Although his visit to Beirut was short, analysts are still tackling the meanings and messages behind Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit to the Lebanese capital Aug. 11-12. Zarif was no longer a mere ordinary guest, given the role he played in reaching a nuclear agreement between his country and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1). Iran is also no longer an ordinary Middle Eastern country following the nuclear deal that added a growing regional and international dimension to its role.

During the nearly 24 hours that Zarif spent in Beirut, he met with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Defense Minister Samir Mokbel and a delegation representing Palestinian factions officials residing in Lebanon. Add to this the habitual visit carried out by all senior Iranians visiting Beirut, namely to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. This visit receives little media coverage, takes place at night and is always made public by a statement issued by Hezbollah accompanied by images published by its media offices alone.

Based on Zarif’s meeting with Nasrallah, Al-Monitor asked a senior Iranian diplomat who accompanied Zarif in the various Lebanese meetings about the real reasons behind the visit at that particular time. The diplomat, who requested anonymity, said that it is well known that Zarif’s visit to Beirut had been planned as part of the minister’s Middle East tour. The tour was supposed to start in Ankara, continue to Beirut and reach Damascus. However, the first visit was postponed due to lack of time, and Zarif immediately landed in Lebanon.

The Iranian diplomat explained that the explicit and official goal of the visit was to officially present the Iranian initiative on the Syrian crisis to officials in Damascus, as well as to inform Turkish officials of its content and discuss the initiative with them, given that Turkey is largely involved in the Syrian war.