BEIRUT (Dispatches) – The secretary general of Hezbollah said the resistance movement is resolved to safeguard the rights and borders of Lebanon.
Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said if the American mediator does not accept the demands put forward by Lebanon with regard to the maritime dispute with the Zionist regime, there will be no calm in the region.
Nasrallah made the remarks on Friday while addressing a ceremony to mark laying the foundation stone for the touristic landmark in Bekaa’s Janta via video conference.
He said addressing the case of disputed waters and gas fields with the Zionist regime should not be tied to the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Nasrallah said Hezbollah will insist on the Lebanese rights and borders.
“If Lebanon’s demands on maritime demarcation are not met, things will escalate, regardless of whether Iran’s nuclear deal is signed or not.”
He said all the attention is now on the U.S. mediator who is “wasting” the limited time. The coming days, he added, will be “critical” for Lebanon’s oil wealth and maritime dispute.
Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar reported on Friday that the occupying regime of Israel had yielded to Beirut’s maritime demands. Also according to the regime’s outlets, a Zionist official is set to travel to the United States to discuss the issue in the hopes of achieving an agreement.
Back in mid-July, Nasrallah had warned the regime of any drilling operations for oil and gas in the disputed area, saying, “There would be no room for oil and gas extraction in the entire region if Lebanon does not get its right.”
The maritime row between Lebanon and the Zionist regime is over an area in the Mediterranean Sea spanning about 860 square kilometers. Block No. 9 is rich in oil and gas. The regime relies heavily on gas and has long been developing occupied offshore gas deposits in the Mediterranean Sea.
The two sides have held several rounds of talks to resolve the decades-long dispute, but to no avail. The maritime dispute escalated in early July after the regime moved vessels into the Karish Gas Field, which lies in Lebanon’s territorial waters.