Lebanese defense minister lauds Iran role in regional stability, peace

Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn has praised Iran’s crucial role in the reinforcement of peace and stability in the region.

Ghosn made the remark in a Thursday meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Beirut Ghazanfar Roknabadi, during which both sides discussed regional developments as well as bilateral relations.

In the meeting, the Lebanese minister also pointed to the developments in Syria and said Beirut has devoted all its efforts to prevent the adverse impacts of the Syria unrest from affecting Lebanon.

He added that the Lebanese army also cooperates with all political groups in the country to safeguard Lebanon’s interests.

Roknabadi, for his part, pointed to the Iran’s efforts to resolve the Syria crisis and expressed optimism that the unrest will be settled soon.

He also expressed Iran’s readiness to share its military experience with Lebanon and underlined the need to reinforce cooperation between the two countries in different areas.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.

The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of militants are foreign nationals.