Hezbollah chief slams Saudi Arabia for Lebanon diplomatic rift

Hassan Nasrallah calls Saudi claims of Hezbollah hegemony in Lebanon ‘nonsense’.

Beirut, Lebanon – Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has launched a week-long attack on Saudi Arabia for trying to destabilize Lebanon. diplomatic dispute between the latter and several Gulf countries.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and dismissed calls for the departure of crisis-hit information minister George Kordahi.

“Hezbollah supports the information minister’s position of not resigning,” Nasrallah said. He said that he also opposed the idea of ​​sacking Kordahi from his post. “One of the simplest manifestations of sovereignty is the rejection of external powers.”

Diplomatic crisis erupted last month after video footage from an August interview circulated online in which Kordahi made critical remarks about the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The former game show host said the Iran-aligned Houthis are “defending themselves … against an external aggression”, earning praise from Iran-backed Hezbollah.

In response, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain withdrew their envoys from Beirut. Expelled His Lebanese Ambassador.

Saudi Arabia, which considers Hezbollah a “terrorist” organization, also banned all imports from Lebanon, accusing it of failing to take measures to “stop the export of the drug crisis”. Bahrain and the UAE have called on their citizens to leave the country, while Yemen’s internationally recognized government has also recalled its envoy from Beirut.

,[Hezbollah] A Saudi statement issued on October 29 said that Lebanon has been made an arena and launching pad for implementing projects from countries that do not wish for the good of Lebanon and its brethren.

Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia of destabilizing cash-strapped Lebanon and waging civil war through its allies and “serving American and Israeli interests”.

“They have problems with their allies because they want them to fight Hezbollah and start a civil war in Lebanon,” Nasrallah said. “And in Lebanon, they either don’t want a civil war or they are unable to face one.”

He also rejected Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s remarks that Hezbollah’s hegemony over Lebanon was “nonsense”.

“In the state, the judiciary, the military, security forces and others in the administration have more influence than us,” Nasrallah said, noting that Hezbollah has been unable to remove Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitter, the Iranian fuel tanker docked directly. in Lebanon, or fully restore relations with the Syrian government.

Saudi Arabia has distanced itself from Lebanon in recent years, often criticizing it for Hezbollah’s growing influence in Lebanese politics.

Kordahi was appointed by the Marada Movement, a Christian party closely associated with Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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