Hezbollah’s deputy leader says that Saudi Arabia needs to “back down and apologize”

BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s deputy chief on Sunday weighed in on the diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, saying that Riyadh needs to “back down,” a little over a week after the Kingdom recalled its ambassador and banned Lebanese imports.

Here’s what we know:

    • Saudi Arabia needs to “back down and apologize to the Lebanese people,” Naim Qassem said at a Hezbollah event in the village of Kounin outside Bint Jbeil.

    • He also said that Information Minister George Kurdahi “did not err” in his comments criticizing Saudi Arabia’s conduct in the Yemen conflict. Kurdahi’s statements in an interview recorded before he became minister helped precipitate the diplomatic crisis, with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister saying his country had broader issues with Hezbollah’s political influence in Lebanon.

    • Qassem spoke about Judge Tarek Bitar, the investigator into the 2020 Beirut port blast who has repeatedly come under criticism from Hezbollah. “He targets specific groups and operates in violation of the law,” the Hezbollah official said.

    • “The truth requires an impartial and just judge who does not politicize his work,” he added.

    • Qassem also said that Hezbollah adheres to “holding the parliamentary elections on time.” The Parliament on Oct. 28 once again voted to stage the elections on ahead of schedule on Mar. 27, 2022, instead of May. Hezbollah’s allies, the Free Patriotic Movement, is seeking to overturn this amendment to the electoral law.