Hezbollah wants Lebanon’s next president to ‘reassure’ group

By Wassim Seif El Din

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanese group Hezbollah has called for electing a new president in Lebanon who would “reassure” the movement.

“We do not want a president who would provide a cover for the resistance, because it does not need protection. We want a president who would not stab the resistance in the back,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised statement.

“The resistance was safe throughout the past years during President Michel Aoun's tenure. We want a brave man who does not get scared and who cannot be bought or sold,” he said.

“We want a president in Baabda who would reassure the resistance,” Nasrallah stressed.

Aoun’s 6-year-term expired on Oct. 31 with Lebanese lawmakers unable to agree on a successor.

Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, a president has to come from the Maronite Catholic sect; the prime minister is a Sunni; and the parliament speaker a Shia.

Nasrallah accused the United States of preventing aid to Lebanon.

“The US blockade on Lebanon is still in place through preventing any investments or economic aid to the country,” he said.

Last month, Lebanon and Israel signed a US-mediated deal to settle their maritime border dispute.

“Some consider their guarantee for the sea border deal to be US commitment but our real guarantee is the elements of strength that Lebanon possesses,” Nasrallah said.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar