Hezbollah accuses US of inciting divisions among Lebanese

Beirut-

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused the United States of inciting divisions among Lebanese

“The U.S. statements about supporting the Lebanese army aims at stirring sedition among the Lebanese,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech about local developments.

The Hezbollah leader added that his party has always been in favor of reinforcing the Lebanese army which guarantees Lebanon’s security, integrity and unity against any Israeli aggression.

The US is the main supporter of the Lebanese army and is seeking to make it the only protector of Lebanon.

Nasrallah also slammed the U.S. Justice Department for seizing dozens of Iranian-linked website domains, saying this move exposes Washington’s false claims about freedom.

Nasrallah called upon the Lebanese politicians to quickly form a cabinet to tackle the country’s multiple crises, reiterating his readiness to import fuel from Iran if the government fails to deal with the shortage problems.

“Hezbollah has finished all the logistical preparations to import fuel from Iran. When the state fails to tackle the shortage crisis, the final decision will be taken,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Friday criticized Lebanese parties seeking a so-called blocking one-third in the new government.

Hezbollah’s allies, president Michel Aoun and his son-in-law former minister Gebran Bassil have reportedly been behind the blocking of the government formation by insisting on a blocking third in the number of ministerial posts.

“Now is the time to build a government, not to block a government,” Shea said in an interview on al-Jadeed TV, ” “There is a desperate need for a fully empowered government that is committed to and able to implement reforms, to stop the bleed and to begin to stabilize the economy,” Shea added.

Commenting on the issue of importing fuel ships from Iran , she said “this is really not a solution.”

“The United States has stood by the people of Lebanon and we will continue to stand by the people of Lebanon, but what Iran is looking for is some kind of satellite state that they can exploit to pursue their agenda,” she added in a possible reference to the the existing sanctions that Iran is trying to bypass.

“There are other alternatives to provide fuel and electricity to the Lebanese people,” the ambassador went on to say noting that eradicating corruption is one of the solutions.

According to analysts Hezbollah , which is allied with the Syrian regime has profited greatly from the subsidy programs on fuel, medicine and flour . Most of the subsidized goods found their way to Syria . They were smuggled thru illegal border crossing that the Iranian backed militant group controls. This is why fuel is being rationed in Lebanon and the pharmacies ran out of medicine and the price of bread has skyrocketed.

Here is a photo showing how Hezbollah is hiding fuel in the Dhahieh area for smuggling to Syria

The Iranian embassy’s reaction

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon on Saturday blasted U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea over remarks related to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah over importing of fuel from Iran.

“The arrival of Iranian oil tankers in Beirut is not hinging on the trifles of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon ” the embassy tweeted.

“The ambassador should not interfere in the brotherly relations between the two countries and between the Iranian and Lebanese peoples,” the embassy added.

The tweet included a file photo of an Iranian oil tanker.

The majority of the Lebanese now considerLebanon as a colony of Iran and say Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah acting as if he is the Supreme leader of Lebanon . Nasrallah pledged allegiance to the Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei in September 2019 and said he considered himself as a Wilyat al Faqih soldier

Xinhua/YL