Iran, Hezbollah undermining stability, UAE says
Lebanon should be ‘ spared’ from spiralling regional tensions — Arab League chief
The UAE has said Iran and Hezbollah are undermining the region’s stability. “Iran’s missile programme with its offensive nature [ is] emerging as [ a] disruptive tool undermining the region’s stability. Repeated targeting of Saudi civilian facilities attests to this. Furthermore, Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, [ is] playing an outsize role in undermining regional stability. Hezbollah actions & rhetoric [ is] a major source of instability in the Arab world,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted.
Meanwhile, in stronglyworded tweets, Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said: “The Arab League resolution condemns Iran and its terrorist arms in the region, the first of which is Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The Arab League stands firmly with security and stability in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain... Their barking will not hurt us, as we will keep moving forward, with commitment to defend our nation. It’s only Iran and its agents in the region who are wailing and crying against the Arab League resolution.”
The concluding statement of the Arab League meeting demanded that Hezbollah stop intervening in regional conflicts and spreading extremism and sectarianism.
Arab League chief Ahmad Abu Al Geit said yesterday Lebanon should be “spared” from spiralling regional tensions, during a visit to Beirut. “Arab countries understand and take into account the situation in Lebanon and want to spare it ... from any dispute,” Abu Al Geit said after landing in Beirut. He added that naming Hezbollah a terrorist organisation is not new as it happened during last year’s Arab summit.
Arab League chief Ahmad Abu Al Geit said yesterday Lebanon should be “spared” from spiralling regional tensions, during a visit to Beirut a day after Arab diplomats blasted Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
“Arab countries understand and take into account the situation in Lebanon and want to spare it ... from any dispute,” Abu Al Geit said after landing in Beirut, in comments carried by Lebanon’s National News Agency.
His visit comes a day after the Arab League held an extraordinary general meeting in Cairo, at the request of Saudi Arabia.
Tehran ‘ violations’
Riyadh called the ministeriallevel meeting to discuss “violations” by its rival Tehran, which backs armed groups across the region, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Arab foreign ministers blasted Hezbollah in the summit’s resolution, saying they would hold it “responsible for supporting terrorism and terrorist organisations in Arab countries with modern weapons and ballistic missiles”.
The concluding statement demanded that Hezbollah stop intervening in regional conflicts and spreading extremism and sectarianism.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Jibran Bassil did not attend the meeting, leaving permanent representative to the Arab League Antoine Azzam to represent the country.
Abu Al Geit said Sunday that Lebanon’s delegation had expressed reservations on the statement, “specifically on the points related to Hezbollah’s role”.
The Arab League head met with Lebanese president Michel Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, and took part in a conference organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Lebanon has been gripped in a political crisis since Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri announced his surprise resignation earlier this month from Saudi Arabia, lambasting Iran and Hezbollah for destabilising his country.
The shock announcement sparked worries that Lebanon would be caught up in the spiralling tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, which back opposing political and armed groups across the region.
Hariri rumours
After resigning, Hariri spent two more weeks in Saudi Arabia amid rumours he was under de facto house arrest there, before travelling to Paris on Saturday.
There, he met French President Emmanuel Macron and pledged he would be in Lebanon in time to mark its independence day tomorrow.
“I will participate in the celebrations for our independence and it is there that I will make known my position on all the issues after meeting with the president of our republic, general Michel Aoun,” he said.
On Sunday, the Lebanese politician said he would visit Cairo today to meet Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi.
A source close to Hariri said that meeting aimed to “continue the series of Arab and international consultations”.