BICOM

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah admitted yesterday that Iran and Syria have supported the Shiite militant group, but insisted “Iran doesn’t dictate Hezbollah’s actions.”

Nasrallah made the admission in a video-link speech to supporters in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. “I don’t believe Israel will attack Iranian nuclear facilities, but of it does… the Iranian leadership won’t ask Hezbollah for anything and won’t dictate anything. We will have to think and decided what to do on our own.”

Nasrallah further said, “Iran supports the resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon and asks for nothing in return, since this is a religious obligation…. We get spiritual, political and material assistance from Iran. The resistance movement that won the Second Lebanon War could not have done so without Iran’s help, but they can’t dictate anything,” he said.

Hezbollah’s leader also addressed the bloodshed in Syria, once again reaffirming his allegiance to Syrian President Bashar Assad, and dismissing reports of a massacre in Homs: “We looked into those reports. Nothing happened there. The timing of those reports – just before the debate in the UN Security Council wasn’t based on facts. It was an attempt to use the media.”