Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The Iranian State TV broadcast on Tuesday an exclusive interview with Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, who has given an insight on his role in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

This is the first interview of Soleimani, who is in charge of foreign operations especially in Syria and Iraq.

During the 90-minute interview, Soleimani gave details of his role in Lebanon in advising ‘Hezbollah’ during the 34-day war. He came to Lebanon accompanied by Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh who was later assassinated in 2008.

Mughniyeh was considered the engineer of the 2006 war, which killed 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis.

Soleimani spoke about the incident that triggered the war, represented in a group from Hezbollah managing to “attack a vehicle of the Zionists, inside the occupied lands and captured two wounded persons from inside the vehicle as hostages” on July 12.

After one week of his arrival to Lebanon, he traveled to Iran to brief Khamenei on the updates in Lebanon -- Soleimani returned on the same day with a message to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

The Major General remained in the country until the end of the war. He didn’t mention the presence of other Iranians and only narrated his personal experience during the interview.

He also recounted how, under Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he and Mughniyeh moved out Nasrallah from his "operations room" where they were based, and then they returned to the command center.

The interview, which was carried out by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, came days after it published a photo showing Nasrallah next to Khamenei and Soleimani, in an apparent recent meeting between the three in Tehran.



WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The head of the World Health Organization said on social media platform X on Thursday he had been discharged from a hospital in Rio de Janeiro after being admitted overnight.

"I felt unwell yesterday afternoon and was admitted to Samaritano Barra Hospital in Rio, but I was discharged this morning and am back to work," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Tedros, 59, suffers from hypertension. He was in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit where he met with US President Joe Biden and other leaders, advocating for strengthened global cooperation in health emergencies.

Local newspaper O Globo had reported earlier on Thursday that Tedros sought medical attention at the facility with "symptoms of labyrinthitis and an hypertensive crisis," after showing signs of being unwell.

According to the report, Tedros was examined on Monday by health professionals on duty at the G20 summit and given medicine for high blood pressure, but was released once he was stable.