Hezbollah's Nasrallah says group open to Macron's proposal for new Lebanon pact

For many Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah is complicit in corruption many blame for port explosion and financial crisis

Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gives a speech in Beirut. EPA

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday said the militant group was open to a French proposal for a new political pact in Lebanon as long as there was national consensus.

"On his latest visit to Lebanon, we heard a call from the French president for a new political pact in Lebanon," Nasrallah said.

"Today we are open to a constructive discussion in this regard."

"But we have one condition: this discussion should be carried out with the will and consent of the various Lebanese factions."

He did not elaborate on what kind of changes his movement was willing to consider but spoke of criticism from "official French sources" over Lebanon's "sect-based political system and its inability to solve Lebanon's problems and respond to its needs".

Lebanon recognises 18 official religious sects and its 128 parliamentary seats are divided equally between Muslims and Christians, in a unique arrangement for the region.

But governments born out of this system have been prone to deadlock and failed to meet popular demands for better living conditions.

French President Emmanuel Macron, the first world leader to visit Lebanon after the devastating August 4 Beirut port blast, will return on Monday to press for reform and reconstruction.

On his earlier visit days after the blast, Mr Macron said Lebanese leaders had a huge responsibility, "that of a revamped pact with the Lebanese people in the coming weeks; that of deep change".

The explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, left for years in a warehouse, prompted the government to step down on August 10 and revived a months-old protest movement demanding a political overhaul.

Consultations to name a new prime minister are to begin on Monday in tandem with Mr Macron's visit.

Nasrallah said his movement would be co-operative in forming a government that could introduce reform and reconstruction.

Hezbollah is considered a terror group by the US and other countries including Germany.

Many Lebanese have blamed the port blast on a ruling class mired in nepotism since the 1975-1990 civil war.

They say the Iran-backed Hezbollah now stands at the top of Lebanon's sectarian-based system of power, and so is complicit in the corruption blamed for the port disaster and for driving the country into near bankruptcy.

The death toll increased to 190, with more than 6,500 injured and three people missing, Lebanon's caretaker government said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the army said seven people were still missing – three Lebanese, three Syrians and one Egyptian. It was not immediately clear if some had since been found.

The explosion left 300,000 people homeless and caused $15 billion (Dh55.09bn) in damage, said the report issued by the presidency of the council of ministers.

It said 50,000 houses, nine major hospitals and 178 schools were damaged.

On Friday, Mr Macron spoke of the "constraints of a confessional system" in a country populated by Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shiites.

He said this, combined with "what can be mildly described as vested interests", prevented political renewal and made reforms almost impossible.

Meanwhile, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia warned of looming food insecurity in Lebanon if action were not taken.

The organisation's executive secretary, Rola Dashti, called on the Lebanese government to give priority to rebuilding silos at the Beirut port as a food security national asset.

Ms Dashti also called for repairs to the central drug warehouse and to ensure a continuous supply of essential medicine and vaccines for the most vulnerable.

“Immediate measures should be taken to prevent a food crisis, such as intensifying food price monitoring, ensuring ceiling shelf price and encouraging direct sales from local producers to consumers,” she said.

The UN agency also highlighted a cost increase of agricultural production of more than 50 per cent, which is expected to soon reduce national output.

Lebanese farmers are also losing about 30 per cent of their perishable products because of low technical skills and lack of adequate infrastructure.

But in 2020, only 0.36 per cent of the total government budget was dedicated to agriculture.