Hariri Snaps Back at Nasrallah over Saudi Arabia, Iran

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's accusation that militants linked to Riyadh were behind the deadly attack on the Iranian embassy last month drew a sharp retort from al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri.

Nasrallah  told OTV in an interview on Tuesday that militants with links to the Saudi intelligence were involved in the double suicide bombings that targeted the Iranian Embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The attack, which was carried out by a Lebanese and a Palestinian and which left scores of casualties, including an Iranian diplomat, was linked to Riyadh's hostility against Iran, he said.

“We believe the statement in which the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian embassy because it is a well-known group and its emir is Saudi and it is linked to the Saudi intelligence,” Nasrallah stated.

But his accusation drew a sharp response from Hariri, who slammed the Hizbullah secretary-general for “overstepping” the latest Iranian agreement with major powers on its nuclear program, and “launching an unprecedented campaign against all those who disagree with him in Lebanon and the region.”

He said in his statement that Nasrallah was seeking to destroy Lebanon's ties with Arab countries by accusing Saudi Arabia of organizing all the wars in the region and of bombing Iran's embassy.

Hariri reminded that Hizbullah was the main suspect in the Feb. 2005 assassination of his father, former Premier Rafik Hariri, and was also responsible for undermining coexistence among the Lebanese in general, and the Sunnis and Shiites in particular.

He accused Hizbullah of responsibility for a series of attacks in the Saudi coastal city of Khobar, Argentina, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt.

Nasrallah “forgot that Saudi Arabia's history with Lebanon is based on construction, goodwill and peace,” Hariri said.

The statement said that several officials would retort to Nasrallah's statements. But the first impression that a person gets is that the Hizbullah chief is “drowning in a surging sea of ego.”

This will lead to more “hatred” among the Lebanese and would “rekindle strife in the people’s souls,” it added.