Translated by Al-Ahed News

Speech of Hezbollah’s Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on 26/11/2021

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 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.

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you all.

Tonight, I would like to talk about some topics under various headings. I will be brief with every title.

The first title: Independence Day

Of course, we congratulate all the Lebanese on this important occasion, and we ask God Almighty to always enable the Lebanese people to preserve their independence, sovereignty, and freedom as well as the independence, sovereignty, and freedom of their state.

I will talk about one point in this title. On every Independence Day, the same old debate returns – the multiple points of view about what happened in 1943, about the nature of the independence that was declared, its truth, was it a real independence or a formality? Was it a complete or incomplete independence? What’s the case?

There is always a discussion. To avoid this discussion – and if one day this matter had to be resolved in one way or another – I would like to say there is no doubt that Lebanon as a state entered a new phase in 1943, even if we took the worst avenues. That is, some say this is a nominal independence; this is an incomplete independence. There are international wills that continued to control Lebanon from within. But in all cases, there is a state, even on the surface, that it is an independent state and an independent country with sovereignty and freedom, even with the worst possible avenues. In any case, this is a debate between the Lebanese, and I do not want to adopt a certain point of view.

But I want to talk about what is most important which is that the responsibility of all the Lebanese is to preserve their independence. If their independence is nominal, they have to turn it into real independence. If their independence is incomplete, they have to turn it into a complete independence, instead of engaging in discussions related to the past. Here in Lebanon, everything related to history is points of view and subject to discussion and different orientations.

I say that preserving independence, sovereignty, and freedom at the level of the country, the state, and the people is a battle that must be maintained. It cannot stop. You can achieve independence, but you must preserve it. To maintain it, you need to fight a continuous battle. Same goes for sovereignty and freedom. In our recent history, that includes most of the present generations, the Lebanese fought the biggest, real and bloody battle to achieve independence in the face of the “Israeli” invasion in 1982. At that time, the occupation forces controlled the largest part of the Lebanese territory, almost half of Lebanon, but the most dangerous thing was that they occupied the capital Beirut and enemy tanks reached Baabda Palace. Photos and films of “Israeli” officers in the office of the President of the Republic still exist.

The most dangerous thing that the present generations have experienced in the contemporary history of Lebanon was that invasion, backed internationally and primarily by the United States. It almost destroyed Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, and freedom and turned it into a vassal state. It was said at that time that Lebanon entered the “Israeli” era. A large part of the Lebanese people resisted, believed in the resistance, in its various forms, and contributed to this resistance, especially the armed resistance, through parties, movements, and factions in more than one area and under more than one title – all the way to the great victory in 1985 when the occupation forces left the capital, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, Tyre, Nabatiyeh, western Bekaa, and Rashaya. This lead to the very big liberation and the greatest victory that took place in 2000 represented by the resounding defeat and the unconditional “Israeli” flight from southern Lebanon on May 25, 2000. This was a great victory for Lebanon, for Lebanon's independence, for Lebanon's sovereignty, for Lebanon's freedom, for Lebanon's exit from what was planned for it which was called the “Israeli” era.

But this battle is still ongoing because part of the Lebanese territory – the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarschouba Hills, and part of the town of Ghajar, the Lebanese part of Ghajar – are still under occupation. This means, we are facing an incomplete sovereignty. When Lebanon, which is in dire need these days from benefiting from its oil and gas resources, is prevented from benefiting from these wealth, it means it is an incomplete independence. When we witness on a daily basis the blatant American interference in the judiciary, politics, military and security institutions, Lebanese political life, and the upcoming parliamentary elections, this also means a diminishment of independence, sovereignty, and freedom. This is an ongoing battle.

Everyone claims that they are working for independence, sovereignty, and freedom, but what are the scales and standards that say that this status is sovereignty or dependency? Is this a status of independence or a status of occupation and domination? Is it freedom or slavery? Unfortunately, even these balances in Lebanon have multiple and varied points of view. As long as Lebanon is in the circle of the continuous “Israeli” threat – the past few days, we heard new threats against Lebanon – we are in the midst of a battle for independence, sovereignty, and freedom. We will continue this battle. As in many of its stages, we have won. We are confident, God willing, and with the help of God Almighty, that if we continue the path with determination, steadfastness, patience, and insight, more victories lie ahead, God willing. There will come a day when, with the cooperation of all the loyal and free people in this country, we will achieve independence, sovereignty, and true freedom for our country. There is no discussion, and it is not subject to views. We will defend that with our blood, money, and our dear ones and protect it until the last day.

