Lebanese Anti-Iran Gathering Accuses Hezbollah of Barring Its Annual Meeting in Beirut

Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
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Lebanese Anti-Iran Gathering Accuses Hezbollah of Barring Its Annual Meeting in Beirut

Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)
Former Lebanese MP Fares Souaid. (NNA)

The anti-Iran Lebanese Saydet el-Jabal gathering was barred from holding its annual meeting at Beirut’s Bristol Hotel.

The gathering includes members of the former March 14 camp and was set to discuss ending Iranian hegemony in Lebanon. The meeting was scheduled to be held on Sunday.

The hotel management informed the officials that it would be unable to host their gathering after they had announced the theme of this year’s meeting.

When contacted by the Asharq Al-Awsat, the hotel management said that the decision was “strictly administrative.” It refused to provide further details.

Former MP and member of the Saydet el-Jabal gathering Fares Souaid condemned the move, saying the hotel took the decision two hours after the meeting’s agenda was announced.

“This is a reflection of the general atmosphere in Lebanon, which is hostage to Hezbollah and Iran,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is likely that the hotel received advice against hosting our meeting,” he added.

The Saydet el-Jabal has been holding its annual meeting for the past 18 years.

Souaid continued: “Hezbollah now controls the country and its freedoms, which are in constant decline.”

“Our television screens and electronic platforms are open to hordes of people that insult each other, while a gathering that is dedicated to Lebanese affairs and a free and sovereign nation is prevented from holding a meeting,” he lamented.

“We have yet to hear a statement of condemnation from a political or partisan side in power. What has happened has never taken place at the height of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon,” he remarked.

“How can caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil take ambassadors on a tour to refute claims by the Israeli prime minister and declare Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah an honest man and also prevent political figures from saying that Iran is imposing its hegemony over Lebanon?” he wondered.

Saydet el-Jabal will not succumb to the pressure, vowed Souaid, saying the gathering will hold its annual meeting.



Syria's Sharaa Skips Iraq Summit After Firestorm Over Invitation 

French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
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Syria's Sharaa Skips Iraq Summit After Firestorm Over Invitation 

French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will not attend the Arab League Summit in Baghdad this weekend, Syrian state media said on Monday, after Iraq's invitation spurred criticism from pro-Iran groups.

Syria's delegation to Saturday's summit will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, state-owned Ekhbariya TV reported, without providing a reason for Sharaa's absence. The summit is expected to focus on Gaza reconstruction and the Palestinian issue.

Sharaa's decision highlighted Syria's mixed results establishing ties across the region after former President Bashar al-Assad's ouster last year. Sharaa has made rapid inroads with Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but has tread more carefully with others where Iran has had strong influence, like Iraq.

Several influential Iraqi politicians had voiced opposition to Sharaa's visit.

They include former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, a leading member of Iraq's main pro-Iran coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.

Armed groups aligned with Tehran had also joined the call against Sharaa, including the Kataeb Hezbollah faction, which previously fought in Syria alongside Assad's forces.

Sharaa fought with Al-Qaeda in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003. He was imprisoned there for more than five years, then released for lack of evidence in 2011, according to a senior Iraqi security official.

Several Iraqi security sources told AFP that an old arrest warrant for Sharaa from his time as a member of Al-Qaeda remains in place.

However, authorities seek good relations with Syria's new leadership to help maintain regional stability, the sources said.

Sunni politicians largely welcomed Sharaa's participation in the summit as a step towards pulling Iraq away from Iran and towards the Arab fold.

"There are elements... working against Iraq's progress to reclaim its rightful place within the Arab community," said Raad al-Dahlaki, head of Azm Alliance, a major Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament.