Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday denied accusations that his movement has arms warehoused at Beirut port.
"We have nothing in the port: not an arms depot, nor a missile depot nor missiles nor rifles nor bombs nor bullets nor (ammonium) nitrate," Nasrallah said in a televised speech three days after the blast in the Lebanese capital that killed more than 150 people.
When the truth appears, the Lebanese people should take TV channels to court for misleading the public, he said, after media outlets claimed that Hezbollah has arms and ammunition at the port.
Such claims “aim to incite the Lebanese people” against Hezbollah, he added.
The blast at Beirut’s port injured at least 5,000 people and devastated entire districts of the capital, leaving some 300,000 people temporarily homeless.
An investigation by authorities has so far led to 21 arrests, as well as travel bans and asset freezes.
The Hezbollah leader warned against delays in the probe, saying: "If the Lebanese state and the political class... do not reach a conclusion in the investigations this means... there is no hope to build a state."
Nasrallah urged "the army to investigate and announce its findings".
He said the Lebanese military is in a prime position to do so because it is seen as a "trusted" institution by people and politicians across the spectrum.
