Political Segment of Sayyed Nasrallah’s Speech on 3rd Night of Ashura

Translated by Staff, Hezbollah Media Relation

The political segment of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech delivered on the third night of Ashura and hosted by Hezbollah at the Sayyed al-Shuhada complex in Ruwais on Monday, September 2, 2019.

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Master and Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, Abi al-Qassem Muhammad Bin Abdullah and his good and pure household and his good and chosen companions and all the prophets and messengers.

Peace be upon you, O my master my lord, O Aba Abdullah and upon the souls that gathered in your courtyard. Peace of Allah be upon you all from me forever as long as I am existent and as long as there are day and night. May Allah not cause this (visit) to be the last of my visit to you (all).

Peace be upon al-Husain, upon Ali ibn al- Husain, upon the sons of al- Husain, and upon the companions of al- Husain.

Brothers and Sisters, Peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you all. May God reward you and God bless you.

This speech will also be divided into two parts, a political part where I talk a little about yesterday and today and the second part is about the occasion at hand.

First of all, we thank Allah Almighty for all the successes, victories, achievements and all of his many blessings that he bestowed upon us. We praise Him and ask for His forgiveness.

At the beginning of the address, I must commend the resistance fighters, the Mujahideen, the leaders, members and officials. For the past eight days or at the very least from late last night until this morning they have been ready around the clock on the battlefield and along the Lebanese-Palestinian border. Because of their preparedness, courage, efficiency and sacrifices, achievements are being accomplished and equations that protect the country and deter the enemy are being set.

From the very beginning following the address on Sunday, they have been ready. Under the hot sun and heat, day and night, they have been exposed to the “Israeli” army’s extreme state of alertness, its radars, drones and technical apparatus. They are ready to give their blood. I thank these dear loved ones.

I also thank the Lebanese army stationed along the border and ready to face any aggression. I thank the people, our people, our loved ones, especially in the villages and border areas who have gone on with their daily lives in recent days and who supported, remained present and expressed joy and pride with the achievements of the resistance.

We also reiterate our gratitude to the leaders and officials in the state and to all those whose positions were clear and solid. The officials, leaders and concerned ministers kept abreast of the events until the last minute and assumed their national responsibilities.

I have to give special thanks to the media that has worked so hard, stayed up-to-date with the developments, covered and presented the scene accurately and countered “Israel’s” misinformation campaign. The operation did not take place yesterday afternoon as I will explain now. The operation is practically part of the rhetoric that followed the military side of the operation. This was being followed-up on. I thank them all, especially the field correspondents who in some cases put themselves at risk, for presenting a strong and clear idea, and to all analysts and commentators who provided thorough, good and solid explanations to the people. Of course, I do not have a list to thank everyone. If I forgot anyone, I apologize in advance, so that we do not have a discussion after that later. I thank everyone.

Second, a quick assessment of what happened so we can outline specific results. The events took place on Saturday night. The first event is the “Israeli” airstrikes, the “Israeli” bombing of the town of Aqraba in the outskirts of Damascus that lead to the martyrdom of the dear brothers Yasser Daher and Hassan Zbib. A few hours later, two booby trapped drones attacked Dahiyeh [Beirut’s southern suburbs]. Here we would like to add something. It is known that the first drone fell and therefore did not achieve its objective. The second booby trapped drone was also sent to achieve an objective. Here, I must add and announce that it failed to fulfill the objective. It failed to achieve the objective that it came for considering that the “Israelis” knew the target. There is no need for me to elaborate. But I tell the enemy this operation was a failure. This is also one of God Almighty’s blessings.

From the very beginning, we announced, especially during Sunday's speech, that we will not tolerate these attacks and will not accept new equations. We will not permit the erosion of the achievements of steadfastness and victory in the July war. That is why we said we will of course respond to these attacks. Our response is made up of two parts. The first is on the battlefield along the international border with Occupied Palestine, with the Palestinian land occupied in 1948. The second part is related to the “Israeli” drones in Lebanese airspace. Regarding the first part which is the actual battlefield operation, we stated and declared clearly - here I will talk about the scene in general involving Lebanon’s elements of strength and the enemy’s elements of disappointment, fear and humiliation.

We have said publicly that we will respond from Lebanon and along the Lebanese border and it can even come from the [Lebanese] depth. We also told the enemy to wait for us from now. This is the point of strength of the resistance. We could have remained silent, do not threaten, do not reveal our intentions and stay put - like they say- a day, two, three and then we surprise the enemy. The military men know that one of the most important factors in military work is the element of surprise.

However, since a fundamental part of our battle concerns moral and is psychological as well as spiritual and has to do with consciousness and confrontation, we told them from the very beginning to wait for us. We are coming. This in itself is a very big challenge coming from the resistance.

