Hezbollah's Nasrallah: Saudi Arabia Inciting Israel to Strike Lebanon
Source: Haaretz
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that Saudi Arabia had declared war on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was being detained in Riyadh. Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia is inciting Israel to strike Lebanon. An Israeli war with Lebanon as unlikely, he said, but warned Israel against "any attempt to exploit the situation."
In a televised address, Nasrallah said Hariri's resignation last Saturday was an "unprecedented Saudi intervention" in Lebanese politics and called for Hariri to return to Lebanon. He said Lebanon's government was still legitimate and had not resigned. Nasrallah said that Hariri's "forced" resignation is unconstitutional because it was done "under duress."
Nasrallah is calming an apparently jittery population following Saudi Arabia's escalation against Hezbollah's patron Iran. Hariri's resignation last week was seen as a move by Riyadh to take its rivalry with Iran to the tiny Lebanon.
Some fear the escalation will pave the way for Israel to strike against Hezbollah, against which Israel has fought a number of wars. He said Israel should not think "we are troubled. No, absolutely not."
Read more: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.822100
