Hassan NasrallahSaudi Arabia

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urges end to Saudi invasion of Yemen

Sayyed-Mayadeen

The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has demanded an immediate end to the Saudi-led military invasion of Yemen, insisting that the kingdom aims to reclaim control over the neighboring nation.

“If Yemen leaves Saudi Arabia’s control, it also exits US control, and how can America let go of Yemen,” asked Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah Monday night during a live interview with Syria’s al-Ekhbariya TV, emphasizing that the Saudi regime and some of its regional and western allies have failed to achieve anything by launching the deadly bombardment campaign against the impoverished Arab nation.

He further said Riyadh must end its military aggression and allow Yemeni groups to initiate a dialog under international supervision.

Nasrallah further underlined that the US-backed Persian Gulf monarchy will suffer a heavy defeat as the Yemeni population is increasingly standing up against the Al Saud regime.

The Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also stressed that the Saudis have in fact demonstrated their open support for al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorists, who are also a threat to Saudi Arabia’s own existence.

Defending Hezbollah’s engagement in Syria

On Hezbollah’s involvement in neighboring Syria, Nasrallah again defended the movement’s involvement in the neighboring nation, describing the policy of neutrality in regional conflicts pushed by his critics as “a big lie.”

“Lebanon’s policy of disassociation [from regional conflicts] is a big lie,” he said, arguing that the smuggling of weapons and people across the Lebanese border proves the point.

Striking back at Hezbollah’s foreign-sponsored critics that accuse the movement of destabilizing Lebanon through its intervention in Syria, Nasrallah further insisted that Syria was targeted by a foreign-backed scheme led by governments such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey because it remained an independent country.

He then emphasized that the key reason behind Hezbollah’s engagement in the neighboring Arab nation in early 2013 stemmed from the fact that Syria is “one of the few independent countries in the region,” reiterating that the role of Damascus as a major regional power, independent of foreign influence, prompted the resistance movement’s involvement in Syria in a bid to block military intervention in the nation by other Arab and Western government.

Hezbollah’s role in Syria determined by Damascus

On the role of Hezbollah fighters in Syria, Nasrallah underlined that the movement’s forces deployed to the neighboring nation are stationed in areas where they are “needed” and in accordance with their capabilities, saying “We will be wherever we are needed.”

“The decision of Hezbollah’s presence is fully determined by Syrian leadership weather politically or militarily,” he said.

For instance, Nasrallah explained, Hezbollah fighters are needed in the Qalamoun region since the area is of significance to Lebanon as well as Syria.

He noted the fact that Syria’s Qalamoun is linked to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley facilitating the transport of mercenaries, goods and weapons, not only into Lebanon, but also back into Syrian areas, such as the outskirts of Damascus.

The Hezbollah leader further pointed out that the Syrian crisis was hijacked by extremist Takfiri groups such as al-Qaeda, which he said had long sought control over Syria like in Yemen.

He then stated that Syrian “President Bashar Assad was ready and willing to respond to rightful demands of the people,” but the interference by extremist groups changed the situation.

Nasrallah also reiterated that radical Takfiri groups such as the ISIL and the al-Nusra Front all fall under the banner of al-Qaeda terror group, and that no distinction should be made between the two.

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