The Lebanon-based Hezbollah group has named a number of public spaces and streets after the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike early on last year. Hezbollah officials attended various ceremonies marking the anniversary of the assassination.
Memorial plates depicting Soleimani and the Deputy Chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in the US drone attack on January 3, 2020, were erected across areas in south and east Lebanon.
Also, a graduation ceremony for a batch of Hezbollah cadets, named the “Martyr Qasem Soleimani Group,” was held at the “Jardin de l'Iran” (Iran Garden), located on the southern Lebanese borders.
Director of the “UMAM” documentation and research center Loqman Salim, for his part, blasted Hezbollah’s attempts to drag the country into regional conflict.
“Lebanon bears the burdens of Qassem Soleimani and the consequences of his wars,” Salim said, noting that Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a successful experimental arena for the “axis of resistance.”
“Soleimani is not celebrated as widely in Syria as he is in Lebanon,” the head researcher noted.
Since last Friday, Hezbollah has held a number of events and activities to commemorate Soleimani. The ceremonies were attended by local figures and mayors.
Lebanese law grants municipalities the freedom to name streets under their jurisdiction. A Request is sent to the Interior Ministry through the administrative channels that the municipalities in the governorates follow. If no objection was made by the ministry within a year, it becomes effective.
Salim pointed out that Hezbollah’s tributes to Soleimani and al-Muhandis are part and parcel of promoting the group’s political agenda.
“This is part of the propaganda that is trying to float the axis of resistance and its cause,” Salim told Asharq Al-Awsat.
