Lebanon expels Iranian ambassador

Iran’s envoy to Beirut declared persona non grata, ordered to leave the country by March 29 after the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah led Lebanon into another conflict with Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

The Lebanese government on Tuesday announced that it has ordered the Iranian ambassador to Beirut to leave the country, declaring him persona non grata.

Beirut also ordered the Lebanese ambassador to Tehran, Ahmed Sweidan, to return home for consultations.

In a post to his account on X, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, wrote that the Iranian envoy to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Shibani, has five days to leave the country.

“I instructed today the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires in Lebanon to inform him of the decision to withdraw the agrément for the designated Iranian Ambassador, Mohammad Reza Shibani, declare him persona non grata, and request that he leave Lebanese territory no later than 29 March 2026.”

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said that Sweidan had been recalled from Iran over “Tehran’s violation of the norms and principles of diplomatic dealings between two countries.”

Tensions between Iran and Lebanon have risen since the outbreak of the war with Israel on Feb. 28, as Beirut sought to avoid a renewal of hostilities between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.

Days later, Hezbollah terrorists launched missiles and drones at northern Israel, sparking a full-scale Israeli military operation in southern Lebanon.

After announcing the recalling of Lebanon’s ambassador from Tehran and the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador from Beirut, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry emphasized that the two countries have not severed diplomatic ties.

Instead, Lebanon described the booting of Iran’s ambassador as “a measure against the ambassador for violating the rules of diplomatic dealings and his obligations as an appointed ambassador to Lebanon.”

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry went on to accuse Ambassador Shibani of “interfering in the internal affairs” of Lebanon by weighing in publicly on Lebanese politics and “holding meetings with Lebanese unofficial bodies.”