Tehran confirms the Israeli invasion of Lebanon will not involve Iranian troops as Russian PM visits for bilateral talks
Iran will not send troops to Lebanon or Gaza to confront Israel, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced on Monday. The statement comes amid Israel’s intensified attacks against the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
Tehran does not seek war but is not afraid of it and stands for a safe and stable Middle East, the ministry stressed.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin(L) and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref in Tehran, Iran on September 30, 2024. © Sputnik / Dmitry Astakhov
“There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told a weekly news conference. Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression,” he added.
Over the past several weeks, Israel has carried out heavy airstrikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon and other militant groups in the region, including in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. The Israeli offensives have raised fears that the conflict could engulf the entire Middle East and draw in Iran and the US, Israel’s main ally.
“We have not received any request in this regard from any side, on the contrary, we are informed and are sure that they do not need the help of our forces,” Kanaani told reporters.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iran on Monday, where he met with the country’s top officials, Pezeshkian and Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.
The talks focused on bilateral cooperation between the two nations, the expansion and diversification of trade, as well as work on major investment projects.
“Russia is genuinely interested in taking our cooperation to a higher level, giving it a new meaningful implementation. Such decisions were made by our leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Supreme Leader of Iran Seyed Ali Khamenei,” Mishustin said during the talks.
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. © AP Photo/Hussein Malla
The scope of the negotiations reached beyond the bilateral ties, with the participation of the two countries in major multinational projects being on the agenda as well, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk said after the talks.
“First of all, of course, issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed. But today these issues already go far beyond the ties between Russia and Iran, since, to a large extent, they determine how relations will be built in the conditions of the formation of a new world order,” Overchuk stated.
The deputy prime minister hailed Mishustin’s visit as a “historic” milestone, stressing it was the first-ever official trip of a head of the Russian government to Iran. The two sides discussed strengthening cooperation in Eurasia, including the development and expansion of the North-South transport corridor, which is running through both Russia and Iran.
The trip comes just two weeks after the secretary of Russia’s Security Council and former defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, made a surprise and unannounced visit to Iran. During his visit, Shoigu met with Pezeshkian and other top officials for talks that reportedly revolved around “carrying out large joint projects in fields involving transport energy, industry, and agriculture.”
Source X/RT/IRNA