All of Israel is within the range of Hezbollah’s missiles, Lebanese Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview published Monday night.
“All land and sea targets of Israel are in the range of Hezbollah missiles,” the Hezbollah commander said. He also said that Hezbollah has created “active deterrence” against Israel.
Nasrallah also boasted about a recent drone operation Hezbollah carried out targeting Israel’s Karish gas field. Israel downed the drones but Nasrallah told Al-Mayadeen media that Hezbollah has used drones over Israel many times in the past years.
Nasrallah threatened Israel against using the Karish field.
He also said that US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region illustrated how the US does not want a new conflict in the Middle East. He suggested that Hezbollah could gain from this by bringing Iranian oil and gas to Lebanon and that Hezbollah can exploit Lebanon’s crisis and the US desire for stability in the region.
Nasrallah’s threats and statements against Israel ran the usual gamut of claims, he said Israel was afraid to enter Lebanon’s territory and that this showed that Hezbollah had deterred Israel. Nasrallah spoke to the media on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Hezbollah and spelled out its accomplishments and future endeavors. He praised Iranian support for the “axis” of resistance.
He looked back at history and said that Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon in the past and that Israel had shown it could not even maintain the “security belt” inside Lebanon that Israel maintained until 2000. He said Israel has been afraid to confront Hezbollah since the 2006 war.
“We are capable of deterrence and if needed, we will respond. Even if it leads to war,” the Hezbollah leader said. “Due to Europe's need to replace Russian oil and gas, Lebanon is facing a historic opportunity. Biden came to the region because of oil and gas. But the additional oil of Saudi Arabia and the UAE will not solve Europe's needs either. The war between Ukraine and Russia has made them look for alternatives to Russian oil and gas.”
Hezbollah hopes to gain from the Ukraine crisis. “This is a historic and golden opportunity for us to push for our oil. Regarding NATO in the Middle East, I must say that many people talk about their dreams. Biden only traveled to the region for oil. The priority of Biden and America is to confront Russia in Ukraine. For this reason, they are against any war…They do not want a war that will cause an explosion in the region.”
Nasrallah details Hezbollah’s abilities, discussing Hezbollah’s precision-guided missiles. He said that this gives Hezbollah the ability to prevent Israel or companies from extracting gas from Karish. “The ball is now in Lebanon's territory. It is not, but it is not allowed to extract oil and gas in an area that is not subject to conflict. Now Lebanon has given concessions that the enemy should not refuse.”
Besides noting that Hezbollah drone threats to Israel are increasing, Nasrallah also spelled out how it would make decisions for Lebanon in the future.
The Secretary General of Hezbollah stated that "The Lebanese government is not able to make a proper decision to protect this country and its resources. Therefore, the resistance is forced to make a decision. Our goal is for Lebanon to extract oil and gas; Because this is the only way to save Lebanon. This is an action that must be taken. We will not accept any deception and we must take back our rights. Our goal is to make Lebanon extract oil and gas and to draw the maritime borders of this country correctly,’” Fars News reported.
