Ceasefire in Lebanon ‘as important’ as in Iran, says Ghalibaf

DEVELOPING STORY, Tehran ‘striving’ to compel US and Israel to establish permanent ceasefire in all conflict zones, Iranian parliament speaker tells Lebanese counterpart.Iran’s prominent speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has told his Lebanese counterpart that a ceasefire in Lebanon is “as important” as one in Iran, according to a statement posted on Telegram.In talks to end the war between Iran and the United States, Ghalibaf wrote on Thursday that Tehran has “been striving to compel our enemies to establish a permanent ceasefire in all the conflict zones, in accordance with the agreement”.“For us, a ceasefire in Lebanon is just as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” he said he told Lebanon’s Nabih Berri in a phone conversation.Ghalibaf led the Iranian delegation at the first US-Iran meeting in Pakistan last week, which ended without a deal.Tehran has consistently said that the Iran war ceasefire must apply to Lebanon as well, something the US and Israel claim is not part of the deal.Ghalibaf told Berri that the Iranians “have never forgotten our Lebanese brothers and consider them to be among us”, the post on Telegram added.The Lebanese parliament speaker detailed the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the post continued, and told Ghalibaf that so far 1.2 million Lebanese people have been displaced by the fighting.“Israel is literally committing crimes in our country and seeking to displace Lebanese people,” the post quoted Berri as saying.“Any official communication and consultation with the Zionist regime [Israel] is definitely not in the interests of the Lebanese people,” Berri told Ghalibaf, adding that he appreciated Iran’s efforts in helping to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon.