Hariri Calls for Hezbollah-Free Government

Amid widespread speculation that former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri could return to lead the country, a party insider said on August 20 that Hariri would not head a government in which Hezbollah plays any part. 

Former MP Mustafa Aloush, a member of the Political Bureau for the Future Movement Party headed by Hariri, told IranWire that Hariri has said he will only lead the next government if several conditions are met, including stripping Hezbollah of any representation and influence and being handed extensive powers to reform Lebanon’s political and economic environment. 

According to Aloush, Hariri "aspires to form an effective government that has the confidence of the Lebanese and the international community."

Saeed Hariri's staunch refusal coincided with a ruling by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the assassination of Saad Hariri's father, Rafik Hariri, who served as prime minister twice. 

On August 18, the tribunal found Hezbollah member Salim Ayyash guilty of being involved in the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005, and acquitted three others, Mustafa Badreddine, Assad Sabra, and Hussein Oneissi, due to a lack of sufficient evidence to convict them.

"Hariri was informed by Saudi Arabia that it rejects him heading any government in which Hezbollah is a part,” an article published on the website of pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar said on August 19. It went on to explain that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was seeking to accelerate parliamentary consultations in order to form a government headed by Hariri. "There are obstacles facing Berri's proposal,” the article said, pointing to “President Michel Aoun's insistence on reaching an understanding with Hariri in terms of naming ministers and distributing positions, which Hariri rejects."

According to the Emirati newspaper The National, when United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale visited  Lebanon in mid-August, he outlined the United States’ hope for "the formation of a neutral political government in exchange for the demarcation of maritime borders with Palestine, the strengthening of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon presence on the Lebanese-Israeli border, the provision of more aid to Lebanese non-governmental organizations, and support for the Lebanese army."

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is a temporary international multinational force affiliated to the United Nations (UN) in Lebanon that was established in accordance with Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426 in March 1978. Its aim is to assist the Lebanese government in establishing its effective authority in the region, restoring international peace and security, and confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. UNIFIL has had new tasks since 2006, while the Security Council annually renews UNIFIL's mandate in Lebanon at the request of the government, according to the official UN website.

The new political shifts and high-level discussions were prompted by the massive explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut on August 4, which killed more than 200 people and made thousands homeless. The tragedy came three days before the final verdict on the assassination was due to be announced. Following the disaster and the upheavals that have followed, Lebanon has received aid from the European Union, the United States, Iran, and other countries, in addition to the three-day visit by the US assistant secretary of state, as well as by French President Emmanuel Macron.