Hezbollah said on Friday that the Shiite group will not submit to American "threats" by sending warships off Lebanon's shore, local As Safir daily reported.
"We are not taken by threats or pressures," Hezbollah's member of parliament Hasan Fadllalah was quoted as saying, adding that "This proves the confrontation is with decision-makers in Washington."
The United States has sent its USS Cole destroyer off Lebanon'scoast and was dispatching two more warships Thursday in a show of strength as tensions with Syria and political deadlock mounts.
Fadllalah elaborated that the American attempt to use its fleetto support its allies in Lebanon "has proved to be a failure in the past, and will not submit Lebanon to the American control today."
The U.S. marine force pulled out of Lebanon in 1983 after a suicide bomber killed 241 American soldiers in Lebanon. Hezbollah was accused of being behind the bombing.
Lebanon is currently facing the most serious political deadlocksince the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. For the first time in its history, the presidential seat has been vacant since Nov. 24 of 2007 when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.
A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new president to succeed Lahoud has been postponed for the 15th time from Feb. 26 to March 11.
The presidency deadlock deepened the Lebanese political crisis as fears are mounting that failure in electing a new president could result in more violence in the country.
Source: Xinhua
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