In a speech commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the “Al-Manar” channel, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stated that “the daily developments happening in Palestine in general, and Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular, must be accompanied by [a movement across] the entire nation, not just by Palestinians.”

“We are up against a cruel and foolish adversary. “Everyone understands the scope of Israeli society’s political, social, and cultural challenges, including the need for repeated elections and the difficulty to form a government,” he asserted, emphasizing that “[safeguarding] Al-Quds and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the obligation of the entire nation.”

He pointed out that the people of Jerusalem and the West Bank have preserved the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem with their presence, their patience, their steadfastness, and their flesh, and still do so to this day. “We are working hard to reach an equation that renders any assault on Al-Quds tantamount to a regional war,” he stressed, warning that “Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may resort to foolishness, yet again, after his political crisis.”

Reassuring his audience over his health condition, Nasrallah thanked all those who checked in on him, and said “I have a dream and a great hope that I will, one day, pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Tackling the Yemeni war, Nasrallah said: “Since day one, we had faith in the ability of the Yemeni people to withstand [calamities], despite the different sources of aggression. Indeed, we believed in its ability to achieve victory. We knew for a fact that this victory was inevitable. All through the past years we have witnessed heroic epics, and today we stand in front of a catastrophic failure for the US-Saudi aggression on Yemen.”

“When war fails, they resort to economic means and pressures to achieve the goals they were unable to achieve by military means,” he explained. “This is what is happening in Syria, as well as in Lebanon and many countries of the world that have refused to bow to the American arrogance.”

Turning his attention to local affairs, namely the parliamentary elections, the Hezbollah secretary General said: “It did not occur to us to postpone the parliamentary elections, neither did we discuss the matter with any of our allies. We are still against early parliamentary elections as we believe that resorting to such a measure is a waste of time.”

To those calling for early parliamentary elections, Nasrallah retorted that “instead of talking about early parliamentary measures, why won’t you go ahead and form a government?”

Pertaining to the government formation dilemma, he informed his addressees that “the party stands by Berri and always seeks to assist him. We must not despair and continue to work.”

He pointed out that “the state performance is weak in all files, which increases the suffering. The government must thus shoulder its responsibilities.”

Nasrallah also tackled the issue of monopoly, noting that “monopolists are free to do as they please; they’re well-known and enjoy political coverage. They are protected by political forces, sectarian references, and state bodies. The present government and the relevant ministries must declare war on monopolies and monopolists — this is part of the treatment.”

Moving on to the fuel crisis, Nasrallah stressed that “the Iranian offer to send fuel to Lebanon in the Lebanese currency is still valid. If the state remains sluggish, we will go to Iran and negotiate and buy petrol and diesel ships and bring them to the port of Beirut, and let the state then prevent their entry into Lebanon,” asserting that “the sight of the humiliation of our people will not be tolerated.”

“Subsidies will not be rationalized since any official decision to rationalize or lift subsidies must be done with everyone’s consent. (…) If a new administration is created, its program will be clear; it will have no choice but to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund, and its first condition will be to reduce subsidies “‘Then he went on to say,’ he said.

Finally, Hezbollah’s Supreme Leader expressed his support for the “subsidy card” draft bill, urging the House of Representatives to pass it as quickly as feasible.