Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has responded to an Iranian General’s comments about the most recent parliamentary elections in Lebanon and Iraq.
Video on Lebanese social media circulated of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite fighting Quds Force, praising Hezbollah’s electoral gains stating that “Lebanese elections turned Hezbollah into a resistance government.”
Soleimani added that these victories “came at a time when some Arab countries labeled it and its leaders as terrorists.”
The Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah and allies gained a total of 29 seats in the most recent Lebanese parliamentary elections.
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Hariri told reporters on Monday the statements by the general are “regrettable” and added that interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs is “not in Iran’s interest, nor those of Lebanon or the region,” according to the Associated Press.
According to a UN-backed tribunal, five Hezbollah members were allegedly involved in the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri’s father. Hezbollah denies the allegations.