BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah speaks today for the first time since ministers from his party and its allies toppled the government of Saad Hariri, the Shiite group's television said. The announcement comes a day after Hariri, who was in the United States when the cabinet walkout took place, returned home and vowed to cooperate in forming a new government. Hariri's government collapsed last Wednesday after the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies resigned in a dispute over a UN-backed probe into the 2005 murder of his father, ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. Shortly after meeting President Michel Sleiman Friday, Hariri said “my allies and I will participate in consultations (to name a new premier) and will fully cooperate with the president to form a new government in line with the requirements to maintain national unity.” The Western-backed premier, after a week of talks in the United States, France and Turkey, said the collapse of his cabinet was “unprecedented in the history of Lebanese governments.” Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful armed faction, for months has been pressuring Hariri to reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is reportedly poised to indict high-ranking members of the party in the Hariri assassination. The Shiite group has warned of grave repercussions should it be accused of the murder. Although he did not specifically refer to the tribunal, Hariri made clear he would not cave in to pressure to reject the court. He accused Hezbollah of refusing to make concessions while pressing him to “make personal and national sacrifices.” Hariri said his consultations abroad were aimed at “protecting Lebanon from sliding into the unknown.”
