WikiLeaks: Aoun Said I Am Not in Love with Hizbullah, Hariri Tried to Destroy Me

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Jumhuriyah newspaper on Thursday revealed that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun was keen on preserving his good alliance with Hizbullah, while he feared any close ties with Syria and Iran.

The WikiLeaks cable dated November 3, 2006 reported on a meeting between Aoun, an Iranian parliamentary delegation, and MPs Abbas Hashem and Ibrahim Kanaan in Rabieh during which FPM leader said he cannot form any political axis with Iran.

He insisted that there was no commitment between the Free Patriotic Movement and Syria where “none of FPM members have the authority to visit Damascus.”

Moreover, he said that Hizbullah is earning its independence from Syrian authority day after day where it will never become “a toy in the hands of Syria”.

“I am not in love with Hizbullah but if we isolate it, its reaction will be hostile and the country can no longer support any clashes,” Aoun reportedly said.

Commenting on then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman’s statement that Hizbullah was exploiting Aoun, the latter said that March 14 forces have done worse.

“Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri tried to destroy me in Lebanon, Arab countries and the United States,” MP said.

“Hariri tried to form a lobby group to block my visit to Saudi Arabia and worked on distorting my reputation in Washington”, the MP stressed.

The leaked cable also revealed that Aoun hated the March 14 camp because it would never help him reach the presidency, unlike Hizbullah, Syria, and Iran that would assist him in pursuing his goal.