Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed that the response to the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani is not one operation, but a long process that must drive the US military presence out of the region, adding that the strike in Ain al-Asad is merely a slap.
Nasrallah noted that Soleimani was a partner in liberating Lebanon May 25, 2000 and always stood by the Resistance in Lebanon, pointing out that the Iranian general came to Lebanon once he took over his role as commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and managed to build a strong and special relation with Hezbollah.
In a speech he delivered on Sunday, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that “the Resistance is capable today of reaching a balance of deterrence and protecting Lebanon, while the enemy sees it as an existential threat.”
Nasrallah also praised the qualities of Soleimani, explaining that he never said that he offered the Resistance any assistance, “but on the contrary, he used to say that he was at the service of Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance and he never asked for anything in return and never gave orders.”
“Iran communicates with Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance as allies, not Iranian tools as some accuse, because this is the political Islam that they are trying to tarnish by supporting organizations such as ISIS,” he explained.
Hezbollah’s chief also noted that the Islamic State in Iraq was created by the United States and supplied by the Gulf States with funds, weapons, coverage and sectarian incitement, stressing that IS is the most dangerous project witnessed in Iraq.
“It was the role of Hajj Qassem until his martyrdom to cleanse Iraq from ISIS,” the Shiite party chief said, emphasizing the importance of the role played by Soleimani and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces in defeating ISIS and defending the peoples of the whole region.
“The Iranian strike in Iraq shows an unmatched bravery and reveals the truth about the military capability of Iran,” he added.