The second title:

Recently, we have heard about and seen new decisions by western countries and other countries in the world to place more resistance movements in the region on terrorist lists.  Western countries and other countries in the world. This is related to the resistance movements in Lebanon, in Palestine, in Yemen, in Iraq, mainly the resistance movements in these countries with their names as factions and movements, with the names of their leaders and cadres, and sometimes the entire movement is put on terrorist lists. This is a continuous path, which we previously said will continue. What is related to us in Lebanon is definitely related to developments in the region and may also have to do with the upcoming parliamentary elections.

There is another path – accelerating the process of normalization with many Arab countries. The most recent shameful and shameless scene in Morocco and this scandalous and open “Israeli” entry into North Africa and the dangers it could pose to some Arab countries in that region, especially Algeria. In any case, this is another path. The third path is more restrictions, pressures, intimidation, and threats against everyone who supports the resistance with a word or money or stands by its side throughout the Arab and Islamic world.

Another path is the escalation of threats in more than one country, and what we heard recently regarding Lebanon from some “Israeli” leaders. These are multiple paths that are moving at the same time.

Of course, this leads us to talk about the situation and the developments in the region, as well as the conflict with the “Israeli” enemy. This needs time and deserves to be discussed separately. Therefore, I will postpone it to an upcoming occasion, God willing. However, I will only comment that all this will not advance or delay anything, neither in the perseverance of the resistance nor its determination and will, nor the awareness of the environments that supports and protects the resistance movements. This is an effort – I am not saying that is the effort of the helpless – but it is the effort of a failure that no matter what he does and whatever paths are adopted at this level, God willing, they will not be able to undermine the resistance’s ability and determination to proceed on this right and straight path.

The third title: The Corona file

The world is once again witnessing the unfortunate return of this scourge and pandemic. The whole world today is preoccupied. In Lebanon, the rising number of infections and reaching 1500 at an accelerating pace is dangerous. The number of deaths is also rising. Here, I would like to say the following. First, a call on the state, the people, and all residents of Lebanon to take this matter seriously. This means, we must not say it's over, we’ve gotten used to it, and act reckless. The number of infections is large. We heard the hospitals’ pleas and their inability to accommodate these large numbers. This means we are back to the dangerous stage.

This requires an effort from all people, a commitment from all people to [adhere to] the well-known and customary measures, which have discussed at length. The most important thing is the mask and social distancing. At the start of the pandemic, we announced a plan and started implementing it. It was an effective plan in all the areas where we could be present and work in. Tonight, I announce once again that we have decided to fully activate this plan because when the percentage of coronavirus infections decreased, the country relaxed. In the face of the exceptional situation, we are called upon to activate this plan again at its highest levels. I call on the brothers and sisters in all the institutions and organizational frameworks that were concerned with implementing the plan announced at the beginning of this pandemic to return once again to maximum effectiveness to be at the service of the people to protect them. The Ministry of Health is responsible to exert more effort and work, regardless of the difficulties it faces and the special circumstances it suffers from.

I would also like to directly address His Excellency the Minister of Health to tell him that we are ready to provide any assistance, whether regarding the human cadre – as we helped the previous ministry – or regarding capabilities. Even though during the previous stage, the Minister of Health was affiliated with Hezbollah – according to some Lebanese arrangements – we stood alongside the Ministry of Health not because we had a responsibility in one way or another, but because the fight against the coronavirus is a national, humanitarian, and religious battle. This battle is one of the best ways to worship God Almighty, serve God’s servants, defending them, and protecting them from disease, danger, and hunger. It is one of our greatest acts of worship.

Therefore, I say to His Excellency the Minister, it is not important to which political line the Minister of Health belongs. The country is in real danger. Once again, as in the previous Ministry of Health, we put all our human and material resources in service of the current Ministry of Health in fighting this battle. All the Lebanese and the living forces in Lebanon must cooperate in fighting this battle – regardless of the difference in the political issue. It is not a question of which minister succeeds or fails or whether we scored points against each other. What’s important is that we succeed as a nation, as a society, and as a people in facing this imminent danger threatening homes, all areas, and all Lebanese cities and towns. I also invite him to benefit from the experiences of the former Minister of Health, his advisors, and all those who fought this battle closely in the past.

Also, related to the health issue, I want to talk about medicine. I call on the Lebanese Prime Minister, the concerned ministries, and the concerned official authorities to reconsider the recent decisions related to subsidizing some medicines. Of course, from the start, we had a position regarding the way the subsidies were being lifted. There are well-known Lebanese political forces that have been day and night, for more than a year, a year and a half, two years, calling for the lifting of subsidies without alternative plan and without alternative measures.

Of course, the argument they used to protest was smuggling and preventing smuggling [operations] to Syria. But they did not notice the magnitude of the tragedies that befell the people and large segments of the Lebanese people when the subsidies were lifted in that random way – without an alternative plan, without alternative measures. Now, we have come to this situation anyways. I don't want to discuss this topic because there is no time for that. But on the subject of medicine, recent decisions must be reconsidered. There are certain types of medicine in which subsidies must not be lifted in any way or form. Now comes the argument that the state has no money. There is money in the state – if you can borrow, borrow. If you can take from the current loans, then take from the current loans.

