Saniora: Hizbullah's Ties with Iran Tarnished Lebanon's Relations with Arab Countries
Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora blamed Hizbullah's “meddling” in Lebanese affairs at Iran's bidding has turned the country into a “body without a head,” reported the pan-Arab daily Ashara al-Awsat on Sunday.
He told the daily that the ongoing vacuum in the presidency “has created a huge void and allowed Iran's ties with Hizbullah to tarnish Lebanon's relations with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia.”
He therefore called on Tehran to “distance itself from interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries.”
Iran's “systematic” intervention in Lebanon through Hizbullah has caused the state to lose the ability to build its institutions in a responsible manner, continued the former premier.
This has created a “major political setback” that has affected Lebanon's “historic” ties with Arab countries.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor.
Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls.
Hizbullah earlier this year said it would boycott the presidential elections until it receives guarantees that its candidate, Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, is elected head of state.
The March 14 camp and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have repeatedly accused Iran of being responsible for the delay in electing a president.
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