Nabih Berri told El-Akhbar newspaper the Washington accord is “ten times worse” than the May 17, 1983 agreement, an ill-fated deal that was scrapped under Syrian and domestic pressure during Lebanon’s civil war. “This agreement is not an agreement to preserve Lebanon’s rights, but a set of dictations,” he said.

“When I call this agreement ‘sedition’, that is the highest level of political warning,” Berri said, adding that the deal threatens the unity of Lebanon and its people.

The speaker said the only real opportunity for Lebanon to recover its rights and compel Israel to withdraw fully lies in the negotiations between Iran and the United States. “This track is the only framework that can create balances forcing the occupiers to implement their commitments,” he said.

Berri warned that any attempt to separate Lebanon’s file from this track, or to pursue individual negotiations with Israel on American and Israeli terms, would only prolong the occupation and allow the enemy to impose new realities on the ground without any real guarantees for Lebanon.

DID