Hezbollah leader says Lebanon public finances threaten disaster

BEIRUT – The leader of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Wednesday that the deeply indebted country faced disaster if it continued on the same financial path.

Iran-backed, Shiite Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's coalition government and wields extensive influence in Lebanese politics. Nasrallah was speaking on television about the group's platform for parliamentary elections in May.

"The danger reaches to the level of an existential threat to the state and to the country, and to the security and stability of society if the financial situation and spending continue like this," he said.

He urged measures to rationalize spending, reduce public debt and combat corruption and wastefulness, but without giving specifics.