Hizbullah and Mustaqbal Hold 10th Dialogue Session as Mashnouq Slams Khamenei

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement held their tenth dialogue session on Tuesday and discussed “the continuation of the security measures” in all regions, as the verbal escalation continued between the two parties over the Saudi-led operation in Yemen.

“The conferees tackled the continuation of the security measures in all regions in order to immunize the domestic situation, in addition to other issues that are of concern to the Lebanese,” the two parties said in a joint statement after the talks in Ain al-Tineh.

Mustaqbal and Hizbullah also discussed “some issues that are related to the refugee crisis,” the statement said.

Dialogue between the two rivals had kicked off on December 21 and was recently facing the threat of collapse due to a war of words over the Yemeni conflict.

A day after Saudi Arabia launched operation Firmness Storm on March 28, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appeared in a televised address and slammed the campaign as a “Saudi-American aggression.” He also promised Riyadh that it will suffer a “major defeat.”

Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad Hariri hit back at Nasarllah on the same night, denouncing his speech as a “storm of hatred.”

Hizbullah's al-Manar TV had said prior to the dialogue session that the conferees would stress the importance of “continuing dialogue and the security measures in order to prevent any negative repercussions on the country.”

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, who is one of Mustaqbal's representatives in dialogue, launched a tirade against Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shortly after the dialogue session.

“Those whose noses will be rubbed against the ground are the ones who have excelled in the culture of elimination and aggression,” said Mashnouq.

On Thursday, Khamenei accused Riyadh of “genocide” in Yemen, saying “the Saudis' noses will surely be rubbed against the ground.”

Rejecting any “insult” against Saudi Arabia, Mashnouq noted that Riyadh has always stood by Lebanon and the Arab countries.

“The Iranian 'illusion storm' will not win as long as there is a pulse in the Saudi heart,” the minister stressed.

Y.R.