Exclusive: No Foreign Solution to Lebanon’s Problems, Hezbollah’s Safiuddin Says

Tasnim has conducted an interview with the chief of Lebanese Hezbollah's Executive Council, Sayyid Hashim Safiuddin, in order to do an analysis of the regional circumstances and developments and the situation of the resistance, and evaluate them in relation to the Zionist regime’s conditions.

“Israel is heading towards further weakness while our strength is increasing. The forms of weakness change, in the same way that the forms of power change. Today resistance has turned into an axis, while we were not so in the past, neither in terms of number (of forces), nor the missile capabilities, nor the weapon capabilities, nor the geographical area. Our power and capabilities have changed and evolved. In the same way, the weak points of the Zionist enemy are changing as well. In the past, the enemy was present and used to fight across all areas of this political regime and entity, known as Israel, and which we consider a temporary entity. But the area of this regime’s dominance began to shrink and became more restricted day by day,” the prominent Hezbollah figure said in the interview.

He noted that the siege around the territories occupied by the Israeli regime is being tightened from all directions due to strategic cooperation among the Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese resistance forces, stressing that the Zionist regime is surrounded by the missiles provided by General Qassem Soleimani.

“Once upon a time, the Israelis claimed they want to establish their big state from the Euphrates to the Nile, but today they have lowered their expectations to a country within this wall and the 1948 region, calling this zone a Jewish state. They have lost control of Gaza and part of the West Bank as well. They built a wall to protect themselves… But the situation will become worse for Israel. Who could imagine that so many weapons and young Palestinian fighters might exist in Nablus and Jenin? The day will come when operations will be carried out inside the 1948 regions participated by the resistance, something that Israel will not even imagine,” Safiuddin stated.

The disagreements, conflicts and internal crises among the Zionist groups have aggravated the internal problems inside the occupied territories, he noted, adding that the Zionist regime’s domestic problems have been clearly reflected in the media outlets and the streets. “The Zionists argue with each other in the right and left wings. Of course they have no left wing. They are either rightist or far-right. All of them are radical and extremist. These radical extremists are confused and puzzled. This is not a cohesive, integrated and united society. The truth is that Israeli society is crumbling from within. Their historic leaders are gone. Their current leaders are petty leaders who are notorious for corruption and theft. Some have a criminal record and some will end up in prison. Some also have pending cases. These are all part of the reality of this weak and collapsing social entity.”

The chief of Lebanese Hezbollah's Executive Council also referred to a recent agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the restoration of ties, saying, “Iran was powerful before the Beijing agreement, and it is still strong and powerful after it. What happened between Iran and Saudi Arabia had many positive repercussions for the people of the region and was against the interests of the US and Israel. On the other hand, it is in the interests of the Ummah and the Islamic and Arab world and is proof of our health and strength.”

The first and second parts of the interview have been published by Tasnim.

The third and final part of the interview is as follows:

Tasnim: After its failures in West Asia and among the Arab countries, the Zionist regime has turned to a series of narratives and media adventures in some neighboring countries of Iran and is trying to show itself as influential in these countries. Some consider this a sign of desperation and passivity, and some introduce it as the result of a calculated plan. Considering that you have been closely involved with this regime for years and know its approaches, what is your interpretation of this action and also the optimism that some governments have formed from establishing this relationship?

Israel is too weak to stand against Iran.

Governments that play Israel's game will regret it in the future.

Safiuddin: First, when they are unable to do something and rely on another country, whether it is Iran's neighbor or not, it shows that they will not be able to do it. Because when they can't do that, other countries won't be able to either. Second, experience has shown that America and Israel do not have fixed and long-term common interests with other countries. Because Israel has limitless ambitions. Although sometimes it seemingly shows to pay attention to some countries, in reality, it considers its own interests to be above everything else. The US acts in the same manner.

This is their policy; these efforts they are making in Iran’s neighboring states, in my opinion, are a futile attempt to open multiple fronts for Iran and make it busy with the goal of diverting its attention from the fundamental issue of the Muslim world, which is the issue of Palestine and Quds. This issue is obvious and can be seen in the statements of the Islamic Revolution Leader. The issue of Quds and Palestine is very effective and active in Israel's policies, and since they are no longer able to do anything against Iran, they use these countries for sedition; like what happened in the past years in the cases of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Caucasus region.

In fact, Israel is too weak to stand against the power of Iran, Iran is very powerful and today it is the most powerful country in the region. This is because it has national, popular, political power and legitimacy, internal capability, and continues to develop and expand its influence in the region. The Islamic Republic has a presence and influence throughout the region and is loved by the people of the region. But the countries and parties that agree to give in to these Israeli demands will undoubtedly fail. When Israel cannot stand up to Iran, how will its puppets be able to?

Tasnim: The Zionist regime pursued similar movements in the media in parallel with the connections it established with some governments. For example, after the announcement of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia for the resumption of relations, we saw that the Zionist leaders lifted the veil and they very publicly and openly revealed their relationship with Iran International TV channel. Netanyahu and Bennett's interviews with this network were aired immediately. After that, the Iranian opposition came to the occupied territories and Pahlavi's son met them. The history of the region shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Arab-Islamic identity of the region, but these groups have always worked against the countries of the region when they tried to unite. That is, Pahlavi's ties with Israel have always been hostile to the countries of the region, and when they got closer to each other, they became their biggest enemies. Based on your knowledge of regional governments, what do you think will happen to the countries of the region because of the closeness of the Zionist regime and the Iranian opposition?

