Berri on Hezbollah: ‘Relations were closer under Nasrallah’

BEIRUT — On the eve of a government session at which several ministers may refuse to refer the case of the explosives cargo linked to Hezbollah to the Supreme Court, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed on Wednesday that his two representatives would attend the meeting. “We will not withdraw,” he said in an interview with the Voice of All Lebanon radio station, stressing “the need to handle this matter within its legal framework, as there is a law regulating the referral of cases to the Supreme Court.”

Speaking about his relationship with Hezbollah, his longtime ally, Berri said that relations had been “closer” under the party’s former secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2024. He stressed that there was no “big brother/little brother relationship” between the two members of the Shiite alliance.

The remarks by Berri, who rarely discusses his relationship with Hezbollah publicly, point to a growing rift between the two Shiite power centers at a time when the region appears to be heading toward a new round of confrontation between Iran and the United States, with Hezbollah also preparing for such a scenario.

On Oct. 10, several hundred kilograms of explosives were seized from a vehicle at a checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar, in the Bekaa. Two Hezbollah members were implicated in the case. The incident reignited debate over the Iran-backed party’s military arsenal, which Lebanon has pledged to dismantle as it pursues direct negotiations with Israel. The case has also fueled fears of renewed attacks and further assassination attempts that could destabilize the country.

Hezbollah acknowledged that the seized explosives were intended for the “resistance” against Israel and demanded that they be returned and the detained individuals released. But Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have vowed to show “firmness,” insisting there would be no leniency toward those responsible.

Asked about the risk of confrontation if the army were to carry out its mission to disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Berri said he was “on the army’s side,” affirming that the military was “a red line.”

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem could meet the same fate as his predecessor. “Just as Hassan Nasrallah destroyed the Shiite community in Lebanon until he was eliminated on the orders of the prime minister, Naim Qassem could well destroy this community until he himself is eliminated,” Katz said.

Finally, Berri, who said he was in “good health,” expressed concern about the country’s situation. “My health is fine, but the country’s is not,” he lamented.