Iran’s chief negotiator says Lebanon’s sovereignty ‘must be fully restored’ amid US talks

Iran’s Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Monday that diplomacy is essential to securing the political and legal gains of military achievements, stressing that Lebanon‘s sovereignty over its entire territory “must be fully restored.”

In statements carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, Qalibaf said he hoped the ongoing negotiations would ultimately secure Lebanon’s full sovereignty over its territory.

“Every military success, no matter how great or decisive, shows its real impact only when it is legally and politically recorded and consolidated,” he said.

He said such a process could not be achieved without diplomacy, arguing that the “sacrifices and costs of the battlefield” would not lead to final results without political and diplomatic follow-through.

“When conditions are created on the battlefield, it is diplomacy that must play its role by completing through political means what cannot be fully achieved militarily,” he said.

Qalibaf described negotiations as “a method of struggle” and “a continuation of the same struggle,” saying he had maintained that position for years.

He also criticized what he called attempts to create a “false dichotomy” between military action and diplomacy, saying the two are complementary rather than contradictory.

His remarks came a day after Iran and the US held 18 hours of negotiations in Switzerland under Pakistani and Qatari mediation to discuss unresolved provisions of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, including the cessation of hostilities on all fronts, among them Lebanon.

Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon has killed more than 4,000 people, injured over 12,000 others, and displaced over 1 million residents since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023-2024 war.