Hezbollah set to become a dominant force in Lebanon’s parliament

The Iran-backed paramilitary movement Hezbollah is poised to be a dominant force in Lebanon’s next parliament, based on official but incomplete election results announced Monday, an outcome that probably will unsettle the United States and its Persian Gulf allies.

Hezbollah and its political allies won more than half the 128 seats, giving them the power to block any attempt to force the Shiite militant group to disarm, as demanded by its foreign and domestic opponents.

Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, maintains Lebanon’s most powerful military force and has deployed thousands of fighters to neighboring Syria to prop up President Bashar Assad’s government there.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said his Future Movement lost a third of its seats. But he remains the Sunni Muslim leader with the biggest bloc in parliament, making him the front-runner to form the next government.

Source: LA Times