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Aug 05, 2020
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Iranian, Lebanese Experts On Iranian TV: We Cannot Rule Out The Possibility That The Beirut Explosion Was A Deliberate Act; Israel, America Stand To Gain From This

#8190 | 02:46
Source: Channel 2 (Iran)

On August 5, 2020, Channel 2 (Iran) aired a discussion about the same-day explosion that took place in the Port of Beirut. Iranian regional affairs expert Hossein Akbari said that America, Israel, and their allies benefit from Lebanon being in a state of chaos. He said that the best-case scenario is that the explosion was a result of negligence, and that in the worst-case scenario, it was a deliberate act. Lebanese analyst Muhammad Shamas said that the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out, and that statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu seem to suggest the involvement of the U.S. or Israel. He also said that there have been reports that planes had been seen in the area of the explosion not long before it took place, and that American planes had been seen off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria.

Hossein Akbari: "From a certain perspective, America, the Zionist regime, and their allies need Lebanon to be in a state of chaos but not entirely disintegrated, so that they can place difficulties before it and its people. They started with Iraq, then went on to Syria, and have even implemented sanctions on us. As they themselves say, they started with a chain of sanctions, with economic pressure, and with creating social crises with regard to the resistance. As for this [explosion] that took place now... Those who benefit from this the most are the Americans, who can apply pressure to the Lebanese people. Neither the [Americans] nor the Israelis have the ability to confront Hizbullah, and they can sense that Hizbullah is growing stronger by the day.

[...]

"In the best-case scenario, we could say that their inability to enforce management plans, and to pay attention to this danger... I don't know to what degree they were aware of this danger and threat, and what problems it would cause... In the worst-case scenario, they deliberately cause it in order to pressure the Lebanese people."

[...]

Muhammad Shamas: "We can't rule out the possibility that this was an act of sabotage. Who would benefit from such a thing? Especially since we head that yesterday, a few hours after the explosion, Trump said that a few officers had told him that this was an attack, and not a regular explosion. Today, the Pentagon and some American officials have denied this. Six hours after the explosion in Beirut, Zionist regime leader Netanyahu said in a tweet: 'We defend ourselves by various means.' This all seems to indicate what Israel has done... In addition, there have been reports that there were planes in the area 24 hours prior to the explosion. All this arouses suspicion. American planes were seen off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria. So we mustn't rule out the theory that this was a deliberate act, even though there is still no evidence of that."

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