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BEIRUT: Iran’s top security chief vowed in Lebanon on Wednesday that his government would continue to provide support, after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Ali Larijani’s trip to Lebanon comes after Iran expressed opposition to a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, which before a war with Israel last year was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.
“If... the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,” Larijani, the head of the National Security Council, told reporters after landing in Beirut.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters gathered along the airport road to welcome Larijani. He briefly stepped out of his car to greet them as they chanted slogans of support.
In Lebanon, Larijani met with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is close to Hezbollah.
Iran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including during 12 days of open war between the two countries in June.
Hezbollah’s grip on power has slipped since a war with Israel ended in a November 2024 ceasefire and the new Lebanese government, backed by the United States, has moved to further restrain it.
Hezbollah is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” — a network of armed groups in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, united in their opposition to Israel.
The ouster in December of Bashar Assad in Syria, which long served as a conduit for weapons deliveries between Iran and Hezbollah, cut off the supply route to Lebanon.

CAIRO: Jordanian Customs and the anti-narcotics department foiled an attempt to smuggle a total of 517,000 Captagon pills into the country, according to Petra News Agency. 

The Karameh Customs Center said Wednesday the seized drugs were professionally hidden inside metal trays that seemed to be designed specifically for the purpose of smuggling. 

The drugs were carried inside a truck arriving from a neighboring country, it added.     

At dawn, the Jordanian military also thwarted another drug smuggling attempt in which smugglers loaded balloons with drugs and controlled them using primitive devices. The seized items were transferred to the competent authorities.