Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a news conference upon his arrival at the Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon August 11, 2015. (Reuters Photo)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss issues including a "new plan" on resolving the crisis in Syria, a spokesman told the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Details of the plan will be revealed after discussions with the Syrian government in Damascus, where Zarif will travel on Wednesday, and "other players", Marzieh Afkham, an Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman, told IRNA.
Iran is one of the strongest supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a figure that Western and Gulf Arab nations say must go as part of any resolution of the civil war.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, from the beginning of the crisis, has believed that the Syrian crisis has no military solution and that it should be resolved through political and diplomatic solutions based on dialogue and agreement," Afkham said.
Zarif met the Lebanese prime minister on Tuesday evening and was also expected to meet the speaker of parliament and foreign minister, according to Iranian media reports.
On his previous trip to Lebanon, last year, Zarif also met Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, the most powerful military force in the country which is backed by Tehran.
© Thomson Reuters 2015