Hezbollah‘s effort to blunt international pressure on Lebanon to disarm the terrorist group by appealing to Saudi Arabia last week was the result of back-channel diplomacy by Iran, two Iranian sources and a source with knowledge of Hezbollah thinking said.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem appealed to Saudi Arabia to turn “a new page” and set aside past disputes to create a unified front against Israel in a speech last week, a move widely seen as signaling the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group’s alarm at the push to make Lebanon implement a plan for disarming it. Iran‘s involvement, which has not previously been reported, also indicates Tehran’s anxiety that its main Lebanese ally will lose more ground after suffering major reverses during last year’s war with Israel.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni power that has long regarded Hezbollah as a terrorist organization that exercises undue influence over Lebanon on Iran‘s behalf, has consistently backed disarmament and has shown no signs of changing course since Qassem’s appeal.
Saudi officials did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on Hezbollah‘s appeal to the kingdom or whether Riyadh’s policy on the group’s possession of weapons has changed. (Read More)
