Hezbollah chief: Soleimani killing puts Mideast in 'completely new phase'

Hassan Nasrallah calls assassination of top Iranian general by U.S. 'blatant crime' that is not just Iranian matter but one for Iran-backed 'resistance axis'; Soleimani's daughter says she knows Hezbollah will avenge her father

Associated Press|Updated:01.05.20 | 14:43

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The U.S. killing of a top Iranian general puts the entire region at the beginning of a "completely new phase," said the head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Sunday. 
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Addressing thousands of supports at a rally in southern Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah called the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani a "clear, blatant crime" that would transform the Middle East.
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Leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah speaks on the death of Qassem Soleimani during his address Sunday 
Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, was killed in an airstrike early Friday near the Iraqi capital's international airport. 
Sunday's comments were Nasrallah's first public statements since Soleimani was killed.
The killing, Nasrallah said, was not just an Iranian matter but one for the Iran-backed "resistance axis." 
He then went on to say that the U.S. military in the Middle East would pay the price for the assassination, calling this the just punishment for his killing.
However, Nasrallah said that American civilians in the region "should not be touched", saying this would serve U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda.
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Qassem Soleimani 
(Photo: EPA)
The Shiite militant group is Iran's key proxy and most successful military export. Nasrallah, who has been in hiding fearing Israeli assassination since 2006, spoke to supporters through a large screen via satellite link.
Meanwhile, Soleimani's daughter said Sunday that she knows Nasrallah will avenge the father's death.
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Zeinab Soleimani
Speaking in Farsi with Arabic voice-over, Zeinab Soleimani told Lebanon's Al-Manar TV - which is linked with Hezbollah - that the "filthy" U.S. President Donald Trump will not be able to wipe out her father's achievements.
The death of her father will "not break us," she said, and the United States should know that his blood will not go for free.
In the short interview aired Sunday, Zeinab said Trump was not courageous because her father was targeted by missiles from afar and the U.S. president should have "stood face to face in front of him."

First published: 16:12, 01.05.20

14Comments

9.

Nasrallah is right, a new phase has begun

Probably, the days have finally come to remember the 250 Marines killed at the Beirut Airport 37 years ago, officiating in their honor a simple but imperishable act of homage that shows everybody that America will never forget their fallen. No one should give his life for a homeland that buries its dead in the sinister fields of oblivion.

Monowen Christless| 01.06.20

40

8.

The Three Sisters

100% next to the state of Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, the three wonderful peoples that with steadfastness and determination are leading humanity towards a New Era free from the thick darkness of hatred, fanaticism, oppression and fear that dominated it until the WWII, and they still continue to govern it in many parts of the planet.

Monowen Christless| 01.05.20

50

7.

olmert and livni directly responsible for nasrollah

idf had a chance to counterattack in depth with a stalingrad style brutal assault. instead the incompetent olmert along wiht livni basically sued for a ceasefire to the UN without permitting the idf to go all out. so who the hell wants to listen to olmert who now writes articles for jpost, a sad reflecction on them. idf has to make plans to wipe out lebanon lock stock and barrel at the right time because nasrollah only grows stronger.

ariyeh| 01.05.20

10

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