I would like to go further and say eliminate ministries, institutions, funds, and transfer their budgets to support these types of medicine. Why? Because one can live without fuel, one can live without some oil derivatives, and one can live without many things in life, but there are things he cannot live without, including medicine. There are thousands of people today in Lebanon, as a result of these ill-considered and uncalculated decisions, who are on the verge of death. Therefore, this is the absolute priority. I am calling on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, the Bank of Lebanon. I do not know who is concerned. In the end, the entire executive authority is concerned.

Yes, the state must act. This is the responsibility of the state. I tell you, abolish ministries, institutions, and budgets, cut the ministries’ budgets, do what you want, but there is a type of medicine – I do not want to go into their details – that is vital to the lives of thousands of people.

This matter should not be stopped, nor should subsidies be reduced because the people are unable to procure medicine. This is everyone’s responsibility, and we must not remain silent about it, whoever the president or the concerned minister is. This is something that one should not be silent about. This has nothing to do with political or media wrangling or scoring points against each other. This concerns the lives of thousands of people in this country. We should pay attention to this.

Regarding the health and medical situation, we and our brothers agreed to activate our health centers and dispensaries, which provide certain types of medicines, and are open to all people. They can do follow-ups, and, God willing, we will make every effort to try to secure the largest possible amounts of medicines that are needed.

I will talk about the next point briefly – the issue of the dollar. We must not remain silent toward the fluctuation in the price of the dollar. The state must not say that it cannot do anything about it. Surely, you are capable of doing something. I do not want to engage in discussions, ideas, and suggestions. You know better than anyone. What we need is willingness, decisiveness, and having a sense of responsibility. It is not permissible in any way to leave the matter like this. The price of the dollar is on the rise on a daily basis, and the state has become a means to inform us how much the dollar has become. This is not the behavior of a state, government, and responsible parties. This matter also poses great risks to the country. It requires swift, decisive, bold, and courageous intervention.

When I say bold and courageous, I mean what I say. I believe that when the state takes bold and courageous steps, all the Lebanese people should stand by its side in confronting the monopolists and big players in the dollar issue. The game is known in the country, and there is no need to go into details. 

The following point is regarding the judicial procedures that we’ve heard in the past two days in connection with the Beirut Port case. Each person can listen to the decisions taken by the relevant judicial authorities and describe them as they want. Now, personally, I will not give it a description, but I will just say what we were complaining about regarding the subject of the judicial investigator, which is bias and politicization.

Those directly concerned resorted to the judicial authorities. They presented all evidence of this bias and these illegal, judicial, and administrative violations. They turned to the judicial authorities to save them from bias and politicization. We found that the concerned judicial authorities are also parties that exercise bias and are subject to politics.

Imagine, for example, that during the past two days, very quick meetings took place. All the lawsuits against the state, the legitimate suspicions, matters all related to the judicial investigator were dropped. In return, the suspicion regarding Judge Ghassan Khoury was accepted. At the same time, this is bias. Anyway, I’ve talked about this at length, but what happened in the past two days confirms everything we've been talking about for more than a year – about bias and politicization. Hence, do we still have something to study or is the subject clear, firm, and decisive?

In any case, during our follow-ups during all this period, it was said that how can a judge who has the whole world behind him be put aside – major political forces, foremost among them the United States of America, represented here by the American embassy, backs him.

I would like to ask a question. Is there today, in the entire Lebanese judiciary, a judge who would dare decide to dismiss a judicial judge after he’s investigated and reached a serious conviction that the data about suspicion, perpetration, etc. are correct? Is there a judge who would dare to take this step? There was a judge who moved in this direction. They attacked his house and his office, threatened him, insulted him, and waged a fierce war against him. This is the intimidation that you are accusing us of today – that we terrorize judges! How are we terrorizing the judges?

Today, they go to the house of any judge who has anything to do with this file. They threaten his house and send him messages on social media that violate his honor. They put political pressures on him, and here the political and religious references and embassies interfere. This is politicization.

This file is still under follow up and is being followed up using legal, judicial, and constitutional means. Let us see where we will reach with this file. I would like to put on record, despite everything that has been said during the past period, we have not seen – and here we are talking about a constitutional and a legal issue because presidents and ministers are known by the constitution to be tried by the special court of presidents and ministers, and it was said that judges have a special court.

All the data says that there is no doubt the judges concerned with this file who authorized the entry of the nitrate, who gave permission for the nitrate to remain, and who followed up on this file are under suspicion.

