The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, slammed comments by visiting U.S. official Morgan Ortagus on Friday as "blatant interference" in Lebanon's affairs.

Ortagus's statement was "full of malice and irresponsibility" and attacked a component of "Lebanese political life", Raad said in a statement, adding that the remarks amounted to "blatant interference in Lebanon's sovereignty".