"Hezbollah a political party, not a terrorist group," says Iranian envoy Elahi
Oct 01, 2024
New Delhi [India], October 1 : Iran's Ambassador to India, Dr Iraj Elahi, condemned Israel's classification of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, calling it a pretext for "massacre, bloodshed, and attacks on innocent civilians." Elahi also emphasised that Hezbollah is a political party and not a terrorist group.
The remarks by Elahi came on the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike carried out by Israel.
While speaking with ANI, Elahi described the death of Nasrallah as a "big loss for all human beings in the world." He said, "The martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah as a great leader, great politician of Lebanon and well-known man in the world is not a small thing. It's a big loss for all human beings, not just for Muslims, not just for Shias, not just for Lebanese, for all our Arabs. It is a loss for all people in the world."
He further said, "Hezbollah is a political party. It is not a terrorist group. They (Israel) are claiming Hezbollah a terrorist group to justify their massacre, bloodshedding and attacks on innocent people and their hostility in the region..."
Elahi also emphasised that the key to easing tensions in the Middle East lies in stopping Israel's invasions and military attacks. "The main solution is to stop invasion and military attack by Israel... We hope that not only India but all countries use their influence on Israel to stop its invasion of Palestine and Lebanon," Elahi said.
Notably, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had launched precision strikes on the Lebanese capital in Beirut on Friday, which led to the death of Nasrallah.
Following the death of Nasrallah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Iran's Ayatollah regime and asserted that those who target Israel will face consequences and that no location in Iran or the Middle East is beyond Israel's reach.
Netanyahu called Nasrallah as "main engine of Iran's axis of evil" and added, "Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the main engine of Iran's axis of evil. He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not only operated by Iran, he also frequently operated Iran."
