Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declared Wednesday in a televised speech that negotiating with Israel "under fire" amounted to imposed surrender, calling for unity and vowing his fighters were prepared to continue "without limits."
Naim Qassem © Mena Today
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declared Wednesday in a televised speech that negotiating with Israel "under fire" amounted to imposed surrender, calling for unity and vowing his fighters were prepared to continue "without limits."
Strong words. But they come with a critical caveat: the Lebanese government has formally banned Hezbollah from any military activity on Lebanese soil. Qassem is not speaking as a state actor, he is speaking as the head of a terrorist organization openly defying his own country's authorities.
Hezbollah is not an independent force. It is financed, trained, armed and directed by Iran, which ordered the group to attack Israel on March 2nd. What Qassem presents as resistance is in reality a proxy war fought on Lebanese territory, at Lebanon's expense, for Tehran's strategic interests.
As Iran's own leadership fractures under the pressure of war and internal power struggles, Hezbollah's defiant posturing looks increasingly like a cornered actor playing out a script written in Tehran, whether Lebanon wants it or not.
The Lebanese people deserve better than a militia that wages wars they never voted for, on orders from a foreign power.
Iran rejected new peace talks with the United States, its state news agency reported on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump had said he was sending envoys to Pakistan for talks and would strike Iran unless it accepted his terms.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Sunday that Madrid will formally ask the European Union on Tuesday to suspend its association agreement with Israel, accusing Jerusalem of violating international law.
British police said they are investigating possible Iran links to a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London, which the UK chief rabbi said showed a sustained campaign of violence against the Jewish community was gathering momentum.
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