Hezbollah names Franjieh as presidential pick: Sayyed Nasrallah

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The freedom fighters wounded in action while fighting for the resistance are a testimony that the sacrifices made toward the resistance's achievements are to continue and did not end even after victory was realized, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Monday while speaking during a commemoration ceremony of the resistance's wounded fighters.

"Thousands went to prison, and the upcoming generations must come to know these Zionist detention centers [...], and we must remember the torture undergone by these prisoners," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.

"We evoke the resistance's sincerity, as it used to say, 'we will not leave our prisoners behind bars'," the Lebanese resistance chief said, noting how none of Hezbollah's prisoners are still incarcerated.

Furthermore, the Hezbollah Secretary-General addressed the Palestinian people, especially the Palestinian prisoners and their families, saying: "We are fully aware of your suffering and pain in Lebanon."

Remaining on the topic of occupied Palestine, he assured the Palestinian people that everything currently going on in the Israeli occupation was "an indication of the Israeli entity nearing its end."

"This ignorant man [Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir] threatening the people behind resistance operations with the death sentence is truly ignorant, and he will only give the freedom fighters more impetus," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.

Furthermore, the Hezbollah chief said his party "understands the suffering you are undergoing in the West Bank, Al-Quds, Huwara, Nablus, and the East Al-Quds, as we have lived together through years of occupation and resistance [...] we do now need more evidence regarding the criminality and brutality of the Zionists."

"When discussing the incidents that took place in the town of Huwara and the suffering of the Palestinian people throughout the West Bank, we are merely revealing the truth about the Israeli settlers."

'Army, People, Resistance' equation protects Lebanon's borders

Touching on Lebanon's land borders with occupied Palestine, Sayyed Nasrallah underlined that the occupation was trying to extend beyond the borders it has already occupied, "but unarmed civilians are standing up to fully armed soldiers."

There is a deterrence equation that has been established against the Israeli occupation, the Hezbollah chief said, explaining that the equation at hand was "made up of the people on the Blue Line and the Army and the Resistance, which the enemy knows are surely ever watchful [...] this equation is today protecting our borders, land, and waters, and it will later protect our gas rigs."

The resistance and powers who dared stand up to the Israeli occupation "received no support other than from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria [...] during the July War, and over 33 days, if the land operation succeeded, some 80,000-100,000 Israeli soldiers would have flooded into Southern Lebanon," Sayyed Nasrallah stressed. 

"On the land borders, we do not trust the enemy, not one bit, and I wanted to remind of the deterrence equation, the resistance chief said. "When the [demarcation] agreement was announced, we ensured that the enemy will suffer the consequences if Lebanon is banned from extracting oil and gas or if the extraction therein is delayed."

"We are not disappointed and do not regret anything; the deal struck regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders is an important historic achievement," he explained. "We will not give up one inch or meter in Shebaa Farms nor the Kfarchouba Hills, and we will not give up a grain of dirt or a drop of water."

Moreover, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that "we have never given up, and today is not the day we give up [...] in light of the ongoing economic crisis, the people did not give up on the resistance."

"They want to strip us of our strength through assassinations, smear campaigns, manipulation of public opinion, starvation, and chaos [...] [but] your aspirations will fall flat, and your actions are failing. The peoples of the region are strong and aware enough to know their points of strength," he added.

Lebanon not to have president imposed by foreign powers

Sayyed Nasrallah touched on the Lebanese presidential elections, highlighting how Hezbollah wanted to elect a president and did not desire a power vacuum in the presidency, highlighting how this was an invaluable national interest.

He stressed that Hezbollah would not allow any foreign parties to impose a president on Lebanon and did not accept any "veto" from any foreign party regarding any presidential candidate.

"We accept help [from foreign parties] when it comes to diverging standpoints," the resistance leader noted. "When it comes to our friends, Iran and Syria, they did not intervene, and they never will, when it comes to the presidential issue."

"Our decision is fully in our own hands, we choose and nominate whoever we want, and we do not wait for foreign parties and do not wait for the regional status quo," he added. "The issue between Saudi Arabia and Iran is related to the regional status quo, especially in Yemen, and the solution is in the hands of the Yemeni leadership in Sanaa."

"Today, we are seeing the leaders of the various parliamentary blocs and senior politicians say that if the presidential candidate was not from the axis of resistance, we will suspend the session," he underlined. "Each party nominates its candidate for the presidency, and we go to Parliament [to vote]."

"There is no such thing as a Hezbollah candidate, and the aim of this designation is the elimination of the person we support," Sayyed Nasrallah said. "What we have is a candidate supported by Hezbollah."

"I had a meeting with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil, and I informed him of the characteristics that Hezbollah wants in the presidential candidate it supports [...] we have kicked off talks with our allies to support a presidential candidate and we have arrived at a result," he revealed.

Sayyed Nasrallah told Bassil that Hezbollah saw the desired characteristics in him and former Minister Suleiman Franjieh, and due to Bassil not running for President, the best option might be Franjieh.

"When we name a presidential candidate, it is a serious commitment: we do not budge and will not change our candidate in the future," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined, revealing that the candidate that Hezbollah supports in the presidential election is Minister Suleiman Franjieh.

Furthermore, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that since Hezbollah signed with the FPM the memorandum of understanding on February 6, 2006, Hezbollah has been very keen to uphold this accord, and "this agreement did not turn us into one party, as there are no clauses obliging either party to agree with the other on the presidential candidate."

"Our alliance and our agreement do not oblige them to elect the Parliament Speaker whom we want, and the same goes for the president and the prime minister," Sayyed Nasrallah said. "Hezbollah's support for President Michel Aoun's candidacy during the last presidential election was not due to a clause in the Mar Michael memorandum of understanding."

The Resistance leader highlighted that Hezbollah's support for Franjieh's candidacy is not a sign that it is abandoning the Mar Mikhael MoU, as the party is very keen to safeguard its ties with the Free Patriotic Movement.

"The country needs de-escalation, dialogue, and communication, otherwise we will have to grow accustomed to the presidential vacuum," he concluded.