Lebanon's Berri denies Washington Post claims as 'completely untrue'

Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri dismissed claims published in The Washington Post, stating they are "completely untrue." 

Responding to a question on whether Iran funds Hezbollah, Berri said, “This is well-known, just as you support Israel.”

The Washington Post earlier quoted Berri as saying, "I want the cease-fire yesterday, today and tomorrow."

David Ignatius wrote in The Washington Post that he talked "to more than a dozen Lebanese political figures, I couldn’t find a single one who didn’t want the Lebanese government to replace the contorted state-within-a-state that Hezbollah has created over the past few decades," claiming that Berri confirmed his support for Amos Hochstein’s plan. 

The Washington Post also noted that when pressed on Iran, which the newspaper's correspondent says has "facilitated Hezbollah’s stranglehold on Lebanese politics,” Berri responded with a "direct answer," reportedly saying: “I don’t deny that Iran helps Hezbollah. Even Hezbollah says so. But if America helps Lebanon, then we will not take orders from Iran.”