PNN – In an interview with Al-Mayadeen Network, the Secretary-General of Lebanese Hezbollah explained regional developments and the role of Iran and the Supreme Leader in advancing the goals of the Resistance Axis.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon, in a detailed interview with Al-Mayadeen Network, expressed his views on various issues, including the process of supporting the Gaza war, the war in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s current situation in political and military dimensions, the pager incident, and developments related to Iran.
Presence on the front line in support of Gaza
The Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon said that following a meeting held in the Lebanese Hezbollah Leadership Council after the Zionist regime’s aggression on Gaza, the conclusion was that support for Gaza would be limited and that developments would be reviewed until a final decision was made in this regard.
He added that a few weeks after entering the support operation, the final conclusion was that Hezbollah would not engage in an all-out war. The reason was that it was possible to achieve the desired goals without engaging in an all-out war.
Naim Qassem said Hezbollah’s goals for the Support Front include engaging a large number of Israeli military forces in the northern region and forcing settlers to migrate in order to create a social, economic, and security crisis in northern occupied Palestine and inflict the greatest number of casualties on Israeli soldiers.
Read more:
Moshe Ya’alon: Aimless war in Gaza has exhausted the army and isolated Israel internationally’
Hezbollah had no prior knowledge of Operation Storm al-Aqsa
Qassem emphasized that there was no coordination with the Palestinian resistance forces regarding Operation Storm of Al-Aqsa, adding: We were not aware of this operation, and because we were not aware, we could not engage in an all-out war.
He continued that Hezbollah received a letter from Martyr Muhammad Deif, Commander-in-Chief of the Qassam Brigades, stating that Hezbollah’s support operations in Gaza are sufficient and can achieve the aforementioned goals. This was also confirmed in an internal meeting of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and it was clear that entering into conflicts beyond this arena cannot achieve desired results.
What was the story of the pager explosion?
Sheikh Naim Qassem said: Hezbollah has also created other sub-committees on all issues, including the pager operation, the martyrdom of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, and the martyrdom of Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din.
He continued that in the matter of purchasing pagers, the existence of a security gap has been evident over the past year and a half, and the explosives planted in the pagers were of a type that could not be detected by existing tools.
Qassem added that two days before the pager operation, suspicious signs were detected, including the fact that the pagers had been broken, which led Israel to carry out its operation earlier.
He said that there were another 1,500 bomb-laden pagers in Türkiye, which were destroyed at the request of Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to Erdogan.
Hezbollah’s reaction to developments after the Lebanese ceasefire
Regarding the continued aggression of the Zionist regime against Lebanon after the signing of the ceasefire, Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized that Hezbollah will not wait indefinitely, but he does not want to say anything about the solutions or when Hezbollah’s patience will end.
The Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, noting that the party is in a recovery phase, emphasized that if Israel attacks Lebanon, we will fight them.
Iran’s role in the sustainability of the resistance
Sheikh Naim Qassem pointed out Iran’s role in the war process and emphasized that Tehran had a clear assessment that Iran’s entry into the war would mean America’s entry into war with Iran, which would have benefited Israel, which wanted to drag America into the conflict.
Sheikh Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah’s command praised Iran’s role and considers it sufficient, and believes that Iran will continue to provide support and will not hesitate to use any means in this regard.
Hezbollah’s position on developments in Syria
Sheikh Qassem added that the developments in Syria were definitely a setback for the axis of resistance, because Syria was considered a route of military support for Hezbollah. He said that the developments in Syria also had an impact on Gaza, so when the Syrian government fell, Syria’s supporting role also stopped and the axis of resistance was damaged to some extent.
Normalizing relations with Israel is very dangerous.
He described the issues related to the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime as very dangerous and emphasized that Syria should not be included in the normalization process. Qassem noted that “our trust in the Syrian people is great,” and that the Syrian people will not accept normalization, and this is their and our responsibility.
Referring to the continued occupation of Syrian lands by the Zionist regime, he said that Israel has occupied 600 square kilometers of the Golan Heights and Quneitra, but the Syrian government has done nothing. They have left no military power for the Syrian army and government, and they continue their aggression.
The Hezbollah Secretary General continued that the party will not take any practical steps to change the Syrian government’s approach to normalizing relations, because it has nothing to do with them. Rather, it is theoretically opposed to the normalization process.
The possibility of abusing the Syrian government against Hezbollah
Sheikh Naim Qassem stated that he has received reports from some foreign and Arab governments that there is a possibility of abusing the new Syrian government against Hezbollah and that there are those who are seeking to use the Syrian government as a tool to create chaos in the situation in Syria.
He expressed hope that these reports were false and had no practical implications, but at the same time said that Hezbollah was prepared for these concerns.
Lebanon’s internal developments
Sheikh Naim Qassem also reviewed the internal developments in Lebanon and the positions of General Joseph Aoun, praising these positions and saying: It was clear from the very first moment that he always emphasized that Israel should withdraw from Lebanon.
He continued that these are the same principles that Hezbollah believes in, and they are completely nationalistic principles. Hezbollah continues to hold talks on national security and defense strategy.
Qassem pointed to the pressure from the United States and some Arab countries on the Lebanese president, emphasizing that they want to pit the army against the resistance, but Aoun knows that this is sedition and will not yield results.
He considered the triad of the National Army and the Resistance to be Lebanon’s current point of strength and emphasized that the world is currently thinking about how to interact with Lebanon, because this country is strong and if Lebanon were weak, no one would pay attention to it.
Hezbollah’s policy towards Arab countries and Türkiye
He said that Arab and Gulf countries are seeking a presence in Lebanon, and Hezbollah welcomes these initiatives. Sheikh Qassem said: We are part of the government and we have no problem establishing equal relations with Arab countries. Of course, we do not want Lebanon to become dependent on these countries.