Report: Hezbollah eases presidential stance at Franjieh's request

Hezbollah has backed down on fiery presidential stances at the request of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, a parliamentary source from the Hezbollah-led camp said.

“Through the open communication channels between them, Franjieh relayed to Hezbollah’s leadership that there was no need to escalate in the presidential file in a way that embarrassed him and that the party could have done without it because it would obstruct his communication with the hesitant lawmakers,” the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has also “expressed understanding of his ally Franjieh’s concerns over the threats of (Hezbollah deputy head Sheikh Naim) Qassem and (Hezbollah executive council chief Sayyed Hashem) Safieddine, which prompted Hezbollah’s leadership to intervene to withdraw their threats from circulation,” the source added.

The source also ruled out that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s latest visit to Lebanon had any impact on Hezbollah’s pacification of its stance.

Hezbollah “had to intervene because the threats of Qassem and Safieddine did not serve Franjieh and represented an embarrassment to Paris, which is still defending its presidential choice in backing his nomination,” the source went on to say.

“There is no way to finalize the presidential election except through everyone’s agreement, and we have backed a presidential candidate but we have not closed the doors,” Hezbollah’s top lawmaker Mohammed Raad said on Saturday.

“We have said let’s engage in discussions, which means that the doors to understanding and dialogue are still open,” Raad added.

His remarks contradicted with an earlier statement by Hezbollah’s Qassem, who said that “the country is before two candidates: one of them is serious (Franjieh) and the other is vacuum.”

Safieddine for his part had said that Franjieh’s opponents would “miss the train (of being part of a settlement) if they continue to reject what is being proposed to them.”