This is a question for the judicial bodies that have time to meet and respond quickly to all of these requests: Have you taken only one action with respect to these judges or are you protecting them? What is happening now is that some belonging to the Lebanese judiciary are protecting each other. I am not saying all; I don't want to accuse all the judges, but they protect each other, they are losing part of the responsibility. Part of the responsibility definitely falls on the judges, but no action has been taken against these them at a time when there are employees in prisons and their families have been calling for more than a year. They were not interrogated. The interrogations stopped, and they are not being treated fairly. Treat them like the judges who belong to you – if you wanted to act with integrity, justice, and positivity.

In any case, this file must be followed up on, and I confirm all that we have said during the past period. The current judicial process is a political, biased path that does not lead to truth or justice.

The next point is the Tayouneh case. It’s been 40 days since the massacre in Tayouneh. In the past few days, the families of the martyrs commemorated 40 days since the martyrdom of their oppressed loved ones, who were killed publicly and in broad daylight by the Lebanese Forces militia in the Tayouneh area.

From the beginning, we bet on the Lebanese judiciary despite all our observations. We had observations and a little while ago I spoke about them. Despite all our observations on the judicial performance and behavior of many judges and their submission to political and non-political pressures, we nevertheless bet on the judiciary. We spoke to the families of the martyrs. We are talking about seven martyrs and 30 wounded, most of whom could’ve also been among the martyrs. We told the families of the martyrs that we must all practice self-restrain and prevent sedition. We must even let go of exacting personal revenge. We must resort to the judiciary and see whether it gives us justice or not.

We followed up on the investigations. They were serious investigations, and the matter was transferred to the military judiciary. But from the start, the military judiciary has been subjected to great pressures. I will talk about this a little. Some political and religious parties and even those who theorize that the judiciary should be independent, that no one should interfere, and that we must resort to the judiciary refused to resort to the judiciary. They refused to hand over wanted persons to the judiciary, and many of them are wanted individuals. I assure you that our real and accurate security information is that most of them are now in Marab protected so that they will not be arrested. We also know that many parties exerted pressure to release the detainees, under different pretexts.

I’m telling you; this is a dangerous behavior. Of course, some of the detainees were released, but there are some who are still detained in this case. The pressure continued to release the rest of the detainees. This is a dangerous behavior. This is a dangerous behavior.

First, I tell these religious and political parties who are exerting daily pressure on the military judiciary to release the rest of the detainees – I am not wrongfully accusing anyone, this is real and actual fact – that this expresses disdain for the martyrs who were killed, the wounded who were injured, their families, and all the parties to which they belong. Secondly, what is more dangerous than disdain is telling the families of these martyrs that if Hezbollah and the Amal movement convinced you that you will be given your rights if you resort to the Lebanese judiciary, you will not get them – act alone and take your right with your bare hands. This is an insistence on the first project, which is being drawn into sedition.

I tell those people, you must stop this matter. The judiciary must take its natural course and its natural time in this case. Those who participated in the killing, wounding, and shooting must be tried if you really want justice and people to live together away from any internal fighting or exacting revenge individually or tribally.

Some might say the Sayyed is threatening. I am not threatening. I am describing. I tell these people and the judiciary, which should not be subject to these pressures, this is a wrong path. The beginning of the path was correct, and we praised it. If we had remarks on someone, if they are working well, we praise them and if they made a mistake, we point out the wrong. We praised this path from the start.

At the present stage, I am sounding the alarm on behalf of the families of the martyrs. Continuing on the current path is dangerous and bad. The judiciary must bear its responsibility, and the parties putting pressure on the judiciary must stop what they’re doing. The judiciary must be given time as we did and not to be hassled with time. We want a path that leads to justice and truth regarding a horrific massacre which had dangerous repercussions that could’ve destroyed the country.

The topic before the last is about diesel:

Regading diesel, gasoline, and oil derivatives – in any case, tonight’s topics are similar to the state of the country, there is mercy, anger, and contentment. What can we do? Talking about mercy regarding this topic, a few months ago when the oil derivative crisis began in Lebanon – I repeat and say that the whole thing was a game because there was oil in the sea, gasoline, diesel, and fuel. There was a big game politicians and merchants were playing and the Lebanese people was always the victim. 

Following the queues of humiliation at [gasoline] stations, the growth of the black market, and the lack of material in some stations, we announced that if the situation remains like this, we will resort to the Islamic Republic of Iran and buy from them, with certain facilities, gasoline, and diesel until we address or help address this situation – If the situation continues as it is, which is the lack of gasoline and diesel from the markets even though they were present at sea and in warehouses of companies and stations, but they were not sold, but rather they played with the price. This means that there was monopoly.

