August 3, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Nasrallah to defuse political tension

Al-Hayat newspaper quoted on Tuesday an unnamed source as saying that Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on Tuesday evening would defuse tension that resulted from arguments over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) pending indictment.

March 8 and March 14 coalitions exchanged a war of words following Nasrallah’s two speeches in July rejecting the tribunal, and the expected indictment of his party members in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Nasrallah will confirm Hezbollah’s keenness over Lebanon’s stability but will not change his stance regarding the STL’s indictment and his doubt toward the credibility of the investigation, the daily said.

The source added that talks following Friday’s Baabda summit convinced Hezbollah to adopt a calm language and avoid anything that could fuel up the political situation.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and President Michel Sleiman held a summit on Friday in Baabda in a bid to defuse political tension following Nasrallah’s speeches.

Assad and Abdullah urged Lebanese parties to avoid resorting to violence in the face of mounting political turmoil in the country.