Hezbollah chief says dialogue with Iran is only way forward
Nasrallah blasts Saudi Arabia for welcoming Trump, the most 'racist' US president; says deals show kingdom's weakness
BEIRUT — The chief of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group told Saudi Arabia that dialogue with Iran is the only way forward, lashing out at the kingdom’s lavish royal welcome of US president Donald Trump.
In a speech Thursday, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said the US president is “only interested in money” and is the most “racist” US president against Arabs and Muslims. He said the Saudi welcome and deals signed were a sign of the kingdom’s weakness.
Nasrallah was speaking days after Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering Saudi security, and after the US State Department announced sanctions on senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine.
Nasrallah dismissed the sanctions as laughable and said such summits and declarations “will not make any difference.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards created Hezbollah (Party of God) in the 1980s.
With political and military support from Iran, it remains the only side not to have put down weapons after Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990.
The United States, Canada and Australia have listed Hezbollah as a terrorist group. The European Union has also blacklisted its military wing.