Lebanese FM Acknowledges Govt’s Inability to Confront Hezbollah

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib walks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Sept. 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib acknowledged that the government is incapable of confronting Hezbollah, describing the Iran-backed party as a “regional problem.”

Lebanon’s ties with the Gulf have been strained in wake of Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi’s offensive comments against Saudi Arabia and the war in Yemen. The Kingdom has since recalled its ambassador in Beirut, expelled the Lebanese ambassador in Riyadh and banned all imports from Lebanon. Bahrain and Kuwait have since followed suit in recalling their envoys.

In an attempt to justify why the government has failed to take steps to resolve the crisis, Bou Habib said: “Saudi Arabia is demanding that the government restrict the role of Hezbollah.”

“We are confronted with a big problem because if they just want Hezbollah's head on a plate, we can't give them that,” he told Reuters.

“Hezbollah is a component of politics in Lebanon. It has a regional armed dimension, yes, but this is beyond what we can resolve,” he added.

“We all want one army and one country, but we have a reality to contend with,” he continued.

Moreover, Bou Habib said the government’s resignation was “out of the question because it did not commit any mistake.”

Kordahi had made his statements over the summer before he assumed office.

So far, only Qatar has offered to mediate to resolve the crisis, revealed Bou Habib.

Warnings have mounted in Lebanon over the impact Saudi Arabia and the Gulf’s measures will have against the country. More and more officials are demanding that wrong policies be amended and that Hezbollah and its control over the state be confronted, reflecting a realization that the problem this time is a product of the accumulation of a series of issues that cannot be resolved through regular means.

Now is the time to take measures that would restrict the party’s reach in Lebanon and beyond its borders.

Former minister Ashraf Rifi said the current crisis with the Gulf is a result of “the occupation of Iran, the enemy of Arabs.”

“Kordahi’s remarks were the final straw amid Hezbollah’s harm towards the Gulf and deliberate offense to it, the last of which was the smuggling of capatagon narcotic pills,” he added.

“It is only normal for any state that enjoys the bare minimum of sovereignty to take stances to protect itself and its people,” he continued.

“In order to mend the situation, Lebanon must condemn Hezbollah’s terrorism, but the current government cannot do so,” Rifi remarked.

He noted that Kordahi’s resignation could usher in some hope, but it will not resolve the problem.

“The solution lies in the ouster of the entire political authority, which has become, starting from the presidency, a puppet in Hezbollah’s hands,” he stated.

Former minister Ahmed Fatfat echoed Rifi’s remarks, adding that Kordahi’s comments were not made in a moment of folly, as some may believe.

“They were part of a comprehensive project led by Hezbollah with the aim of cutting Lebanon off from its Arab surroundings and placing it under Iranian occupation,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Kordahi’s resignation is not enough to end the crisis, he opined. Rather, the entire government must step down, as should the president.

A clear stance must be taken against Hezbollah and its weapons and the political cover it has been offered should be removed so that it can shoulder the consequences of its actions, he stressed.