Leader of Shiite terror group warns Lebanon government could take time amid shaky economy
The head of Shiite movement Hezbollah in protest-wracked Lebanon said Friday that recent comments of a senior of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were taken out of context.
Morteza Ghorbani’s remark that “If Israel will make a mistake, we will flatten Tel Aviv from Lebanese territory” was in fact not said at all, Hassan Nasrallah claimed.
“If someone will harm Iran, it will retaliate on its own. Iran will not let its allies respond” on its behalf, the Shiite leader said in a speech delivered as political unrest has been plaguing Lebanon in recent weeks.
In regards to Beirut’s political crisis, Nasrallah warned that the formation of a new cabinet desperately needed to redress a tumbling economy could take time.
Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented nationwide protests since October 17, demanding the complete overhaul of a political class deemed inept and corrupt.
The government stepped down on October 29, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier ever since.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah spoke ahead of parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister on Monday.
“The consultations are supposed to take place on Monday and we hope that whoever receives most votes will be designated to form a government,” he said in a televised address. “But the formation will be no easy feat,” he warned.