Saad al-Hariri, 13 May 2008

Lebanon's parliamentary majority leader, Saad al-Hariri, has accused Hezbollah of trying to impose its will on the country with the help of Syria and Iran, and vowed never to surrender to the Shi'ite militant group.

Hariri told a news conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Tuesday that Hezbollah is acting on the orders of Syria and Iran, and wants Lebanon's Western-backed governing coalition to hand over decision-making to those countries.

Earlier today, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal blamed Iran for what he called a "recent coup attempt" in Lebanon, and he urged all regional states not to interfere in Lebanon's political affairs.

Shi'ite gunman fires during clashes in Chouweifat, south of Beirut, 11 May 2008

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the foreign minister's comments, saying Iran is the only country not interfering in Lebanon.

The comments were made as Lebanon's army announced it will now use force to stop fighting between pro-government militias and opposition forces led by Hezbollah.

So far, Lebanon's military has stayed out of the violence that began Wednesday in Beirut and spread to other parts of the country. The fighting has killed at least 62 people and wounded at least 200.

The sectarian fighting is the worst the country has seen since the civil war that ended in 1990.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a joint statement with 10 nations Monday calling for an immediate end to the violence. The so-called "Friends of Lebanon" group includes the United States and its allies in Europe and the Middle East - Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Spain.

Lebanese officials say they expect an Arab League delegation to arrive in Beirut Wednesday to try to mediate an end to the fighting.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, and Reuters.