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🇮🇱 Israel /Elections & Politics

Lebanon’s anti-Hezbollah foreign minister faces threats from terrorist group, report says

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji has stopped going to his ministry and is working from home after receiving security warnings, An-Nahar reported.
  • Sources close to Rajji said they feared someone could try to harm him because of his opposition to Hezbollah and calls for it to disarm.
  • The report did not provide evidence that Hezbollah itself issued the threats, amid a wider dispute over the group’s weapons in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s outspokenly anti-Hezbollah foreign minister has stopped going to his office and is running the ministry from home after receiving security warnings, according to the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar.

Sources close to Youssef Rajji said they feared someone might try to harm him because of his opposition to Hezbollah and his calls for the organization to surrender its weapons. Rajji has informed President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and security officials about the situation, the report said.

Security warnings

· Youssef RajjiRajji confirmed that he stopped going to the Foreign Ministry because of warnings he had received.

Rajji was advised about two months ago to avoid the Foreign Ministry as security tensions rose in Beirut and officials worried about possible infiltration of government buildings. Sources described the ministry as relatively exposed, with limited access routes that could make it easier to monitor the minister’s movements or attempt to attack him. Rajji has continued his diplomatic work from home and requested increased protection.

Hezbollah is responsible for everything; it threatens and issues warnings, and no one dares put it on trial.

· Wehbe KatichaThe former Lebanese parliament member criticized Hezbollah after the report about threats to Rajji.

A day before the report appeared, Rajji confirmed that he had stopped visiting the ministry because of “security warnings.” He did not say who issued them or who might be responsible. The report itself offered no evidence that Hezbollah sent the threats.

The account nevertheless drew criticism from Hezbollah’s Lebanese opponents. Former parliament member Wehbe Katicha, affiliated with the Lebanese Forces party, accused Hezbollah of creating an atmosphere of intimidation, saying, “Hezbollah is responsible for everything; it threatens and issues warnings, and no one dares put it on trial.” Rajji has called Hezbollah an armed and illegal Iranian proxy, said its weapons have dragged Lebanon into confrontations rather than protected it, and stated in July that “Hezbollah is Iranian in its orientation and not Lebanese in its identity.”

Hezbollah is Iranian in its orientation and not Lebanese in its identity.

· Youssef RajjiRajji described Hezbollah’s orientation while arguing against its continued possession of weapons.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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