Iran’s Qaani: Resistance Axis Will Liberate Al-Quds

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG] Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Qaani praised Hezbollah’s role in the "Israeli" withdrawal from southern Lebanon on May 24, 2000, while highlighting the Resistance’s continued military posture amid ongoing ceasefire violations by the "Israeli" occupation.

Qaani described the 2000 withdrawal as an “honorable epic” that sent the “Zionist entity’s army fleeing in panic, leaving behind all their equipment in the trenches, with their wireless devices still running.”

He also said that “the Resistance of beloved Palestine and heroic Lebanon will ultimately lead to the liberation of the Holy City of al-Quds.”

On the eve of the commemorations, Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said the liberation of southern Lebanon in 2000 was the result of collective sacrifice, stressing that "everyone who contributed to the resistance was a partner in both the resistance and the liberation that was achieved."

He credited the Resistance's path to the leadership of former Secretary-General Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as well as the late Sheikh Ragheb Harb, Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, and Imad Mughniyeh.

Sheikh Qassem said the victory was born from the unity of "the army, the people, and the Resistance," hailing former President Emile Lahoud and Speaker Nabih Berri as protectors of liberation.

"We do not ask the Lebanese state to confront the American-'Israeli' project," Qassem said, "but it must not stand against its own people."

He warned that calls to restrict arms to state control amount to an "Israeli" project aimed at disarming the Resistance, adding that disarmament would strip Lebanon of its defensive capability.

"The Lebanese authority tells us: help us strip you of your weapons so that 'Israel' can later enter, kill you, and displace your people," he said.

If the government is incapable of protecting national sovereignty, Qassem added, "then it should leave." He argued that Lebanon currently lacks genuine political sovereignty and remains under American tutelage.