Hezbollah praises US-Iran nuclear deal as 'victory'

A Hezbollah lawmaker in the Lebanese parliament, Nawar Sahli, told the English-language newspaper Daily Star that that the deal gives Iran "global recognition as a member of the nuclear club.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF
A Hezbollah supporter waves a flag in Beirut's southern suburbs (photo credit: REUTERS)
A Hezbollah supporter waves a flag in Beirut's southern suburbs
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah praised the framework agreement reached on Thursday between the Western powers and Iran as "a victory."
A Hezbollah lawmaker in the Lebanese parliament, Nawar Sahli, told the English-language newspaper Daily Star that that the deal gives Iran "global recognition as a member of the nuclear club.”
"We hope the agreement will have positive repercussions on security and stability in the region, even though Iran had said the nuclear issue was separate from regional conflicts,” Sahli said.
Lebanese factions opposed to Hezbollah and critical of Iranian meddling in the country's internal affairs expressed apprehension over the agreement, fearing that it would give the Shi'ite regional power greater carte blanche to exert its influence in the Land of the Cedars.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, a representative of the predominantly Sunni and pro-Western Future Movement, told The Daily Star that lifting sanctions against Iran would leave it flush with more cash to use in furthering its goals in Lebanon.
"So far, we don’t have details of the framework agreement. But we hope it will help stability in the region and curb Iran’s emperor tendencies to dominate the region,” Future MP Ammar Houri told The Daily Star.
The Lebanese political system has experienced a 10-month paralysis with the election of a new president held up. The Future Movement has accused Iran of directing its proxy, Hezbollah, and other Lebanese factions of preventing the election of a president.