Iran, Lebanon discuss expansion of security cooperation

Lebanon’s Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities Marwan Charbel and Iran’s Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi, in a meeting on Friday, voiced their countries' willingness to focus on strengthening cooperation in security fields. During the meeting, Charbel described terrorism as a threat to regional countries and the entire world. The Lebanese official welcomed Iran’s request to participate in the investigations into the bombings against its embassy in Beirut on November 19, 2013, which left at least 25 people dead, including six Iranian nationals. Charbel also stressed that the Lebanese government is following up on the issue with great sensitivity as it is responsible for the safety of foreign diplomatic missions. Roknabadi, for his part, praised the Lebanese government over its efforts regarding the identification and prosecution of those behind attacks on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The Iranian ambassador also termed terrorism as a danger to all regional nations, adding that terrorist groups seek to spread sedition and insecurity, and target political figures as well as centers affiliated to various political blocs in pursuit of their goals. The November terrorist attacks targeted just 10 meters away from Iranian embassy in Beirut’s Southern neighborhood of Jinah, inflicting much damage to the compound. The Iranian embassy staff in Beirut, Ebrahim Ansari, was killed in the attack.