Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Monday that the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 with Iran would have negative consequences for stability in the Middle East.
Aoun is a political ally of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. The United States, which classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, provides arms and training to the Lebanese Army.
“The unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement has negative implications for security and stability in the region,” Aoun wrote the official Lebanese presidency’s Twitter account.
It was Aoun’s first public comment on the US exit from the agreement.
Reported by Reuters, Aoun’s office said in a statement summarizing a meeting between him and Iranian foreign ministry official Hussein Jaberi Ansari: “Lebanon considered (the deal) a cornerstone for stability in the region, helping make it an area free of weapons of mass destruction.”
Aoun said he welcomed the commitment of other countries to continue with the deal, according to the agency.
Ansari met with Lebanese officials and conveyed to Aoun a verbal message from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on developments related to the nuclear agreement and his country’s efforts to reach a political agreement in Syria, where the Iranian presence would be based on the needs of the Syrian State, with the necessary climate to ensure the return of Syrian refugees.
Aoun, for his part, valued the relations between the two countries, and expressed his regret over the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, which he considered as a main pillar for stability in the region.
Ansari also met on Monday with Speaker Nabih Berri. In remarks following the meeting, he said his country was working to provide the adequate atmosphere to guarantee the return of Syrian refugees.
The Iranian official also met with Foreign Minister in the caretaker government Gebran Bassil.
