Jubeir Says Hizbullah Holding Lebanon Hostage, Must 'Disarm'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Friday accused Hizbullah, which Riyadh blames for the shock resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, of holding Lebanon hostage and using its banks to launder money.
Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Madrid that the Iran-backed group was destabilizing Lebanon by maintaining its arsenal and fighters in the country.
"You cannot have a militia with a military force that operates outside the scope of the government," he told reporters after talks with Spanish counterpart Alfonso Dastis.
"We see Hizbullah hijacking the Lebanese banking system to launder money, we see Hizbullah hijacking Lebanese ports in order to smuggle drugs, we see Hizbullah engaging in terrorist activities and interfering in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen," he added.
"Unless Hizbullah disarms and becomes a (solely) political party, Lebanon will be held hostage by Hizbullah and by extension Iran," he said.
"This is not acceptable to us and is not acceptable to the Lebanese," Jubeir added.
Lebanon was plunged into uncertainty this month after Hariri's shock resignation, announced on television from Riyadh.
Hariri said he was stepping down because of Hizbullah and Iran's "grip" over Lebanon.
The resignation -- which caught even some of Hariri's closest advisers off guard -- comes at a time of mounting tension between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are backing opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
His subsequent failure to return home to officially quit in person fueled claims that he was acting under orders from his Saudi patrons.
But both Hariri and Riyadh have denied allegations he was being held against his will, with the Lebanese leader on Friday dismissing all speculation about his situation as "rumors."
"We are supportive of Prime Minister Saad Hariri but we are against Hizbullah's takeover of Lebanon," Jubeir said.
Hariri was expected to leave Saudi Arabia for France later Friday, a move aimed at defusing political turmoil sparked by his resignation.
17 November 2017, 19:32
111
bless anyone person, entity, organization, brigade or country that inflicts extreme pain and unbearable suffering, death, torture, and destruction upon the iranian sectarian terrorist militia and its members, sponsors, supporters or followers wherever they may be.
17 November 2017, 20:03
07
Houthians are not Lebanese. They are not even human. It is the responsibility of the civilized world to rescue my beautiful tiny country from this evil that is called hezbollah. We, the young beautiful and educated lebanese women refuse to live with this menace and for this reason we are tomorrow marching on the Baabda Palace to ask our President who was forced upon us by the Houthians to come out and say he will step down and appoint a woman president instead.
Ba3id Na2iss.....
17 November 2017, 20:38
05
Thank you for informing the civilized world. It is surely a filthy murdering militia
17 November 2017, 20:42
81
You made me laugh, who is going to shoot on sight? Cowards commentating on Naharnet?
17 November 2017, 20:44
70
When will your Kingdom conquer Yemen?
Seems like the Ansarullah they make you live in constant fear, rich saudi coward.
https://youtu.be/DujcAEOHmJo?t=6m59s
17 November 2017, 21:06
06
Do you notice the reaction from Iran has been like breaking up with a psychotic girlfriend? The parallels are too close.
17 November 2017, 21:51
06
Gee, you take my words and use them too?^ Big man right here lol
18 November 2017, 05:25
07
outsider's moral standards switch off when he and his ten aliases use trash talking.
18 November 2017, 07:31
05
how about your nassrallah @hakawati from iran? Should he remain at large after having destroyed Lebanon and half the Arab countries so far.
18 November 2017, 12:24
07
@gigairani
who told you the prime minister was held hostage? who told you his family is being held hostage?
Is this what hezbollah told you to say?
"Hariri and his wife Lara, who landed at Le Bourget airport outside the French capital at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) after flying in from Riyadh overnight, were due to meet Macron at noon."
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/238392-hariri-arrives-in-paris-from-saudi-arabia
19 November 2017, 06:48
06
implied in your iranian mind. Since when do you consider what Western Leaders imply as credible ya filth?
Western leaders more than implied that you, hezbollah and your iran are terrorists. Western leaders more than implied the Assad regime is a criminal regime that used chemical weapons on its own people.
18 November 2017, 13:10
07
the irani comes from a culture of kidnapping and hostage taking so it is not unusual for him to think these crimes are common occurrence.
19 November 2017, 14:00
00
I respect Mr. Mega Habeeb because he respects what Western Leaders imply.
