JAKARTA - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran wanted to open a "new chapter" in relations with Lebanon.
This hints at a shift in diplomatic relations that has been based on support for Tehran-backed Hezbollah armed groups.
Hezbollah was once an armed movement and a strong political party that had an influence on the Lebanese state, but this movement became very weak due to last year's Israeli bombing campaign.
Since then, US-backed Lebanese military commanders have been elected president and a new cabinet with limited influence to Hezbollah and his allies taking power.
Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday, June 3 was the first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in September.
Araqchi told Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi it wanted to "open a new leaf" in Iran's relations with Lebanon, according to a statement from the Salam and Raggi offices.
"Araqchi affirms the country's desire to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and not interfere in their respective internal affairs," the Salam office said.
Araqchi also delivered an official invitation to Salam to visit Iran.
A statement from the Raggi office said the two parties carried out "an honest and direct discussion," including regarding the determination of the state's monopoly on the use of weapons.
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The visit follows several volatile episodes in relations between the two countries.
Lebanese foreign ministry previously summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over statements accusing Hezbollah's plan to strip off weapons of "conspiracy". Meanwhile, last year, then prime minister Najib Mikati also issued a warning against Iran for "mixing" Lebanon's internal affairs.
In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes to repatriate dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threat that it would bomb the plane.
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