Lebanese PM Hariri meets France's Sarkozy to discuss his government's collapse following resignation of Hezbollah ministers. Meanwhile, two grenades thrown at office of Christian party considered ally of Shiite group; no injuries

Iran says US, Israel 'sabotaged' Lebanon gov't: Iranian deputy FM says 'sabotage and obstruction by America and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the failure of Syrian and Saudi efforts to find a solution for the current situation in Lebanon'

Published: 01.13.11

A day after Hezbollah shook the Lebanese political system, talks aimed at easing tensions in the country are continuing. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised that the resignation of the Shiite party's ministers from the government would not lead to a civil war, but a short while later two grenades were hurled at the headquarters of Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement north of Beirut.

Aoun is considered an ally of Hezbollah.

Lebanon's official news agency said the grenades were thrown at the Christian party's office in the village of Beit Habab, located some 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Beirut.



Sources in Lebanon reported that only one grenade exploded and caused damage, but there were no reports of casualties. Officials were quick to condemn the attack, though it is still unclear whether it was related to the toppling of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government.



Hariri met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris Thursday, but the two leaders did not speak to the press. The Lebanese PM is expected to continue to Turkey for a meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and then travel to Syria before returning to Beirut.

Also Thursday, Nasrallah met with Druze leader in Lebanon Walid Jumblatt to discuss the political developments in the country since the resignation of the opposition's ministers from the government.




Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said talks on forming a new government will begin next week.




Nasrallah rejected the possibility of a civil war, saying, "There will never be a war between the Sunnis and Shiites. We will calculate our steps."



Al-Jazeera reported that in a closed meeting with Hezbollah leaders, Nasrallah said he considers the filing of indictments in the Hariri assassination case a deliberate attack on the Shiite group.

An Iranian deputy foreign minister has said "sabotage and obstruction" by the United States and Israel are to blame for the collapse of Lebanon's government.


Lebanon was without a government on Thursday after the powerful Shiite militant party Hezbollah and its allies resigned from cabinet over a UN probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

"Lebanon is in a sensitive and unstable situation," a foreign ministry statement sent to AFP quoted Raouf Sheibani, Iran's deputy minister for the Middle East, as saying.



"Sabotage and obstruction by America and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the failure of Syrian and Saudi efforts to find a solution for the current situation in Lebanon," Sheibani said.



Diplomats said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and Syria have ended attempts to mediate between the Hezbollah group and Saad Hariri, head of the collapsed Lebanese government.



Sheibani called for a solution to be found in Lebanon through "mutual effort of all political parties" to overcome the current situation and confront the "conspiracies of the ill-wishers."



He warned that "policies and warmongering threats" by the United States and Israel were dangerous for peace in the region.




For months, Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, has been pressing the Western-backed Hariri to disavow the special tribunal saying it is part of a US-Israeli plot.



According to unconfirmed media reports, the tribunal is poised to indict senior Hezbollah members in connection with Rafiq Hariri's 2005 assassination, a move the militant party vehemently rejects.



The government's collapse plunged Lebanon into its worst political crisis since 2008, as Hariri was holding talks in Washington with US President Barack Obama.





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