‘Revenge is a dish best served cold,’ Lebanese parliament speaker says of anticipated Iran-Hezbollah attack

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon and a staunch Hezbollah ally, says of a tensely anticipated joint Iranian and Hezbollah attack on Israel that “revenge is a dish best served cold.”

He warns that the “response is inevitable” after the recent killings of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Although both Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of being behind the killing of Haniyeh, Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

In an interview with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Jumhuriya, Berri says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged decision to carry out the assassinations does not reflect “the behavior of someone who wants to reach a ceasefire.”

He does not rule out the possibility of a large-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel as long as Netanyahu remains in power, but notes that Iran-backed groups in the region “are managing the battle in a calculated manner.”

Commenting on Lebanese domestic affairs, Berri says that the conflict with Israel should serve as an incentive to expedite consultations for the election of a new president to strengthen the home front. The country has now been without an effective president for over two years, with 12 rounds of voting in parliament failing to elect a new leader.