A senior U.S. official denounced Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria Monday and accused the group of putting the interests of Iranian and Syrian regime above those of the Lebanese people.
The comments by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns were the first by a high-ranking visiting U.S. official since Hezbollah helped Assad’s troops last month fighting in the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border, the Associated Press reported.
“Despite its membership in the Lebanese government, Hezbollah has decided to put its own interests and those of its foreign backers above those of the Lebanese people,” Burns told reporters as he wrapped up a two-day visit Monday to Lebanon.
“That intervention may be in Hezbollah’s interests, it may be in the interest of Iran, it may be in the interest of Bashar Assad, but it is not in the interest of Lebanon or the Lebanese people,” Burns said.