TEHRAN -- Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday described Iran as the “strong fortress of resistance” against oppressors, saying the Islamic establishment serves as a role model. 
Nasrallah addressed via video link from Beirut a ceremony here to mark the 40th day since the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, hailing the country for taking the upheaval in its stride with fortitude and composure.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran emerged proudly and admirably from this tragic incident and presented an advanced and lofty model that is strong in facing all challenges,” he said.
Nasrallah said the incident, in which President Raisi lost his life along with Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian and six others in mountainous terrain in northwest Iran, was “very painful and historic” which left Iran faced with threats.
“However, the rule is that we must turn threats into opportunities, as always emphasized by Eminent Leader of the Revolution” Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, he said.
“We have faced similar big and dangerous incidents in recent years. As an example, we can point to the assassination of two dear commanders, Hajj Qassem Soleimani and Hajj Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, that was a huge damage and at the same time a threat,” he added.
Lieutenant General Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi, an Iraqi commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, were assassinated in a U.S. airstrike ordered by then-president Donald Trump at Baghdad airport in January 2020.
“But this threat turned into an opportunity. These bloodsheds marked the breakout of the uprising and a new life for the resistance and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all the resistance movements in the region,” Nasrallah said.
Iran responded to the assassination by launching a barrage of missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq, causing brain concussion injuries among at least 110 American soldiers stationed there. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to take further steps and imposed sanctions on individuals taking part in the crime.
In April, Iran responded with its first-ever direct operation against Israel, launching over 300 missiles and attack drones from its territory at targets in the occupied territories, after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, martyring 12 people.
The operation left Israel, still reeling from coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern territories under Israeli occupation, further shell-shocked.
“All this was thanks to wise leadership [of Ayatollah Khamenei] and management and responsibility [of Iranian officials] in Iran and the region,” Nasrallah said.
He said the tragic loss of President Raisi and his companions is “also an example, the outcome of which depends on our behavior”.
“Thank God, the people of Iran became a model for the whole world through their direct presence
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