Hariri slams 'irresponsible' Nasrallah speech

Beirut: Notwithstanding past reconciliation efforts between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, protagonists par excellence over the very identity of Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah delivered a strongly worded anti-Saudi speech that, in turn, drew the ire of former Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri. Both articulated diametrically opposed visions that presumed to defend the national interests of a country where a quarter of the population is a refugee and where economic conditions are on the brink.

On Sunday, Nasrallah lashed out at Saudi Arabia in what many described as irresponsible rhetoric. The Hezbollah leader denigrated the ruling family and dangerously drew Lebanon into the realms of sectarianism at a time where the country faces exceptional political stagnation having been without a president since May 2014.

Hariri, aware of the real threats against the small country, which suffered from Hezbollah’s vetoes on so many issues at numerous levels, accused the party of irresponsibility given that Saudi Arabia played such a vital role in Lebanese affairs. He added that insulting leaders of a country that welcomed nearly half-a-million Lebanese is “unacceptable.”

“It is extremely regrettable that some in Lebanon are attacking the kingdom and its leadership in an unacceptable and detestable manner,” Hariri said in a press release. “Some are talking about Saudi Arabia and its role as if they are talking about themselves and about the situation in Iran and the Iranian people’s suffering,” he added.

Hariri pointed out that Nasrallah’s criticisms of Saudi Arabia could be applied in the same to those of the Iranian regime also mentioning Iran’s clear expansionist agenda. He cautioned Lebanese to distance themselves from such bombastic rhetoric that aimed to sow division in the country.

Hezbollah’s active participation in Syria, most probably under strict Iranian directives, led Hariri to point out that it is “the Syrian regime’s practices against its own people,” that ought to preoccupy one and all.

“Iran and its tools,” he declared “are fighting alongside [the Damascus] regime, which is executing hundreds of thousands of its citizens and displacing millions of them without any trials or religious and human justifications.”

Perhaps the most pointed remark in Hariri’s response was the effort to deny Hezbollah the right to speak on behalf of all Shiites everywhere, “from Nigeria to Bahrain and from India and Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf states.”