Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel noted that Lebanon has no say in what is happening today, saying that Lebanon and its people are trapped and hostage to an armed militia (Hezbollah) that has taken power over the country for the past 10 years. ‘Hezbollah is taking orders from Iran. Today, we are waiting for Iran’s strategy to know the fate of our country and waiting for Hezbollah’s interest in this conflict. This is a real tragedy. The Lebanese people feel totally helpless about the situation,’ Gemayel said in an interview with CNBC. ‘Iran’s interests come first of any other issue including Hamas and Gaza. Iran’s objective is to expand its power and influence in all the regions and become a regional and international power,’ he noted. Gemayel believed that Israel and Hezbollah have no interest in the conflict spillover as Iran wants to preserve its power in the region and does not want to harm Hezbollah. ‘Things are kept at bay on Israel-Lebanon borders. For now, there is no interest in the spill out but things could change at any moment. If Iran or Israel change their strategy, Lebanon could be dragged into this war. The Lebanese people are the ones who will pay the price very highly,’ he explained. ‘The international community must pressure Iran to prevent this from happening as Iran is the main player in the region; it is training Hamas, providing it with missiles and weapons, and it is controlling Hezbollah,’ he went on saying. ‘Lebanon is experiencing the biggest economic crisis of the history of mankind. We are in a huge crisis and people are getting poorer day by day. An attack on Lebanon can destroy what is left of this country and it will be difficult for us to stand up again,’ he emphasized. ‘There are huge stakes here. We are very fearful of this situation, Hezbollah does not have Lebanon’s interests at heart but rather Iran’s,’ Gemayel added.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon