Iran Tracker

Reaction to June 2009 Iranian Presidential Election:

In June 2009, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election. In his phone call, Suleiman indicated his desire that Iran and Lebanon continue to expand their mutual relations.[1] Following a partial recount of the election results, completed on June 29, 2009, Suleiman again offered his congratulations and stated that the people and government of Lebanon were “thrilled” by Ahmadinejad’s re-election.[2] In July 2009, Lebanese Hezbollah issued an announcement via its office in Tehran, stating that the Iranian-backed organization “congratulate[s] the Iranian nation for marking a historic and epic moment through the participation of 40m of its people in the recent presidential elections, and ask[s] God Almighty to add to the dignity of this nation and its wise leader day after day.” Hezbollah also denied reports that members of Hezbollah participated in the unrest that followed Ahmadinejad’s re-election.[3]

Economic Relationship:

Iran has provided Lebanon with funding for many years, particularly since Lebanon’s war with Israel in 1982.  Iran provided funding to Lebanon and Lebanese groups, particularly Hezbollah—a Shi’a political and paramilitary organization—to help with reconstruction. [4] BBC News reported that according to one senior Hezbollah official during Lebanon’s reconstruction after the war with Israel, “Iran is providing the group with money to help fund its reconstruction activities in Lebanon…Iran also had its own groups in Lebanon, rebuilding bridges, roads and mosques.”[5]  Since the 1980’s, Iran has also helped Hezbollah gain political power in the Lebanese government and has increased funding to Lebanon through the group. 

In the past few years, Iran and Lebanon have increased their bilateral trade, as well as their political ties. Trade between the two countries increased from $78.4 million in 2006 to $119.7 million in 2008, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.[6] The two countries also held a joint economic commission in March 2009 and signed five agreements in an aim to further increase their economic cooperation.  The two countries also agreed to reconvene in four months to ensure that the agreements were implemented and remove any obstacles to their cooperation.[7]  Beyond bilateral trade, Iran has also made contributions to Hezbollah during that time.  Before the June 2009 Lebanese elections, Iran promised Hezbollah $600 million in aid that would be delivered through the new Syrian Embassy in Beirut.[8]

[Click here for more information on Iran and Hezbollah.]

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Iran and Lebanon have been pursuing a friendly relationship since the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979.  After Iran’s Shia revolution, Iranian religious leaders including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini began reaching out to the downtrodden Shia community in Lebanon.[9]  This support increased when Iran sent a contingent of the Pasdaran security forces to Lebanon in 1982 during the Israeli invasion, serving as defense forces and providing medical facilities to the Lebanese public.  Iran also increased its financial assistance to non-state actors in Lebanon, particularly Hezbollah, which provided economic relief and social services to the Lebanese public affected by the war with Israel.[10]

The United States, Israel, and several European countries have accused Iran of providing extensive financial assistance and military training for Hezbollah since the 1980’s, though Iran has denied the allegations.[11]  Both the United States and Israel list Hezbollah as a terrorist entity for its paramilitary activities and attacks against Israel. [12]  The group gained political power in Lebanon over time, winning over 10% of the parliamentary seats in the general elections in 2005, and over one third of the seats – and veto power – after the Doha Agreement in May 2008.[13]  However, in the Lebanese parliamentary elections in June 2009, Hezbollah’s March 8 coalition lost to the west-leaning March 14 coalition.[14]

Iran expanded its diplomatic and military relations with Hezbollah, and through it Lebanon, over the past years.[15] In November of 2008, President Michael Suleiman of Lebanon visited Iran to begin discussions of further expanding security ties between the two countries.[16]  In May 2009, shortly before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections and Iran’s presidential elections in early June, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said “the Islamic Republic of Iran and in particular Ayatollah Khamenei will not hold back on anything that could help Lebanon be a strong and dignified state, and without conditions.”[17]  He added that Iran is ready to provide support to Lebanon’s military.[18]  Though Hezbollah lost some of its seats and with them its veto power in the Lebanese parliamentary elections in June 2009, it has not lost any of its military power, which is funded in large part by Iran.[19] Highlighting the ties between certain Lebanese factions and the Islamic Republic, Lebanese MP Hassan Fazlullahsaid lauded Iran’s support for “popular movements seeking to liberate Palestine.” Speaking in July 2009, Fazlullahsaid claimed that Iran’s strategic activity in the region should not be misconstrued as undesired interference.[20]

In August 2009, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Hossein Sheikholeslam met with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. During the meeting, Sheikholeslam reiterated Iran’s “comprehensive support” for the Lebanese government.[21]

Lebanon expressed concern for the sectarian attacks that targeted Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iran’s eastern Sistan-Baluchestan in October 2009. The attacks are reportedly the work of the Sunni Jundullah group and have been particularly worrisome for Shia Lebanon, which has since increased its awareness of any domestic sectarian violence that could be linked to the attacks in Iran.[22]

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem in November 2009 that the “people and leaders of Lebanon are wise enough to reach a consensus in their country’s important decisions through constructive negotiations…and our regional cooperation continues with the purpose of [creating] stability and peace in the region and strengthening regional convergence.”  Both ministers were adamant that neither government would hinder the formation of the Lebanese government.[23]