Lebanon’s Hezbollah Chief Gloats Over Trump’s ‘Humiliating Downfall’ in US Election
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is seen on a video screen as he addresses supporters in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 16, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Aziz Taher / File.
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said on Wednesday he was pleased about “the humiliating downfall” of US President Donald Trump, but urged regional allies to be on alert for any American or Israeli “folly” during the rest of his term in office.
Hassan Nasrallah, in a televised speech, described Trump’s administration as “among the worst, if not the worst” in the United States, but said the new president would not alter Washington’s pro-Israel policy in the Middle East.
Describing the US election as a travesty of democracy, he accused Trump of having no restraints and said his administration’s “arrogance and aggressiveness” had heightened the possibility of war.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah leader said he derived personal pleasure at the outcome of the US elections also because Trump had ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
“With a person like Trump anything is possible during the remainder of his term … the axis of resistance should be in a state of high readiness to respond twice as hard in case of any American or Israeli folly,” Nasrallah said, referring to Hezbollah and Iran’s allies in the region.
The Trump administration has widened sanctions against Hezbollah, which Washington deems a terrorist organization, and its Lebanese allies as part of a maximum pressure campaign against Iran.
Nasrallah said US sanctions imposed last week on Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanon’s president, over charges of corruption and ties to Hezbollah were part of Washington’s efforts to pressure its political allies.