Top Official: U.S. Interference Making Matters Worse in Lebanon

Date: 13 September 2022 - 22:25

News ID: ۱۰۶۸۷۶

BEIRUT (Dispatches) – A senior Hezbollah official has censured the United States for meddling in Lebanon’s domestic affairs, saying Washington’s incessant interference has complicated the situation on the ground and raised concerns about the possibility of a presidential vacuum in the Arab country.
Speaking at a ceremony in the southern Lebanese village of Maroun el-Ras, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk said that the Americans are looking for a president in Lebanon who is after creating a “fresh challenge.”
“This is while the Lebanese nation wants someone elected who can save the country, deal with the ongoing crises and problems, and address the suffering of ordinary people who can no longer tolerate the status quo,” said Sheikh Qaouk, a member and deputy head of the executive council of Hezbollah.
“The U.S.’s interference in all political developments of Lebanon and its meddlesome policies concerning the forthcoming presidential elections and formation of a new government are actually making matters worse, and seriously jeopardizing national unity,” he said.
Sheikh Qaouk also noted that the resistance front plays a decisive role in restoring the Lebanese nation’s rights, maritime dispute with the Zionist regime, and defending Lebanon’s national dignity and natural resources in face of the occupying regime’s ambitious plots.
The high-ranking Hezbollah official said that the Axis of Resistance is getting more powerful militarily and politically while its enemies are in decline.
Sheikh Qaouk also said that certain politicians and political parties in Lebanon are trying to betray the Lebanese resistance movement.
Lebanon has been mired in a deep economic and financial crisis since late 2019. The crisis is the gravest threat to the country’s stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
The economic and financial crisis is mostly linked to the sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Lebanon as well as foreign intervention in the Arab nation’s domestic affairs.
Compounding the woes, Saudi Arabia has imposed its own sanctions, including banning its citizens from traveling to Lebanon where Riyadh-backed elements have been jockeying for positions.