Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt blasted on Monday Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stressing ” He cannot give us lessons in confrontation”.
His comments come after Princess Hayat Arslan blasted in tweet account on X the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi telling him : ‘Go back to Iran and do not interfere in Lebanon. Stick to your borders. Lebanon is a state that decides its own destiny.
Iran is being accused of betraying its proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Jumblatt said that the statements issued by the tripartite meeting are clear and the parliament is the one that decides.
He was referring to last week’s meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker PM Najib Mikati
Jumblatt pointed out in a television statement that the statement issued by the tripartite meeting in Ain al-Tineh was clear in terms of calling for a ceasefire, not linking Gaza to Lebanon, and calling for presidential elections.
He said : The Lebanese citizen in the south and Bekaa is exposed to displacement and violation, and we speak in the name of the Lebanese citizen who is exposed to displacement, violation, and destruction” stressing that “UN resolutions 1701 and 1559 must be implemented, and then we will talk about the defense strategy and the issue of militia’s weapons.”
UN Resolutions
Adopted unanimously in 2006, the purpose of UN resolution 1701 was to end the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and for a permanent ceasefire To ensure peace, between Hezbollah and Israel the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was authorized to increase the number of troops to 15,000
On the other hand UN resolution 1559 was adopted on September 2, 2004, after recalling resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520(1982) and 1553 (2004). The UN Security Council in the resolution called for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon, urging the Lebanese government to establish control over its territory, disarm militias like Hezbollah, and facilitate the withdrawal of any remaining foreign forces from the country. Syria in 2004 was occupying Lebanon
Jumblatt added, “When we met with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, we laid the foundations for the possibility of reaching a solution or settlement internally and implementing Resolution 1701 and the deployment of the army along the border with Israel.
He revealed that there is no personal contact between him and Hezbollah , He stressed that there is no imminent ceasefire, as the war could continue to escalate and expand and therefore Lebanon must prepare for the worst possible scenario and start by electing a consensus president until a ceasefire agreement is reached.
He added: The Parliament is the only meeting place to elect a president.
In a speech at the Druze Religious Council meeting in Shenai, Jumblatt offered his “condolences to the families of the thousands of Lebanese who were killed . He said that during the Ain Dinah meeting with Berri and and Mikati they agreed to condemn the Israeli aggression, stress the importance of Lebanese unity , Lebanon’s commitment to the ceasefire and to Resolution 1701 and all previous resolutions, in addition to the 1949 armistice agreement between Lebanon and Israeli and de-linking our fate to the fate of Gaza.
Therefore, a president must be elected while the war is raging.”
He pointed out that “after their meeting, statements emerged that we excluded the other partners. We do not have any capacity to exclude anyone”. The parliament represents all forces and partners”
FPM leader Gebran Bassil criticized the Ain Tinah meeting stressing that Christians should not be marginalized and excluded from such important meetings that deal with Lebanon’s fate
Jumblatt added : “As for naming a consensus president, it is not new. We started this debate in October 2022, before the outbreak of the war and at the end of former President Michel Aoun’s term. Since that moment, we have been searching to reach a consensus president, so how about today? I hope that we can get ourselves out of this impasse , as we are in a war that may last .” Jumblatt stressed the importance of the role of the five-member committee tasked with facilitating the election of a president, noting that there must be more effective participation, as well as the importance of the international and Arab role in confronting the humanitarian disaster.
Update :
Iran obstructing all solutions of Lebanon’s impasse
In an interview with LBC Monday evening , Jumblatt accused Iran of obstruction solutions to Lebanon’s impasse over the election of a consensus president for Lebanon:
“We welcome any initiative that leads us to a solution, but Iran is obstructing any possibility of getting out of the impasse we are in, and if there must be pressure, it must be in the right direction.”
Jumblatt pointed out that “in addition to Hezbollah, there are citizens whose villages were destroyed,” stressing that “the most important thing is to reach a ceasefire at the United Nations , if it still exists, implement Resolutions 1701 and 1559 and the 49th Armistice Agreement with Israel , and later elect a consensus president.”
(El Nashra ) Translated from Arabic
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