If we examine the scene, we must note that the time that elapsed from the day of the speech until yesterday - I will explain it in a while - was a punishment for the enemy. It is an act of deterrence against the enemy. It is a confrontation with the enemy. The operation consists of many different parts. A part of it is psychological, mental, from the battlefield and launching the missiles. These are parts of a diverse and multiform punishment operation.

If we examine the scene from last Sunday, the day of the speech, let's talk briefly about what happened:

The border along the barbed wire was evacuated. The “Israelis” no longer have a blue line, no international borders, no ‘one meter forward, or one meter backward’. On Sunday, the whole border, whether marked by walls or barbed wire, was evacuated. There were no soldiers along the border, no vehicles roaming the dirt or asphalt roads adjacent to the barbed wires. This is unheard of. They just started to appear today because the operation ended yesterday.

The positions along the frontlines were fully evacuated. They did not hide in them. In fact, they evacuated them. They fled. This is more than was expected. I told them to go inside. Instead they fled.

Entire barracks were evacuated. For example, the Avivim barracks, whose name is famous now, is a very big barracks. It houses commanders, officers, soldiers, etc. A reporter for one of the satellite channels toured the rooms and they were all empty. There was no one. Barracks and military posts have been evacuated along the border and sometimes also in [the “Israeli”] depth. In some areas, there were strict measures and evacuations. There was no movement at a depth of 5 km. In some areas with a depth of 7 km, even the colonies were evacuated. You saw them on television. I was not the only one talking about this. The cameras captured everything. They toured the colonies from morning to night. There was no sound, no cars, no motorcycles, no bicycles. No buying and selling. There was silence. They were all hiding in their homes. They opened their shelters.

There were tightened measures and an unusual state of alert inside [“Israel”]. They brought all their iron domes to the north to intercept the rockets. All the air defense capabilities, the capabilities and networks used for intercepting the missiles and the drones that Hezbollah could launch towards occupied Palestine were activated. Of course, we have drones and this is not hidden. There was a state of alert, preparedness, anticipation and deployment over the past few days in some of the brigades, air force, sea corps, etc.

The scene on the “Israeli” side is clear. “Israel” presents itself as the most powerful army in the region. It still claims that. "Israel" still says that they are the first army in the region. "Israel" is an arrogant and tyrant state that scared millions and hundreds of millions. Yet within eight days, the whole world watched it fear, worry and hide. There was nothing for five kilometers along the Lebanese border. This is humiliation and weakness. This is one form that shows

“Israel” is weaker than a spider’s web. This is part of the punishment. Some people are asking where is your response? Before we get to the military operation in the past few days, this is punishment, this is a response.

On the other hand, the Lebanese army did not leave the border. It remained at all its positions along the border.

The resistance fighters were in all the places they were supposed to be - to be precise. There was natural movement of our people and the farmers along the border and in towns. There was normal life.

Hence, the scene in our region, on our land, in our villages was a scene of stability, strength, tranquility, confidence, certainty, pride and dignity for Lebanon, for its people, for its army, for its state, for its resistance. This was part of the scene.

Also included in the assessment part, the resistance yesterday worked in broad daylight. All militaries know what it means to work in broad daylight! The resistance worked close to the border, and I repeat in broad daylight, with their drones in the sky and their helicopters ready to strike. We deliberately chose not to work at night - for reasons we do not want to take the time to mention. The decision was to work in daytime. This was one of the reasons for the delay because at night there could have been more opportunities.

What happened is an expression of boldness, courage, accuracy and responsibility. Even if the “Israelis” are downplaying the issue, brothers and sisters, the most important thing that happened yesterday was risk taking. It was carrying out the operation itself. The greatest thing about the operation was what it accomplished and that fact that it was carried out. Over the past seven days, “Israeli” officials have been threatening through the media that if you fire, if you launch missiles, if you kill, if you wound, if you attack, we will respond harshly. Things may head towards war. The cruelest thing came via diplomatic messages implying that the “Israelis” will not tolerate any firing and will respond harshly, destroy the country and bring it back to the Stone Age. It was an enormous intimidation campaign. But tonight I tell you honestly brothers and sisters. Hezbollah was not shaken. The officials we were in contact with were not shaken nor frightened. Lebanon remained strong in its cohesion, belief in retaliation and in the coverage of the response. The action itself is an achievement.

We reach the most important point, the point we will base the results on. We will base the equation on this. The most important thing is the following. In the past, when we would come under attack, we used to respond in the Shebaa Farms, inside the Shebaa Farms, because the “Israeli” positions were inside the Shebaa Farms. We set up ambushes for “Israeli” tanks on occupied Lebanese territory. The rest of the border that is the Lebanese border with the territories of occupied Palestine in 1948, which the enemy considers to be an official border were not negotiable. This is its usurper state, its entity. Violating the 1948 border has been considered one of the biggest red lines for the enemy for years and even decades. It cannot bear that someone breaches the border, sends a drone in and out, shoots in the air, or launches a shell at an open field. Never! It replied harshly because it considers this a red line.

