Beirut: Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies plan to resign from the Lebanese Cabinet on Wednesday, a move that would likely topple the government over tensions stemming from the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, officials said.
Talking to Al-Manar TV, Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh said that ministers were planning to resign unless Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri — the son of the slain leader — agrees to their demand to convene an urgent cabinet meeting over the tribunal crisis.
Another official allied to Hezbollah confirmed the plan, which calls for Hezbollah and its allies to resign along with one more minister, who would tip the balance and force the government to fall.
Hariri was to meet on Wednesday with President Barack Obama in Washington to discuss the crisis.
A UN-backed tribunal investigating the elder Hariri’s killing is widely expected to name members of the Hezbollah, which has 10 ministers in the 30-member cabinet, in upcoming indictments.
“It all depends on the prime minister’s response to our call for a cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis,” an official requesting not to be named said.
The impending indictments already have paralyzed Lebanon’s government.
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