In order to break this monopoly and to help find certain breakthroughs, we will resort to this step. Even though after a while, when the subsidies were lifted and things began to take a different turn, this substance became available in the markets and in stations, albeit at a higher price. We could have said that we promised to bring diesel and gasoline from Iran if the material was still missing from the markets and if the queues of humiliation remained. However, thank God now the material is now available in the market and there are no more humiliating queues. Hence, our conditioned promise has been negated by the absence of the condition. However, we did not get out of this promise. On the contrary, we attempted to help relieve suffering, which we called the alleviation of suffering.

I would like to talk about the first phase in two words because they are useful for the current and final phase that we will work on within the framework of this project.

At that time, the headline was to help in alleviating suffering. We said on more than one occasion that our goal was not trading, not trading in gasoline or diesel and that we do not want to compete with companies and stations for oil derivatives; we do not want to replace them; we are not responsible for securing the need of the entire Lebanese market. At that time, people questioned whether Lebanon's needs were being fulfilled and that we can provide these needs. Basically, we did not offer to secure all these needs with open arms. We said we want to contribute to easing the suffering. You can go back to all the previous speeches and statements. This was its real address headline.
 
Of course, we prioritized diesel for reasons I mentioned in previous addresses, and there is no need to go back to them because, in fact, gasoline is available. Even though diesel is available, its price is high and the need for it is greater. It affects people's lives more than gasoline. So, we prioritized diesel. 

There are those who said we brought a ship and a half. So far, four ships have arrived. We hoped to bring these ships to Al-Zahrani or Tripoli, so that the distribution would be easy – without this burden or risk. But a new prime minister has just been appointed and a new government was just formed. According to our information, the US embassy pressured and threatened the Lebanese state that if the ships carrying Iranian fuel reach Al-Zahrani or Tripoli, we will do so and so, etc. Of course, people got worried about that and talked to us.

In fact, we did not have to embarrass the state. Yes, if the queues of humiliation remained, we would have embarrassed it. But there are no queues of humiliation. We did not have to embarrass the state, and there is an alternative option. Even though it was tiring and hard for us, we chose the alternative option. We spoke with the Syrian leadership, which agreed and allowed the ships to dock in Baniyas. We are grateful to it. Imagine that during the last period and the coming period, we are responsible for dozens of large tanks that you have seen on TV to carry diesel from Baniyas to Baalbek, that is, 250 kilometers, with all the troubles and dangers, especially since  winter is coming with rain, snow, etc. 

However, if this issue was addressed with a little tolerance of American pressures or if an exception was requested, it would have been much better – the ships would’ve docked in Al-Zahrani and Tripoli. It would’ve been easier, and the material would have been more available.

In any case, we have reached the procedural stage. We said that we are ready to bear all the consequences and troubles if we chose this option because in the end the goal is honorable, and we want to help people and alleviate their suffering. We divided our project into two phases.

The first phase, which has passed, began in September and ended a few days ago in November. The duration was approximately two months or more than two months.

The second phase will start at the beginning of December, that is in a few days. I will talk about this a little bit.

In the first stage, we divided the support into two parts. The first part is donations. We announced the beneficiaries and told them that we will provide them with their need of diesel for a month. We will give it to them for free as a gift. After that, we extended this gift for another month. This means that during the first stage we gave these entities diesel as a free gift for a period of two months. In the second part, we identified a group of recipients and told them that if they have a desire to buy, we will sell them diesel at a subsidized price to facilitate their affairs. 

With regard to the first part, practically, entities in all the regions interacted, in most of the regions. I can say that in all the regions there was interaction and requests for donations. I will mention some numbers; 80 nursing homes and orphanages called and took what they needed for two months for free.

324 underprivileged municipalities that have water wells and want fuel oil to extract water and distribute it to the towns contacted us to secure diesel for a period of two months. 176 institutions, including public water institutions and main institutions and their well sites, contacted us. 22 of 33 or 34 public hospitals communicated with us. Their needs were given to them for a period of two months. 71 fire brigades in the official civil defense were also provided with the materials for a period of two months. We delivered diesel directly to these centers, homes, institutions, and municipalities.

This is a difficult and tiring process. Of course, the goal was to ensure that diesel reaches the municipality to obtain water and give the townspeople, to reach hospitals for them to remain operational, to reach orphanages and old people’s homes for orphans and the elderly to get help. This was a hard and tiring work because the structure of Al-Amanah Company was not prepared for this level of delivery of diesel. Nevertheless, things were easy, although the reason for some slowness, in the whole process, was the value of the gifts that were given during the first stage. Some of the brothers told me if I don’t have to mention these values. I told them that in this country, there are some who handed out a few masks on the road and they organize a whole PR stunt in the media. 

Some gave food aid worth 50 thousand dollars to a respectable institution in the country, they brought in ambassadors and attachés and threw a party.

