Turkey urges Iran help in Lebanon crisis

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Iran to hold talks with Lebanese groups to help resolve the country’s political deadlock.

In a Wednesday phone conversation with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Erdogan expressed hope that Lebanon’s problems could be solved as soon as possible through Tehran’s efforts.

Lebanon is in a political standoff after Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government collapsed on Wednesday when 11 Hezbollah-affiliated ministers resigned in a dispute over the US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

Former premier Hariri and 20 other people were assassinated on February 14, 2005, when explosives equal to around 1,000 kilogram of TNT were blown up in downtown Beirut. The STL was set up some two years later to look into the deadly incident.

The US-sponsored tribunal is reportedly about to indict some Hezbollah members in the Hariri murder case — an allegation which has been vehemently rejected by the Lebanese resistance movement.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has described the tribunal as part of dangerous projects that are targeting the resistance movement.

Ahmadinejad, for his part, said that the Islamic Republic would make every effort in resolving the crisis in Lebanon.

“All regional countries should help so that Lebanese officials and parties resolve their problems in a unifying atmosphere,” he added.