Claims by US officials that Hezbollah has begun to rearm are not based in fact, Saudi former diplomat Prince Turki Al Faisal has said.
“If they have the evidence, then show it,” the former intelligence chief told On the Record with Hadley Gamble. “They have no evidence.”
His words came one week after America’s senior envoy for Syria and Lebanon, Tom Barrack, said the US-designated terrorist organisation had begun to rebuild.
“The end result, if [Hezbollah] doesn't disarm, is going to be civil war,” Prince Turki said.
He spoke on the sidelines of the Munich Leaders Meeting in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. The meeting was an off-the-record dialogue of European and Arab diplomats and took place days after US President Donald Trump announced a 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
“We still have to wait before we clap and shout with joy,” Prince Turki told the show, which is broadcast on Sky News Arabia and The National's social media channels. “We have to see how it is applied. All the comments that I heard from both sides is that the devil is in the detail, and the details are quite a few."
Prince Turki, a former Saudi ambassador to the US, has said he will not return to the country until the conflict in Gaza is over. “Politics is not a place where people can put faith in anybody,” he added.
“Mr Trump has shown a determination to achieve what he said he wants to achieve, which is peace in the Middle East. Well, he has a chance to prove it. And once he has proven it, that's the time, I think we can say whether there is faith or no faith in what he says.”
Israel has agreed to an "initial withdrawal line" for Gaza, the US President wrote on Truth Social. The move followed a declaration by the White House of security guarantees for Qatar following the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, actions that reportedly upset Mr Trump.
“I don't think [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu cares about world opinion. I think what he cares about is staying in power,” Prince Turki said.
“But more than that, I think he also recognises that Mr Trump wants him to be constructive on reaching a settlement and ending the killing. And that is very important, I think, to keep in mind.”
Pressed on whether the recognition of Palestine by several countries at the UN General Assembly had made a material difference, the former Saudi diplomat was enthusiastic.
“This is a tremendous success for not only Saudi Arabia, but for humanity, to finally say to the Palestinian people, yes, you are equal to us, and not only as victims of colonialism, but as rightful representatives of a people,” he said. "This is something I think is a tremendous achievement.”