Another person donated $60,000 worth of equipment to a hospital, and four ambassadors came. We have these numbers, and we want to see how we will arrange our affairs using them. It is useful for the Lebanese people to know that this party, which they are unjustly and aggressively accusing, has donated close to two million and 600 thousand dollars. We provided $2.6 million worth of free diesel to these institutions that I mentioned earlier.

The second part is selling at a subsidized price. Of course, we identified the recipients and said we’ll sell only to these entities. This is because we said we do not want to compete with companies, we do not intend to cover the market, and we do not want to sell diesel to everyone who wants diesel. We chose selected beneficiaries to sell them subsidized diesel. What happened in the first stage is the following:

The following entities were sold subsidized diesel – that is less than the official price – during varying periods: 316 bakeries, 2287electricity generating companies across all Lebanese areas – these companies maybe generating electricity to 40 homes or to 100 or 200 homes – the Zahle Electricity Company, which covers Zahle and a large number of cities and villages in that district, 3687 agricultural water wells, 311 cooperatives, 437 food factories, 334 cow farms, 105 oil mills, 53 water purification and bottling companies, 146 chicken farms, 157 private hospital, 84 mills, 120 refrigerators of vegetables, fruits, and meat, 4546 agricultural tractors, 18 feed manufacturing, 11 pharmaceutical manufacturing factories, 15 big grinders, and only 64 fishermen because we started late.

Well, these are the recipients that we were able to sell to a few days ago. We made a decision to stop to prepare ourselves for the second phase. I would like to add a couple of things with regard to the first phase.

First, it is good for people to know that we sold for less than the official price, even less than the cost price, because the official price is a little more than the cost price. During the past period, the subsidized cost that we incurred as we supplied diesel to these entities is $7 million and 750,000. This is called subsidized diesel during the first phase. Some in Lebanon – as I read some articles and some televisions (I will not name them as they are well known) –theorized that Hezbollah is profiting from selling diesel, knowing that with a simple calculation, one can know how much the price of a barrel is, how much the transportation cost is, etc.

You can simply know how much the price is and know whether someone was making a profit or losing. Some people inferred, and this is evidence of ignorance; this means that sometimes enmity blinds the heart and the mind. This is the difference in subsidies that Hezbollah bears. It is in fact instead of the Value Added Tax (VAT). You are bringing diesel through unofficial crossings, and therefore you are not paying customs or VAT for diesel. This difference is what you cover with subsidies and you are lying to the people with subsidies. First, I tell these ignorant people that diesel fuel in Lebanon does not have to be customs duties. That is, if you want to talk about a file, ask about it first. After that, you can raise your concerns.

But this is proof of blindness. There is no VAT on diesel. There is no value added tax, so there is nothing you can say that this is instead of subsidies. However, you could assume that there are VAT and customs duties. Then you could calculate whether this covers the subsidies interval or not. 

In any case, in the second point, we adopted a mechanism for selling and distributing which is simple and fast in order to leave room for self-criticism. But this was normal because it was not possible to randomly distribute to stations. In the end, we know we're going to be charged with millions of dollars in subsidizing this substance. We wanted this material to reach a group of recipients, and we did not want it to go to the black market and be sold on the black market. By doing so, this will be at the expense of the resistance, Hezbollah, its structure, its budget, and its capabilities. After all this, we saw that we were filling the pockets of people who are insatiable with greed. So, we resorted to a mechanism that we make sure, by phone, that this is, for example, a hospital and not something else; this is an orphanage, and this municipality that really has a water well and not a municipality that has no water well and is just lying to us. This issue naturally took a little more time. Some people had remarks on the slowness, but this was a natural matter in order to ensure that the subsidized Iranian diesel is reaching those who really deserve it and is not going to the black market and greedy traders, thieves, and monopolists.

Thirdly, during the first phase, we consumed almost the tonnage of three ships that arrived. What arrived from the ships is more than three ships. We decided to end the first phase a few days ago. It is assumed that all the paid contracts have been implemented. There are still a few parties that paid us the price of diesel and have not yet got it. We owe every brother, entity, or recipient who signed a contract and paid before we announced the end of forming new contracts, and his right will not be lost at all.

I conclude the first phase and say, if we add the donations that are two million and 600 thousand dollars with the value of the subsidies that we incurred by ensuring diesel during the first phase which is 7 million and 750 thousand dollars, we practically bore 10 million dollars during the first phase only under the title of assistance, support, and alleviation of suffering for certain segments in Lebanon. 

I begin with the second phase. I’ll divide it into two parts. There was an extensive discussion on the subject despite its financial burden. Despite that, we said that we will donate for the recipients mentioned in the first part for an entire month and for the last time. These bodies will receive a donation to meet their needs for a whole month. In any case, their phone numbers and names are with the brothers. They can contact us again, and God willing, in the beginning of December, these donations will be delivered to these addresses.

