Hariri: Lebanon will not be an ‘Iranian province’

Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri said on Sunday Lebanon would never be an “Iranian province” hostile to Saudi Arabia, and attacked Shia Hezbollah’s role in the Syrian conflict in a speech reflecting regional tensions.

The former prime minister was speaking in Beirut on the 11th anniversary of the assassination of his father Rafik al-Hariri.

“We will not allow anyone to pull Lebanon to the camp of hostility towards Saudi Arabia and its Arab brothers. Lebanon will not be, under any circumstances, an Iranian province. We are Arabs, and Arabs we shall remain,” Hariri said.

“Some have decided to fight in the wrong place under the wrong slogans,” Hariri said in reference to Hezbollah, which is supporting the Syrian regime.

“Lebanon will rule Lebanon. It will not be governed from Damascus, Tehran or anywhere else,” he stressed.

He also questioned whether his political rivals really wanted an end to the crisis that reflects wider paralysis in the Lebanese government.

“We are sincere. We want a president of the republic. We want to be rid of the vacuum. We have paid the price at home and abroad,” he said.

Addressing his rivals, he added: “Please go to the parliament and elect a president, unless your real candidate is the vacuum.”

The Lebanese parliament failed to elect a president for 35th consecutive session last week.

Also read: Lebanon postpones presidential elections for the 34th time

Hariri, whose last visit to Lebanon was for the 10th anniversary, heads the March 14 political alliance that was forged in the aftermath of his father’s assassination.