Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah called on Islamic countries to take “coordinated and decisive measures” against Israel during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Sunday, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry and Lebanese media reports.
Fadlallah, a senior member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc in the Lebanese Parliament, complained of Israel’s alleged “expansionist ambitions” and expressed gratitude for Iran’s “efforts to support the Lebanese people’s resistance through diplomatic efforts,” Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar satellite TV reported.
Fadlallah also called for coordinated action against Israel over what he described as its crimes in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank.
Despite presenting Hezbollah as a Lebanese resistance movement, Fadlallah has repeatedly opposed efforts by the Lebanese state to disarm the group.
Araghchi praises Lebanese people for standing against Israel
In June, following the signing of a US-brokered framework agreement between Beirut and Jerusalem, he warned that the government could not implement the agreement without going to civil war and that Hezbollah would resist any measures to disarm it.
Responding to Fadlallah’s thanks to the Islamic Republic, Araghchi praised the “resistance and steadfastness of the Lebanese people in the face of the brutal aggression by Israel” and reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s “comprehensive support for the Lebanese people in defending their country’s territorial integrity, dignity, and national sovereignty.”
The meeting comes as Iran has faced increasing criticism in Lebanon over its involvement in the country’s internal affairs, despite Tehran’s repeated declarations of support for Lebanese sovereignty.
The meeting also came weeks after senior Hezbollah officials appeared in Iran during the funeral ceremonies for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in a US-Israel strike on February 28. At the time, the regime’s Foreign Ministry quoted Araghchi as saying that Iran would continue its “commitment” to the resistance.