Lebanese authorities extended on Monday the residency of former Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani, who defied the country’s expulsion order earlier this year. Now viewed as regular civilian, not a diplomat, the authorities extended his stay by six months. A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that General Security chief Hassan Choucair, within his legal capacity, proposed granting him residency. He informed the concerned political authorities, meaning the president, prime minister and interior minister, before approving the residency. Lebanese Foreign Ministry sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry was not informed of the intention to grant him residency. They stressed that Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi’s position "is clear and not up for debate" that Iran must respect the expulsion order. The ministry had in March withdrawn its approval of the ambassador's accreditation, giving him 72 hours to leave the country, drawing Hezbollah's condemnation. The expulsion stemmed from what the Lebanese state described as Tehran's violation of diplomatic norms and established practices between the two countries. It is "a measure against the ambassador for violating diplomatic protocol and his obligations as an appointed ambassador to Lebanon". The ministry accused him of making statements "interfering in Lebanon's internal politics and evaluating the decisions taken by the government". The government has accused Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon to war after it fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in wake of the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran. Hezbollah called the expulsion a "sin" and demanded the authorities "immediately reverse" the move.
