A woman takes a selfie as Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks through a screen during an event in solidarity with Palestinians on Monday. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — The United States administration is preventing Lebanon from getting help from “friendly nations” in the East, such as China, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah has said.
“There are real opportunities to save Lebanon,” Nasrallah, who is giving a live address to a conference on the media’s role in resisting the occupation of Palestine, said. However, he continued, “the Americans want to besiege and sanction and prevent Lebanon from getting any kind of aid.”
In a speech on June 25, Nasrallah repeated his suggestion that Lebanon should look to Iran for a solution to the ongoing fuel crisis and said that all the necessary logistics were ready.
For several months, Lebanon has faced severe fuel shortages — due to what importers say are delays by the central bank in supplying foreign currency to pay for imports — that have led to long lines at gas stations and severe disruptions to both state- and generator-provided electricity.
The bulk of the Hezbollah leader’s speech focussed on the media networks of the “axis of resistance”, with him saying “the media confrontation [against Israel] must be developed, just like the military confrontation.”
Nasrallah said he would not comment on the ongoing cabinet formation deadlock, as there are “decisive” meetings set to take place over the next few days.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri returned to Lebanon over the weekend and met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri earlier Monday.
It has been more than 11 months since Lebanon has had a fully empowered government, following the resignation of now caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet in August 2020. Hariri was tasked with forming a government in October but has not yet managed to do so amid an ongoing conflict with President Michel Aoun over the makeup of his cabinet.