Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri condemned on Thursday the ongoing vacuum in the presidency, indirectly accusing Iran of using Hizbullah to prevent the polls.
He said in an interview with CNN television: “Iran had elections a few days ago, so why can’t we have elections, like normal people?”
Full StoryCaught in the middle of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Lebanon is paying the price for the growing rivalry between the Middle East's main Sunni and Shiite powers.
Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are important players in Lebanon, where foreign powers have long backed a range of Sunni, Shiite and Christian groups on the country's complex political scene.
Full StoryHizbullah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Nabil Qaouq remarked on Saturday that Saudi Arabia has reached a “desperate” stage following its losses in the region.
He said: “The kingdom wants to make up for its losses in Syria and Yemen by attacking Lebanon.”
Full StorySaudi jets on Friday arrived at a Turkish base to join the air campaign against Islamic State jihadists in Syria only hours before a ceasefire is to take force, local media reported.
Four F-15 jets landed at Incirlik air base in the Adana province in southern Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Full StoryEuropean lawmakers on Thursday called for an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia over its military campaign in conflict-torn Yemen which has caused "thousands of deaths."
Saudi Arabia told AFP last week it would continue its intervention, launched in March last year against Iran-backed Huthi rebels, until Yemen President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was fully restored to power.
Full StoryHead of Rafik Hariri International Airport denied claims that had emerged earlier on Wednesday that Saudi Arabian Airlines was seeking to halt its flights to Beirut, reported the National News Agency.
Fadi al-Hassan denied on Wednesday that “airport authorities had received a notice or a request by Saudi Arabian Airlines to stop or halt flights to and from Beirut.”
Full StoryHead of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri stated on Wednesday that Hizbullah must realize that “it not alone in Lebanon,” saying it should take into account the interests of the Lebanese people.
He said before a delegation of clergymen from the northern district of Akkar: “Some sides, whether they are Hizbullah or its allies, believe that they are more powerful than countries.”
Full StoryThe Change and Reform bloc defended on Tuesday the stances of Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil at the Arab League and rejected criticism that Lebanon violated Arab consensus on regional affairs linked to Saudi Arabia.
Former Minister Salim Jreissati said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “No one can challenge us in our support for Riyadh.”
Full StoryMembers of Saudi Arabia's religious police have been arrested for allegedly brutalizing a young woman outside a Riyadh shopping mall, local media reported on Tuesday.
The young woman's case, filmed and put on line two weeks ago, led to a wave of indignation on the Internet.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized the statement issued by the cabinet on Monday on Lebanon's crisis with Saudi Arabia, saying that it “failed to hit the nail on the head” regarding Hizbullah's involvement in foreign conflicts.
He said during a press conference on Tuesday: “The cabinet is better off resigning if it cannot properly resolve Hizbullah's fighting in conflicts abroad.”
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