Imam Khamenei’s STL Remarks Fumes US, Loyalty’s Flames

Iran won’t stand idle against attempts to ignite strife in Lebanon, Hezbollah MP Walid Succarieh said defending Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s remarks on the international tribunal that fueled March 14 an

Iran won't stand idle against attempts to ignite strife in Lebanon, Hezbollah MP Walid Succarieh said defending Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei's remarks on the international tribunal that fueled March 14 and US’s temper. Sayyed Khamenei's statement is an "Iranian letter that loudly says" that violence in Lebanon would burn the entire region down, Succarieh told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Tuesday. "Iran wants to tell those who seek strife through the indictment: Stay right there. We won't stand idle while the fire is burning our homes," the MP said. He slammed the tribunal for being established "to push the American-Israeli project forward in the region." The project aims at sowing Sunni-Shiite strife starting from Lebanon to shred the Islamic world apart, Succarieh said. "It is natural for Iran to interfere after Hezbollah and the Lebanese opposition tried in vain to prove that the court was politicized," he added. The United States said that Imam Khamenei "does not have the authority over the tribunal. It was convened by the United Nations." When asked if he considered Imam Khamenei's statement as an interference in Lebanon's affairs, State Department spokesman PhilipCrowley said: "We regret that there are many in the region who have chosen to politicize the work of the tribunal." He reiterated U.S. support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, stressing that the court "is an independent judicial institution created by the United Nations and Lebanon and brought into force by the U.N. Security Council." "The establishment of the tribunal was a clear sign that Lebanon's sovereignty is nonnegotiable," Crowley told reporters. The US remarks was followed by internal voices which slammed the Iranian Supreme leader’s statement. Lebanon First bloc MP Mouin al-Merhebi on Tuesday called Imam Khamenei’s statement “worthless”. The MP told the Voice of Lebanon (VOL) – 93.3 radio station that the STL is not an Iranian affair. He also said that Saudi-Syrian efforts to resolve the current Lebanese disputes are ongoing and have progressed. Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told Future News that at a time when Syria’s statements [about the STL] are legal and under the UN umbrella, Sayyed Khamenei made remarks that come out of his “non-recognition of the tribunal”. He said that His eminence remarks are politically motivated. Lebanon First bloc MP Ammar Houri voiced hope that Iran would clarify its supreme leader’s statement. The MP told the Free Lebanon radio station that parties should not anticipate any ruling that will be made by the tribunal. “Khamenei’s statement sounded as if it targeted the talks to foster calm in Lebanon.” For his part, Labor Minister Boutros Harb said that Imam Khamenei’s Monday statement was intended to obstruct current calls that seek to resolve the Lebanese impasse. He told the Voice of Lebanon (VOL) that the statement was surprising, adding that the Iranian leader declared a position in order to bind Hezbollah with his view on the STL. Zahle bloc MP Joseph Maalouf described his eminence’s statement an interference in Lebanon’s domestic affairs. Maalouf told the VOL radio station that the remarks are timed with Saudi-Syrian efforts that are close to reaching a compromise regarding the Lebanese situation. “[Imam Khamenei’s statement] is an attack against the international community.” The Supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution described as null and void any ruling by STL probing the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.