BEIRUT: Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement led by Speaker Nabih Berri, vowed Monday to stand by Syria and Iran against U.S. and Israeli threats to attack the two countries.

A joint statement issued after a meeting of the Hezbollah and Amal commands in the eastern city of Baalbek said that the current turmoil in Syria was part of an “international conspiracy” targeting Damascus for its support for Arab and Muslim resistance movements in the region.

The statement came amid mounting international pressures on Iran over its controversial nuclear program and against Syria over its brutal crackdown on an eight-month popular uprising demanding a regime change.

Hezbollah and Amal emphasized their “firm support for the Islamic Republic in the face of American and Israeli threats,” the statement said.

“They said that what is happening in Syria is an international conspiracy targeting Syria’s rejectionist position and its policies which support the Arab and Muslim resistance movements, particularly in Palestine,” the statement said.

Reiterating their solidarity with Syria’s people, army and institutions, Hezbollah and Amal stressed that Lebanon will never be “a conduit for a conspiracy against sisterly Syria.”

The two sides stressed the unity of Muslims, rejecting anything that harms the solidarity and unity of Muslims, the statement said.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah accused Washington of ramping up pressure on Iran and Syria as a way to divert attention from “America’s defeat” as it withdraws its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the president of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Judge Sir David Baragwanath, will be visiting Lebanon this week for the first time amid signs that Prime Minister Najib Mikati is pushing for a quick Cabinet action to decide on the divisive issue of paying Lebanon’s share to the STL’s funding ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline. He is accompanied by the STL’s Vice President Judge Ralph Riachy. Baragwanath replaced Antonio Cassese who died of cancer last month.

During the visit, Baragwanath will meet President Michel Sleiman and other Lebanese officials who work with the STL as well as agencies and members of the academic and legal community.

“I am honored to visit a country of such great cultural and legal traditions,” Baragwanath said, according to a statement released by the STL. “The tribunal’s judges consider themselves not just international judges, but also judges of Lebanon, applying the criminal law of Lebanon and respectful of its sovereignty and its people. I am determined that the work of the tribunal be fair and expeditious, with full respect of the rights of the accused and the interests of the victims.”

STL spokesperson Marten Youssef said Baragwanath’s visit to Lebanon had been planned in advance, without considering the timing of funding. “It is his first trip to Lebanon. The STL president wishes to present himself to Lebanon and listen,” Youssef told The Daily Star. He could not disclose the length of Baragwanath’s visit.

A source close to Mikati told The Daily Star Sunday the prime minister, who who is under mounting local and international pressure to fund the STL, is speeding efforts to have the Cabinet decide on the issue of paying Lebanon’s share to the tribunal’s budget.

Hezbollah and its March 8 allies staunchly oppose the STL altogether, let alone funding it.

Nasrallah said last month that Hezbollah is entirely against the STL’s funding and called for a vote within the Cabinet if no agreement was reached among the ministers on the contentious issue.

Since Hezbollah and its March 8 allies have a majority in Mikati’s 30-man Cabinet and can block any decision, Nasrallah’s declaration effectively dashes any hope for the government to approve the payment of Lebanon’s share to the STL’s funding.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt reiterated his party’s support for the STL’s funding, saying this was in Lebanon’s national interest, while showing understanding toward Hezbollah’s concerns over the STL. Jumblatt, in his weekly article to be published in the PSP’s weekly newspaper Al-Anbaa Tuesday, said: “It is more suitable for Hezbollah, while taking into account its reservations after the release of the indictment, to cooperate positively in this issue in order to reduce the intensity of internal tension.”

On the unrest in Syria, Jumblatt said it has been proven that the security crackdown on protesters was not the right approach to dealing with the crisis. “The main gateway to a solution remains a strict implementation of the provisions of the Arab initiative and acceptance of observers,” he said. He was referring to a Nov. 2 Arab League plan which called on the Syrian government to withdraw the military from restive cities, release prisoners and launch a dialogue with the opposition.

MP Ahmad Fatfat from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s parliamentary Future bloc accused the government of not being serious about funding the STL. He told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that if the issue of the tribunal’s funding is put to a vote in the Cabinet, it will be foiled by Hezbollah and its allies.

The STL’s funding is emerging as a major bone of contention within the Cabinet and also between the March 8 and March 14 camps.

Mikati is coming under pressure from the opposition March 14 parties and international powers to honor Lebanon’s commitments and U.N. resolutions, including the STL and its funding. The U.S has warned Lebanon it could face “serious consequences” should it fail to fund the STL.

Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil said he expected Syria to emerge from its current crisis and accused “some politicians” – a reference to the opposition March 14 parties – of betting on a regime change in Syria.

“We are confident that despite all the current challenges, Syria is strong and can emerge from its crisis. Syria’s stability is [essential] for Lebanon’s stability. Security in Syria will bolster security in Lebanon,” Khalil told a ceremony opening a tumor and blood diseases section at the Nabatieh Government Hospital Monday.

Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said Syria, because of Russia’s and China’s support, enjoys international protection and is immune to military aggression. He said Syria still had many options available to it in dealing with its crisis.

“The supportive role for Syria – Russia’s and China’s veto at the [U.N.] Security Council – tells the world that it is forbidden for anyone to think of any military action against Syria,” Raad told a Hezbollah rally in the southern town of Nabatieh. “No aerial sanctions, no buffer zones and no aggression against Syria,” he said. – Additional reporting by Patrick Galey