Lebanon PM says presidential election is linked to an Iranian Nuke deal

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tammam-salam 2Lebanese prime minister Tammam Salam linked the election of a Lebanese president to the negotiations that are taking place between P+1 and Iran over a nuclear deal

“Any settlement over the Iranian nuclear program will pave the way to solving Lebanon’s political deadlock that left the country without a president.” Salam was quoted as saying.

His statement may be interpreted as a hint that the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group which is the main party behind the presidential deadlock is trying to link the Nuclear deal to an Iranian green light over the presidential election.

The Lebanese parliament failed for 16 times in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman whose term ended on May 25.

In all the sessions the parliament was unable to reach a quorum because Hezbollah and its ally MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc MPs boycotted the election sessions.

Lower-level talks continued Tuesday in the Omani capital, Muscat, after Iran, the United States and its negotiating partners failed to reach a breakthrough on a comprehensive nuclear agreement. Although a self-imposed deadline of November 24 is fast approaching, both sides hint progress toward a deal remains possible.

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, has asked the US on Wednesday to stop making “excessive demands” in the negotiations over the country’s nuclear program, saying Tehran had already made enough compromises to reach a permanent settlement with the west when the two sides meet next week.

Most of Iran’s Arab neighbors and the west are still worried that a nuclear deal may be reached between Iran and the United States. Their concern stems from the lack of trust of the regime and also lack of trust regarding the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, according to media reports coming from Oman.

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