Berri: Presidential Elections Result of American-Iranian Agreement

Speaker Nabih Berri slammed reports claiming that the agreement to elect MP Michel Aoun was a hundred percent Lebanese decision and said that it was “probably” the result of an Amercian-Iranian settlement,” al-Akhbar daily reported on Monday.

Berri told the daily that the agreement was definitely not a result of an understanding among the Lebanese parties, “it was probably the result of an Amercian-Iranian settlement,” he said.

“The visit of the Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan was only a supplementary visit because the agreement has been already drawn,” added Berri.

Reports said that Sabhan's visit to Beirut, who arrived Thursday for talks with Lebanese officials, meant that a Saudi green light has been given to end the vacuum at the presidential post, which Berri has slammed and attributed to an agreement between the US and Iran.

On whether the Speaker will be joining the government, he said: “Until this moment I am in the ranks of the opposition, I will do nothing for now. If they show something that I like, I will go along with it, and if not I will do nothing... I will sit and watch, lets see what they have to offer.”

Lebanon's parliament is poised to elect former general Michel Aoun as president on Monday, after a dramatic shifting of alliances ended two years of political stalemate.

Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed him last Thursday.

Berri has voiced concerns over the Aoun-Hariri agreements that preceded the endorsement while openly declaring that his bloc will “vote against Aoun” and that it might “join the ranks of the opposition.”

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.