BEIRUT — Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Al-Hariri said on Tuesday the process of forming a new government had hit a big obstacle and blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for the stalemate.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed group, has been pressing its demand for one Sunni lawmaker allied to it to get a cabinet portfolio, something Hariri refused.

Hezbollah’s demand for one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in the new Lebanese government is at the heart of a row that has obstructed a final agreement six months since a parliamentary election.

The formation of a new government is necessary before any moves can be made towards fiscal reforms which the International Monetary Fund said in June are needed immediately to improve debt sustainability.

Lebanon’s political system requires government positions to be allotted along sectarian lines.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said rejecting a Sunni ally from its “March 8” camp amounted to exclusion of a section of Lebanese.

“We were sincere when we spoke of a national unity government. There is no national logic, or moral logic, or legal logic ... for anyone in Lebanon to come out and say ‘it is forbidden for the March 8 Sunnis to be represented in the Lebanese government,” Nasrallah said.

President Michel Aoun vowed earlier on Saturday to find a solution to the problem.

Hezbollah, groups and individuals that support its possession of weapons won more than 70 of the 128 seats in the May 6 parliamentary election. — Reuters