01:00 25.5.2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah militants of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the US, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing.
The top US diplomat condemned what he called Hezbollah’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government” and said the Iran-allied militant group was “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem earlier said that “the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government” in response to Israeli strikes and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution, which is affiliated with Hezbollah and provides interest-free loans to mainly Shi’a Muslim communities.
Israel has continued to strike suspected Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite a cease-fire that went into effect on April 17. Lebanon’s civil defense agency said its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed during an Israeli strike.
With reporting by AFP
Source: blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html?lbis=456162
Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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