Hezbollah’s continued destructive hegemony raises concerns for all: Saudi FM

The continued destructive hegemony of the terrorist organization Hezbollah raises concern for everyone, said Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Sunday.

“The continued destructive hegemony of the terrorist organization Hezbollah raises concern for all of us. We all know the proven precedents for this organization’s use of explosive materials and their storage among civilians in several Arab, European and American countries,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in his address as part of the emergency donors conference for Lebanon hosted by France.

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French President Emmanuel Macron attends a donor teleconference with other world leaders, in Bormes-les-Mimosas. (Reuters)

At least 158 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured in the capital on Tuesday when a warehouse storing 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded after catching on fire.

World leaders pledged emergency relief on Sunday to help Lebanon after last week's massive blast destroyed swathes of Beirut and piled more pressure on the country's debt-laden economy.

At the beginning of his address to the conference, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister offered the Kingdom’s condolences and sympathy to the people of Lebanon, expressing his gratitude to Lebanon's friends in France and the world for their participation at the donor conference.

“We in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stand with our brothers in Lebanon, stress the importance of conducting a transparent and impartial international investigation to find out the causes of this terrible explosion and the victims and destruction that it left behind. The brotherly Lebanese people have the right to live in their country in safety and respect. Lebanon is in dire need of comprehensive and urgent political and economic reform to ensure that this terrible disaster will not recur,” Prince Faisal said.