Jaafari said he merely characterized Hezbollah as a resistance rather than a terrorist group and rejected the idea that Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Units should be discriminated against. He said the Saudi delegation, led by its permanent representative to the Arab League, Ahmed bin Abdul-Aziz Kattan, did not leave the meeting while Jaafari was delivering his speech, but rather during a side dialogue.
He added, "Every country has the right to express its stance on any issue."
While the Arab League has labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization, Jaafari’s discourse may ignite a new crisis between Iraq and the Gulf states in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal told Al-Monitor that Iraq is keen to be part of any Arab consensus to unify positions and, as a member state, is part of the Arab League’s general framework and charter.
“The vote on draft resolutions within the Arab League, and moving toward an Arab consensus, should not take place at the expense of Iraq’s principles. The most important among these is the noninterference in the other countries’ internal affairs. Thus, the decision to label Hezbollah as terrorist, when it is represented in parliament and the government, is interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs, which Iraq rejects," he said.
Comments are closed.