A plan to naturalize 5,000 Iranian members of the Revolutionary Guard residing in Lebanon is supported by Hizbullah, a Lebanese MP belonging to The Future bloc told the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
"These people are not only rank and file but also top officials [in the RG in Lebanon]," said MP ‘Ummar Al-Houri over the weekend.
According to Al-Houri, the RG members have been living in Lebanon for a long period and are "supervising the training of Hizbullah, the building of security quarters, etc."
Al-Houri further blamed Hizbullah for not denouncing the negotiations between Syria and Israel. He explained that Hizbullah had turned a blind eye to the recent talks about negotiations between the two nations, and in return it supported a Syrian-Iranian plan to grant RG members a Lebanese citizenship. This plan, said Al-Houri, would help Syria to further solidify its control over Lebanon.
In response, Hizbullah has categorically denied Al-Houri’s claims.
"This claim does not deserve an answer, as it is absurd," said Hizbullah MP Hasan Hubullah.
Hubullah added that Hizbullah did not comment on the Syrian-Israeli talks, because the party was "only concerned with Lebanon."