Iranian minister says Tehran backs Lebanon in its push to end Israel's military presence

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran supports Lebanon’s efforts to pressure Israel to end its military presence in parts of the country, including diplomatic moves “to expel the occupiers.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added on Tuesday that Iran looks forward to relations with Lebanon based on mutual respect under the new circumstances in the country following the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Araghchi’s visit comes after Iran’s main Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, was weakened by the 14-month war with Israel that left much of the Iran-backed group’s political and military leadership dead.

Araghchi’s visit is his first since October, which came at the height of the Israel-Hezbollah war that ended a month later with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The war killed more than 4,000 in Lebanon, displaced over 1 million people and caused destruction that the World Bank said will coast $11 billion in reconstruction.

Since the war ended, army commander Joseph Aoun was elected president and prominent jurist and diplomat Nawaf Salam became the country’s prime minister. Both Aoun and Salam have repeatedly said that only the state will monopolize the use of weapons in Lebanon.

The visit also comes after the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad was removed from power in December by insurgent group’s opposed to Iran’s influence in the region. Assad was one of Tehran’s closest allies in the Arab world and his country was a main link for the flow of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah.

Aoun told the visiting Iranian official during their meeting that Beirut wants “to strengthen relations from state to state with Iran.” Aoun’s comments were released by his office.

Over the past decades, Iran funded Hezbollah with billions of dollars and sent all types of weapons to the Lebanese group enjoying wide influence in the small Mediterranean nation through.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended, Lebanese authorities have taken tight measures at Beirut’s airport to prevent the flow of funds from Iran to Hezbollah and flights by Iranian companies have been suspended to Beirut.

“We look forward to having relations (with Lebanon) based on mutual respect and non-interference in each country’s internal affairs,” Araghchi told reporters after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He added that Iran backs a national dialogue in Lebanon between rival groups.

Iran condemns the occupation of Lebanese territories “by the Zionist entity and supports all efforts exerted by the Lebanese government and people to expel the occupiers through any way including diplomatic methods," Araghchi said, referring to five posts Israel refused to withdraw from earlier this year.

Iranian companies are ready to take part in Lebanon’s reconstruction if the Lebanese government wants that, Araghchi said.

Earlier Tuesday, Araghchi held talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Rajji, and discussed Iran’s ongoing negotiations with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, speaks to journalists as Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani stands by, after a meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, left, receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, center, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)