NEW DELHI — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Hezbollah of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos” and denounced what he called the pro-Iran group’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government”.Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, on Sunday rejected direct talks between Israel and Lebanon and called for the Lebanese people to take to the streets, but he welcomed a possible deal between Iran and the United States to end their war.“We hope that a full agreement to cease hostilities will be reached and that this agreement will include us,” Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, said in a speech.At the same time, Qassem condemned the Lebanese government for participating in direct negotiations with Israel, brokered by the United States, to end the fighting in Lebanon. Those talks, he said, benefit only Israel.“The people have the right to take to the streets and bring down the government in confronting the American-Israeli project,” Qassem said. He also rejected the Lebanese government’s calls for Hezbollah to disarm as part of any peaceThe speech drew the ire of Secretary of State. “The United States condemns in the strongest terms Hezbollah’s reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government,” Rubio said in a statement on Sunday.Rubio said the Lebanese government “is working to deliver recovery, reconstruction, international assistance and a stable future for its citizens with the full support of the United States,” while “Hezbollah, by contrast, is actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”After the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, Hezbollah fired on Israel in solidarity with its patron. Since then, the conflict in Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Fighting has continued despite a US-brokered cease-fire that took effect last month.The Hezbollah leader had said earlier that “the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government” in response to Israeli strikes and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution.Al-Qard Al-Hassan is affiliated with Hezbollah and provides interest-free loans to Lebanese who have faced financial difficulty amid Lebanon’s economic crises.“The aggression against Al-Qard Al-Hassan is an aggression against hundreds of thousands of poor people and those with limited income,” Qassem said.The Lebanese government has been under US pressure to take action against the firm, as Washington ratchets up pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah.“Hezbollah’s threats of violence and overthrow will not be allowed to succeed,” Rubio said. “The era in which a terrorist group held an entire nation hostage is coming to an end.”The US is negotiating a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, with a report in Axios suggesting that a draft memorandum of understanding between two sides contains language that “makes clear the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would end.”Early on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that Trump, in a phone call, “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.”NEW DELHI — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Hezbollah of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos” and denounced what he called the pro-Iran group’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government”.Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, on Sunday rejected direct talks between Israel and Lebanon and called for the Lebanese people to take to the streets, but he welcomed a possible deal between Iran and the United States to end their war.“We hope that a full agreement to cease hostilities will be reached and that this agreement will include us,” Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, said in a speech.At the same time, Qassem condemned the Lebanese government for participating in direct negotiations with Israel, brokered by the United States, to end the fighting in Lebanon. Those talks, he said, benefit only Israel.“The people have the right to take to the streets and bring down the government in confronting the American-Israeli project,” Qassem said. He also rejected the Lebanese government’s calls for Hezbollah to disarm as part of any peaceThe speech drew the ire of Secretary of State. “The United States condemns in the strongest terms Hezbollah’s reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government,” Rubio said in a statement on Sunday.Rubio said the Lebanese government “is working to deliver recovery, reconstruction, international assistance and a stable future for its citizens with the full support of the United States,” while “Hezbollah, by contrast, is actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”After the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, Hezbollah fired on Israel in solidarity with its patron. Since then, the conflict in Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Fighting has continued despite a US-brokered cease-fire that took effect last month.The Hezbollah leader had said earlier that “the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government” in response to Israeli strikes and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution.Al-Qard Al-Hassan is affiliated with Hezbollah and provides interest-free loans to Lebanese who have faced financial difficulty amid Lebanon’s economic crises.“The aggression against Al-Qard Al-Hassan is an aggression against hundreds of thousands of poor people and those with limited income,” Qassem said.The Lebanese government has been under US pressure to take action against the firm, as Washington ratchets up pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah.“Hezbollah’s threats of violence and overthrow will not be allowed to succeed,” Rubio said. “The era in which a terrorist group held an entire nation hostage is coming to an end.”The US is negotiating a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, with a report in Axios suggesting that a draft memorandum of understanding between two sides contains language that “makes clear the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would end.”Early on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that Trump, in a phone call, “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.”
Rubio denounces Hezbollah chief's 'reckless call' for Lebanese to take to to the streets
