Impossible that Beirut blast was caused by Hezbollah arms: Lebanon's President
in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published on Tuesday, Aoun stressed that Hezbollah did not store weapons at the Beirut port.
Asked about those pointing the finger of blame at the resistance group for the incident, he said, “Impossible, but serious events like these light up spirits and imagination,” adding that “even this lead will be investigated.”
Aoun also underlined the need to listen to all the hypotheses regarding the blast that rocked Beirut two weeks ago, killing at least 178 people, wounding more than 6,000 others and causing damage amounting to $10-15 billion.
The Lebanese president further noted that many people claimed seeing airplanes fly by the port just before the explosion and, although “not very credible,” they should be listened to.
On 4 August, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored the Beirut port blew up, obliterating the city’s main commercial hub and damaging buildings across a wide swath.
The cause of the blast, the most destructive in the country’s troubled history, is still unclear and a probe is looking into whether it was caused by neglect, an accident or external interference.
Earlier, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rejected accusations that the resistance group had weaponry warehoused at the Beirut port.
Hezbollah would wait for results of the investigation, but if it turns out to be an Israeli act of sabotage, the regime would then “pay an equal price,” he said.
