Hezbollah’s criticism of Saudi not in Lebanon’s interest
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati Monday said criticism
of Saudi Arabia by the leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group did not
serve the national interest or represent the country’s official stance.
Saudi Arabia and a number of other Gulf Arab states withdrew
ambassadors and expelled Lebanese envoys in October and November over what the
kingdom later said was arch-foe Hezbollah’s dominance of the Lebanese state.
In a speech, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah accused
Saudi Arabia’s king of terrorism on Monday.
“King, the terrorist is the one who has exported … Daeshi
ideology to the world, and it is you,” Nasrallah said, using an acronym for
Islamic State, the hardline Islamist group that declared a caliphate straddling
parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Mikati responded in a statement, distancing himself from the
Hezbollah leader.
“What … Nasrallah said about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
this evening does not represent the position of the Lebanese government and
most Lebanese. It is not in Lebanon’s interest to offend any Arab country,
especially the Gulf states.
“For God’s sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese
people and stop the hateful sectarian and political rhetoric.”
Lebanese officials including President Michel Aoun, a
Hezbollah ally, and Mikati have called for dialogue with Saudi Arabia to
resolve the diplomatic crisis, which has piled onto an economic meltdown now in
its third year.
Saudi Arabia has called on Lebanon to end “terrorist
Hebzollah’s” influence over the state. Mikati’s government contains several
ministers backed by Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement.
Mikati formed a government in September with the aim of
negotiating an International Monetary Fund (IMF) support programme and
kickstarting economic recovery.
But he has been unable to convene Cabinet since Oct. 12 amid
demands by Hezbollah and Amal to limit the probe into the deadly August 2020
Beirut blast.
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