The press office of outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has denied remarks made by Iranian Supreme Leader’s advisor Ali Akbar Velayati that Hariri had offered to mediate with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during their last meeting in Beirut.
“Hariri did not offer to mediate between any country, rather he expressed to Velayati his point of view, which is the need to stop Iran’s intervention in Yemen as a first step and a precondition to any improvement in relations between Iran and the Kingdom,” the press office said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Hariri reiterated insistently that this is his personal point of view.”
When Velayati replied that he sees dialogue on the Yemeni crisis as a good starting point for dialogue between Iran and the Kingdom, Hariri answered: “No, Yemen comes before dialogue. I think that solving the problem in Yemen is the only way to start any dialogue between you and the kingdom.”
