The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a defiant speech in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Monday, 22nd April 2019.
In his speech, delivered during a ceremony to mark the 34th anniversary of establishing Imam Mahdi Scouts, Nasrallah emphasised that Israel is a greedy enemy.
The secretary general of Hezbollah denounced US economic sanctions against Iran, describing the punitive measures as ‘an act of aggression’ against all world nations.
‘US efforts to increase economic pressure on Iran, especially its pledge to drive the country’s oil exports to zero, will have negative repercussions and will affect the entire world, including the US itself,’ Nasrallah said as he addressed his supporters via the televised speech broadcast live from the Lebanese capital Beirut on Monday evening.
He called on world nations to stand up against ‘US arrogance’, pointing out, ‘The tyrannical US government has no respect whatsoever for international law and regulations.’
Nasrallah also lashed out at Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for following in US footsteps and joining Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran.
The Hezbollah chief also roundly rejected media allegations that the Israeli regime is planning to launch a surprise war against Lebanon this summer.
He dismissed the recent report from a Kuwaiti newspaper which said the Hezbollah leader predicted that Israel would launch a war against Lebanon this summer. He stressed of the report that ‘the content is false and the timing is very bad.’
Nasrallah said it was part of a ‘coordinated campaign against Hezbollah’.
‘I never said during any meeting that an Israeli war against Lebanon will take place in the summer and I did not say that I will not be with you in case of war,’ he noted, adding that he personally tends to rule out the possibility of a war for several reasons, including ‘the lack of readiness on the Israeli front.’
‘There is very little likelihood that Israel would launch another war on Lebanon.
‘The Israeli army is not prepared for any aggression against the country.
‘I personally don’t think such a thing would happen,’ Nasrallah highlighted.
If Israel wants to wage a war against Hezbollah it will need to launch a ground invasion that it currently isn’t prepared for, Nasrallah said.
‘I am leaning toward the conclusion that Israel is unlikely to carry out a war on Lebanon.
‘I personally think that it is unlikely they will do so because … its home front is not prepared.’
The Hezbollah leader pointed to the recent rockets fired from Gaza over Tel Aviv as proof that Israel is can’t defend itself.
‘The events and days have proved the unpreparedness of the Israeli home front.
‘We saw how two missiles were fired by mistake from Gaza and landed in the Tel Aviv surroundings and then another missile was shot off from Gaza and landed north of Tel Aviv.
‘All the Israeli measures were not able to do anything. The Israelis say the home front is not ready,’ he said.
‘Any theoretical Israeli war needs a ground operation to achieve its desired goal.
‘The era in which the air force decides the battle is over. This has become one of the military axioms in the world.
‘If Israel starts a war, it needs a ground operation to achieve its goal for the war. Many reasons make me see this option as unlikely,’ Nasrallah concluded.
The Hezbollah chief dismissed claims of infighting between Russian and Iranian forces in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr as well as the northern province of Aleppo, stating that Saudi-owned al-Arabia television news network has ‘disseminated such lies.’
Russia says Iran’s presence in Syria is at the official request of the Syrian government and other parties are not in a position to interfere with this issue.
‘Saudi-backed media outlets are spreading lies and fallacies about Hezbollah, Iran and the region to a large extent,’ Nasrallah said.
The Hezbollah secretary general slammed Saudi Arabia and the UAE for spreading terrorism and chaos in countries like Yemen, Sudan and Libya.
Nasrallah also blamed Wahhabism for the emergence of regional terrorism and Takfiri terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Daesh.
Wahhabism is the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia, freely preached by government-backed clerics there, and inspiring terrorists worldwide.
Daesh and other Takfiri terror groups use the ideology to declare people of other faiths as ‘infidels’ and then kill them.
‘There are many agents in the Middle East, who are pushing for sectarian strife to serve the interest of the Zionist regime (of Israel).
‘All those seeking to colonise the region will only raise public awareness,’ the Hezbollah chief said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Nasrallah touched upon the economic crisis in Lebanon, demanding greater cooperation and unity among Lebanese political factions.
‘All Lebanese parties agree that Lebanon is suffering from serious financial woes.
‘They are all involved in coping with the economic crisis.
‘Resolving Lebanon’s problems requires patience and efforts by all political parties.
‘Ministers affiliated to Hezbollah, lawmakers as well as specialists, have already prepared a number of draft solutions for Lebanon’s economic crisis,’ Nasrallah underlined.
On the local scene, Hezbollah’s chief said that everyone agrees that Lebanon is facing a difficult financial crisis, noting that there is a consensus over the importance of cooperation among the political forces to reach the appropriate solution.
He also declared that Hezbollah is open to all discussions and will be ready to express its opinion and present proposals during the cabinet session, explaining that the party remains committed to its principles and rejects any measure affecting the poor factions of society by imposing additional taxes.
Nasrallah pointed out that Hezbollah views the budget as the beginning of real reform, stating that the ongoing talks are a golden opportunity to put an end to the financial and administrative corruption infesting the state’s institutions.
On the regional scene, the secretary general responded to the US decision concerning Iran, noting that the world, by keeping silence over Trump’s aggression against Iran, is opening the door for more ‘American arrogance’.
In this regard, he said that ‘what they failed to achieve in Syria through terrorism and aggression, they are trying to implement through economic siege,’ adding that the cooperation between the allies on the ground in Syria remains as it was in the past.
Nasrallah stressed the need to shed light on the aggressive policies adopted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Yemen and Bahrain, as well as their interference in Sudan and Libya, emphasising that Saudi Arabia and UAE have a real role in ‘cooking up the deal of the century’.
On another note, Nasrallah condemned the massacre committed on Sunday in Sri Lanka, noting that ‘this terrorism has been preventing the believers from celebrating in Sri Lanka, Yemen and Palestine.’
He called for a comprehensive battle against terrorism to eradicate it, emphasising that ‘the main logic in this battle is to never lose hope and never give up.’