Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, was a "brutal terrorist" and the world is "safer without him," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
"Under his leadership, Hezbollah terrorized populations across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully advancing as a country" © Mena Today
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, was a "brutal terrorist" and the world is "safer without him," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
Despite the escalation of violence in the Middle East, Blinken reiterated the United States' commitment to pursuing a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.
"Hassan Nasrallah was a brutal terrorist who claimed many victims, including Americans, Israelis, Lebanese civilians, Syrian civilians, and many more," Blinken stated at the opening of a ministerial meeting in Washington, convened by countries in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
"Under his leadership, Hezbollah terrorized populations across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully advancing as a country," he said. "Lebanon, the region, and the world are safer without him."
Despite the dramatic escalation in the Middle East, Blinken affirmed that the United States still believes in diplomacy as the best path forward.
"The United States will continue to work with its partners in the region and around the world to push for a diplomatic resolution that brings real security to both Israel and Lebanon, allowing citizens on both sides of the border to return home," Blinken argued.
"Diplomacy remains the best and only way to achieve greater stability in the Middle East, and the United States remains determined to advance these efforts urgently," he said, emphasizing the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.
By Antoine Khoury
Lebanese Christian leader Samir Geagea delivered a verdict Tuesday that many Lebanese have long wanted to hear but few dared to say out loud: Hezbollah is "finished" in Lebanon, and Iran, not the Lebanese state, will foot the bill for the destruction it caused.
Lebanon has taken the extraordinary step of declaring Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani persona non grata, ordering him to leave Lebanese territory by Sunday at the latest, in a move that marks one of the most significant diplomatic ruptures in the two countries' modern history.
Israel's military will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, the first time Israel has clearly spelled out its intent to seize swathes of territory that make up nearly a tenth of Lebanon.
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