TEHRAN -- A senior official of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has hailed Iran’s support for the resistance front in the region, saying Tehran has always been at the forefront in this regard despite paying the price for its stance.
“The path of resistance has proliferated into an axis in the region spearheaded by the Islamic Republic of Iran … With Palestine as its focal point, [the Resistance Axis] has developed into a force to be reckoned with,” Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said during a ceremony at Iran’s embassy in Beirut.
“Iran is at the lead in supporting the resistance and has tolerated the expenses of opposing the international trend.”
Qassem also noted that the path of resistance is today more powerful than ever as it has imposed equations of deterrence, emphasizing that Hezbollah knows no limits when it comes to confronting the occupying regime of Israel.
The resistance axis, he added, acts as a “coherent” body similar to a united front against Tel Aviv.
He further described Al-Quds as the key to the liberation of the entire region from the grip of global oppression and arrogance.
The Zionist regime occupied the West Bank, including East Al-Quds, in a Western-backed war in 1967. Ever since, it has been dotting the territory with hundreds of illegal settlements that house thousands of settlers.
Iran has repeatedly called resistance the sole way to free Palestine from Israel’s decades-long occupation.
Addressing the event, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani said unity among Palestinians and their fighters in the occupied territories and refugee camps is the best way to realize the nation’s aspirations after decades of sacrifices.
“The developments we are experiencing indicate major transformations in the region, and we must take advantage of them to strive for the liberation of the Palestinian people,” he said.
In Tehran, Parliament speaker Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf lauded the epic turnout of Iranian people in Quds Day rallies, saying Iran is the greatest and most steadfast supporter of the resistance in the world.
“The epic presence of the Iranian people in the march on Friday undoubtedly marked one of the most influential and magnificent Quds Days in recent years, and the historic initiative of the great founder of the Islamic Revolution and the true model of resistance against tyranny and domination, Imam Khomeini, who was the founder of the splendid march, is a source of encouragement for all on the path of liberating Al-Quds every year,” Qalibaf said.
The Iranian people, he said, “shined in a special and historic way” in this year’s event and shook the back of the Zionist enemy throughout the country from big cities to small villages.
“The Islamic Iran today, with the support of this brave and wise nation and under the guidance of the wise and visionary Leader of the Islamic Revolution, is the greatest and most steadfast supporter of the resistance around the world,” Qalibaf noted.