During the Martyrs Day ceremony in Dahiyeh on Wednesday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed the crowd via a screen and said the cabinet’s success is in Lebanon as well as Hezbollah’s best interests, stressing the Hezbollah would work to reach the goal. He added that there would be no dispute over the Ministerial Statement, highlighting that socio-economic issues are a priority.
However, he said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the ministers should not set “unachievable” goals. Every party has the right to suggest a political issue that it believes should be addressed, said Nasrallah, calling for “calm.”
“Let us not move from one crisis to another,” he said, adding that all issues, including the national defense strategy, can be discussed in the National Dialogue.
The Hezbollah chief denied reports saying Hezbollah was deliberately delaying the cabinet formation amid Iranian nuclear talks upon the Islamic Republic’s request, describing them as “ridiculous.”
“Hezbollah’s main concern was forming the new cabinet, and we do not want the government to be one of fronts,” he said, stressing that political bickering impeded the cabinet-formation process.
Nasrallah also called for further cooperation among the Arab nations, saying Hezbollah views the Saudi-Syrian Summit – held in October – positively and added that Lebanon witnessed the summit’s first “blessing,” a reference to the formation of the cabinet.
He also said that his party supports any role that “Sunni Turkey” would play in the region as long as the country supports Palestine.
He called for a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and said that either of them should take the initiative, also calling for ending the “dangerous” Houthi-Saudi conflict, which he said is political and not “sectarian.”
Nasrallah commended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for emphasizing the concept of resistance in the Arab world during the latter’s participation in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
“Hezbollah has always been proud and never embarrassed by our relations with Syria or the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the Hezbollah chief.
Nasrallah slammed US President Barack Obama, saying the president is committed to Israel’s interests and security.
The US has become a partner on the field in any Israeli confrontation against Iran or Lebanon, he said, highlighting that the US supplies the Jewish state with state of the art technology and weapons.
“The US called for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, while it defends and protects Israel, which continuously violates the international resolutions.”
He explained that Israel maintains its armament, espionage cells, reconnaissance planes and planting spying devices in Lebanese territory, accusing the Jewish state of conducting a psychological war against Lebanon and Gaza.
Nasrallah said that when Israel continuously addresses armaments in Lebanon or Gaza, they are either trying to justify a war or implying that they are unable to wage war.
“Israel has to understand that if it launches a war on us, then the Lebanese will together defend their nation,” adding, “Send the whole Israeli army, and I vow in the name of the martyrs that we will destroy it.”
Nasrallah denied reports that Hezbollah is involved in drug trafficking into Israel, saying that increasing drug usage is concerning. “All sects [in Lebanon], all religious figures, parents, everyone is concerned and the security forces need to undertake this responsibility,” he said.
-NOW Lebanon