Iran’s Raisi Vows Response To Damascus Consulate Strike
By Arab News
By Najia Houssari
Iran has vowed to respond to Israel’s attack on its Damascus consulate.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking via video at a Hezbollah event in Beirut’s southern suburb on Wednesday, described the Israeli missile strike as “the pinnacle of failure and loss.”
On the giant screen at the Jerusalem Day celebrations, Raisi added: “Washington is an inevitable partner in the Israeli crimes in Gaza. The attack on the Iranian consulate will receive a response from the brave resistance.”
The celebration saw speeches from Iran-backed movement leaders broadcast live through affiliated TV stations in Baghdad, Beirut, Tehran, Damascus and Sanaa.
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh said in his speech: “The occupation government is determined to continue the aggression against the Gaza Strip, and Netanyahu and those with him only care about remaining in their chairs for the longest period.”
He added: “We are adhering to our demands of a ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, the entry of aid, the reconstruction of the strip, the lifting of the siege and the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal.”
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary general, condemned “the Israeli aggression that Syria is being exposed to,” adding that “Syria’s position in support of all resistance movements has not changed.”
He said: “What we need today is steadfastness, and to focus on the achievements that were achieved as a result of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and not focus on the losses.
“There are great sacrifices, yes, but there are great results and achievements, especially the strategic ones, which we must explain to the people through all platforms that support the path of the resistance.
“The enemy seeks to transform the image of the historical achievements of the resistance into an image of defeat by distorting the facts.”
Other speeches were delivered by the head of Yemen’s Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi; the secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, Ziyad Al-Nakhalah; the secretary-general of the Iraqi Nujaba movement, Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi; and Iraq’s Badr Organization and Fatah Alliance chief Hadi Al-Amiri.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese branch of the Islamic Jihad movement announced the killing of one of its members — Mohammad Abdulaziz Al-Rantisi, 32 — in southern Lebanon.
