President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to exchange views about the recent developments in Lebanon, leading to the collapse of Saad Hariri's government.
The two countries' leaders expressed regret over the political crisis facing Lebanon and emphasized the need for joint efforts to find a way to resolve the issue.
On Wednesday, 11 ministers of the opposition March 8 Alliance, whose main parties are Hezbollah, Amal, and the Free Patriotic Movement, quit the Lebanese cabinet over tensions arising from a UN probe into the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, toppling the government of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Lebanon is currently in a transitional stage as President Michel Suleiman declared the government in caretaker capacity pending the formation of a new government. The consultations on appointing a new prime minister will start on Monday.
Ahmadinejad and Erdogan said it is necessary that different Lebanese groups make prompt decision to settle the issue and not allow politically motivated moves or foreign intervention aggravate the situation, MNA reported.
Ahmadinejad also said, "The Zionist regime is seeking to take advantage of the current situation to undermine this country (Lebanon) and deal a blow to the (regional countries), so the regional countries should cooperatively try to find a solution to the current issues facing Lebanon."
The Turkish prime minister said regional countries should make joint efforts to help establish stability in Lebanon.
"Iran and Turkey along with other regional countries are able to play a role" in helping the Lebanese to control crisis in their country, Erdogan said.