Lebanon may abstain from UN vote on Iran, sources say
Lebanon, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, might abstain from voting on a US-led resolution to impose new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, a Lebanese governmental source said Tuesday, DPA reported.
"Lebanon's decision to abstain is to avoid any domestic bickering since there are groups in the country loyal to Iran," the government source - who requested anonymity - said.
The source was referring to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which currently hold seats in the parliament and has two ministers in the Lebanese cabinet.
The United States, along with other Western countries, are pushing for tougher sanctions against the Islamic republic. They believe that Iran's nuclear program is a covert attempt to build atomic weapons, rather than civil nuclear energy.
Iran has insisted that it has the right to maintain a nuclear program for peaceful purposes.
On Tuesday, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while on a visit to Turkey, warned President Barack Obama that America stood to lose unless it changed its policies toward Iran.
Last month Iran sought to avert a UN resolution by agreeing to swap 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched nuclear fuel, to be used in a medical research. But that proposal did not reassure Western powers because it only accounts for less than half of Iran's uranium stocks.
According to observers Lebanon is keen to abstain from voting in the UN this week, to avoid clashes between the two Lebanese rival camps.
The coalition, which is backed by Lebanon's premier Saad Hariri, are largely allied with the West, especially the US, while the parties in the opposition forces such as Hezbollah, have close ties with Iran and Syria.
In 2008 rivalry between the two camps led to street clashes that almost sparked a civil war in the country.
The Central News Agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying that Lebanon's position should reflect that of the Arab League since Lebanon is the Arab states' representative in the Security Council.
The source said that Hariri's visit to Cairo later Tuesday is to discuss Lebanon's stance in the UN.