Zarif in Damascus

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrived in Damascus today to discuss Iran’s four-point peace plan for seemingly an unending war now in its fifth year. As a sign of how troubling the situation has become, the Syrian air force carried airstrikes against the opposition in and around Damascus early Wednesday, just hours before Zarif’s plane landed at the airport. More than two dozen people were killed in today’s airstrikes. Zarif is scheduled to hold meetings with President Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian leaders.

Iran intervened militarily in the Syrian war from its beginning, deploying hundreds of Quds Force and IRGC officers and thousands of foreign Shia militias, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, to save the Assad’s regime. The Quds Force-led forces bear the brunt of fighting in Syria; especially in recent months after the anti-Assad forces scored significant victories against the Syrian Army. Zarif was in Beirut on Tuesday and met with Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah.

Photo credit: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (second from left) arriving in Damascus; 12 Auguast 2015 (Twitter)

Don’t Wait for Saudi-Iran Negotiations for Choosing Lebanon’s President – Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said today in Beirut that Iran-Saudi talks will not break the stalemate over electing a new president for Lebanon. The country has been without a president since early this week, and there are no signs that the politically divided parties could agree on a compromise candidate anytime soon.

“I call for multiparty efforts to bring the presidential election to the required end. Foreign powers are saying every day that they do not want to interfere,” Nasrallah said.  “Don’t wait for Iranian-Saudi relations or negotiations between these two countries, or Iranian-American negotiations.” (The Daily Star, 6 June)

Nasrallah said that so far no date had been set for a resumption of Saudi-Iranian talks, and even when the talks resume, it was not known whether the Lebanese presidential election would be discussed.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said last month he invited his Iranian counterpart Javad to visit Riyadh for talks on Lebanese presidential stalemate.

Photo credit: Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah speaks during a televised speech in Beirut's southern suburbs. Friday, 6 June 2014. (Hasan Shaaban/The Daily Star)

Nasrallah: Hezbollah Will Fight On in Syria

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday during a televised speech that his party would fight on in Syria.

“I will not repeat what I explained before about the reason we went to Syria and why we are staying where we should be,” Nasrallah said. (The Daily Star, 17 February)

Nasrallah warned that Sunni extremist groups posed a threat to the entire region and that all of Lebanon was a target.

“Lebanon is targeted by these takfiri groups and they would have come sooner or later regardless of our involvement in Syria,” he said, in an apparent response to his Lebanese critics that his military intervention in Syria has caused a rash of suicide bombing in Lebanon.

The Hezbollah chief, whose group has been fighting alongside the Assad's military and militias in Syria, warned that if extremists gain control of war-torn Syria, the repercussions would be felt throughout the Middle East.

Note: Nasrallah did not say what repercussions would be felt in Syria if Assad continues his rule. His defense of Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria sounds more like an ideological argument that political. The Hezbollah, along with other extremist Shia militia groups, under the tutelage of Iran’s Quds Force, is seen as defenders of the Shia faith anywhere in the region, giving it the license to intervene militarily in foreign countries.

Nasrallah uses the word “takfiri” to lump all the opposition groups, including the moderates, under same category to justify Hezbollah’s assault on Sunni groups in general, an ideological justification very much like the anti-Communist ideology of a previous era to crush the democratic movements in many pro-Western countries.

File photo: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, November 2013. (Hassan Shaaban/The Daily Star)

Saudi Arabia Behind Iran Embassy Bombing: Hezbollah

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah today accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the twin suicide bombing near the Iranian embassy in Beirut. 12 people, including an Iranian attaché, died in the bombings.  

Nasrallah said he was convinced the Lebanon-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Abdallah Azzam Brigades, which has claimed responsibility for the bombings, has direct links to Saudi intelligence. He did not provide any proof.

Nasrallah made the comments during a TV interview with OTV.

“We believe the Abdallah Azzam Brigades’ statement about the bombing ... this is a bona fide group that has a Saudi Emir and its leadership is directly linked to Saudi intelligence,” Nasrallah said. (Daily Star, 3 Decemebr)

On August 19, Iran’s Embassy in Beirut was the target of suicide bombings. The first bomber detonated the bomb at the embassy gate, killing the guards and destroying the embassy’s gate. A second bomber detonated a bomb inside a SUV close to the gate minutes later, killing many bystanders who had rushed to the scene of the first bombing. The second bomber probably planned to penetrate the embassy compound after the first bomber destroyed the gate.

The two suicide bombers, a Lebanese and a Palestinian national, were both residents of south Lebanon.

Following the attack, Hezbollah and Iranian officials blamed Israel for the bombings. Nasrallah did not explain why he has changed his mind and now blame the Saudis.

Nasrallah’s comments comes on a day that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had appealed to Saudi Arabia to work with Iran toward achieving regional stability. Zarif had also said that he was ready to go to Saudi Arabia soon.

File photo: Lebanese men remove a dead body from a burned car, at the scene where two bombings struck near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. 19 November 2013. (Hussein Malla/AP/Daily Star)

Netanyahu and Nasrallah Warn of Iran War

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned in a rare public appearance today that failure of the West to strike a deal with Iran over its nuclear program would spell “war in the region.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned today that a “bad deal” with Iran on its nuclear program could lead to war.

Nasrallah spoke in Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold to mark the Ashura, one of the holiest days in Shia calendar. Netenyahu made his comments during an address to Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem.

“What is the alternative to a deal with Iran and the countries of the world,” Nasrallah asked. “The alternative is war in the region.” (AFP, 13 November)

Nasrallah pointed the finger at Israel and Arab countries.

“Israel does not want any accord that would avert war in the region. It is regrettable that some Arab countries take the Israeli side in its murderous choices… It is regrettable that Netanyahu is the spokesman for some Arab countries,” said Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s aides challenged U.S. assertions to have offered Tehran only modest relief from sanctions during the latest round of the Geneva talks.

Reuters reported that Western proposal at Geneva could let Iran sell oil and gold in return for curbs on its nuclear activities. An Israeli minister told the news agency that the deal would negate up to 40 percent of the impact of sanctions, reducing pressure on Tehran to halt a program the West says has a military motive.

“I would go so far as to say that a bad deal could lead to the second, undesired option,” Netanyahu said, referring to military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. (Reuters, 13 November)

File photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (ibtimes) 

Hezbollah Admits Fighting in Syria

‘This Battle is Ours’ - Nasrallah

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah today defended the group’s involvement in the civil war in Syria and admitted that Hezbollah guerillas were involved in fighting in the Syrian border town of Qusayer. On Thursday, the Friends of Syria, a grouping of Western and Arab governments, had said that the Iranian and Hezbollah fighters were engaged in fighting alongside the Syrian army and militias loyal to Assad in Qusayr. Yesterday, Iran denied its forces were in Syria.

The Syrian army has been pressing ahead to retake Qusayr, and has reportedly seized al-Daba’a military airport north of the town.

“I say to all the honorable people, to the Mujahedeen, to the heroes: I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one in Syria,” Nasrallah said. “We will continue along the road, bear the responsibilities and the sacrifices. This battle is ours and I promise you victory,” he said. (Press TV, 25 May)

File photo: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (Press TV)