"The response to the American crime is not a single operation, but rather a long path that must lead to removing America from our region," said Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Sunday.
"The days will reveal that after the assassination of Soleimani the world will be different. It is the beginning of a new history in our region," he underscored.
"What happened at Ain al-Assad base is not a response, but a mere blow [in the face of America] along this long path, and it is a first, strong, and earth-shattering step on the road of this crime committed by America," vowed Nasrallah. "What happened restored the true image of America that does not want stability for our region," he said.
In his delivered speech marking one week of memorial for the assassination of al-Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani and Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi Deputy Chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and their companions, Nasrallah said: "Soleimani was a partner in the 2000 victory and it is our duty, following his martyrdom, to declare this fact."
"Soleimani represented the Islamic revolution in Iran, and was the best messenger and carried its flag to our peoples and resistance movements in our countries," he said.
Eulogizing Soleimani and outlining his contributions and support to the resistance movement, Nasrallah indicated that Soleimani shared the same notion that after liberation, Lebanon would remain in the Israeli threat circle, the reason for which the capabilities of the resistance had to be developed to prevent any Israeli aggression against the country. "Here the stage of developing missile capabilities began," he said, noting that Soleimani encouraged them to continue further, saying, "You do not have the luxury of time!"
"Qasem Soleimani insisted on being present in Beirut's suburbs during the aggression period in the summer of 2006, and he remained with us throughout the war," Nasrallah went on, commending as well the Iranian contribution to Lebanon's reconstruction at the end of the Israeli aggression in August 2006.
Referring to the Daesh terrorist group, Nasrallah considered that "if ISIS had not been defeated in Homs and other regions, it would not have been eradicated from Lebanon's eastern mountain chain on the border with Syria," pointing herein to "Soleimani's presence, in person, in these battles."
He recalled the past Israeli claims that Lebanon was a "weak link", up until the years 2000 and 2006, when Lebanon became "a strategic threat to it, leading to Israel's characterization of the resistance as being a direct and existential peril."
"All of this occurred with the blessing of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the dedication of Hajj Soleimani," Nasrallah confirmed gratefully.
Referring to Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, Nasrallah said, "His relationship with Soleimani was a spiritual relationship, for he was a student of his, and Al-Muhandis was honest, humble, and stood by Soleimani during the stage of fighting ISIS, and it is no coincidence that God has chosen for them to die as martyrs together and that this martyrdom would have its great dimensions in the nation."
Nasrallah reiterated his assertion of the role of Soleimani and the popular mobilization [Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi] in defeating ISIS, "which means that they defended all the peoples of the region," he said. "We are faced with the example of an Islamic leader who is never tired or bored, who is modest and works for God. This is Hajj Qasem Soleimani," he corroborated.
On the Islamic Republic's support to the resistance movement, Hezbollah Secretary-General said: "Iran deals with us and the Palestinian resistance as allies and not Iranian tools as some accuse us, because this is political Islam, which they are working to distort with the support of organizations like ISIS."
"ISIS in Iraq is an American creation, supported by some Gulf countries with money, arms, media coverage and sectarian incitement, and ISIS is one of the most dangerous projects witnessed in Iraq. Here was the role of Hajj Qasem until his martyrdom, accompanied by Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi, in purifying Iraq from ISIS," Nasrallah indicated.
"If ISIS had not been defeated in Iraq, it would have taken control of Iraq and would not have been defeated in Syria. If ISIS had not been defeated in Iraq and Syria, the Gulf States and Turkey would be in danger and the poison would have turned against its owners," he underlined.
Nasrallah concluded by vowing to "continue along the path towards achieving our goals."
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