Iranian politicians from across the spectrum have praised the election of a new president in Lebanon. The Lebanese parliament elected Michel Aoun Oct. 31, ending a more than two-year presidential vacuum in the country.

In Tehran, the move was warmly welcomed. President Hassan Rouhani called Aoun and congratulated him on the victory. �Iran is ready to expand diplomatic, economic and cultural ties with Lebanon,� Rouhani told Aoun over the phone.

Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dubbed Aoun�s victory as �the triumph of the Resistance Axis.� The Resistance Axis begins in Iran and continues to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. He told the Iranian state broadcaster, �Lebanon has a pivotal and strategic role in this axis. � If Lebanon becomes victorious in resistance � as has occurred previously � then those who fight the resistance movement will face defeat. With this victory, those who are plotting against the Resistance Axis in Iraq and Syria will face defeat as well.�

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif congratulated the people of Lebanon on his Twitter page. �Stability and progress assured when Lebanese themselves decide for Lebanon,� Zarif posted on Twitter.

Aoun, who was a leading anti-Syria figure during the 15-year Lebanese Civil War, has changed sides since 2006 and become a political ally of Hezbollah. He is a central figure in the Free Patriotic Movement party, which is the largest party among Lebanon�s Christian community. Due to Aoun�s political ties, some commentators suggest that his election will further diminish Saudi Arabia�s role in Lebanon.

 

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