We laughed a lot when seeing Pahlavi's son in Israel.

Pahlavi's presence in Israel showed how weak Israel has become.

Safiuddin: When we saw that Pahlavi's son was in Israel, we laughed a lot and realized how weak Israel is. I think the people of Iran know better than I do; it is very ridiculous when a regime like Israel welcomes Pahlavi's son to gain power by using him. Because naturally, the weak side needs a strong side to become strong, not a much weaker side. This trip showed that Israel has reached a point of weakness and desperation that it needs someone like Pahlavi's son who has no status and value as he has no influence inside or outside of Iran.

Secondly, and thanks to God, the people of the region have reached a level of awareness that they understand the nature and truth of affairs and issues better. We have been saying for 20-25 years that the people of the region love resistance and hate Israel and do not accept normalization. It is also clear what Iran wants from the Muslim world and the Arab people. It does not want anything for itself. Iran has come to help the Arab people and Islamic countries because one of its most important principles is to defend the truth and the oppressed. Iran has come to return Palestine to Palestinians, al-Quds to Muslims and Christians, and all holy places to their owners.

It was Iran that gave power and hope to the people of the region.

The regional nations know that the country that sacrifices itself and strives for the issues of the Muslim and Arab world is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

What has happened in the past 40 years is that Israel has tried to hide and distort this reality. These efforts started when Imam Khomeini announced International Quds Day. The Muslim and Arab people accepted Imam’s words about al-Quds, as they now accept the Islamic Revolution Leader's remarks. Meanwhile, what the US and Israel did during these years was creating sedition between Sunni and Shia, creating ISIL and then distorting the face of Iran by saying that Iran is trying to turn the Muslim world and Sunnis into Shias and wants to dominate the Muslim and Arab world. All attempts at provoking Arab and Persian nationalism as well as sectarianism have failed. Therefore, the people of the region are now more aware. Now they know that the country that sacrifices itself and strives for the issues of the Muslim and Arab world is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Therefore, we see a decrease in such efforts from Iran’s enemies. That is why I said before that stability and security are in the interest of Iran and the resistance axis. Because when the countries and nations of the region are stable and secure, they can see the reality of what is happening, and they can appreciate that what the Iranian nation endured during the past years was a very major and important task and the right thing to do.

The Iranian nation proved with its stability that it is a true follower of the Prophet (PBUH) and his family. Just as the policy of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) was established with patience and tolerance, the policy of the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran will also become permanent. Today, Iran's righteousness is being revealed to the world. The nations of the Arab world are hailing Iran today. Look at the Palestinian nation, the Palestinian resistance groups, other resistance groups and other nations in the region. They all believe that the one that gave them strength and hope was the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The US and its embassies in West Asia have been weakened.

Dollar and sanctions are weapons and tools for American crimes.

Tasnim: You said that the United States of America is sowing discord among the nations of the region and that their withdrawal may be accompanied by more chaos and strife. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also said in his meeting with the Iraqi authorities that even one American in the region is too many. We see some signs of the American military withdrawal from the region, but some people believe that the Americans are not really leaving. They are just changing their way of being present and pursuing their agendas through other plans for imposing influence such as the plans for young leaders, NGOs, scholarships for the elite, civil disobedience and social media campaigns through cyberspace. They also have American universities in some countries in the region that serve as platforms for their influence. How do you evaluate this change in strategies and methods?

Safiuddin: Americans and the British have different ways of thinking despite having a similar bad nature. The British have learned to use plots, conspiracies, security bodies, and sedition to gain presence in places where they were absent or maintain their presence where they have influence. Americans, on the other hand, are not like this. They, first and foremost, rely mainly on their military might and their network of bases around the globe. Look at the number of American bases across the world and even in Europe, Japan and other places. The US has a brutal nature and behavior and is equipped with military power and bombs. It threatens others using these. This has been the pattern of American politics and economics throughout history. When America becomes weaker and its presence in a region diminishes, all its tools also lose their effectiveness; affiliated organizations as well as economic and political partners become powerless, especially as they have no power without the US.

Who would believe that NGOs have any power in regional countries? They don't matter much. They rely on the US's power and influence. When the US's influence fades, they collapse. Look at what happened in Afghanistan. When America and its military forces withdrew from the country, nothing remain of its name in the country. Now, how can NGOs achieve what the US military could not? The US has a huge media machine that portrays its government, economy, politics, and NGOs as champions of freedom and human rights, but in reality, they are based on brutality. When we talk about the US's weakness in a region, we mean the brutal behavior of the country.

US military bases will become useless and ineffective. We are not saying that US embassies in West Asia will close; rather, they will lose their influence and relevance because their power depends on their weapons. If the US pulls out of Iraq and Syria militarily and withdraws some of its operatives in Lebanon, what will be left for them? They have bases in Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia; their power lies on these bases. However, when the US becomes weak, everything else weakens as well.

