Full Speech of Sheikh Qassem at the Central Ashura Council [Muharram 10]

Translated by Al-Ahed News, Hezbollah Media Relations

The full speech of Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem at the Central Ashura Council on June 25, 2026 [Muharram 10, 1448 AH].

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Peace be upon you, O Aba Abdillah. Peace be upon you, O son of the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon you, O son of the Commander of the Faithful, chief of the Prophet’s successor. Peace be upon you, O son of Fatimah al-Zahra, the doyenne of the women of the worlds. Peace be upon you, O Aba Abdillah, and upon the souls that gathered in your courtyard. May Allah’s peace be upon you as long as I live and as long as night and day endure, and may Allah never make this the last of my visit to you. Peace be upon Hussein, upon Ali ibn al-Hussein, upon the sons of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein. Peace be upon the martyred leader and guardian, Imam Khamenei, may his soul be sanctified. Peace be upon the Sayyed of the Nation’s Martyrs Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, may Allah be pleased with him. O people of honor, dignity, and pride; O loyal people of the Resistance; O people whose voices resounded with Karbala-peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.

Ashura is the triumph of blood over the sword. The blood of Imam Hussein fuels the flame of freedom and liberation, while the voice of Zainab inspires those who walk the path of jihad. It is the banner of light, guiding people toward righteousness.

Ashura is the extension of Imam Hussein’s mission to Imam al-Mahdi in establishing justice. It is the upbringing of generations to live lives of dignity. It is the whole story, illuminating the future with the brilliance of history.

Karbala is time itself, eternally renewed. It is the land that stands tall through its sons, the sky that pours forth its blessings, and the sun that dispels the darkness of tyranny and oppression.
On the Day of Ashura, the companions stood with Imam Hussein [PBUH]. On the night before his martyrdom, our Imam Hussein [PBUH] said to them:

I know of no companions more loyal, more righteous, or better than you, and I know of no family more virtuous than my own. May Allah reward you on my behalf with the best reward.”
They responded with a noble and magnificent pledge, expressed by Muslim ibn Awsaja:

“By Allah, we will never abandon you until Allah knows that we have upheld the trust of His Messenger concerning you. By Allah, even if I knew that I would be killed, then brought back to life, then burned, then brought back to life, then my ashes scattered- and that this would be done to me seventy times- I would still never leave you until I met my death in your defense. So how could I not do so, when it is but a single death, followed by an everlasting honor that shall never end?

This Ashura scene is the enduring symbol of sacrifice, selfless giving, and immortality throughout history. It is the true revolutionary mobilization that changes the balance of power and brings down tyrants.

To our Imam Hussein [PBUH], we say as his companions once said: “Never will I forsake you, O Hussein.”

And to our Imam, always and forever- in the fields of jihad, in the arenas of support, and in the struggle to uphold truth and liberate the land and its people- we proclaim: “At your service, O Hussein.”

This year, we witnessed the magnificent commemoration of Ashura and the remarkable presence of the people everywhere, despite displacement, forced migration, pain, loss, and hardship. This is the people of Abu Taher- a people shaped by the school of Imam Hussein [peace be upon him], who have remained steadfast. Praise be to Allah, who granted us the honor of living through Ashura and of being part of Karbala.

Today, we live the Ashura of our time: with Imam Khomeini, with Imam Khamenei, with Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba, with Imam Musa al-Sadr, with Sheikh Ragheb Harb, with Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, with Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, with the mujahideen, with the martyrs, with the wounded, with the prisoners, and with the families who have surrounded us from every side to declare: Karbala is the arena, Karbala is the battlefield, Karbala is victory, Karbala is the future.

We bear the trust of the martyrs, the wounded, and the prisoners- a trust placed upon our shoulders. We will protect all that they sacrificed for. They were all part of Ashura, and they remain so. They all stood on the land of Karbala, and they remain there. The young fighter on the battlefield, the steadfast woman, the elderly, the child, the young and the old- they are all in the field of Karbala, and they are all shaping Ashura.

