Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs, made the remark in a meeting with United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag on Tuesday in Tehran.
During the meeting, Kaag presented a report on various internal and external dimensions of Lebanon’s development and its being effected by regional developments, particularly the Syrian crisis and the problems caused by the immigration of Syrian refugees to Lebanon. She also highlighted the need for a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The UN official evaluated the current security situation in Lebanon as satisfactory, despite the regional issues and the problems with the political structure of the country. She also expressed hope that with agreements reached between political parties in Lebanon, stability would continue to last and the presidential election issue would be resolved.
Jaberi Ansari, for his part, underscored the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in support of stability of Lebanon, and deemed the domestic agreement between various Lebanese parties fundamental in settling various problems, particularly the presidential election issue.
The Iranian diplomat said the wrong analyses of certain countries about the current crises in region and their attempts to use terrorist groups as an instrument for advancing their own political goals may bring tactical and short-termed benefits for the players, but it is ultimately a ‘great strategic mistake’ that will harm these countries in the long run.
“The consequence of sectarian politics, if continued, will be the creation of irreconcilable contradictions, which means the elimination of any hope for ending the crises in the region,” he stressed.
He went on to add, “we believe that the Syrian crisis and other conflicts in our region are not a result of sectarian or religious dispute, but rather a political crisis that will only be settled through serious political dialogues.”
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