Nasrallah: Iran Won't Abandon Syria and Qalamun Battle Will 'Speak for Itself' When It Begins
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday denied media reports alleging that Iran has decided to “abandon” the Syrian regime in its fight against rebels and jihadists seeking to oust it, as he declared that the much-anticipated Qalamun battle would “speak for itself” when it begins.
“After the recent fall of Idlib's Jisr al-Shughur into the hands of the armed groups, we witnessed a wave of rumors that is part of a vehement psychological war,” said Nasrallah in a televised address on the latest developments.
He said the “rumors” are aimed at saying that the Syrian regime is “living its final days” and “falling apart.”
“Some said that Syria's allies have abandoned it and that Iran sold it for the sake of the nuclear program,” Nasrallah remarked.
“We are before a psychological warfare aimed at undermining the resolve of the Syrians and at achieving through lies what they failed to achieve through their years-long global war against Syria,” he noted.
“No one must heed this psychological war and we must all realize that this is a psychological war. This is not new as we kept hearing in the past four years that the regime has ended,” Nasrallah added.
He stressed that “claims that Iran has abandoned Syria” are “baseless,” emphasizing that Tehran -- his group's key regional backer -- is “keen on the interests of its allies.”
“Furthermore, there are no indications that the Russian leadership has abandoned Syria,” added Nasrallah.
Commenting on recent military gains for Syrian rebels and jihadist militants, Nasrallah noted that “when a certain town or region falls, such as the city of Idlib, we must look for the reasons on the ground instead of blaming it on the policies of alliances.”
“When one loses one round, it does not mean losing the war,” he said.
Turning to reports of an imminent Hizbullah operation against militants in the Syrian region of Qalamun which borders Lebanon, Nasrallah said such an assault would have “nothing to do with anything else, neither with Idlib nor with Jisr al-Shughur.”
“We were aware that the militant groups were waiting for the melting of the snow to launch attacks. After the snow melted, we were not the ones who attacked, they attacked posts and kidnapped people from (the Lebanese border town of) Arsal,” he said.
“We are not speaking of a perceived threat but rather of a real aggression, which is manifesting itself through attacks on posts and the occupation of vast chunks of Lebanese territory,” Hizbullah's leader pointed out.
Earlier on Tuesday, al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri accused Hizbullah of seeking to “import the Syrian blaze into Lebanon” by waging an assault in Qalamun “under the pretext of the preemptive war against the terrorist groups.”
“Had the state performed its duties, we would have stood behind it and by it, but it is clear that the state lacks the ability,” Nasrallah clarified.
“We will tackle the threat but until the moment, Hizbullah has not declared any official stance about what it intends to do,” he noted.
“We will not issue a statement about our operation and when the operation begins, it will speak for itself,” he added.
“We heard a lot of intimidation and condemnation, but if we wanted to wait for Lebanese unanimity, the armed groups would have been deployed among us by now,” Nasrallah explained.
Addressing Hizbullah's critics, he added: “If you don't want to confront the threat, it is your business, and no one has tasked us with this other than our humanity, religion and morals.”
Earlier in the day, fierce clashes erupted between Hizbullah fighters and militant groups in the outskirts of the towns of Tufail and Brital on Syria's border. Media reports said the fighting resulted in the death of “dozens” of militants and at least four Hizbullah fighters, including a field commander.
As for the Yemeni conflict, Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia failed to achieve all its objectives from the Decisiveness Storm air campaign it had launched against Huthi rebels in the neighboring country, accusing Riyadh of “killing children and women” and adopting a “futile policy.”
Turning to Iraq, Hizbullah's leader warned of an alleged U.S. scheme to fragment the country into three regions, noting that “the Americans are not fulfilling their promises, even regarding the sale of arms to the Iraqi government.”
Y.R.
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