Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the agreement announced by Tehran and Washington to end the war in the Middle East was a “great victory” for Iran, while also noting that it was a “pivotal moment” for Lebanon.
Qassem said in a speech during the opening of an Ashura council in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which was broadcast on television: “We congratulate the Iranian people, the resistance, and the countries and peoples of the region and the world who yearn for independence and freedom on this great victory.”
Qassem thanked Iran “for linking the Lebanese arena, as a resistance and a people, with the strength of willingness to sacrifice and force Israel to stop the aggression.”
Iran, US officials, and the Pakistani mediator announced that the recent agreement between Tehran and Washington includes the Hezbollah-Israel front, which erupted after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Israel responded with a massive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion.
Qassem stated, “Now Iran’s power is a considerable power that has its say in the region and the world, and the balance of power will change for the better in the interest of the peoples of the region.”
Regarding Lebanon, Qassem called for “taking advantage of this pivotal moment we are at after the agreement…to achieve the expulsion of Israel.”
He considered that this is done through several elements, including that “the ceiling of negotiations with the Israeli enemy should be mutual security,” stressing that “there is no other ceiling, and any project under the ceiling of disarmament will not pass, as it is Israel’s recipe to take everything and destroy the country.”
He called on the authorities in Lebanon to “establish a narrative of Lebanese demands from the Israeli enemy, without linking Lebanese demands to any internal issue, and without agreeing with Israel’s demands to interfere in our internal affairs.”
He added, “Everything related to arranging our internal situation, whether it is the issue of weapons, the economy, the national security strategy, or the defense strategy…all of it must be completely outside the negotiations. We discuss this internally. Therefore, in any negotiation, the basic demand must be the restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
He called on the Lebanese government once again to “free itself from direct negotiations,” which the party has repeatedly rejected, considering them “all concessions.”
Since April, Lebanon, under US pressure, has engaged in direct talks with Israel aimed at ending the latest war between Hezbollah and the Jewish state. Lebanese authorities have affirmed their intention to separate the Lebanese issue from negotiations with Iran, the party's main backer.
The fifth round of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel is scheduled to take place on June 22 in the United States, through which Beirut wants to end the war and determine the future of the relationship between the two countries.