It is an exact reflection. In the Ashura of Imam Hussein, Zainab, Ali al-Akbar, Abdullah al-Radhi, and Habib ibn Muzahir, everyone was present- from the youngest to the oldest, all the way to their leader. Today, Ashura is being relived. The entire family, the entire community, stands together.
O followers of Imam Hussein, you were present in South Lebanon- in Bint Jbeil, Khiam, Bayad, Ali al-Taher, and every place that is the South. You were present in the Beqaa, Mount Lebanon, Beirut, Dahiyeh [the southern suburbs], and the North, until all of Lebanon became the South, and our people came to embody the spirit of Karbala.

We have moved from saying, “If only we had been with you,” to declaring: “We are with you, and you are with us.” We are no longer standing before the Karbala of history. We now stand before a continuous Karbala- stretching from history to the present, from the present to the future, until Imam al-Mahdi [may Allah hasten his reappearance]. This means that the light has begun to spread and that liberation is coming.

They have remained united in a continuous path, in harmony with the words of Allah Almighty:
“Among the believers are men who have proven true to what they pledged to Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their pledge [with their lives], others are waiting [their turn]. They have never changed [their commitment] in the least.” [Al-Ahzab, 33:23]

Karbala is all of life. Karbala is the embodiment of purity, faith, and sacrifice. Karbala proclaims: “Far from us is humiliation.”

Faint voices have emerged from afar, objecting to our allegiance to Imam Hussein. But the blood of the martyrs has erupted, defeating the tyrants- America and the “Israeli” enemy- and declaring across the horizon to those voices: The followers of Hussein are victorious, while those who lag behind the caravan are the losers.

We confronted a war aimed at eliminating the very existence of Hezbollah, its popular base, its people, and those associated with it in Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that “Israel” is present in Lebanon because Hezbollah targets it with rockets. No. “Israel” is in Lebanon because it seeks to swallow it. “Israel” is in Lebanon because it seeks to occupy it as part of the path toward Greater “Israel”. The Resistance came into existence because of aggression and occupation.

This “Israeli”-American aggression- on land, at sea, and in the air- targeted civilians, trees, stones, and every aspect of life. It employed every type of weapon, relied on allied states and collaborators, and pursued plans to sow discord involving the army, religious sects, and communities. It included political criminalization, financial blockade, and efforts to cripple educational, social, and cultural institutions.

It was a massive war and a grave threat, intended to erase our very existence. But praise be to Allah, through the Karbala-inspired steadfastness of our proud and honorable people, we were able to halt this aggression and achieve a great victory.

We declare it clearly and without ambiguity: we have broken the “Israeli”-American project, and we have entered a new phase. Whoever seeks to act now must do so on the basis of this new stage.

This aggression came in parallel with the attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States and “Israel” also sought to eliminate Iran’s existence by changing the regime and taking control of the country and its resources. They publicly announced and planned this, believing they could achieve it.

The United States mobilized the world to stand with it, involving several countries in the Gulf region, and worked to draw in European and other international powers. A NATO official announced that five thousand aircraft were deployed from Europe in support of the United States in its aggression against Iran.

Iran held firm. Iran presented Imam Khamenei as a symbol, a banner, a light, guidance, revolution, and mobilization—alongside its leaders, its people, its civilians, and its immense sacrifices. Through this, it was able to stand and remain steadfast, and it reached a memorandum of understanding which they describe as an official declaration of the defeat of the United States and “Israel”. Today, Iran is shaping the future not only for itself but also for the entire region.

We cooperated with Iran during the period of aggression and confronted it together, and together we broke the project. They wanted us to be isolated and fragmented, but we acted as a unified axis- and this is a natural right. If the United States, with all its global capabilities, works to draw countries into its aggressive project, then how can we not cooperate in our just cause, in the liberation of land, and in honorable Resistance?

We thank Iran- thank Iran in a way that reaches even those ailing souls and overwhelms them with regret. We thank Iran, and we will remain with you. We want you to remain by our side, and we want to be in a unified position because it has become clear that your strength, combined with the strength of the Resistance fighters on the ground, helps create the proper balance of power that moves us into a new phase: the phase of breaking the “Israeli” project, as a prelude to removing the “Israeli” entity from our land.

We believe in and call for five foundational principles:

First: “Israel” has no option but a full withdrawal from every inch of our Lebanese land, and a complete cessation of its aggression by air, land, and sea, in all its forms. Its aggression has failed to achieve its expansionist objectives, and this is a fundamental starting point on which we build.

