In the second episode of Al Mayadeen's "40 and Beyond" documentary series, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah disclosed, for the first time, information about the targeting of the US Marines headquarters in Beirut in 1989 and several other operations that were carried out during that period, as well as details about the assassinations targeting left-wing parties figures in Lebanon.

In an interview with Al Mayadeen CEO, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, in the second episode of "40 and Beyond", Sayyed Nasrallah explained that in the 80s period in Lebanon, at least three to four real organizations, which were independent of each other and not affiliated with Hezbollah’s formations and leadership, were active on Lebanese soil. 

Among those organizations, Sayyed Nasrallah said, was the Lebanese Islamic Jihad - a real, limited, and small formation, noting that all claims about this organization being fake are false.

40 and Beyond | 20 years ago, Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah talked about the 1983 #US Marines barracks operation and the captives taken at the time.
Who was behind these operations? #أربعون_وبعد pic.twitter.com/OTCpEDuPdg

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 20, 2022

The Lebanese Resistance leader emphasized that the members of these organizations had had their own beliefs and visions in dealing with what was happening during that period, indicating that these groups believed that the US was protecting the Israeli occupation, which paved the way for targeting foreign US forces in Lebanon.

Sayyed Nasrallah said that for Hezbollah, the members of these small groups carried out quality operations that Hezbollah might or might not have theoretically approved of.

It is noteworthy that on October 23, 1983, the US Marines headquarters in Beirut was blasted, leaving 241 Americans dead. Minutes later, a suicide bombing targeted French barracks about six kilometers away, killing 58 French paratroopers, according to French officials.       

The Hezbollah Secretary-General explained that, initially, these organizations did not intend to detain hostages, yet the actual implementation came in retaliation for detaining some of their members, coupled with the aim of preventing their execution.

20 years ago, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that #Hezbollah did not carry out the #Marines operation.#أربعون_وبعد pic.twitter.com/g3V9ETDxlR

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 20, 2022

The Lebanese Resistance leader considered that had Hezbollah taken the decision to approach one of the groups and tell its members that some of their acts and operations were unsuitable, they wouldn’t have listened.

Reality of Leftist figures' assassinations

Regarding the assassinations that were carried out against left-wing parties figures in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that neither Hezbollah nor Hezbollah-affiliated formations, nor organizations close to Hezbollah had anything to do with them, mainly because such operations do not align with the beliefs of Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Resistance party puts confronting “Israel” as a top priority in mind and was based from the very beginning on the doctrine of resisting and fighting it.

"I can tell you that neither #Hezbollah nor organizations close to Hezbollah nor formations affiliated with Hezbollah had anything to do with these assassinations."
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denies accusations that Hezbollah assassinated leftist figures in #Lebanon.#أربعون_وبعد pic.twitter.com/487wLzYy5I

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 19, 2022

In regard to the confusion that arose in some left-wing parties, Sayyed Nasrallah explained that these parties had had some problems with some Islamic organizations in Lebanon, which Hezbollah had friendship with, a relationship that might have been the source of this confusion. 

However, the Secretary-General underlined that he does not know if such Islamic organizations had had any hand in these assassinations, indicating that Hezbollah was not concerned with investigating this matter, nor did it have the capability or the time to look into its details.

It is noteworthy that on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Hezbollah and the 30th anniversary of the election of Sayyed Nasrallah as the Lebanese party's Secretary-General, Al Mayadeen produced a five-part documentary series, featuring a rare interview with the Resistance leader dating back to 20 years.

The third episode of "40 and Beyond" will be exclusively aired Wednesday at 9 pm Al-Quds time, on Al Mayadeen TV.

40 and Beyond: tune in next week for special episodes on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Hezbollah, Monday to Friday at 9:00 PM #AlQuds time, only on #AlMayadeen TV. pic.twitter.com/avNN42BBM3

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 15, 2022