Hezbollah officials reportedly made it clear to Western and Arab mediators that “any discussion of the situation in southern Lebanon is postponed until after the cessation of hostilities in Gaza.” According to the pro-Iranian group, “It is out of the question to separate the issue of southern Lebanon from that of Gaza.”
At a meeting held in the southern suburbs of Beirut, reportedly attended by Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Kassem, the Iran-backed group stressed that “the front opened in South Lebanon in support of Gaza will remain active to keep up pressure on the Israeli army as long as the war in the enclave continues.”
As for the presidency, Hezbollah, too busy with the war in Gaza, said that it would be ready for negotiations only after a truce is reached on the other side of the border.
According to visitors from the southern suburbs, Hezbollah officials did not raise the issue of a presidential deadline, implying that the Shiite duo (Amal-Hezbollah), represented by the head of Parliament, Nabih Berri, maintains its support to the candidacy of Marada party leader Sleiman Frangieh. Berri also continues to insist on dialogue as a necessary step towards reaching an agreement to end the presidential deadlock.
In this respect, a Western diplomat asserted that Berri is responsible for obstructing the presidential election, having still not convened an open-ended parliamentary session until a president is elected. According to the diplomatic source, Berri is blocking the election in order to avoid risking the defeat of Hezbollah’s candidate, and therefore that of the pro-Iranian axis. This issue is a fundamental card that Iran is using to put pressure on Western countries, notably the United States and the Group of Five, to secure its place in regional negotiations.
