Hezbollah source of pride for Muslim world: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C) in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, November 8, 2016

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the performance of Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah in Lebanon and the region is a source of pride for the entire Muslim world.

Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with Lebanon-based Iranian officials and their families in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday. He has traveled to the country at the head of a business delegation.

“The role played by Hezbollah as the symbol of resistance, and also by the movement’s authorities, especially [Secretary General] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is a source of pride, not only for Lebanon and Iran, but also for the entire Muslim world,” he said.

He said Lebanon embodied “the resistance’s triumph over the tyranny, occupation, and bloodletting of the Zionist regime (Israel).”

Hezbollah is credited with defending Lebanon against two wars launched by Israel, in 2000 and 2006. The resistance movement has also been successfully helping the Syrian army fight Saudi-backed Takfiri militants in order to prevent the Syrian conflict from spilling over to Lebanon.

The top Iranian diplomat also hailed the recent election of Michel Aoun as the Lebanese president, which ended a 29-month presidential vacuum in the country.

“The creation of domestic consensus in Lebanon led to considerable success not only for one group but also for all of the Lebanese,” he said.

‘Region set afire by angry states’

Zarif also said some regional states harbored certain undue concerns following the successful negotiation of a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in 2015 and “set the region on fire” as a result of such concerns.

“The innocent people of Yemen and Syria are paying for the phobia and the very destructive game by the angry states of the region,” he noted. “We hope these countries will soon come to the conclusion that the continuation of these policies will not lead to anything other damage to themselves.”

Saudi Arabia has been waging war on Yemen since March 2015. Along with some other regional and non-regional countries, Riyadh has also been backing a deadly militancy in Syria.

‘Israel is world's most dangerous regime’

In a later meeting with some Lebanon-based Palestinian groups, Zarif said the issue of Palestine is “one of the most important issues facing the Muslim world.”

“Support for Palestine is support for resistance, Islam, and humanity,” he said.

“Today, a major danger threatens the Muslim world; it is the biggest threat to the region and the international community, namely the threat posed by the Zionist regime,” Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister concluded by billing Israel as “the most dangerous regime in the world,” calling attention to the Tel Aviv’s possession of at least 200 nuclear warheads and its record of military aggression.

A handout picture released by the Hezbollah press office on November 8, 2016 shows Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (C-R), the secretary general of Hezbollah, meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C-L) in Lebanon. (Via AFP)

Meeting with Nasrallah

Later in the day, Zarif also met with Nasrallah.

During the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister and Hezbollah’s chief discussed recent political developments in Lebanon and the region.