'In accordance with the will of Berri and Hezbollah,' the Iranian ambassador will not leave Beirut

The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon will not comply with the expulsion order issued by Lebanese authorities, who had given him until Sunday to leave the country, an Iranian diplomatic source told AFP.

Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani "will not leave Lebanon, in accordance with the will of (Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berry and Hezbollah," the source said, requesting anonymity.

Last Tuesday, Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires, Toufic Samadi Khoshkhou, to inform him that Lebanon had withdrawn accreditation from the Iranian ambassador, Mohammad Reza Sheibani. This decision was made as the Lebanese state is trying as much as possible to distance itself from Iran and its Revolutionary Guard, to remain on the sidelines of the war between Iran, the pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah, the United States, and Israel.

This move came after an Israeli targeted strike in Hazmieh, a suburb of Beirut, targeting a member of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, its elite unit.

Hezbollah sharply criticized the decision, calling it "devoid of any legal basis" and a "clear submission to external pressures and dictates."

Meanwhile, the Amal movement, Hezbollah's ally, also called on the state to reconsider the decision in order to "prevent the country from sinking into a political and national crisis."

In protest, the four ministers from the Shiite tandem boycotted a cabinet meeting Thursday.