Hariri Slams Nasrallah Anti-Saudi Remarks: Hizbullah Acting as if in Charge of All Shiites in the World

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri was quick to hit back at anti-Saudi remarks by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, accusing the party of “acting as if it is in charge of all Shiites in the world.”

Hariri's remarks followed Nasrallah's condemnation of the kingdom's execution of top Shiite dissident Nimr al-Nimr. Riyadh's move prompted Hizbullah's leader to launch one of his fiercest verbal attacks to date against Saudi Arabia.

“It is extremely regrettable that some in Lebanon are attacking the kingdom and its leadership in an unacceptable and detestable manner,” Hariri said in a press release.

“Some are talking about Saudi Arabia and its role as if they are talking about themselves and about the situation in Iran and the Iranian people's suffering,” he added.

He noted that Nasrallah's remarks about “oppression, tyranny, terrorism, murder, criminality, executions, destruction, displacement, blocking dialogue, massacres, interference in others' affairs, sectarian sedition and the elimination of opponents … actually and truly apply to the practices of the Iranian regime and its expansion scheme.”

Hariri also pointed out that anti-Saudi accusations apply to “the Syrian regime's practices against its own people,” adding that “Iran and its tools are fighting alongside this regime, which is executing hundreds of thousands of its citizens and displacing millions of them without any trials or religious and human justifications.”

Iran-backed Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters across the border to aid the Syrian regime against an Islamist-led uprising. Iran has also dispatched advisers and elite forces.

Continuing his criticism of Hizbullah, Hariri claimed that the party “is as usual acting as if it is in charge of all Shiites in the world, from Nigeria to Bahrain and from India and Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf states.”

“Following the footsteps of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hizbullah is relying on a false political authority to encroach on the borders and national sovereignty of nearby and distant countries,” Hariri charged.

He stressed that “sectarian motives are governing the behavior of Iran and its cronies.”

Addressing Nasrallah, Hariri added that “insistence on interfering in the internal affairs of brotherly counties and insulting the brothers and their leaders and symbols is unacceptable.”

He warned that such alleged behavior would aggravate sectarian tensions in Lebanon and allow foreign forces to “meddle in our domestic affairs.”

Noting that he is confident that Saudi Arabia will remain “keen on Lebanon's safety and stability,” Hariri said Riyadh “will not heed the fallacies that are being launched against it.”

“It will maintain its pledges on aiding Lebanon and preserving its national unity regardless of the campaigns of incitement against it,” Hariri added.

Cautioning the kingdom's supporters in Lebanon against being “dragged to sectarian exchanges,” Hariri called on “some of the leaders of the Shiite sect in Lebanon” to “cooperate through rejecting the ongoing efforts to inflame sentiments.”

He also called on them to “abide by wisdom in approaching the current challenges and to protect domestic stability.”

"The execution (Saturday) of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr reveals to the world the real criminal, takfiri and terrorist face of Saudi Arabia," Nasrallah said earlier in the day.

Stressing that al-Nimr's approach was “peaceful throughout his life,” Nasrallah noted that the executed cleric was “a reformist man who demanded the rights of the people of the Arabian Peninsula.”

Nimr, 56, was a force behind anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia in 2011 in the east of the country.

He was executed along with 46 other men -- Shiite activists and Sunnis who the Saudi interior ministry said were involved in al-Qaida killings. Some were beheaded and others were shot by firing squad.

Y.R.