BEIRUT: Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon urged the Lebanese Monday to unite and engage in dialogue in order to swiftly form a government that meets their own national interests.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Daily Star, Ambassador Ghadanfar Rukn Abadi also asserted that the recent protests in Syria are “absolutely” different from the uprisings that led to the toppling of heads of state in Egypt and Tunisia.

He drew a distinction between demands for regime change and calls for reform, the latter of which he said characterized the current situation in Syria. He added that such calls for change were not uncommon in other countries such as France, Britain and the United States.

On the other hand, demands for regime change, he said, stemmed from two conditions. “First, if the people’s overview about foreign strategy is against that of their leader,” he told The Daily Star. “And second, if the economic situation of the people is so bad that a change of regime is required to improve their situation.”

Abadi argued that neither of these conditions was present in Syria.

“You can’t compare the poverty in Egypt to that of Syria,” he said. “I’m not saying that the situation in Syria is very excellent for all people, but it is completely different from North Africa, or for example, Egypt.”

Speaking about the ongoing effort to form a government in Beirut, Abadi emphasized that this was a strictly internal Lebanese issue, adding that in Iran’s view “it is forbidden for any foreign powers to enter into another country’s internal affairs.”

Abadi also ruled out the possibility that the current government vacuum posed any external danger in view of the current situation in the region, adding that the Israeli threat “is now seriously weak.”

However, he added that it was important for the Lebanese to appoint a government as soon as possible so that it could begin to address internal issues. “We hope this government comes at the earliest opportunity, as in our view, it will be better for all the people in this country,” Abadi said.

Abadi, who came to Lebanon for the first time in a professional capacity in 1994 when he was appointed as the embassy’s first secretary, said he has seen “very big changes” in the country since then.

The most important of these, he added, was a growing Lebanese consensus around the need for the Resistance in Lebanon.

“Many major Lebanese groups now have a kind of unity in protecting the Resistance,” he said, adding that this sentiment extended across all of the country’s sects.

“I know that very few groups have a problem with this unity – very, very few,” he conceded. “But even they are saying that, they [only] have different strategies for confronting occupation.”

Parties from across Lebanon’s political spectrum have reached a point of agreement that “the first and most dangerous enemy for Lebanon is Israeli occupation,” he said.

Just as the Resistance has gained currency over the last several years, Israel’s status as a regional power has been diminishing, he said.

Abadi added that Israel’s recent killing of 11 protesters during a Nakba rally at the Lebanese border proves that Israel has grown weaker.

“In the last three years, they [the Israelis] have carried out many military drills, but none of these were attack drills, as was the case in the past; they were defense drills,” he told The Daily Star.

“They are training for their people in occupied Palestine to go into bunkers. So they know their situation is very weak, especially after the recent strategic change in Egypt,” he said, in reference to the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of anti-regime protests in the country.

He added that although Israel enjoys the full support of the United States and is armed with the most modern weaponry, the Resistance had defeated this enemy with “just their hands, their bodies, without any military hardware, or at most light weapons.”

Abadi also reiterated that Iran would be “honored and proud” to provide the Lebanese Army with assistance, adding that he has discussed this offer with Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Kahwagi.

“In Iran, because of American and international sanctions, we have arrived at a point of self-sufficiency in producing army technology,” he said.

“These sanctions had an effect on us, but it was a positive effect,” he added, noting the recent advances in Iranian military technology such as the Qiam 1, a powerful surface-to-surface missile that has no tail fins or wings.

“We told the leaders of the Lebanese Army that we have full capability to help them, and they deserve that because they are a legitimate army for their people against occupation,” he said.

“So this file can now be opened in any way.”

Touching on the recent policy speeches given by U.S. President Barack Obama, Abadi said that such rhetoric demonstrated that any optimism that Obama’s presidency would bring change was misplaced.

“He is repeating in these speeches that the security of the Israelis is the same as the security of the United States,” Abadi said.

“Three years after saying that he was coming [to office] for change, what has he changed in his diplomacy?” asked Abadi.

“Just listen to his latest speeches. What did he say about Palestine? Even when the Palestinians reconcile with each other, they [the Americans] are disappointed. They don’t want them to have peace with one another, only peace with Israel. Where is the change?”

Turning to the uprisings taking place across the Middle East, the Iranian ambassador said that these recent developments “verify that this way of resistance against occupiers and their henchmen will be victorious, even if these enemies are protected by superpowers.”

Abadi also said that these uprisings bore a resemblance to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

“We can say that this intifada is a believers’ intifada against oppression … they [the demonstrators] are saying God is great. It means they believe that God’s help will bring them to victory,” he said.

“In any of these countries, all that was needed was time to arrive at the point where people believe in their power.” the ambassador said.