Sources: U.S. has been conducting secret dialogue with Hizbullah

Lebanon has reported a secret dialogue between the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah and the United States. Lebanese parliamentary sources said U.S. diplomats have begun contact with Hizbullah politicians in Beirut. They said the dialogue concerned stability in Lebanon as well as the next government. Members of the pro-Western March 14 coalition said the U.S. dialogue with Hizbullah was part of the rapproachment by President Barack Obama with Iran. “The United States is sending and receiving messages to Hizbullah through sympathetic third parties,” a source said. “The dialogue has intensified over the last few weeks.” The dialogue was reported by members of the pro-Western March 14 coalition, driven out of power in 2011. The members, who did not want to be identified, said the U.S. dialogue with Hizbullah was part of the rapproachment by President Barack Obama with Iran. “Relations between Hizbullah and the United States are developing positively,” a parliamentarian from the March 14 faction said. The parliamentarian, who was not named, told the Kuwaiti daily Al Anba that the U.S. embassy has been directing the dialogue with Hizbullah. The March 14 representative said U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, David Hale, was lobbying for Hizbullah participation in the next government. “A Cabinet cannot be formed without Hizbullah,” the parliamentarian quoted Hale as telling Lebanese politicians. In 2013, the Obama administration pressed the European Union to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization. Instead, the EU imposed sanctions on what it termed the “terrorist wing” while pledging to deal with Hizbullah politicians. But the Lebanese sources said U.S. officials have signaled their willingness to deal with Hizbullah. They cited statements by senior members of the Obama administration, including CIA director John Brennan, that Hizbullah was a political movement. The sources said Hizbullah has been following Iran’s lead in reducing anti-U.S. statements during the Obama rapproachment. They pointed to the Oct. 29 address by Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in which he did not attack Washington. “The messages we are receiving from U.S. diplomats is that March 14 should cooperate with Hizbullah in order stabilize Lebanon,” the parliamentary source said.