Hezbollah delays meeting with Lebanese president

BEIRUT - The Iran-backed Hezbollah group postponed an appointment with President Joseph Aoun on Monday at which it was due to communicate its preference for the post of prime minister, political sources said, indicating tensions in the process.

The Shiite group and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement had been due to tell Aoun they wanted caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to stay in the post, which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon's sectarian political system.

But the two Shiite groups delayed their meeting as it became clear that another candidate, International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam, looked set to emerge from the process with the most support among lawmakers, the sources said.

Aoun is required to designate the candidate with the greatest support among Lebanon's 128 lawmakers.