“No matter how much Hezbollah huffs and puffs, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's [STL] work continues,” US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said in an interview published Monday.
The US and other governments have conveyed this message though high-level contacts with Lebanon, Feltman told the Washington Post.
There is “deep political division” in Lebanon, and since Syria and Iran are clearly supporting one side, the US, UN, and other states have to “show that there is not a vacuum on the [side of the state],” he added.
Feltman also said that the US has made it clear to Damascus that “as long as Syria’s friends are undermining stability in Lebanon,” US-Syrian engagement cannot go very far.
He added that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to Lebanon “has as much to do with domestic politics in Tehran as it did with any kind of proxy politics inside Lebanon.”
Ahmadinejad has troubles at home, so he sought to “stage some sort of triumphant foreign tour,” Feltman also said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a two-day official visit to Lebanon earlier in October, meeting with top Lebanese officials and also appearing at Hezbollah rallies.
Tension is high in Lebanon after unconfirmed reports that the STL will soon issue its indictment for former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events – when gunmen led by the party took over half of Beirut.
Last week, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called on all Lebanese to boycott the STL and to end cooperation with its investigators.
The US and other governments have conveyed this message though high-level contacts with Lebanon, Feltman told the Washington Post.
There is “deep political division” in Lebanon, and since Syria and Iran are clearly supporting one side, the US, UN, and other states have to “show that there is not a vacuum on the [side of the state],” he added.
Feltman also said that the US has made it clear to Damascus that “as long as Syria’s friends are undermining stability in Lebanon,” US-Syrian engagement cannot go very far.
He added that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to Lebanon “has as much to do with domestic politics in Tehran as it did with any kind of proxy politics inside Lebanon.”
Ahmadinejad has troubles at home, so he sought to “stage some sort of triumphant foreign tour,” Feltman also said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a two-day official visit to Lebanon earlier in October, meeting with top Lebanese officials and also appearing at Hezbollah rallies.
Tension is high in Lebanon after unconfirmed reports that the STL will soon issue its indictment for former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events – when gunmen led by the party took over half of Beirut.
Last week, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called on all Lebanese to boycott the STL and to end cooperation with its investigators.
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