By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) – The US said Thursday it was not aware that the leader of Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire shortly before he was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
“I can tell you that, if that's true, it was never communicated to us in any way,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters when asked about remarks by Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib.
“I can't speak to whether he ever agreed to it and told somebody inside Lebanon, obviously, that could be something that happened that we wouldn’t be aware of,” he said.
Bouhabib told CNN that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah agreed to a cease-fire moments before he was assassinated and the Lebanese government communicated it to the US and France.
“The US and France told us that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued,” said Bouhabib, referring to a joint statement on Sept. 25.
It was signed by 12 countries and organizations, including the US and France, and encouraged a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah to facilitate diplomatic efforts.
Nasrallah was assassinated Sept. 27 in an airstrike that targeted a southern suburb of Beirut.