BEIRUT, February 15, 2016 – Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Al Hariri said on Sunday that Lebanon would never be an “Iranian province” hostile to Saudi Arabia, and attacked the Shiite Hizbollah movement’s role in the Syrian war, in a speech reflecting regional tensions.
Mr Al Hariri was speaking in Beirut on the 11th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Rafik Al Hariri. It was only his third visit to the country since the Hizbollah-dominated March 8 alliance toppled his cabinet in 2011.
“We will not allow anyone to pull Lebanon to the camp of hostility towards Saudi Arabia and its Arab brothers. Lebanon will not be, under any circumstances, an Iranian province. We are Arabs, and Arabs we shall remain,” said Mr Al Hariri, who is backed by Saudi Arabia.
Hizbollah, which is backed by Iran, is fighting alongside the Syrian army in support of Bashar Al Assad in a war against insurgents who have received backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other states.
Five Hizbollah members have been indicted by an international tribunal over the 2005 killing of Rafik Al Hariri.
The group has denied any involvement in the killing, which pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war and still stirs emotions 11 years later. The killing deepened a sectarian divide in Lebanon’s politics that still affects it to this day.
Source: The National
