Hezbollah says only official sources should be used in reference to party positions

BEIRUT — Hezbollah called on Thursday for the media to only rely on the party's official channels to convey its positions, asserting that any information from other sources cannot be attributed to it, especially in “these delicate and sensitive circumstances.”

In a statement, Hezbollah's press office asserted that it “does not rely on so-called 'Hezbollah sources,' rather it always uses 'official sources' to present its political positions,” indicating that “anything published under these labels is completely false and should not be used.”

“We are not concerned whatsoever with anything that falls outside our declared and explicit positions,” Hezbollah's media team reiterated. It also emphasized that “what some media report under the label of 'sources close to Hezbollah' or 'sources familiar with Hezbollah's position' in no way reflects the party's opinion and positions but are merely personal readings and analyses or perhaps fabricated sources for tendentious political purposes.”

Hezbollah's position in the Lebanese political landscape has shifted significantly since it was with Israel last year. With the Israel-Iran war, tensions rose again in Lebanon amid concerns that Hezbollah would join the war on its sponsor's side, or that Iran would force its involvement. Israel continues to attack southern Lebanon, despite the cease-fire in place since November, claiming to be targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure, despite the party's insistence that it is complying with the truce's outline.

Hezbollah's statement called for media outlets that repurpose information about the party to use exclusively “the positions and information published by the competent official bodies of Hezbollah, and to refrain from attributing any information to it under the title of 'sources' and consider it as not issued by it.”

“In these delicate and sensitive circumstances, we hope that all media will refer to the competent authority of Hezbollah to familiarize themselves with its positions and views.”