Saudi Envoy Says Aoun is not Leading Mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan denied reports claiming that President Michel Aoun is leading negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported.

“I do not think there is a mediation carried out by the Lebanese President Michel Aoun,” al-Sabhan told the daily.

“The Iranian regime knows well what the Kingdom wants, and it knows the causes behind the severed ties,” said Sabhan.

On the meetings with Lebanese officials during his latest visit to Lebanon, the Saudi diplomat described them as “positive” and said: “The meetings with Lebanese officials aimed at strengthening Lebanon and restoring back its normal political life.”

Late in October, al-Sabhan visited Lebanon and held talks with several political leaders for the purpose of discussing ways to work together for the future of relations between the two countries.

Al-Sabhan's meetings came a few days before Aoun was elected president.

On October 31, Aoun, who is allied to Iran-backed Hizbullah, was elected as Lebanon's 13th president which ended around two and a half years of presidential and political vacuum.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, who is close to Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, was designated afterward to form a new cabinet.

Hariri's key endorsement and crucial support from Hizbullah and the Lebanese Forces had largely contributed to Aoun's election.

Hariri's nomination and Aoun's election have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.