Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei announced that Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Sheibani Rouf will not leave Beirut and will continue his duties there. The statement came after the Lebanese government ordered the ambassador to leave the country last week following his designation as persona non grata.

Baghaei said at a weekly press conference that Iran’s embassy in Beirut remains open and that, based on discussions with relevant parties, the ambassador will continue his work from his residence. Multiple Lebanese sources told BBC Persian that the ambassador will not depart, and law enforcement cannot forcibly remove him because the embassy is considered Iranian territory under diplomatic norms.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry had accused Sheibani of making comments interfering in the country’s internal politics, marking an unprecedented move in the history of Tehran–Beirut relations.