“Israel” must leave unconditionally. Any commitment that undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty will not be accepted, and no one has the right to sign or approve such arrangements. Any solution must have as its ceiling full Lebanese sovereignty and full Lebanese independence- no normalization, no abolition of the state of hostility, no gains for “Israel”, and no partial presence on Lebanese soil.

“Israel” must withdraw in humiliation and defeat- and this is what will happen.

We consider that the ceiling of sovereignty can be achieved by remaining within the framework of the outcomes of the 27/11/2024 agreement, on the basis of southern Lebanon alone, specifically south of the Litani River, and not the entire south.

Second: The Resistance continues to exist, to remain present, to make its own decisions, and to maintain its capabilities. It is now the backbone of Lebanon’s independence and liberation, and it will remain so. It is these people, this land, and it is history, present, and future.

Third: The Lebanese authorities cannot continue to antagonize and oppose more than half of the Lebanese people and still expect the country to function normally. A nation is built on its components, not on positions of power. Those in authority are entrusted with preserving the country; they will be honored if they succeed and held accountable by the people if they fail.

The political authorities must reconsider their approach in two areas:

First: to rally unity, consolidate ranks, and establish a unified political stance in confronting the “Israeli” enemy; to stop implementing the dictates of guardianship and of the enemy; and to cease taking decisions that serve American and “Israeli” interests. We are ready and extend our hand—take the opportunity. The Resistance is strong, and we are with you if you move on the path of Lebanese sovereignty.

Second: there is a need to mobilize efforts toward state-building by addressing the economic situation, depositors’ funds, reconstruction, and the social gap, and by undertaking all measures necessary to resolve Lebanon’s urgent issues. In the post-“Israeli” withdrawal phase, we will jointly study a comprehensive national security strategy.

Fourth: There is a need to benefit from the course of understanding between Iran and the United States as a key support for Lebanese sovereignty- an exceptional source of strength that God Almighty has granted us as a gift from heaven. In Lebanon, what do you have to confront aggression? We have made these great sacrifices because there is no balance of power; we have corrected it through the offering of blood.

Now, this additional strength that has come from honorable Iran, from the Iran of Islam, must be utilized in the interest of Lebanon’s sovereign, free, and independent project. It has been proven that Iran is the path to salvation.

Fifth: restrain the interference of Arab and foreign states that pressure you into dragging the country toward internal strife or toward reconciliation with Israel, or toward serving “Israeli” interests. At the same time, cooperate to the fullest extent with Arab and foreign states that support Lebanon’s sovereignty and reconstruction.

Tell them to translate their positions into practical action. Some countries come and say: “Disarm Hezbollah so we can help you.” This is an “Israeli” project. We want those who support our sovereignty- not those who support “Israel” under the pretext of helping sovereignty.

Accordingly, we welcome Arab and foreign states that work for reconstruction, for the restoration of sovereignty, for strengthening the Lebanese Army, for the removal of “Israel”, and for building a strong political support network that prevents “Israel” from achieving its objectives.

Finally: we must pay tribute to the people of Gaza and Palestine. O noble, selfless, and sacrificing people—you have been wronged by the world, yet the blood of your martyrs and the steadfastness of your people will remain the central banner of freedom, dignity, and liberation.

We stand with you. Palestine and the liberation of Palestine will remain the guiding compass. We believe in its liberation alongside its people, and God willing, that moment is near.

And here, we extend our greetings to the dear and self-sacrificing Yemeni people, to their honorable leadership and armed forces, who stood firm when the world abandoned Palestine, Lebanon, and the Axis of Resistance, despite all their own hardships and conditions. These are honorable people who recognize where the truth lies.

We also salute the Iraqi people- its religious authority, the Popular Mobilization Forces, its leadership, its people, and its government- for the care and support they have provided and for standing with us.

In the end, the people of truth will prevail, and we will remain committed to the slogan: “Far from us is humiliation.”

Peace be upon Hussein, upon Ali ibn al-Hussein, upon the sons of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein.

May the Peace, Mercy, and Blessings of Allah be Upon You