Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement of rebuke after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem threatened to move against Lebanon should it continue talks with Israel.
Qassem said in a recent speech, “The people have the right to take to the streets and bring down the government in confronting the American-Israeli project. While Qassem backed a possible deal between Iran and the United States, he rejected any talks between Lebanon and Israel, urging the Lebanese people to revolt.
Using an alternate spelling of Hezbollah, Rubio said in a statement, “Hizballah has ignored repeated calls from the legitimate Government of Lebanon to cease its attacks and respect a ceasefire. Instead, it has continued firing on Israeli positions and moving fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon. This is a deliberate campaign to destabilize the country and maintain its power at the expense of the future of the Lebanese people.”
Rubio added that the terror entity is “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”
“The United States stands firmly with the legitimate Government of Lebanon as it works to restore its authority and build a better future for all its people,” the statement continued. “Hizballah’s threats of violence and overthrow will not be allowed to succeed. The era in which a terrorist group held an entire nation hostage is coming to an end.”
Last year, Lebanon’s central bank took action to sever ties with Hezbollah’s bank, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, by banning all financial institutions from doing business with the terror-linked entity. The directive prohibited “all licensed financial institutions in Lebanon from dealing directly or indirectly with unlicensed entities,” specifically naming Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Reuters reported at the time.
