Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah reassured supporters on Tuesday that there was ‘no reason to worry’ about his health, offering apologies for bothering them after a speech scheduled for Friday was cancelled.
Commemorating the third martyrdom anniversary of Haj Qassem Suleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis in a ceremony held in Beirut’s Dahiyeh Sayyed Shohada complex, Sayyed Nasrallah gave a televised speech in which he tackled several local and regional issues.
His eminence began the speech with a soft smile, raising supporters’ spirit. “I was prepared as usual to deliver my speech on Friday. I apologize for having worried you and I thank you for having inquired about my condition, as well as offering sacrificial lamb for my speedy recovery. I would like to reassure you, there is absolutely no reason to worry,” he said, pointing out that he has been suffering from tracheitis for over 30 years.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s speech on local issues which was scheduled for Friday (December 30, 2022) had been cancelled over health conditions, the party’s Media Relation Office announced in a statement earlier in the day. Over the weekend, Arab and Israeli media outlets circulated uncountable stories about Sayyed Nasrallah’s health conditions, turning flu into cancer, stroke and heart attack.
Sayyed Nasrallah felicitated people on Christmas and New Year; expressing hope that it will be the year of hope and relief for Lebanon and the region, as well. Sayyed Nasrallah offered condolences to the families of the martyrs Hajj Qassem Suleimani and Hajj Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and their companions.
Hezbollah’s S.G. then delved into Hajj Qassem’s traits and major characteristics which he summarized into three.
“When Haj Qassem entered our fields, he had three major features. The first was his personality, with what he enjoyed of great great sincerity and veracity, as well as a high degree of piety and longing to meet Allah,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. The second, he added, is that he was “a soldier of Wilayat al-Faqih, and what Haj Qassem was doing in terms of basic orientations and strategies was within the controls of the supreme leader, Imam Khamenei.”
“Hajj Qassem was able, through his brainpower, planning, constant presence, and sincerity, to link the forces of the resistance axis, strengthen them and provide them with material and intellectual support through meetings and direct presence on the front lines,” his eminence pointed out.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that the American project seeks hegemony, domination, and control of wealth and oil, adding that throughout two decades, Haj Qassem faced two versions of the American schemes in the region.
“The first version of the American scheme in the region, which was confronted by martyr Suleimani and other leaders, is the “New Middle East” project in Lebanon and Palestine,” the Hezbollah leader indicated. He explained that 9/11 (September, 11 attacks) served as an impetus to the American plan to enter Afghanistan and Iraq and get closer to Iran and Syria.
“In 2006, attempts began to unleash in order to strike the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, and the objective was to invade and impose multinational forces at the airport, ports, and borders,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “At that time, Hajj Qassem Suleimani set foot in frontlines as a leader; Iran stood firm, and Syria, too, leaving the enemy with dilemma in July war,” he added.
“Had the Zionists won the war on Lebanon, it would have expanded towards Syria, but that did not happen thanks to martyr Suleimani.”
Sayyed Nasrallah lauded Shiite and Sunni resistance factions in Iraq who fought the occupation forces with utmost sincerity; where exceptional operations targeting the American occupation forces took place, imposing on occupation forces to set a timetable for withdrawal. He said that when occupation forces faltered, the operations increased until they forced them to leave.
“If we combine what the Iraqi resistance has done with the steadfastness of Iran, Syria, along with the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, we conclude that the first version of the American scheme has ended and failed,” Sayyed Nasrallah asserted.
The result of the first version of the American scheme, the Hezbollah leader said, is that [Former US President Donald] Trump was forced to go secretly to Iraq despite spending 7 thousand billion dollars on this scheme.
Turning to the second phase which began with the tenure of Former US president Barak Obama, Sayyed Nasrallah said that when they (the US administration) discovered that large-scale wars are doomed to failure, and that relying on ‘Israel’ in wars is a fiasco, wars took on an internal turn; with the eruption of inner and sectarian strife after the emergence of Takfiris.
“This version was the version of destroying countries and peoples, so that America will come out as the ‘savior’. In this arena, Suleimani and Al-Muhandis were present in public because they were supposed to be in the field to fight off this scheme,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, stating that before these two major and historic failures, Trump decided to deal a decisive blow to the resistance axis by assassinating both commanders (Suleimani and Al-Muhandis).
With a two million-man funeral held for martyr Suleimani, the largest in history, and his emergence as an inspiration and symbol for Iranians, the scheme had an adverse effect on America, Hezbollah’s secretary general said, adding that after the martyrdom of Suleimani, the “deal of the century” fell through, Lebanon established the rules of deterrence, and victory was achieved in the issue of demarcating the maritime borders.
The third version of the American scheme took the shape of economic war, and this needs more talk, his eminence said, promising an upcoming speech to tackle it in details.
Commenting on the frequent attacks on Palestinians and the latest storming of Al-Aqsa mosque, Sayyed Nasrallah said the new Zionist government, which gathers madmen, is hastening its end by committing mistakes and stupidities. “We tried Netanyahu for a long time and we do not fear him.”
“Attacking Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine, and Al-Quds will not only blow up the situation inside Palestine, but may ignite the entire region,” he warned, pointing that one can be “optimistic about the new Israeli government, because that might speed up the demise of the temporary entity.”
“We will not tolerate any change in the rules of engagement or any violation of the de facto situation at the level of defending Lebanon. We are facing a government in the Zionist entity that includes corrupt, insane, and extremists, and all of them do not scare us because we have tried them before.”
Turning to Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said the resistance in Lebanon does not need protection, “it wants a president who does not stab it in the back or conspire against it, and this is our natural right. A president who would not stab the resistance would mean a president who would not drag the country into a civil war.”
“Whoever awaits negotiations to take place between the US and Iran over the nuclear program can wait for decades, and we would remain without a president. This is an internal issue and Iran has not interfered in Lebanese affairs for 40 years,” his eminence pointed.
Even if the Saudis and Iranians sat for talks, Sayyed Nasrallah assured that Saudi Arabia’s priority is Yemen, not Lebanon.
“We must hasten internal dialogue, and we all must agree that time is pressing in light of the difficult internal conditions, prices hike, and other crises. Whatever the ambiguities, they can be addressed through direct dialogue.”
On Hezbollah’s latest disagreements with the Free Patriotic Movement over several internal issues, Sayyed Nasrallah said: We are eager to deal with the disagreement with the Free Patriotic Movement through communication and we’re keen on this relationship.
“Some of our allies and friends criticize us in public. We do not do that, we rather prefer internal dialogue.”
“I’ve always told Minister Gebran Bassil that if you feel embarrassed by allying with us, then you are not obligated,” his eminence said, stressing that “we do not leave the hand of an ally or friend unless he does so.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website
