Lebanese Officials Widely Reject Nasrallah's Attack on Saudi Arabia

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Officials Widely Reject Nasrallah's Attack on Saudi Arabia

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (Reuters)

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's escalating stances against the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia were widely condemned in Lebanon.

President Michel Aoun said he was committed to Lebanon's official stance, which he reiterated during his latest address to the Lebanese people.

In it, he underscored his keenness on Lebanon's Arab and international relations, especially with the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia.

"This keenness must be mutual because it favors Lebanon and the Gulf countries alike," he remarked.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement late on Monday that Nasrallah's stances "do not represent the position of the Lebanese government and the vast majority of the Lebanese people."

"It is not in Lebanon's interest to offend any Arab country, especially the nations of the Gulf," he added.

"We have long called for adopting a policy of dissociation from Arab disputes and called against harming Lebanon's ties with the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia," he continued.

"This is why we have demanded that foreign policy be addressed at the dialogue table to avert Lebanon consequences it cannot tolerate," Mikati stressed.

"We have called for Hezbollah to become part of the diverse Lebanese fabric, but its leadership goes against this approach with statements that primarily harm the Lebanese people and Lebanon's ties with its brothers," he lamented.

"For God's sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop the hateful sectarian and political rhetoric."

Addressing Nasrallah, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said: "History won't have mercy on you."

In a tweet, he added: "Mr. Nasrallah, your insistence on antagonizing Saudi Arabia and its leadership is another example of how you gamble with Lebanon, its role and interests of its people."

"Saudi Arabia and all Gulf countries have embraced the Lebanese people and provided them with job opportunities and the opportunities for a dignified life. Those who threaten the Lebanese people's livelihood, stability and progress are those who want the Lebanese state to be a hostage to the state of Iran and its expansion in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon," he remarked.

"I know that you will not back down from your provocations and insults against the Arab Gulf countries, but everyone knows that history will not have mercy on a party that has sold its Arabism, stability of its nation and interests of its people for a paltry role in the wars in the region," Hariri continued.

Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Nasrallah's offense against Saudi Arabia during the critical time Lebanon is enduring is like a "crime against Lebanon and the Lebanese people and it jeopardizes their national interests."

He described Nasrallah's speech as "Iranian in every sense of the word."

"It is as if he is expressing Iran's loss of patience with the current conflict and tussle with the United States at the Vienna negotiations and Iran's diminished role in Yemen, its clash with the Arab Gulf countries, and weakened project in Iraq and Syria after it was confronted with human and geographic facts on the ground," he noted.

"Any Lebanese person, who takes into account the interests of his country and fellow citizens, does not act like Nasrallah during such difficult times," he added.

Former President Michel Suleiman slammed Nasrallah's statements, saying the majority of the Lebanese people reject his position and believe that they incur great harm on Lebanon and destroy its ties with Saudi Arabia "that has loved Lebanon without wanting anything in return."

Kataeb MP Elias Hankash mocked Nasrallah's claim that Saudi Arabia was taking the Lebanese people residing in the Kingdom as "hostages".

"The hostages in the Gulf are planning for the future, while in the land of resistance they reside in humiliation," he remarked.

In a tweet, he said he asked "his friends (hostages) in the Gulf about their daily suffering in a country that is detaining them and the injustice they are suffering, and I found that they are living a peaceful dignified life that remains abreast of the changes of the current age and they plan a better future for their children.

"In the land of resistance and (victories), they live between life and death. They are poor, humiliated and worried about their future," he lamented.



Iranian Militias Barred from Entering 'Seven Villages' Area in Syria's Deir Ezzor

Russian officers with the people of Deir Ezzor for the distribution of aid (X)
Russian officers with the people of Deir Ezzor for the distribution of aid (X)
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Iranian Militias Barred from Entering 'Seven Villages' Area in Syria's Deir Ezzor

Russian officers with the people of Deir Ezzor for the distribution of aid (X)
Russian officers with the people of Deir Ezzor for the distribution of aid (X)

Russian forces in Syria are working to prevent the situation from escalating, which could draw Syria into the ongoing conflict in Palestine and Lebanon. According to Russian National Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who recently toured the region, “the situation in the Middle East remains highly complex and tense, and it is essential to continue reintegrating Syria into the regional environment.”
As part of these efforts, Russian forces have set up a military checkpoint on the bridge connecting the so-called “seven villages” with areas west of the Euphrates, allowing the access of Syrian government and Russian forces, while barring Iranian militias and other armed groups from entering.
In 2022, Iran built this bridge to link areas it controls west of the Euphrates with the seven villages its allied militias control east of the river. The bridge, connecting Al-Husayniyah (east of the Euphrates) and Al-Huwayqa (west of the Euphrates), facilitates the transfer of weapons and military supplies across both sides of the river for these militias.
According to sources from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), this Russian measure follows repeated clashes between the US-led International Coalition and Iranian-backed militias affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the area.
The seven villages in the Deir Ezzor countryside—Al-Salihiyah, Hatlah, Khasham, Marat, Tabiyah, Mazlum, and Al-Husayniyah—are under Syrian government control and include local elements connected to Iranian militias. The bridge serves as a strategic link between the city and these villages. Russia’s move aims to assert military control over these villages by restricting entry and exit solely to Russian and government forces, in an effort to de-escalate military tensions in the area.
On Wednesday, two members of local Iranian-aligned militias died from injuries sustained a few days earlier in a US strike near Deir Ezzor Military Airport on Oct. 31, which also injured several others.
In recent days, US forces have conducted daily heavy artillery shelling in the seven villages and areas west of the Euphrates, citing the presence of Iran-backed fighters who are targeting nearby US bases.
Russia had previously requested that the IRGC withdraw Iran-affiliated militias from locations near Deir Ezzor Military Airport and other sites in the city. This request was made during a meeting on Oct. 18 between a Russian military representative in Syria and an IRGC representative in Deir Ezzor, held at a government security facility, according to local media sources.
Russian media indicate that Shoigu’s recent actions have focused on preventing the situation from escalating into a major confrontation, which could significantly harm Russian interests in the region.
Deir Ezzor province and its surroundings have been experiencing increased security instability, which has worsened as Iran and its militias shift their focus toward the conflict in Lebanon and the Israeli attacks on Hezbollah and Iranian forces.