Nasrallah warns Israel not to exploit crisis in Lebanon but says war is 'unlikely'

The leader of the Shi'ite terror organization warns that Saudi Arabia is trying to influence the Jewish state to attack in Lebanon.

By JOY BERNARD, YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA

NOVEMBER 10, 2017 16:35

Updated: NOVEMBER 10, 2017 17:14

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks to supporters on a screen (photo credit: HASSAN ABDALLAH / REUTERS) — Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks to supporters on a screen

(photo credit: HASSAN ABDALLAH / REUTERS)

Leader of the Lebanese, Shi'ite terror organization Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that while he thought an armed conflict with Israel was "unlikely" to take place in the near future, the Jewish state had better be careful and stay out of the current political crisis Lebanon has been mired in over the past several weeks.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation, Nasrallah also said that his group had information indicating that Saudi Arabia has asked Israel to attack Lebanon. "This is information and not an interpretation," Nasrallah asserted in a speech he made amid a quickly-escalating rift between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia over the sudden resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri last week.

While Lebanon considers Hariri to be held forcibly in Saudi Arabia, the Hezbollah leader claimed Friday that the prime minister's resignation was "illegal, not constitutional and baseless, because he has not written even a single letter in his resignation announcement.

We do not recognize Hariri's resignation, because it was done forcibly," he said.

The terror group's leader said Hariri's resignation was a result of "unprecedented Saudi intervention" in Lebanese politics and called for Hariri to return to Lebanon. He said Lebanon's government was still legitimate and had not resigned.

Going on to blast Riyadh for its interference in the region, Nasrallah said that Saudi Arabia is bound to fail in Lebanon as it has done in other parts of the region and will not defeat his Iran-backed group.

He went on to deny recent reports that Hezbollah was behind a missile fired from Yemen, which hit the Saudi capital last week.

Reuters contributed to this report.