Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has rejected remarks made by a top Hezbollah leader against Saudi Arabia, saying that they do not reflect the position of his country.
“It is not in Lebanon’s interest to offend any Arab country, especially the Gulf states,” said Mikati in a statement on Monday, January 3, after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia of terrorism.
“While we call for Hezbollah to be part of the diverse Lebanese nation and to demonstrate Lebanese affiliation, its leadership opposes this call with positions that harm the Lebanese and Lebanon’s relations with fraternal countries,” he said in what was the second time in mere months that Lebanon has had to attempt damage control to shield itself from Saudi Arabian ire.
He went on to add: “We repeat our call for everyone to show compassion for this country and to keep it away from petty polemics.
He also said: “Let us all cooperate to get the Lebanese out of the prevailing crises, in which they are drowning, and restore the foundations of the state to embark on the required rescue mission.”
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His statement came mere hours after Nasrallah, speaking about the year-ago event of the US killing of Islamic Revolution Guard [IRG] Quds Force Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, among others, accused Saudi Arabia of terrorism, claiming the ideology of the Islamic State group — which was referred to in the speech by its local acronym Daesh — originated in the kingdom.
The latest round of diplomatic firefighting by Lebanon comes a month after TV personality George Kordahi had to resign as the country’s information minister — a post to which he had been appointed in September — after his statements from much earlier stoked Saudi ire.
Kordahi, otherwise best known for hosting the Arabic iteration of the quiz show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, had criticized the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen during an interview recorded before he became minister.
The segment was aired on Lebanese TV after he joined the cabinet, leading to widespread calls for his resignation, without which Lebanon could find itself isolated in its efforts to overcome an economic crisis that the World Bank has described as one of the worst in the world.