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Israel Attack on Lebanon Depends on Iran, Syria: Hezbollah | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard perform in a play at their military base in northeastern Tehran. (R)


Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard perform in a play at their military base in northeastern Tehran. (R)

Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard perform in a play at their military base in northeastern Tehran. (R)

TEHRAN (AFP) – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said any Israeli attack on Lebanon depended on the Iranian nuclear issue and the Israel-Syria talks, in an interview with Iran’s state-run television on Monday.

“I can not say when Israel is going to attack Lebanon, if it is going to be soon or not. It depends on the region’s events and circumstances,” said Nasrallah, whose Lebanese Shiite group is backed by Damascus and Tehran.

“On the one hand it depends on Iran’s nuclear case, and on the other hand it depends on the indirect talks between Syria and Israel,” he added.

He was referring to the Iranian nuclear drive which the West suspects is a weapons programme under the guise of a civilian one. It has already imposed sanctions on Teheran and Washington refuses to rule out the use of force.

Tehran vehemently denies it is developing nuclear weapons.

Israel and Syria, which have technically been at war for 60 years, launched indirect negotiations brokered by Turkey in May, eight years after talks were frozen over the fate of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Nasrallah assessed the current situation in the Middle East as “not stable and not calm”, but he added that Hezbollah’s “military situation is in best shape, thanks God.”

Iran is a staunch supporter of Hezbollah although it denies Western and Israeli charges of military backing to the militant group which fought a devastating 2006 summer war against the Jewish state.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivering a speech from the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh on the occasion of the start of the holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivering a speech from the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh on the occasion of the start of the holy month of Ramadan. (AFP)

A Lebanese man and a boy sit in front of pictures depicting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, left, top Shiite imam Moussa al-Sadr, right, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, center. (AP)

A Lebanese man and a boy sit in front of pictures depicting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, left, top Shiite imam Moussa al-Sadr, right, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, center. (AP)