The Iranian ambassador refuses to leave Lebanon despite the withdrawal of his accreditation

An Iranian diplomatic source revealed today, Sunday, that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Shibani, will not leave the country after the expiry of the deadline set for him by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry to leave, in response to the desire of Hezbollah and the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri.

According to what the source told Agence France-Presse, the Iranian ambassador-designate, Mohammad Reza Shaibani, will remain in Lebanon after a deadline granted to him by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to leave the country expires today after it withdrew approval for his accreditation.

The source said, “The ambassador will not leave Lebanon at the request of (House of Representatives) Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah,” who had called on the Lebanese authorities to “immediately withdraw” from withdrawing Shaibani’s accreditation.

The Lebanese authorities had previously decided to withdraw the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador-designate in Beirut, and announced that they would give him until Sunday to leave the country, according to what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reported.

The National News Agency in Lebanon reported that the Ministry summoned the Iranian Chargé d’Affairs, Tawfiq Samadi Khoshkho, where the Secretary-General, Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa, informed him of the Lebanese state’s decision to withdraw approval of the accreditation of the Iranian Ambassador-designate, Mohammad Reza Shibani, and declare him persona non grata.

The Lebanese authorities asked the ambassador to leave Lebanese territory no later than Sunday, March 29, 2026.

In the same context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Lebanese Ambassador to Iran, Ahmed Suwaidan, for consultations, against the backdrop of what it described as Tehran’s violation of the norms of diplomatic interaction and its established principles between the two countries.