A senior official from the Hezbollah resistance movement says Lebanon will not succumb to threats in the wake of a diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia, which erupted late last month over criticism of the kingdom’s deadly war on Yemen.
Hassan al-Baghdadi, a member of Hezbollah’s Central Council, made the remarks on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between Beirut and Riyadh following critical comments by a Lebanese minister about the Saudi-led war on Yemen.
“Lebanon will continue to protect its national principles as well as the rights to defend its land and people, extract natural resources, and determine its borders fairly, and it will not retreat in the face of any pressure or threat,” al-Manar TV channel quoted him as saying.
“The problem of the US government and its allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, is that they have not learned from the past and it seems they still don’t intend to do so.”
Washington and its regional allies, Baghdadi added, “do not recognize the nature of Lebanon and Hezbollah and continue to bet on a hated group that is ready to sacrifice Lebanon for the sake of the country’s enemies in exchange for money and false credibility. This is while the majority of the people of this country from different sects never compromise with anyone on their dignity and national wealth.”
On a TV program filmed in August and aired last week, Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi, who was not appointed to the post back then, said the war in Yemen was an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He called the war “absurd,” saying it must stop because he is opposed to wars between Arabs.
He called the war on the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country “futile” and said it was “time for it to end.”
Kordahi also said the Yemeni army forces and their allied fighters from Popular Committees were “defending themselves… against an external aggression,” and that “homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed” by the Saudi-led coalition.
Angered by the criticism, Saudi Arabia expelled Lebanon’s ambassador, banned all imports from Lebanon and recalled its envoy for consultations.
