Hawzah News Agency (Beirut - Lebanon) - Lebanese President Michel Aoun dismissed as “impossible” the chance that the massive blast at Beirut Port in August 4 was caused by an alleged deposit of Hezbollah arms, but said that all possibilities would be investigated.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera Italian daily Aoun stressed that Hezbollah did not store weapons at the port.
“Impossible, but serious events like these light up spirits and imagination,” Aoun said when asked about reports advancing such hypothesis, but added that “even this lead will be investigated.”
Aoun has said the probe is looking into whether “neglect, an accident or external interference caused the blast.”
“Although it seems that (it) has been an accident, I want to avoid being accused of not having listened to every voice,” Aoun told the Italian daily in the interview published on Tuesday.
He said that many people claimed seeing airplanes fly by the port just before the blast and, although “not very credible”, they should be listened to.
Lebanese authorities are probing what caused massive amounts of ammonium nitrate warehoused unsafely for years at Beirut port to detonate in a mushroom cloud, killing nearly 200 people, injuring 6,000 others and destroying swathes of the city.
Elsewhere in the interview, the Lebanese president said that peace cannot be established with the Zionist entity.
“The date for peace couldn’t be determined in advance and related to the development of events, and as long as the Israeli occupation of Lebanese land continues, and other problems are not resolved, then peace cannot be established with Israel”.
Concerning the relationship with Hezbollah, President Aoun indicated that he made an understanding with the party in 2005, “But after the Israeli war in 2006, it was my duty to stand with the party. I am Lebanese and not Israeli, and the party is Lebanese. We may disagree with Hezbollah on internal issues, but when Israel intends to occupy parts of Lebanon and kill the Lebanese Hezbollah on Lebanese soil, every Lebanese citizen must stand by the party against aggressors