Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, said on Sunday that it was unacceptable for any party to resort to threats or violence after the worst street violence in the country in over a decade.

Thursday’s spasm of violence, which killed seven Shias, came amid rising tensions over the investigation of last’s year’s port blast. Rai said “no one is above the law and judiciary” in a Sunday sermon.

Rai said “we must free the judiciary from political interference” and “sectarian and partisan political activism”.

Lebanon’s Council of Ministers must meet, take decisions and respect authority, he said.

The Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah group opposes the investigation and has called for the lead investigator into the blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, to be removed.