Nasrallah: Israel Avoiding 'Costly' War, Tens of Thousands of Foreign Fighters May Join Future Conflict
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah reassured Friday that Israel does not intend to wage a war on Lebanon in the near future but warned that “tens of thousands” of foreign fighters could fight alongside the “axis of resistance” in any future conflict.
“Israel is refraining from waging wars on Lebanon and Gaza because it knows very well that such a move would be costly due to the resistance's capabilities,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech marking the annual Quds Day.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor “Lieberman has said that Israel does not intend to wage a war, 'neither in fall, nor in summer, nor in winter, nor in the North and nor in the South.' The person saying this is the enemy's minister of war and he knows that wars on Gaza or Lebanon will not lead him to victories,” Nasrallah added.
"The Israeli enemy should know that if it launches an attack on Syria or Lebanon, it's unknown whether the fighting will stay just between Lebanon and Israel, or Syria and Israel," Nasrallah added.
"I'm not saying countries would intervene directly -- but it would open the door for hundreds of thousands of fighters from all around the Arab and Islamic world to participate in this fight -- from Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan," he said.
Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon, and others from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling alongside regime forces in Syria to defend the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
The powerful Shiite Lebanese group and Israel have fought many battles including a devastating 34-day war in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Turning to the Saudi-Iranian tensions, the Hizbullah chief said “the Saudi regime is too weak and impotent to be able to wage a war on Iran.”
“Iran, as the main backer of resistance movements in the region, is facing political pressures and economic sanctions aimed at isolating it. The new isolation attempts started at the Riyadh summit with the aim of bringing the war to Iran through the takfiris,” Nasrallah noted.
“The new Saudi crown prince had threatened to bring the war to Iran and this means using the Wahhabi, takfiri groups to target Iran,” he added, linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's remarks to the unprecedented bombings in Tehran earlier this month that were claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group.
As for the situation in Syria, Nasrallah pointed out that “thanks to resilience, Syria has overcome the threat of toppling the regime, and should the military developments continue in the same manner, Syria will overcome the threat of partitioning and isolation.”
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