Nasrallah: Khamenei Is Our Imam, Our Leader… No Place For Neutrality in Any War Against Iran

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters)
Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters)
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Nasrallah: Khamenei Is Our Imam, Our Leader… No Place For Neutrality in Any War Against Iran

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters)
Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters)

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that any war on Iran would ignite the entire region and lead to “the end of Israel.”

“This is our position as part of the axis of the resistance: we are not neutral and will not be,” he said.

In a speech in the southern suburbs of Beirut on the occasion of Ashura, Nasrallah described the US sanctions on Iran, Syria and the resistance movements in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq as “unjust.”

“This supposed war will mark the end of Israel, the end of American hegemony and presence in our region,” he underlined.

Nasrallah went on to say: “From Lebanon, we tell the whole world that our imam, our leader, our master… is Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Husseini Khamenei… and that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the heart of the axis, its main center, its strongest supporter…”

He denounced the “sanctions on Lebanese banks”, which he said had “nothing to do with Hezbollah," referring to the Jamal Trust Bank, adding that the Lebanese State and government should “defend the Lebanese and their institutions.”

Commenting on the recent Israeli attacks, Nasrallah said: “The Lebanese have foiled Israel’s attempt to change the rules of engagement that have been in place since 2006.”

He also valued “the united Lebanese position in rejecting the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.”

On the economic file, Nasrallah noted that the situation was not hopeless, but needed a responsible approach and concerted efforts to fight corruption.



Mother of Missing Journalist Austin Tice Says Trump Team Offered Help in Search 

Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
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Mother of Missing Journalist Austin Tice Says Trump Team Offered Help in Search 

Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Debra Tice, mother of journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in 2012, meets with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus, Syria, January 19, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)

The mother of American journalist Austin Tice made her first visit to Syria in almost a decade Monday and said that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump had offered support to help find her son, who disappeared in 2012.

Debra Tice made the remarks at a news conference in Damascus in her first visit to the country since insurgents toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month. She did not present any new findings in the ongoing search.

Austin Tice disappeared near the Syrian capital in 2012, and has not been heard from since other than a video released weeks later that showed him blindfolded and held by armed men. Tens of thousands are believed to have gone missing in Syria since 2011, when countrywide protests against Assad spiraled into a devastating civil war.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House in December that he believes Washington can bring Tice back, while admitting that “we have no direct evidence” of his well-being.

“I have great hope that the Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home.” Tice said. “His people have already reached out to me. I haven’t experienced that for the last four years.”

Syria's former government had publicly denied that it was holding him, but Tice hopes she will find him with the help of the new leadership. In December, she said the family had information from an unidentified source that her son was alive and well. She said Monday she still believes he is alive and in good health.

“Austin, if you can somehow hear this, I love you. I know you’re not giving up, and neither am I,” she said.

Tice said she had a productive meeting with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration, who she said was “dedicated and determined” to bring back Austin and the others missing in the country.

She also visited two military intelligence prisons in Syria, known for their mass incarceration and systematic use of torture, which she described as an “unbelievably, horrible nightmare.”

Tice, who is from Houston, has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets.