Iranian President Pezeshkian Meets Lebanese PM Salam at UN General Assembly

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to Iranian outlet Tehran Times. The initial report did not give details of what the two leaders discussed, and neither government had issued a readout of the meeting at the time of publication.

The meeting brings together two leaders whose governments have been at odds over Hezbollah's weapons. Salam, a former president of the International Court of Justice, was named prime minister in January 2025, days after parliament elected army commander Joseph Aoun as president. Both men have said the Lebanese state must hold a monopoly on arms. In August 2025, Salam's cabinet tasked the Lebanese army with drawing up a plan to bring all weapons under state control, a decision Hezbollah rejected.

Tehran, Hezbollah's main backer, criticised that decision. When Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, visited Beirut shortly afterwards, Lebanese officials told him publicly that they rejected any foreign interference in the country's internal affairs.

Pezeshkian took office in July 2024 promising to improve Iran's relations with its neighbours. Lebanon, meanwhile, is still dealing with the aftermath of the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended in a ceasefire that November. Israeli strikes and troop positions in the south have continued to strain that truce.

Qatar has a direct stake in Lebanon's stability. Doha sits on the five-nation Quintet committee on Lebanon with the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which pushed to end the country's long presidential vacancy. Qatar has also paid for fuel and salary support for the Lebanese army, the institution Beirut is relying on to carry out its plan to restrict weapons to the state.