Nasrallah Expected to Comment on BLOM Blast as Report Says 'Hizbullah Knows who Planted Bomb'
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to comment in the coming days on the bombing that rocked the headquarters of BLOM Bank in Verdun, media reports said, after several parties accused his party of staging the attack to intimidate the banking sector amid a row over the implementation of anti-Hizbullah U.S. financial sanctions.
“Sources close to Hizbullah expect the party to end its silence on the attack on BLOM Bank soon,” al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to respond in person to the accusations that have targeted the party or that tried to link the bombing to the media and political campaign that has targeted the banking sector and the central bank governor,” the sources said.
“The sides that plotted the bomb attack have become known and Hizbullah has detailed information about them and about the individuals who executed the operation,” the sources added.
The sources also revealed that “Hizbullah has put everyone in the picture of the information it has, including ex-PM Saad Hariri.”
“Nasrallah's rhetoric will not be calm, especially towards the United States,” the sources added.
Later on Wednesday, al-Jadeed television reported that Nasrallah will deliver a speech on June 24 to commemorate 40 days since the death in Syria of its top military commander Mustafa Badreddine.
Earlier in the day, resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi announced that he is “inclined to accuse Hizbullah” of being behind the blast that targeted BLOM Bank.
“There are several similarities between the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and the Verdun bombing and in my political analysis I'm inclined to accuse Hizbullah,” Rifi tweeted.
Noting that Hizbullah has not condemned the attack until the moment, Rifi asked: “Who benefits from this crime and who has the ability to do it?”
The explosion on Sunday evening blew out the entire glass facade of the headquarters of BLOM Bank, one of the country's largest, but only one person was lightly wounded.
Some politicians and local media have linked the attack to a law voted in December by the U.S. Congress to impose sanctions on banks that deal with Hizbullah, considered a "terrorist group" by the U.S.
Last month, Lebanon's Central Bank instructed the country's banks and financial institutions to comply with the new measure against the Lebanese Iran-backed group.
Hizbullah has fiercely criticized the law and accused Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh of "yielding" to Washington's demands.
Several Lebanese newspapers known to be critical of Hizbullah said the explosion was a "message" to banks complying with the ruling.
"Maybe they chose BLOM Bank as a target because it has been the strictest in implementing the U.S. sanctions against Hizbullah," An Nahar newspaper wrote.
Other papers that are close to Hizbullah, including al-Akhbar, said the blast was an attempt at sparking sectarian tensions.
Washington has labeled Hizbullah a global terrorist group since 1995, accusing it of a long list of attacks including the bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983.
BLOM Bank director general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no threats had been received by the bank ahead of Sunday's blast.
Y.R.
Source: Naharnet
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