Saudi prince: Lebanon on brink of civil war because of Hezbollah’s role in Syria

Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al-Saud, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and former director-general of the Kingdom’s General Intelligence Directorate has warned that “Lebanon is on the brink of civil war as Hezbollah continues to implement its own agenda without giving any consideration to law and order.”

The party “is willing to risk the foundations on which the entire Lebanese political system was built in order to prevent the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and impede the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that is probing the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri,” al-Faisal said during a lecture he delivered at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations in Washington, DC on October 22.

“Saudi Arabia believes that the law needs to be imposed in Lebanon and it supports all efforts aimed at putting an end to Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria and bringing its leaders who are suspected of being involved in the Hariri murder to court,” he added.

Asked about the pressure for Turkey to crack down on Islamists on its Syrian border, and what it means for Saudi Arabia’s approach to Syria, Prince Turki said that he understands the goal is “a unified opposition that can represent all of the Syrian community, and that these countries will coordinate with each other on helping that organization defend itself against the onslaught of the Assad killing machine.

Commenting on Iran, Prince Turki said, “It is up to the Iranians to show that their sweet and sensible talk is going to be translated into action, “ adding, “when and if that happens then there is a chance for the situation between, not just the Kingdom and Iran, but also between Iran and the rest of the world to improve.” Al Monitor reported

Prince Turki added that the kingdom has been direct in its dealings with Iran about the issues of tension between the two countries, telling its officials, “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t deal with us and then go and support somebody who wants to overturn us. And this is what they’ve been doing in Lebanon, this is what they’ve been doing in Syria, this is what they’re doing in Bahrain, and what they’re doing in Iraq etc., so this is how we deal with Iran.” The former Saudi ambassador to the US said