Sheikh Naim Qassem:
Hezbollah will decide ‘timing, place’ of response to Zionist regime’s assassination
Hezbollah’s secretary‑general said the group has the right to respond to the Zionist regime’s strike that assassinated senior commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai, adding that Hezbollah itself will decide the timing and location of that response.
Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Tabtabai, Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Friday that the latest Zionist regime’s attack won’t remain unanswered, emphasizing that it is Hezbollah that will decide when and where to carry out the retaliatory operation.
Haitham Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s highest-ranking military official and one of the group’s founder members, was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Sheikh Qassem said that the Zionist entity continues to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty, and Zionist regime’s forces operate comfortably within Lebanese territories because regional and American intelligence services provide it with operational information.
“The objective of the assassination has not been achieved and will not be achieved, and we'll continue the same path,” Sheikh Qassem said.
He noted that “the aim of the assassination of the most prominent figure in combat and capability restoration was to undermine morale and create confusion.”
He described the ceasefire, which entered into force on November 27, 2024, as a victory for Hezbollah, adding that Israel failed to achieve its goal of obliterating the resistance group and was forced to accept a truce agreement after suffering heavy losses on the battlefield.
Sheikh Qassem underlined that the Beirut government is responsible for ensuring the full withdrawal of Israeli forces and deployment of Lebanese army troops in the south.
“The ongoing Israeli acts of aggression are aimed at the entire Lebanon. They are not solely directed at Hezbollah.
“The occupying regime seeks to dominate Lebanon’s policies, and control its economy. It is committing massacres across Lebanon. The government must assume its responsibility and protect Lebanon’s frontiers and its citizens,” the Hezbollah chief pointed out.
Sheikh Qassem said Hezbollah’s weapons liberated Lebanon after decades of occupation, and remain the only deterrent against Israel’s expansionist schemes.
He stated that the United States and Zionist regime are trying to strip Lebanon of its defensive capability, insisting that the real threat lies in Zionist regime’s expansionism, not Hezbollah’s arms.
Sheikh Qassem also condemned calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, emphasizing that anyone who is demanding the group lay down its weapons or leave the battlefield is indeed serving the interests of the occupying Zionist regime.
He stressed that Hezbollah is “ready to discuss weapons and the defense strategy, but not under pressure or in pursuit of a new agreement.”
”We are ready for political discussions over arms and a defense strategy, but not under Israeli pressure and not through annulling the current agreement,” he said.
”Surrendering is out of the question. We will persevere and defend and the blood of our martyrs will not go in vain,” Sheikh Qassem added.
“The Israeli enemy will not cause us pain without receiving pain itself,” he noted.