The second part is exclusively for families because here the priority is for heating. After all, diesel is available in the market. Bakeries and hospitals can buy from the market. Water wells can buy from the market. But in any case, priority will be for families because there is a very large number of families. Therefore, we made the decision to enter the second phase within the following controls and mechanisms. First, we set one standard. This is because we said we want to contribute to all Lebanese regions. We could simply say that we have one, two, three, or four ships – depending on availability. Hence, we are not obligated to take on the whole of Lebanon – let each person manage his situation and tend to his people, group, and supporters. Let them solve their problem. 

However, we proceeded from our humanitarian, moral, and patriotic sense of responsibility and our previous promise. So, we decided to implement this point in the entirety of Lebanon. Accordingly, we’ve studied the issue during the past two months – the cities and towns that need diesel the most. There are many towns where it is very cold. We certainly cannot cover all towns. Hence, we adopted the following criterion applicable to all Lebanese areas; towns and cities located 500 meters above sea level – since they are the most in need – will be included in this phase.

Second, this subsidized diesel will be provided to the families residing in the town. Let me give you an example. The whole Bekaa falls within this criterion. For example, I am from the city of Baalbek, but I live in Dahiyeh. Hence, I do not receive diesel because the issue is not about belonging to the town, but rather related to residence. The family that lives in a town or city 500 meters above sea level is the target of this project.

Third, all the Lebanese areas without exception are included – all the Lebanese areas that are located above an altitude of 500 meters. Fourth, in terms of value, today basically, most people buy diesel, store them in their homes, and sort their affairs accordingly. There are some household that need more. On the other hand, as a result of financial need, some people do not buy a barrel, but rather a tin can, two tin cans, or three tin cans. But the standard is often a barrel. Hence, we’ve  made a decision that the brothers will sell a barrel of diesel for one million pounds less than its official price. This means that we will be providing every family with a subsidy of one million pounds per barrel, that is, 100 thousand [Lebanese] pounds per tin can. 

In this case, within this effort, the brothers have provided three services. The first service is securing the material. Later, the demand will increase as a result of the cold weather – we don’t known how much the supply will be at that time and the price might increase. When we help present this, the first thing we are doing is securing the material in the market. Second, we are contributing to creating a balance between supply and demand so that the price does not rise more, even if the price is to rise further, because the price of oil today globally is rising and the Lebanese currency is decreasing in value against the dollar, as you can see. The second service is that the payment is in pounds. They told me that most [gasoline] stations or all stations do not accept to sell diesel except in dollars. This means that a citizen has to change to dollars in order to buy diesel. But here, you are buying in Lebanese pounds. The third service is the subsidized price. You are saving a million pounds. Today, there are many people whose salaries are one and a half million, less than a million, or close to two million – this is equivalent to a salary or half a salary that the Lebanese or many Lebanese are making during this period.

The sixth point is the mechanism. Of course, we cannot adopt the previous mechanism whereby each family must call and give us their address, then the Al-Amanah Company will deliver to them. This is not possible. According to our statistics, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of families, at the very least, that will be benefiting from this project. Al-Amanah Company, even if it contracts with other companies, cannot reach every family. In addition, this project only includes those who reside in their towns. In some towns and cities, we can identify who is residing where. But there are many cities and villages, and we cannot determine this issue. How will we ensure that the families residing at a certain town benefit from diesel and that the material that we have secured is sufficient for all those families? How will we ensure that this does not go to the black market? 

After an extensive discussion for two months, we agreed that the safest and most appropriate way is through the municipalities, where the mayor and the deputy mayor will be able to know that there are residents in this town that want to buy fuel. So, the municipality calls a certain number – also like last time, the brothers will distribute numbers on Al-Manar Channel and on social media. An understanding occurs about the number of residents, and the quantity will be determined since there might be people who want to buy a barrel, while others can’t afford to buy a barrel but rather one tin can, two, three, four, or five, etc. Hence, communications are made, and the number of families is specified. We are not asking for names, and we do not want to make files for anyone.

For example, let’s say this town ins my responsibility as a municipality. There are one hundred families residing here, and these families was this amount. So, these families and the municipality agree with each other. Same applies to the stations. The municipality must provide for the stations. Al-Amanah Company or those its contracts will deliver to the stations designated by the municipalities. There is a certain detailed mechanism that I do not want to delve into. When communications with the offices on the phone numbers take place, an agreement on the details, mechanisms, quantity, delivery, and receipt, buying and selling mechanisms, paying money, etc. are sorted out and agreed on. After this, we head to the procedures. Of course, in this part, we will have completed our project that is concerned with alleviating the suffering by providing diesel fuel. Later, we will have other points, God willing. We will see in the next stage.

