Former Lebanese minister Ashraf Rifi on Saturday called for Lebanon to be liberated from “the tutelage of Iran,” noting that this would be the gateway to exit the crisis in the country.

“Any submitted Hezbollah cabinet lineup will accelerate the (country’s) collapse and isolation,” Rifi wrote on Twitter.

“What the (caretaker) prime minister said about Lebanon being under siege is misleading,” Rifi said, noting that “Lebanon is in an Iranian jail that has isolated it from the Arab world and the international community.”

“Unfortunately, some bury their heads in the sand and do not dare to tell the truth,” he added.

On April 28, Rifi accused “the Syrian regime and Hezbollah of ‘abducting’ Lebanon and taking it as a hostage,” saying “we are facing a political terrorist crime.”

Lebanon’s financial crisis, which erupted in 2019, has wiped out jobs, locked people out of their bank deposits and raised the risk of widespread hunger.

The crisis was compounded after a large explosion, caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate, occurred at the Port of Beirut, prompting Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government to step down. However, it has stayed on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed.

But prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri is at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun and has been unable to form a new government to carry out much needed reforms to unlock international aid since his nomination in October.