Iran, Saudi rapprochement benefits entire region: Sayyed Nasrallah

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Lebanon is heavily influenced by everything happening in the region and all over the world, particularly in its neighboring countries, Syria and Palestine, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday while speaking during the ceremony honoring resistance figure Asad Sagheer a week after his passing.

"To talk about the present and future of Syria and Palestine is to talk about the present and future of Lebanon," Sayyed Nasrallah said.

"Certain parties think of Lebanon as an island in the middle of the ocean completely isolated from everything going on in the region. Sadly, there are certain axioms that need to be addressed," the Lebanese resistance leader said. "Had Syria fallen into ISIS' grip, where would Lebanon have been today?"

He went on to underline that Syria and Palestine were a part of the Arab World, highlighting how Lebanon was tied to its neighboring states due to its "moral, national, and religious responsibilities."

"The situation in Palestine has an effect on the security, sovereignty, present, and future of Lebanon," the Hezbollah chief said. "Imagine Palestine neighboring Lebanon without Israel? That is not a dream, but an impending reality if God wills it."

Syria at heart of Axis of Resistance

The region, according to Sayyed Nasrallah, "is before a major achievement in light of the failure of the global war on Syria [...] Syria was a main party in the struggle against the enemy and at the heart of the Axis of Resistance, and it still is despite the global war."

"Everyone knows Syria's standing since the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially over the past 50 years. The claims that Syria will be embraced by the Arab World and therefore leave the axis of resistance are not true," the Lebanese resistance leader underlined.

"It is more appropriate to say that the Arabs are coming back to Syria, as Syria never left the Arab League; they took themselves out alongside the Arab League."

"The trust between Hezbollah and Syria was baptized with blood. When we fought in Syria, that was a battle that enhanced our bonds of trust, therefore do not allow any silly analyst or anyone else to cause any cracks in this relationship," Sayyed Nasrallah stressed.

"Syria, during the second year of the global war being waged against it, was offered to abandon its critical position in the Axis of Resistance, but it refused to do so," he revealed. "When in a position of strength, one does not fear dialogue or any political or diplomatic steps."

"Upon seeing official Arab and Western delegations visiting Syria, we feel happy and do not experience any concern or fear," the Hezbollah chief said. Openness to Syria is the recognition of its victory."

Furthermore, Sayyed Nasrallah touched on attempts to stir the pot within the resistance's front, highlighting how there were attempts to propagate an idea claiming that Iran went to Syria to control and dominate it. However, "Syria and its leadership exercise their full sovereignty and freedom and take all the decisions they want.

He went on to stress that "Iran does not operate like the colonial powers in Syria; it is instead helping Damascus. Syria and its leadership exercise full sovereignty, freely taking all the decisions they desire."

"Certain Arab regimes are fighting an imaginary battle against Syria," Sayyed Nasrallah said. "Syria is outside of the US sphere of influence, and it has long been the focus of American projects for the region."

"If it were not for Syria's resilience, the compromise would have ended long ago, and Syria's support of resistance movements turned the table on the regional status quo," he underscored.

US still waging war on Syria

According to the resistance chief, when the United States saw that the Arab World was warming up to Syria once again, it decided to draw a line in the sand saying rapprochement was only allowed in the wake of the devastating earthquake that afflicted the Arab state.

"The United States is continuing its embargo and war on Syria in various ways, including the mobilization of armed forces in the eastern Euphrates, which are standing in the face of the liberation effort," Sayyed Nasrallah explained. "The US base in Al-Tanf is aimed at protecting ISIS and the various terrorist groups attacking civilians in the desert."

Syria's true foe is the United States, he underlined. "Syria and its people need all the cooperation they can get with every friend and ally they have [...] there are international and regional indications that the blockade and sanctions on Syria, Yemen, and other regional countries, will be broken."

Sayyed Nasrallah continued on to the row between Syria and Turkey in northeast Turkey, saying that the situation was improving through the quadrilateral Russian-Syrian-Iranian-Turkish talks.

Palestine witnessing historic period

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah touched on the situation in occupied Palestine, stressing that the latest developments in Palestine were "historic and incredibly important".

"There is a consensus within 'Israel' that the internal division and external factors will lead to its demise [...] [they] have a Nebuchadnezzar complex amid a prevailing fear of a third fall."

"One of the main reasons for the numerous US delegations visiting Israel is to deal with the internal schism, which could lead to a bloody clash," he explained.

"The latest developments in Israel open up great hopes, and the occupation's plight goes back to the region's resilience and resistance," the resistance leader stressed. "Countries normalizing with the occupation does not protect it, and it can never put an end to the operations" being carried out against it.

All of the developments taking place in the West Bank and the Palestinian interior is highly important in the struggle of resistance, he noted, stressing that "the turning point for the Israeli occupation today is that there is a prevailing culture similar to what happened during the forced May 25th withdrawal from southern Lebanon."

"Today, the priority should be extending a helping hand to the Palestinian fighters pushing [the Israeli occupation] into the abyss."

Iranian-Saudi rapprochement of high importance

The resumption of diplomatic relations and the re-opening of embassies between Saudi Arabia and Iran is highly beneficial for the peoples of the region, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed.

"If the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement goes as it should, it can open up new horizons in Lebanon and the region as a whole," he explained.

After seven years of strained ties, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations and re-open their embassies series of talks brokered in Beijing, China under the auspices of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

According to the joint statement, "the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies and missions within two months of talks."

Hezbollah not imposing President on anybody

Regarding the latest domestic developments in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said "Hezbollah does not want to impose a president on anybody, and it wants to facilitate the process for [the election of a president]."

"Do not wait for foreign powers, and no foreign power has the right to veto the presidential election," Sayyed Nasrallah concluded.

The Hezbollah Secretary-General said earlier in the week: "When we name a presidential candidate, it is a serious commitment: we do not budge and will not change our candidate in the future," revealing that the candidate that Hezbollah supports in the presidential election is Minister Suleiman Franjieh.

The Resistance leader highlighted that Hezbollah's support for Franjieh's candidacy was 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 stressed.