TEHRAN, March 30 (MNA) – Hezbollah's secretary general has emphasized Iran's pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian cause of liberation from Israeli occupation and aggression.“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a central backer of the Palestinian cause,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said, delivering an address on the occasion of the International Quds Day, a pro-Palestinian event marked on an annual basis worldwide, on Friday.
He pointed to the occasion’s having been pioneered by the late founder of Iran’s Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, who, following the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution under his leadership, designated the last Friday of the holy month of Ramdan as the global Quds Day, and urged that the day be marked worldwide each year.
“The late Imam Khomeini declared [the last Friday of each Ramadan] a global day to confront oppression and tyranny,” Sheikh Qassem noted.
“According to Imam Khamenei, the Palestinian cause is not a political tactic, but a matter of faith, heart, and belief,” he said, adding, “This day extends from Palestine to the whole world, but its central point remains Palestine.” Hezbollah’s leader also noted that from the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution until now -- a period which has featured unstinting Iranian support for the Palestinian cause and the Islamic Republic’s promoting pro-Palestinian support worldwide -- "many transformations have occurred in favor of resistance” against Israeli atrocities.
He urged that the Quds Day be observed globally each year as per Imam Khomeini’s advice as “a religious and ideological duty that transcends borders and politics.” “International Quds Day is a day of solidarity with the occupied [holy city of] al-Quds and with all the oppressed people around the world in the face of the arrogant powers, occupiers, conspirators, and tyrants.” The resistance leader, meanwhile, identified the Israeli regime as “a demonic, expansionist entity that feeds off US imperialism.” “Israel is an expansionist enemy that knows no limits and will surpass all borders; resistance is a legitimate right and natural response,” he asserted.
Sheikh Qassem considered the Israeli regime’s claims to regional territories to be void of all legitimacy.
He also warned that the regime had placed Lebanon on its “annexation list,” especially coveting southern Lebanese regions, which Tel Aviv was seeking to arrogate to itself through illegal settlement construction schemes.
MP/PressTV