Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Tuesday the international community’s “double standards” in dealing with Israel, accusing it of having hidden agendas in the Middle East.

He said before the Armenian parliament: “International decision-makers are placing all Arab regimes in the position of the accused in order to subject them to their will.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday that Israel is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty, during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

“The region is passing through a critical stage and Lebanon is affected by these developments, it’s not an island, especially since Israel still occupies part of its land, which means its sovereignty is incomplete,” Berri stressed.

Speaker Nabih Berri noted on Saturday that Lebanon remains Israel’s main enemy because it is its major competitor in the region, adding that the Jewish state is seeking to fragment Lebanon.

He said during the opening of the international conference in support of the Palestinian intifada held in Iran: “The Resistance is the main deterrent power against Israel and given the current circumstances, it is a necessity to prevent Israeli exploitation of the situation in the Arab world to harm Lebanon.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday the importance of Palestinian national unity given the talk of the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

He said upon his arrival in Tehran to take part in the fifth international conference to support the Palestinian intifada: “It’s important to reveal to the world the conspiracies being plotted against the Palestinian cause.”

March 8 forces are holding onto their stance refusing to pay Lebanon’s dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

Sources told the daily that the funding of the STL, that is expected to be tackled by the cabinet soon, will not be approved whether it was discussed during a session or away from the media spotlight.

Speaker Nabih Berri is scheduled to travel to Iran on Friday and later visit Armenia where he will discuss bilateral ties, media reports said.

On Thursday, Berri urged officials to launch efforts to drill for oil and gas in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone, including the 870-square-kilometer area that Israel says is part of its waters.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has informed President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri that he hadn’t asked for an appointment with President Barack Obama amid reports that the U.S. administration had snubbed him over his controversial remarks on Hizbullah’s arms and the situation in Syria.

As Safir daily said Wednesday that al-Rahi informed Suleiman and Berri about the issue during the lunch banquet thrown in the patriarch’s honor in Msayleh on Monday.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday expressed relief over the closing statement of the Christian-Islamic spiritual summit that stressed the importance of the historic and current cooperation between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon.

Berri told As Safir newspaper that the closing statement is important especially “at this critical stage.”

The luncheon banquet that was hosted by Speaker Nabih Berri in honor of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in the southern town of Msayleh on Monday was shunned by former Premier Fouad Saniora and MP Bahia Hariri, thus raising speculation about the consequences of al-Rahi’s visit to the south.

Sources close to Saniora told An Nahar newspaper on Tuesday that the reason behind the MP’s boycott to the banquet was because al-Rahi refused to accept an invitation over lunch at the Hariri’s house in Majdelyoun but accepted Berri’s invitation.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday that Lebanon is committed to the implementation of international resolutions, noting that Israel’s failure to respect them resulted in the formation of the Resistance.

He said while hosting Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over a luncheon banquet in the southern town of Msayleh: “The Resistance will defend Lebanon against any aggression and we say to all sides that they should protect it rather than fear it.”