Kardel Meets Iranian Officials, Says ‘Specter of War’ Must be Kept Away from Lebanon

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Pernille Dahler Kardel said that staging the parliamentary elections was a “great accomplishment,” as she stressed the need to “keep the specter of war away from Lebanon,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“The latest parliamentary elections in Lebanon was a great accomplishment, but that is not the end of the mission, we must still help Lebanon maintain its stability and keep away the specter of war,” said Kardel.

Her remarks came during a meeting on Sunday in Iran with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif and Parliament's General Director for International Affairs Hussein Amir-Abdollahian.

“Achieving economic development in Lebanon and protecting Syrian refugees is one of our priorities," she said, hoping to reach a "comprehensive agreement in a political framework on these issues."

"The developments in the region are interrelated. Countries of the region should seek to remove the specter of war from Lebanon and not allow it to be involved in regional crises,” she added.

For his part, Zarif said Iran “aspires and wants to promote stability and security in Lebanon," adding that “the Lebanese people's vote and their will must be respected.”

"Fortunately, through the wisdom of Lebanese officials, we are witnessing a period of calm, stability and understanding between the political parties in Lebanon and we hope that the Lebanese government will be formed in the shortest possible time," Amir-Abdollahian said.