Of course, we are always alongside our people, and we will continue to help them with different challenges. Of course, this mechanism does not mean that when we say the beginning of December means the first or the second of December. All towns will be provided with the material. According to our calculations, a large portion of this material that we need to cover all the families is present. W brought it into Lebanese territory. A part of it is still in storage in Syria and is being transferred. There is also one or more ships. There is a ship that will arrive within a few days. If we need more ships, we will bring them, God willing. We have no concerns about shortages in material for this stage. What is required is to work quietly and communicate calmly because the goal is to alleviate suffering and help the people. If there is a slowdown anywhere, this slowness does not cancel the right of residents in all towns above 500 meters to obtain subsidized fuel oil in the way I mentioned.

The last point that I would like to shed light on is very short. 

In the past few weeks and months, there has been a very large attack on Hezbollah on satellite channels, social media sites, and the media. Electronic armies are harnessed day and night. This is not a good thing. What is new is intensification and the claim that they are providing documents. The media relations issued a statement in this regard. I would like you to hear it directly from me. They upload these documents on social media. Some Arab satellite channels take these documents, while electronic armies circulate them to millions of site – look at this document that is condemning Hezbollah. This document is condemning Hezbollah with regards to a social issue, a family issue, and a financial issue; this is in Yemen; this is in Iraq, etc.

Of course, these documents are forged documents, and those who made these documents are unprofessional. They are ignorant, and I believe they are not Lebanese. Lebanese know that for forty years, we say, for example, Hezbollah or in our documents we say: Hezbollah – the General Secretariat or Hezbollah – the Political Council or Hezbollah – the Executive Council. When we issue statements, for example, we say: Hezbollah – the media relations.

We never say in our statements or internal documents the Islamic Resistance Movement in Lebanon. This refers to Palestine. The Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine is Hamas. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is Hezbollah. The general secretariat, the political council, the executive council, the jihadi council, etc. are used. This is proof that the one who forged this document does not know anything. Imagine, he forged a document and signed it as political council. Then he forged another document signed by the secretary general. Basically, using the same literature in both forgeries. This implies that one person wrote both documents.

In any case, what is done is very ridiculous, and the most ridiculous of it is the content. It is unfortunate that there are people who believe these websites and documents – look at what Hezbollah is doing. They base their projects on them. For example, once someone who came across a document – later on, I found out that it was forged. Some Lebanese television channels – more than one belonging to the other camp – were debating this document. Just laugh a little. They said that Hezbollah circulated among its young men in the Baabda District to get married to as many girls from a certain district as they can so that this women are registered in Baabda to increase the number of voters. This is baseless. There is another one that said that Hezbollah men were asked to marry from Yemen to increase the number of voters in Baabda. But why from Yemen?

In any case, there is a very high level of ignorance, absurdity, and triviality. Unfortunately, there are opponents or other people who launch a battle against you who do not have a problem relying on claims even if they saw it as trivial and valueless. In the end, working on this matter is based on the well-known theory: Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie until people believe you.

I will conclude with this story. When the Saudi ambassador still visited us and we used to meet with him, he visited me and spoke with me on one occasion. The advisor of the late King Abdullah also visited me. Both spoke to me about the same subject within a short period of time. There is no need to mention names. One of the things that was said to me: Is it true that you pay money, for example, in Akkar for every person who converts to Shiism?

Convert to Shiism and get, for example, one thousand or two thousand dollars. You are spreading Shiism in Akkar and in the north, in the central Bekaa. Of course, no one in Lebanon has heard of this story. But there are people who write and accuse. They write to the Saudi embassy. There are also those who work on some social networking sites who report Lebanese people working in the Gulf – about their political affiliation – for the Saudi government to punish them or kick them out. This is a lack of honor, a lack of chivalry, a lack of humanity, and a lack of morals.

I told him: First, if there is one person in all of Lebanon that we asked to convert to Shiism in exchange for one thousand, two thousand, five or ten thousand dollars, can you come up with one name? He did not have a name. Of course, in the report it said that there are tens of thousands [of coverts]. Imagine, for example, that in a country like Lebanon, tens of thousands of our Sunni brothers became Shiites, and no one is aware of anything except the Saudi embassy and the King’s advisor in Riyadh.

And there was a certain occasion he visited me and asked me about it. Second, I told him: Your Excellency, if it is about increasing the number, there is no need for you to pay ten thousand dollars to convert one person to Shiism. There was no hike in prices back then like now. Bring me Shiite men and tell them: anyone who gets married and bares children, this is five thousand dollars. One thousand for each child. The Shiites will grow in number five and ten times more at a lower cost than this.

This is a mockery. They worked on this topic and talked about it in other countries. It is baseless. In any case, I wanted to talk about this topic with such humor to tell those on social media or those who listen to rumors, this is an era of injustice, slander, forgery, and distortion against us. Ask about the news, so-called documents, or stories that you receive and hear, at the very least, before building on them because we value your trust in us.

May God give you wellness. Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.