Hezbollah's Naim Qassem says US isolated after launching war on Iran

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a statement published by the party's Al-Manar website that the United States has become more isolated than ever after launching war on Iran, and that Washington has lost its global standing while facing a severe economic crisis and turmoil in its political decisions. The statement addressed Hezbollah's position on political developments in Lebanon and the region.

On Lebanon, Sheikh Qassem said the resistance continues on the basis of the right to resist and the guarantees of the Taif Constitution, and will confront aggression against it and against Lebanon. He stressed there is no room to discuss withdrawing the resistance's weapons as long as the occupation exists and its aggression continues. He called on Israel to withdraw in line with the 27 November 2024 agreement and UN Resolution 1701, and for the Lebanese army to deploy south of the Litani River. He described the framework agreement as lacking legitimacy for violating the constitution, the Taif Agreement, the laws, the presidential oath speech and the government statement, calling it as good as nonexistent and an agreement that gives the enemy what is not its right and relinquishes sources of Lebanon's strength.

Sheikh Qassem said Hezbollah cares about the Iran–America agreement because it is the only available source of strength alongside the steadfastness of the resistance, the Lebanese people and its supporters, noting the agreement proved effective as soon as the memorandum of understanding was launched by reducing the level of aggression against Lebanon. He said the Islamic Republic of Iran places at the top of its priorities stopping Israeli aggression against Lebanon and withdrawing from its lands, describing this as a great sacrifice appreciated for the icon of the free people of the world. He added that Hezbollah does not care who rules the Israeli entity, but that it will not be able to continue its occupation and must leave Lebanese land.

He saluted the cohesion of the Lebanese people around the resistance, renewing the pledge launched under the title A Promise and a Commitment, and saying the party will remain together for shelter, restoration and reconstruction so the Lebanese state can carry out its duties with the help of sisterly and friendly countries. He stressed keenness on national unity and readiness to do everything that mends the rift and unifies the position, while calling for actions from others that practically confirm this conviction. He reassured about the solidity of the relationship between Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and allied forces supporting the resistance, on the headings of Lebanon's sovereignty, the importance of the national army's role and supporting it, rejecting sedition, and dialogue with all components of the Lebanese people and the authority within the framework of sovereignty and the constitution.

Sheikh Qassem renewed the affirmation that the resistance arose in the region because of the Israeli occupation supported by the tyrants of the world, foremost among them America, and that Hezbollah in Lebanon has followed this path since its founding in 1982 to confront the occupation and liberate land and people. He said the wars the Zionist enemy fabricated with flimsy pretexts are expansionist wars aimed at forming Greater Israel, and that agreements such as Madrid and Oslo were stations to entrench what it occupied. He said that without American and Western support the Israeli enemy would not have been able to entrench its occupation, and that this support led to crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank and all of Palestine. He said the cost of resistance is heavy but surrender and concession leave nothing, and that without the resistance and the sacrifices of the people, including the master of the nation's martyrs, Sayyid Hassan, and Al-Hashimi, the enemy would have begun establishing settlements and controlled all of Lebanon. He described the Israeli election results as a picture of defeat, and said Iran and its people stood firm and foiled American and Israeli objectives of overthrowing the Islamic system and dividing the country, adding that it has become impossible for America to control Iran. He said this was achieved thanks to the steadfastness of the Iranian people and the leadership of Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei. According to Mehr News, the statement was carried by Hezbollah's Al-Manar website.