Lebanon rebuffs US over Hezbollah

Hezbollah Sheikh Nasrallah (l) is backed by Iran

Lebanon has rejected US accusations that the militant group Hezbollah is involved in terrorist acts.

A leopard cannot change its spots

Condoleezza Rice

In an interview on Lebanese television, US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said she believed the Lebanese Government should follow America's lead in freezing Hezbollah's assets and stopping them from dealing in arms.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud said that "the one who accuses has to show evidence".

He added that "resistance is a legitimate right for all countries whose land is occupied and Lebanon still has parts of its territories occupied" by Israel.

Arms ship link

The group, which receives backing from Iran and Syria, is viewed by the Lebanon Government as a resistance movement.

Rice made the call in a TV interview

"We know the American point of view, and it is not new," said Mr Hammud.

Hezbollah was the most active of the guerrilla groups which fought Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon until their withdrawal in May 2000.

Militants associated with the movement were blamed in the 1980s for kidnapping Westerners in Beirut, and suicide bombings that killed more than 260 Americans.

"We have a saying in the United States which is 'A leopard cannot change its spots'," said Ms Rice.

"There are still incidents which are traceful [to Hezbollah] even now."

The US State Department has accused Hezbollah of involvement with the arms-smuggling ship detained by Israel in the Red Sea.