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BEIRUT — Hezbollah's backers Iran and Syria are hindering the formation of a cabinet in Lebanon, which has been without government since a general vote in June, Christian leader Samir Geagea said on Monday.

"The regional forces that support the parliamentary minority have no interest in seeing a government formed for the moment," Geagea told AFP.

Geagea, whose Lebanese Forces are part of the US- and Saudi-backed parliamentary majority, said Tehran and Damascus have been obstructing the efforts of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri through their Lebanese proxy, Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

"Perhaps they expect a more favourable situation in which they can reap more benefits" on the international level, he said.

He was referring to Iran's atomic drive and Syria's efforts to improve ties with the United States.