Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri is closely monitoring both the escalating confrontation between Iran and the United States and the outcome of President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Washington, with his top priority is to get southern Lebanon out of a tight spot as quickly as possible, Al-Afdal News Lebanese news platform reported on Monday.
Speaker Berri said he hopes Aoun’s meeting with US President Donald Trump will produce “positive and serious results for the liberation of Lebanon and the realization of its inalienable rights,” stressing that these remain the country’s top priority.
“What matters to me is reaching a genuine solution, not its source,” Berri told Al-Afdal News.
According to the report, Aoun contacted Berri prior to departing for Washington to brief him on the visit and consult on the foundations of Lebanon’s position. The Lebanese speaker said he emphasized during the call the need to “solidify the ceasefire and ensure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied southern territories.”
Asked whether he feared a broader regional war amid escalating US-Iran tensions, Speaker Berri replied: “What’s happening now… What do you call it? It’s a form of war.”
Iranian Forces Retaliate US Attacks on Infrastructure pic.twitter.com/QRsN51u7U6
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Domestic Tensions and Legislative Deadlock
On the domestic front, Speaker Berri expressed surprise at attempts to blame him or the national duo, Hezbollah and Speaker Berri’s Amal Movement, for the failure to pass key legislation during the latest parliamentary session.
“The truth is plain to see,” he said.
The Lebanese speaker revealed that his political aide, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, along with Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, held behind-the-scenes consultations that nearly led to the passage of an amnesty law, before several MPs withdrew, causing a loss of quorum.
Responding to calls by the Lebanese Forces to shorten the current parliamentary term and hold early elections, Speaker Berri dismissed the proposal, saying: “They probably think they can gain a few more MPs.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website