Iranian embassy denounces Barrack's behavior at press conference

BEIRUT — The Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday night denounced the reaction of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack during his Tuesday press conference at the Baabda Palace, where he lashed out at the journalists present, calling out a "pathetic American policy."

In front of journalists at the presidential palace after his meeting with Joseph Aoun, Barrack had called on them to “be civilized,” suggesting he was not finding his current tour in Lebanon “amusing.”

This exit sparked reactions from across the political spectrum in Lebanon, pushed Baabda to apologize, and prompted demonstrations planned throughout the day in southern Lebanon against the American envoy’s scheduled visits in the region.

On X, the Iranian embassy claimed Barrack's statements were an illustration of “pathetic American policies, mired in dominance, arrogance and contempt for peoples.”

Iran is outright opposed to U.S. policies in the Middle East and in particular rejects the disarmament of Hezbollah, which the Lebanese government must complete by the end of the year and for which Washington is pushing. Furthermore, the U.S. military had bombed several Iranian nuclear sites in June, as part of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

Emphasizing that there is a “huge gap” between the Iranian and American approaches, the embassy said that, unlike Barrack, the press conferences held by Iranian envoy Ali Larijani during his visit to Beirut on Aug.13 were characterized by “courtesy and delicacy.”

In contrast,“women make vulgar and impolite statements, revealing a blind hatred toward the honorable fighters of the world,” the embassy added, likely referring to statements by deputy envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, who said Monday that Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and his party “do not represent the Lebanese people.”