Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appears on a screen as he addresses his supporters during a ceremony to honour fighters killed in the recent escalation with Israel, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon November 3, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, issued a warning to the United States on Friday, emphasizing that preventing a regional conflict depended on halting the Israeli assault on Gaza. In his first speech since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7, Nasrallah also implied that his Iran-backed group was prepared to confront U.S. warships in the Mediterranean.
Nasrallah urged the United States to take action to stop the aggression on Gaza, which he characterized as American aggression. He also suggested that preventing a regional war hinged on the U.S. intervention.
Hezbollah has been involved in confrontations with Israeli forces at the Lebanese-Israeli border since October 8, resulting in the loss of over 55 of its fighters. While these clashes have been primarily limited to the border region, Nasrallah indicated that the extent of their response could depend on events in Gaza and Israeli actions toward Lebanon.
Hezbollah, founded in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is a key component of a Tehran-backed alliance that opposes Israel and the United States.
Other Iran-aligned groups have become involved in the conflict, with Shiite groups backed by Iran targeting U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels launching drones toward Israel. Nasrallah expressed support for these efforts.
The White House issued a statement warning Hezbollah not to exploit the Hamas-Israel conflict, and that the U.S. did not want to see the conflict expand into Lebanon. The Pentagon deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean to deter any further escalation.
Nasrallah asserted that Hezbollah was not intimidated by the presence of U.S. warships and claimed to be well-prepared for any potential confrontation. He cited past attacks on U.S. interests in Lebanon in the early 1980s, holding Hezbollah responsible for them.
Hezbollah’s leader celebrated the Hamas attack on Israel, describing it as the start of a new historic phase, with the decision made entirely by Palestinians.
Nasrallah acknowledged that the possibility of the situation in Lebanon escalating into a full-fledged war was real and that the enemy should be aware of this potential.
Israel, on the other hand, emphasized that it had no interest in a conflict along its northern border, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning potential adversaries against testing Israel’s resolve.
Nasrallah argued that Hezbollah’s escalations on the border had compelled Israel to maintain forces near its northern frontier instead of focusing on the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to the southwest, which he viewed as a significant development.
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