Tasnim: Experts say we are living in the age of Geoeconomics, where economic tools and capacities have a direct impact on the power of countries. The United States has exploited its dominance of the dollar to impose sanctions and exert enormous pressure on independent states. The people of Lebanon and Iran have experienced the bitter taste of this bullying by economic means. In some ways, we are witnessing a form of economic terrorism by the United States and its allies against independent nations. The situation has become so disastrous that some parts of the world are facing crises in their basic needs, such as food, and medicine as the people of Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, and other regions are suffering from various degrees of hardship. What is your opinion on this economic terrorism and its effects on nations?

The tyranny of Nimrod and Pharaoh was nothing compared to the US’ cruelty.

Safiuddin: This is the US. It is criminal because it has a history of crimes. Ever since its establishment, the US has not been able to survive without bloodshed. It killed the native people of the Americas and built the United States on their blood. Its crimes are known all over the world; from dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to shooting down a passenger plane in Iran, and killing the Iraqi not just by weapons but also by imposing sanctions. All the people who died in the region were killed by American weapons. The US's use of the dollar to pressure other countries is also a criminal act. They seek to impose pressure on people and it is so unfortunate that they claim to support human rights while doing such acts.

We agree with Kissinger, who said that the US is the greatest empire in human history. The greatest injustice that happened in human history was the establishment of this empire. The American empire is the biggest tyrant in the world. What the biggest oppressors in human history including Pharaoh and Nimrod did is nothing compared to what the US does. It imposes blockades on a country and its people and takes away their basic rights.

Right now, the Iranian nation is deprived of its resources; Iran is a rich country that doesn't need anyone's help. It has not asked for help either. It can live with its resources but it has been the target of siege because its policies are not in line with those of the US. What America is doing in Lebanon and Yemen is inhumane. More than 60,000 to 70,000 civilians were killed in Yemen, including 7,000 children. They starved to death. They died because they had no food. And the US doesn't care about this. It only wants to force its conditions on the Yemeni people.

Earlier, there was a meeting of the US Congress about the region and the focus of discussions was the straits and waters of the region. They stressed that they have to keep these areas under their control. They said that they won't let Iran have them. That's why they starve the people of Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon. They do the same thing to the Palestinians in Gaza. Even in the West Bank, the situation is bad for food supplies. They only help to fulfill the needs if they get something from the Zionists in return.

This is America and we are not surprised. From day one, we acknowledged that the United States is our main enemy. I am saying this clearly, we are proud of adhering to the principles and teachings of Imam Khomeini. Our enemy is primarily the United States, and then Israel. Thus, it's unsurprising that our enemy is implementing such hostile policies against us. However, despite their efforts, as previously stated, this power is on the brink of crumbling and falling.

The solution to Lebanon’s problems is not in the foreign embassies.

Tasnim: You referred to the living conditions of the Lebanese people, now let me ask a question about the political situation in Lebanon. We saw that Hezbollah demonstrated unwavering support for its alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement and Mr. Michel Aoun for seven years and did not withdraw its support until the end. Later, Mr. Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah would back Mr. Suleiman Franjiyah's candidacy for the presidency based on previous agreements and commitments. Now, how do you think this deadlock over the Lebanese presidency, which has not been unprecedented, will be resolved? The seat was once vacant for two and half years and for the last seven months, there has been no consensus on who should fill it.

Safiuddin: The solution to the problem in Lebanon is clear and simple. It's not complicated. But the important issue is who takes this solution. Seven years ago, Michel Aoun was elected president of Lebanon and we now say he should be elected; Lebanese people should understand their own interests and arrive at a consensus. They need to understand what the US Embassy and other countries' embassies want. The Lebanese should come together and talk about their problems and how and what can help them overcome their challenges. Lebanon is now facing numerous economic, political and strategic crises and the situation in this country is very poor. In such a bad situation, the Lebanese must come together and reach an agreement. If they don't agree to come out of this situation, what are they going to agree on?

Meanwhile, we don't impose something on someone or a group because we don't want others to impose something on us. This is the reality of the matter. Some people want to impose a different policy on us under the pretext that we support a certain candidate. Because they don't accept this candidate. We say, now that you don't accept our candidate, nominate your own; it is not right to cling to all sorts of tricks to prevent the election of a nominee.

Hezbollah has a lot of power and capability in the area where the resistance has a presence, but on a larger scale, we live in one country, and we don't think about just saving ourselves and ignoring our homeland and our people; never. We care about the interests of all of Lebanon. That's why we tell them not to take too much risk and rely on outsiders. It is enough to let go of outsiders. The United States can provide Lebanon with electricity but it prevents that. It can allow Iran to do so but it also prevents that. It can leave the Lebanese people to build their own country but it also prevents that and ruins everything. So the solution is clear and simple, we need courage for making decisions in difficult situations.

Tasnim: If there is anything else you want to talk about that I haven't asked you, please feel free to share it with us.

Safiuddin: No, that's all. Thank you very much.

Tasnim: All right. I wish good health to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Mr. Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, and you and I appreciate your time.