Southern Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cYour resilience in the course of the Battle of the Mighty Ones [Hezbollah\u2019s ideological branding of its fight with Israel], and even before and after the confrontation, foiled Israel\u2019s expansionist policies, frustrated its land expropriation schemes, and pulled the plug on the U.S. so-called \u2018New Middle East\u2019 project,\u201d the leader of the Iranian terrorist proxy in Lebanon said.<\/p>\n
He also paid respects to the Hezbollah terrorists wounded in Israel\u2019s pager attack, referring, to the Sept. 17-18, 2024, operation in which thousands of booby-trapped pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria exploded simultaneously, killing dozens and wounding several thousand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSalutations to their brothers and families who stood by them, and to all those who treated them, supported them, and extended a helping hand,\u201d Qassem said.<\/p>\n
The Hezbollah chief sent his \u201cgreatest greetings\u201d to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who according to opposition-affiliated reporting is in a fortified underground site in Tehran amid fears of a U.S. strike<\/a> on regime targets following President Donald Trump\u2019s threats to use military force against Iran if its security forces kill protesters.<\/p>\nLebanon PM says international force needed after UNIFIL<\/strong><\/p>\nLebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday that his country will still require an international force in the south after the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission completes its mandated withdrawal in 2027, preferably under United Nations auspices because of its \u201cimpartiality and neutrality.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said any future deployment would likely combine observers and peacekeepers, citing Lebanon\u2019s long \u201chistory of hostility\u201d with Israel and ongoing tensions along the border, AFP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\nSalam, speaking in Paris a day after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, also said that a second phase of Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament process began \u201ctwo weeks ago,\u201d extending north from the Litani River to the Awali River, where the Iran-backed terrorist group retains significant power.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging that Phase 2 has \u201cdifferent requirements\u201d and that Hezbollah\u2019s rhetoric has been \u201crather harsh,\u201d he insisted Beirut remains committed to the plan. \u201cWe will not back down,\u201d Salam said.<\/p>\n
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