Lebanese leaders firmly rejected any efforts at foreign interference during a visit by Iran's security chief Wednesday, with the prime minister saying Beirut would "tolerate neither tutelage nor diktat" after Tehran voiced opposition to plans to disarm Hezbollah.

The uncharacteristically blunt remarks hinted at a changed balance of power in a country where Iran has long wielded substantial influence by funding and arming Hezbollah.

The visit by Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani comes after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise plans to disarm the Tehran-backed militant group by the end of the year.

Last week, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader had said the Islamic republic was "certainly opposed" to the disarmament plan.

"We reject any interference in our internal affairs," Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday, adding that "it is forbidden for anyone... to bear arms and to use foreign backing as leverage", according to a statement from his........

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