Sayyed Nasrallah: Fair Punishment for Soleimani & Al-Muhandis’ Assassination is Ending US Presence in our Region

By Zeinab Essa

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Sunday a speech in which he shed light on the biggest crime – the assassination of the leaders General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Addressing thousands of mourners in Dahiyeh [Southern Suburbs of Beirut] at the memorial of both leaders, Sayyed Nasrallah said that Hezbollah is commemorating the martyrdom of "the great and global leader Hajj Qassem Soleimani and our beloved brother Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis."

Confirming that "2/1/2020 is a decisive point that announces the beginning of a new stage," he underscored that "The two martyrs, Hajj Qassem and Abu Mahdi were passionate for martyrdom especially in the recent years."

"Since the beginning of his term, [US President Donald] Trump has set a goal of toppling the Islamic regime in Iran," the Resistance Leader said, listing that "Trump has worked to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, to sanction and pressure Iran as well as to agitate strife in it."

Moreover, His Eminence added that "Trump achieved nothing in the Iranian issue, as his sanctions and blockades did not work and he does not know what to say to the American people about his failure in this file."

In addition, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that "He [Donald Trump] scored another failure in Lebanon despite all the sanctions, incitement and funds that made him achieve nothing."

On this level, His Eminence unveiled that "In his last trip, [US envy to the region] Satterfield threatened the Lebanese authorities that ‘Israel’ would bomb Hezbollah installations if they didn't remove it in 15 days. That never happened."

"Another factor for Trump's action is the failure in Yemen and Afghanistan despite negotiations with the Taliban," he said, pointing out that "Trump is clear and transparent because he is arrogant as he weighs no value for countries, international institutions and communities."

Regarding the latest developments on the Iraqi environment, Sayyed Nasrallah clarified that "Trump sought to weaken Iraq and control it through Daesh [Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS’ / ‘ISIL’], but he failed."

"Trump considers that Iraq does not have a state and this is mentioned in his statements; he wants to deploy his forces in the country to control its oil fields and export them to the world."

Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that "Daesh was defeated thanks to the Iraqi people's steadfastness and the support of the religious authority and the sacred Popular Mobilization Forces, and that's why martyr Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis' roles were important on this front."

"The Iraqi government that resulted from elections headed by Adel Abdel Mahdi bothered the US government because it refused to sanction Iran or to be part of the deal of the century and it signed agreements with China."

On another level, His Eminence warned that "The Americans, through their electronic armies and their malicious tools, seek to cause discord and strife between the Iraqi people and the Iranian people because they believed that Iran supported the Iraqi people."

Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say that "The US has searched for something that can be achieved and that can break the axis of resistance, but at the same time doesn't lead to war with Iran."

"Wherever America and ‘Israel’ went in the region, they found a man facing them everywhere in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and in every axis of the resistance, they found Qassem Soleimani," His Eminence declared.

Announcing that "The United States has started a new war of a new type in the region," Sayyed Nasrallah revealed that "Hajj Qassem Soleimani visited me a week before his assassination i.e. on the 1st day of the new year."

"‘Israel’ considers that the most dangerous man for its existence and entity is Qassem Soleimani. However, it did not dare to kill him so it resorted to America to accomplish the mission."

His Eminence also said that he told Hajj Qassem on his visit that American media is focusing on him because the US is planning his assassination."

Meanwhile, he highlighted that "The enemies were hoping that with assassinating Hajj Qassem in Iraq and that the axis of the resistance would retract and that the coordination between the axis would be lost and that Iran would be afraid and so on."

Regarding the response, he stated that "Through the assassination crime, Trump sought to intimidate and subjugate Iran but the response has started in Iran, with the statements of the Supreme Leader Imam Khamenei and the other Iranian officials."

"Hajj Qassem and Abu Mahdi's blood must lead to the ousting of the US army out of Iraq. Iraqi resistance will not let a single US soldier remain in Iraq," Sayyed Nasrallah stressed, pointing out that "If the US had attacked Iran, it would not have required our involvement. But when they killed Qassem Soleimani, they attacked the resistance. Qassem Soleimani means all the axis of resistance and he's not an Iranian issue."

Reiterating that "The perpetrator of this crime is clear and should be punished," Sayyed Nasrallah urged the Iraqis and particularly the "Iraqi parliament to approve a law calling for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. And this is the minimum to be done."

"The fair punishment is eliminating the US military presence from our region. There is no figure that carries the same weight as Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. Qassem Soleimani’s shoe is worth more than Trump's head and the whole US leadership."

On this level, Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the Resistance people by saying:  "It is up to anyone from the axis of resistance to deliver a fair punishment after Soleimani’s assassination and Iran will not request anything from its allies and friends."

To the US administration, the Resistance Leader sent a sounding message: "The US army killed Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi, and it will pay the price. The self-scarifying martyrs who removed America from our neighborhood are more present than before to achieve this, and the Mujahideen are present to achieve this. The US military bases, soldiers, officers and warships are fair targets. Once the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin returning home, Trump will realize he has lost the region."

However, he clarified that "We do not at all mean the American people and citizens across our region."

"If this type of assassination goes unpunished, the region will be violated by the Americans and the ‘Israelis’. When the Americans leave our region, the liberation of al-Quds will be closer.”

Clearly, Sayyed Nasrallah said: "I say to Trump and those with him: do you know what you did, which blood you shed and which soul you killed. This is a different matter and the fair punishment for [the assassination of] Qassem Soleimani is a punishment for [the assassination of] Imad Mughniyah, Sayyed Abbas, Sheikh Ragheb, Mustafa Badrddine, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and all the martyrs."