seriously pursuing efforts to make the enemies hold a permanent ceasefire in all areas of conflict in accordance with agreements.”

“For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” Qalibaf stressed.

His comments come as the Israeli regime has commenced a ground invasion of southern Lebanon aided by heavy bombings of the Arab country, particularly parts of the capital Beirut, for the past couple of weeks.

The deadly aggression, which has far claimed the lives of several hundreds of people and wounded many more, promoted the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement to unleash barrages of rockets and missiles on northern parts of the occupying entity.

The counterstrikes have been aimed at countering the Israeli regime's incessant violations of a 2024 ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, as part of which Tel Aviv was supposed to end its deadly escalation targeting Lebanon.

A US-Israeli military coalition also waged unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28, assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei along with senior military commanders as well as killing hundreds of civilians.

Forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire went into effect but Washington-Tehran negotiations in Islamabad failed to reach a deal due to the American delegation’s excessive demands and shifting goalposts.

Qalibaf stressed that “during the Islamabad negotiations, and even after them,” Tehran seriously pursued efforts to compel the enemies to hold a permanent ceasefire across all conflict zones based on reached agreements.

Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, for his part, stressed that “Israel is literally committing crimes in our country and is seeking to displace the Lebanese.”

The Tel Aviv regime “has so far displaced more than 1200,000 people in Lebanon,” Berri added.

“We and resistance fighters remain steadfast on our path,” he emphasized, stressing that “any form of official relation or consultation with the Zionist regime will certainly not serve the interests of the Lebanese nation.”

Berry also appreciated Iran’s seriousness and efforts in supporting Lebanon and the Islamic resistance.

Early on Thursday, Ghalibaf urged the United States to commit to any peace agreement in the Arab country.

“The completion and consolidation of a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon will be the result of the steadfastness and struggle of the esteemed Hezbollah and its heroic deeds, and the unity of the Axis of Resistance,” he said in a post on X.

“The United States must commit to the agreement. The Resistance and Iran are one and the same entity, whether in war or in a ceasefire,” Ghalibaf stressed.

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