Lebanese PM Salam tells Hezbollah's Qassem: no one who decides war alone can claim patriotism

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said a leader who decides on war alone has no right to hand out certificates of patriotism, responding on Monday to remarks by Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem. Speaking at a press conference, Salam said Hezbollah continued to usurp the state's authority to make decisions, and that anyone tying Lebanon to external accounts should not invoke sovereignty. Salam also said the greatest support given to Israel came from decisions dragging the country into what he called unnecessary wars of support, without elaborating. He added that dialogue and unity required assuming responsibility for choices that Lebanese had paid a heavy price for. Qassem, in a separate statement earlier the same day, said the region was facing an American-Israeli assault targeting Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Iraq and Yemen, and called on the Lebanese government to halt unreciprocated concessions.