Nasrallah Threatening Geagea: We Have 100,000 Fighters

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
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Nasrallah Threatening Geagea: We Have 100,000 Fighters

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard as supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal groups burn rubbish containers to block a road during a protest in Beirut. (AP)

Head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah threatened on Monday the Lebanese Forces, saying his party boasts 100,000 trained and armed fighters.

He warned any side in the country against thinking of “waging a civil war with the party,” stressing in a harsh tone: “Be reasonable.”

In a speech on Monday, Nasrallah attempted to assure Christians, days after the clashes in Beirut’s Tayyouneh area pitted supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and the Amal movement against the Christian LF.

Seven people were killed in the fighting and dozens injured.

The LF condemned Thursday’s events and blamed the violence on Hezbollah’s “incitement” against Tarek Bitar, the lead investigator in a probe into last year’s blast at Beirut port.

Amal and Hezbollah had called the demonstration to protest against Bitar.

Nasrallah alleged that his party helped preserve the presence of Christians in Syria and that it was defending Christian representation in Lebanon.

In his strongly-worded speech, he sharply criticized LF leader Samir Geagea, accusing him of seeking to divide Lebanon and ignite civil war.

He described the Tayyouneh developments as “fateful”, saying the victims were killed by LF supporters.

Addressing Geagea, he said: “With whom do want to wage a civil war? Don’t get your calculations wrong. You must know that Hezbollah boasts 100,000 fighters.”

“Don’t miscalculate and you should derive lessons from your wars and ours,” he said pointedly.

Moreover, Nasrallah addressed a footage of the fighting that showed a soldier firing at protesters.

He called for an investigation and for accountability, “otherwise we will see what will happen.”

“We do not leave the blood of our martyrs behind,” he stated.

On the Beirut port explosion probe, Nasrallah described Bitar as a “dictator”, claiming he is being backed by foreign embassies.



Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran Confirms Receiving 'Messages' from New Syrian Government

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Saturday that it had received messages from the new government in Damascus following the ouster of its longtime Syrian ally, former president Bashar al-Assad, AFP reported.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is indirectly in contact with Damascus," Tehran's special envoy for Syrian affairs Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The diplomat said Iran had "also received messages" from Syria, but did not specify the intermediary country facilitating the communication.

Sheibani was responding to a question about recent comments by Syria's foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, regarding communications with Iran, according to IRNA.

"Our view of the developments in Syria and the restoration of relations with Damascus is forward-looking," Sheibani said, emphasizing that Iran was "thoughtfully" monitoring the situation there.

Iran, a staunch ally of Assad's regime, evacuated its diplomatic mission in Syria in December when opposition forces, led by current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, overthrew the government.

Sharaa said in December that Syria "cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran".

He added that ties between Damascus and Tehran "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and non-interference in the affairs of both countries".

Iran had provided assistance to Assad during Syria's civil war, helping him claw back control of swathes of the country.

Sheibani, who previously served as Iran's ambassador to Syria, reiterated Tehran's position that the "future and destiny" of Syria must be determined by Syrians alone.

"The stability and peace of Syria are of particular importance to us, and we are against any foreign interference in the affairs of this country," he said.