Nasrallah delivers fiery tirade against Saudi Arabia

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a scathing speech directed at Saudi Arabia and its allies for their military operation in Yemen.

“The House of Saud’s failures in Yemen and its loss of control over the country is the real reason for their aggression against Yemen,” he declared.

He drew a comparison between the speed and readiness with which Operation Decisive Storm was implemented, to the non-reaction the same Arab countries had toward the Palestinian people and their struggle against Israeli occupation.

“The Palestinian people did not feel any decisive storm, not even a decisive breeze,” Nasrallah said, mocking the operation’s name.

The Hezbollah leader then listed “three excuses” Saudi Arabia justified its intervening role in Yemen. The first was on the basis to return Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi back to his position, although Nasrallah pointed out that no war was waged on Tunisia or Egypt when Ben Ali and Mubarak respectively were ousted.

The second excuse, Nasrallah continued, was that Saudi Arabia felt threatened by the new events and developments unfolding in Yemen. “This is Bush’s religion!” Nasrallah exclaimed, referring to the policies of former US president George W Bush embarking on a war based on events beyond his control.

The third excuse, which Nasrallah called “the biggest lie in all of these justifications” was how Saudi Arabia feared Iranian hegemony and perceived Yemen as under the direct influence of Iran.

Nasrallah went on to assert that Iran supports resistance movements against Israel that the bigger Arab countries have ignored, such as the Hamas movement and Hezbollah. At the same time, he rejected that Iran controlled these movements, stating that they provide military and financial support and do not impose their orders.

He lashed out against Saudi Arabia, calling its leaders as lazy fools, and blamed the oil-rich kingdom for the creation and financing of the Islamic State, accusing Prince Bandar as their financial backer. He also accused Saudi Arabia of funding and backing the occupiers against their own Arab brothers.