Sheikh Qassem: US Sanctions Will Not Affect Hezbollah

Translated by Staff, Al-Joumhouria Newspaper

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem accused Lebanese parties of aiding US sanctions against Hezbollah. He did not name parties.

"We have information that there are internal parties, which are part of the system promoting the US and their sanctions,” Sheikh Qassem told Al-Joumhouria Newspaper. “These parties report periodically to the Americans and suggest to them certain measures on how to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon."

He also stressed that US sanctions will not affect Hezbollah.

"If the Americans, according to their logic, believe that they are punishing the party [Hezbollah], this we understand because there is enmity between us and them,” he said. “The party has learned to coexist with these sanctions and does not care about them. But for the Americans to target Lebanese citizens and institutions, under the pretext of their relationship with the party, or to interfere in the country and manage it, or push matters in a certain direction and order the government and the central bank to make certain arrangements, means that there is no law or order left in the country. We become a US county that receives orders from the American president. This will not be accepted, and we are currently studying appropriate options.”

Sheikh Qassem criticized "some voices that attack Hezbollah from inside Lebanon and hold the party responsible for everything."

"There is a small group of figures who are trying to find a place for themselves in domestic politics. They seek to attack Hezbollah in a bid to present their credentials to the Americans and the foreign powers. But these credentials are nonexchangeable and do not worry Hezbollah. The equations in Lebanon have changed and the region has changed," he added.

The party’s deputy secretary general described these voices as ineffective sound bombs.

“We are not interested in these types of statements,” Sheikh Qassem concluded. "We do not believe these statements will provide them with additional status or capabilities. On the contrary, I think they affect them negatively."