What happened yesterday was that the biggest “Israeli” red line in decades was crossed by the Islamic Resistance. This is no longer a red line. This is over.

Regardless of anything else the “Israelis” say or may say - the “Israel” that responded to every fire, sniping attempt, hand grenade with aerial bombardment - was trying hard yesterday to contain the operation, to contain it at any cost. Even most of the shelling it launched - phosphorous, smoke, thermal and those that burnt - were more for defensive purposes than offensive ones because they thought there would be operations that would follow this operation and target the Avivim barracks or others. They wanted to contain the matter. If you stop, we will stop.

What is the result? The result is that we have consolidated an equation. If Netanyahu was coming to change equations, we have consolidated the equation. We even gave the equation a greater force, a more important deterrent. We raised the level. He was afraid of certain responses and that we take note of some red lines. We told him we no longer have red lines because you tried to change the rules of engagement. We no longer have red lines at all. We moved from responding on occupied Lebanese territories called the Shebaa Farms and the Kfarchouba Hills. We moved back from responding on occupied Lebanese territory to occupied Palestine. This is what is new. It was not a condition to be along the barbed wire fence. It can be at a one kilometer depth, two kilometers, 5 kilometers. And if it was necessary, it can be deeper and beyond that.

Here, what is the message we have sent?  We consider that through our achievement and victory that the message is clear. If you attack us, all your borders, your soldiers and your colonies along the border and inside will be a target, in the circle of threat and retaliation. Absolutely and without any doubt. And the courage the resistance showed yesterday will be exhibited at any time in the future with what is greatest and most important. This is the equation.

I want to tell the “Israelis” today, listen carefully, what Netanyahu did was stupid. Remember this date, September 1, 2019. Sunday, September 1, 2019 is the beginning of a new phase of the situation at the Lebanese-Palestinian border to defend Lebanon, Lebanon's sovereignty, Lebanon's dignity, Lebanon's security and the people of Lebanon. There are no red lines.

We come to the second point. I started talking about this point on Sunday. On Sunday, I said that from now on we have a new area of operation that we have been avoiding over the past years. This issue is the movement of “Israeli” drones in Lebanese airspace. At the time, I explained that the reason we avoided it was for the sake of internal Lebanese considerations only. We always insisted that this problem be solved. But it wasn’t solved. The Lebanese right to defend the land, skies, waters, people, security and sovereignty was consolidated in this equation. So there is a new area of operation called confronting “Israeli” drones in the skies of Lebanon - we will not talk any more - in the skies of Lebanon.

Hence, we have consolidated this. We have announced it clearly. Now, the procedures depend on the battlefield. On the battlefield, we said we are not in a hurry. We want a clean operation. We want to try not to have casualties. We want to establish the equation. Our goal was to stabilize the equation and we have consolidated it. Today, with regard to the drones, confronting the drones, it also depends on the situation on the battlefield. I explained on the first night that there is no need to go into details on how we intend to engage in this confrontation.

Tomorrow someone will come and say when the first drone is shot down, which can happen at anytime, that this will lead to tensions and the undermining of stability. Anyone from the international community, the countries that called before Sunday, on Sunday and during the operation on Sunday, I tell those who are concerned about the stability of Lebanon and the region to talk to the “Israelis” and tell them that this time its over. This is over. Allowing [them to violate our airspace] is over. No more turning a blind eye. Tell them these people will no longer allow you to violate their sovereignty and airspace. Now, how they face you is up to them. But this is our right. How much time it takes is just a detail.

This is also part of the response. Today I want to say that in return for the killing of our brothers and the two drones in Dahiyeh, the response began on Sunday. It was consolidated yesterday through the equation of confronting drones.

This is what we have in mind. This is what we are thinking of. Naturally with this, we are done with this round and emerged in a stronger position, in a new position. The “Israelis” wanted to violate the rules of engagement. We prevented them. They wanted to strike and weaken the deterrent balance. We strengthened the deterrent balance. This is the result and the outcome.

In any case, the “Israelis” should know that this is the result of this man’s foolishness, who now only sees how to save himself from the court that will try him over extensive corruption allegations.

Thus, we can say that this round is over in the foundational sense. Going forward, the drones are still around. There will no longer be any international borders, the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories or the Shebaa Farms, in case of any aggression against Lebanon. We are done with this. The ceilings are now clear.

Again, thank God and the resistance. The response of the resistance is the one that consolidated the equations, prevented the change in the rules of engagement, preserved the achievements of the July war and preserved Lebanon's pride, dignity and peace.