Qassem calls for reversal of Iranian flight ban while urging calm

BEIRUT — After a weekend of heightened tensions in Beirut’s southern suburbs following a landing ban on Iranian flights, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem sought to ease concerns in a speech Sunday evening. However, he reiterated his call for the government to reverse the decision, which he claimed was made "on Israel’s orders."Hezbollah supporters began protesting in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday, with scattered demonstrations leading to an official party call for a sit-in on Saturday. On Friday night, during a road closure near the airport by demonstrators, a convoy belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was attacked, leaving two peacekeepers injured, an act which the party condemned. On Saturday, Hezbollah organized a sit-in, which was dispersed by the Lebanese Army with tear gas,...