The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has denounced the United States over its stances and interference in the wake of the death of a young Iranian woman, saying Washington is pursuing wicked seditious plots in order to sow the seeds of discord and create rifts in the Islamic Republic.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech broadcast live from the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on Saturday evening as he addressed participants of a ceremony in commemoration of late Shia Muslim cleric Sayyed Mohammad Ali al-Amin, who passed away in July.
“The United States exploits any incident in Iran in order to provoke the nation against the Islamic establishment, the latest of which is the protests that have broken out following Ms. Amini’s tragic death.
“US-backed vandals took advantage of the unclear circumstances surrounding her death to challenge the Islamic Republic after their so-called campaign of maximum pressure dismally failed,” he said.
Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station last week and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, erupted first in her native province of Kordestan and later spread to other parts of the country, including Tehran.
The CCTV footage released by the police showed no force was used against her while she was in their custody.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Hezbollah chief noted that the United States' cruel sanctions against Iranians were meant to pit the people against the Islamic establishment, emphasizing that Iran is now stronger than ever.
“Successive US administrations have realized that Iran is a strong, dignified and capable country; and that explains why it (the US) does not dare wage a war on the country and banks on stoking internal disputes instead,” Nasrallah said.
“Iran enjoys great capabilities, so the US uses all tools to incite provocations against the Islamic Republic. Western and Persian Gulf media outlets are working to incite people against the Islamic establishment,” he noted.
“US administrations have established troll armies across social media platforms to undermine Iran, but all to no avail.
“They cannot do anything to harm the Islamic Republic of Iran because of the nation’s readiness to make sacrifices,” the Hezbollah leader said.
He highlighted that millions of Iranians took to the streets across the country last week to condemn desecration of Islamic sanctities and acts of vandalism by rioters.
“Iran does not have any colonial intentions in the Middle East region. The Islamic Republic cannot be defeated, and holding bitter enmity towards it will cause huge losses for the entire Muslim world,” Nasrallah said.
He also criticized some Iraqi groups for forgetting about the tremendous and heroic sacrifices made by Iran's late top anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, in defending the Arab nation against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
Resistance front has made tangible achievements
Nasrallah added that the Axis of Resistance has made tangible achievements, stressing that Palestinians have no choice other than resistance against the occupying Israeli regime.
He said Palestinians have lost hope in any negotiations to realize their rights.
“That is why resistance is on the rise in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip,” the Hezbollah leader pointed out.
Maritime border talks
Nasrallah also touched upon the United States’ written proposal to Lebanese President Michel Aoun to potentially resolve a maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon, saying that indirect maritime border talks have reached a decisive stage in light of the initiative from US mediator Amos Hochstein.
“Hezbollah supports the Lebanese government regarding talks with the US mediator. Maritime victory is the fruit of national solidarity, and will help Lebanon overcome its financial crisis,” he said.
Lebanese parliament’s failure to elect new president
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Hezbollah leader pointed to the Lebanese parliament’s failure to elect a new head of state to replace incumbent President Michel Aoun when his term ends on October 31.
“The first round of voting revealed that no political party possesses the majority. Lawmakers must never elect a president, who plans to challenge the resistance front,” he said.
Nasrallah also called for consensus among Lebanese political factions to form a cabinet soon.
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“We must firmly adhere to the Axis of Resistance. We must never get carried away by the rabble-rousing that does not put forward a viable solution. Lebanese people can achieve good results through unity and solidarity,” he said.