Lebanese politician Dr. Ahmed Fatfat, former minister of youth and sports, said recently that all the militias in his country – first and foremost Hezbollah – should be dismantled in accordance with the Taif Agreement and the Lebanese constitution.
Hezbollah wields considerable political power in Lebanon, all but controlling its parliament.
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The Iranian-backed Shiite organization has been designated as a terrorist group by several western countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Argentina, Paraguay and Israel, as well as Arab League member Bahrain. Some countries, such as Australia and France, only classify Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization.
Speaking to local media, Fatfat said that in his view, Hezbollah has carried out acts of terrorism and is Lebanon's main problem.
He added that it is preventing any reforms in the country from taking place.
Furthermore, he said, Hezbollah is not a legitimate political party; that it is occupying Lebanon and its political decision-making process; that it believes in Iran's Rule of Jurisprudence, rather than the Lebanese Constitution; and that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is effectively the person ruling Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's top Christian cleric stepped up criticism against the Iranian proxy and its allies without naming them, saying that the Lebanese people rejected being isolated from their allies and driven into decline.
Lebanon is suffering a financial meltdown which marks the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war.
For the second consecutive sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai stressed the importance of Lebanon's neutrality, implicit criticism of the heavily armed Hezbollah over its support for Iran in conflicts with Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.
Rai carries weight as the head of the Maronite church, the Christian community from which the president must be drawn in a sectarian system of government.
His last two sermons have been seen to mark a shift to a more openly critical stance against the policies of both Hezbollah and its ally President Michel Aoun. Both back the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
"The intervention was seen as a shift in his politics away from supporting the president and more into criticizing the political position of the country, regionally and internationally," Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center said.
Rai, in a copy of the sermon sent by email, said that the Lebanese people "rejected any ... parliamentary majority messing with the constitution ... and Lebanon's model of civilization, and that it isolates it from its brothers and friends ... and that it moves it from abundance to want and from prosperity to decline".
Lebanon's crisis is rooted in decades of state corruption and bad governance by the sectarian ruling elite.
Hezbollah's opponents say it shoulders blame as its alliance with Iran has led Gulf Arab states that once supported Lebanon to keep their distance, closing off an important source of aid.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called on Lebanon to look east as it seeks help fix the economy, though he said last week this does not mean the country should cut itself from the rest of the world.
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