US blocked Hezbollah-Hariri agreement

A former Lebanese minister blames the US for obstructing roads to a compromise agreement on a US-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

In an interview with Press TV, Lebanon’s former cabinet minister, Issam Noaman, said the United States has spoiled a compromise agreement between Hezbollah and Saad Hariri, head of the Lebanese collapsed government, in a bid to trigger a crisis hoping to end Hezbollah’s indictment in Rafiq Hariri’s case.

“They (US) want Hezbollah to be declared as a terrorist party; a terrorist group,” Noaman said.

Lebanon’s national unity government collapsed on Wednesday, after eleven ministers, 10 from the Hezbollah-led March 8 Alliance and one close to Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, resigned.

The resignations came in protest to allegations made by US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) against Hezbollah.

The opposition bloc have for months been pressing Saad Hariri to disavow the tribunal, arguing that it is part of a US-Israeli plot.

“They (US) in fact pressured Hariri not to accept any compromise before this particular resolution is declared,” said the former Lebanese minister.

“They don’t care afterwards what happens, whether there is a judgment by the court or not. But once this accusation-resolution is declared they think that will denounce Hezbollah as a terrorist party,” he further explained.

According to Noaman, the opposition now enjoys a majority in the parliament and has the opportunity to form a new government.

The government’s collapse plunged Lebanon into its worst political crisis since 2008, as Hariri was holding talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama.