Raad Responds to Hariri: Only Cowards Remain Silent over Saudi's Genocide of Yemenis
Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad criticized on Thursday Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri's positions on the Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen, saying that linking Iran to the developments in Yemen and Lebanon are a “major mistake.”
He said in a statement: “Only ignorants and cowards remain silent over Saudi Arabia's genocide in Yemen.”
“We call on Hariri and all of his advisors to listen to their conscience and revise their policies, especially since it appears that the so-called Saudi-led Decisive Storm operation is reaching a dead end,” he added.
“They should instead focus on avoiding destroying Lebanon and avoiding stirring sectarian tensions,” he said, while emphasizing the importance of coexistence in confronting challenges.
Furthermore, Raad noted that the Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah have long had differing views over local and regional developments, adding however that the differences will not deter the party from continuing the dialogue with the movement.
“We understand the sensitive position that Hariri is in during this moment given the criticism directed against the Saudi Arabian leadership and its idiotic policy and failed aggression against Yemen and its people,” he continued.
“But remaining silent over the crimes against civilians and the will of the Yemeni people can only be accepted by slaves, ignorants, or cowards,” he stated.
“Condemning the Saudi intervention in Yemen and its military aggression against its land, army, and people is a national, constitutional, humanitarian, and moral commitment that should rein in the aggressors, warn them of the dangerousness of their actions, and steer developments towards a peaceful solution to the crisis.” declared Raad.
“It should not be wrong to condemn the aggression, but it should be wrong to justify it,” he noted.
“We consider Saudi Arabia an arrogant brother who cannot cover his crimes with regional and international coalitions or with wasting more of the wealth of its people and nation,” he added.
Moreover, the MP said: “Comparing Lebanon to the developments in Yemen is a major mistake that stems from failing to properly assess the developments that have taken place in Lebanon.”
“It also stems from the failure to acknowledge the will of the people by instead treating them as pawns to serve the interests of other powers,” he explained.
“Iran has long been keen on Lebanon's stability, security, sovereignty, and the right of its people to resist the Zionist aggressors,” he stated.
“Iran has never allowed itself to take decisions on behalf of the Lebanese people, whether in regards to Israel or their internal affairs,” Raad said.
“Iran has long sought to help the Lebanese people, regardless of their affiliations or sect in order to empower their national stances against the Israeli enemy or for the sake of their country,” he stressed.
He deemed as defamation any claims to the contrary against Iran.
“Such claims only serve the enemies of Lebanon,” the MP declared.
On Wednesday, Hariri condemned the manipulation of Tele Liban, Lebanon's official television station, after it aired an interview for Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah with Syria's al-Ikhbariya channel.
He remarked that Lebanon was “not in need of further problems created by Hizbullah”, the latest of which was dragging Tele Liban in the political and media battlefield in the country.
He condemned in a statement the use of “Lebanese media outlets to target friendly Arab countries and Saudi Arabia similar to the practices adopted by some suspicious voices and yellow journalism that want Lebanon to become a partner in antagonizing its Arab brothers for the sake of Iran and its regional policies.”
“Remaining silent over this issue is not justified, whether for the sake of dialogue, which we still seek, or for the sake of placing national interests above foreign ones, especially after witnessing officials from the other side of the divide being adept at jeopardizing these interests on a daily basis,” he added.
“It is unfortunate that Lebanon is being used to these ends, such as linking it to regional conflicts,” he lamented.
“Saudi Arabia's actions in the region stem from its belief in protecting the Arab identity and the rights of its people to security, stability, and development, as opposed to other countries, like Iran that seek to destroy this stability and turn Arab capitals into open grounds for sectarian and armed chaos,” declared the lawmaker.
“It has become apparent to observers that Iran does not pay heed to Arab countries and their official institutions as much as it is interested in infiltrating societies and manipulating sectarian tensions,” Hariri stated.
“Iran seeks to replicate the Lebanese scenario in Yemen where it has been fashioning the Ansarullah Huthi movement in the shape of Hizbullah in order to transform it into a pawn at the doorstep of Mecca and the Arab Gulf,” he noted, while saying that Saudi Arabia has sought to thwart this plan through its airstrikes on Yemen.
M.T.
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