JAKARTA - Lebanese militant group Hezbollah leader Naim Qaseem said on Monday that any attack on Iran is an attack on his group, warning that an attack on Tehran would only trigger conflict in the region.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly highlighted the Iranian authorities' actions in dealing with the protests that broke out in the country since December 28, saying that the US "fleet" was heading to the Gulf region.
President Trump then appeared to back down from military intervention, but has since insisted it remains an option.
"Faced with aggression that does not distinguish between us, we are the target of every potential aggression and are determined to defend ourselves," Qassem said in a televised speech to his supporters at a solidarity rally for Iran, as reported by Al Arabiya and AFP (27/1).
"This time the war against Iran will trigger a conflict in the region," he warned.
"We will choose at that time how to act, but but we are not neutral," he said, adding "how we act, that is a detail determined by the battle, and we will decide according to the interests at stake."
Iran is known to be Hezbollah's main supporter, providing funds and weapons since its formation in the 1980s.
Qassem said that in the last two months, his party has received through mediators "clear and explicit questions" about whether Hezbollah would intervene if the United States and Israel went to war with Iran.
He said they asked for "a promise from the group that they would not interfere."
It is known that more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which largely ended with a November 2024 ceasefire, greatly weakened the group. Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has begun implementing plans to disarm the militants, starting in the south of the country.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out routine attacks on targets it considers to be Hezbollah targets and maintains troops in five locations in southern Lebanon considered strategic.
Hezbollah has called on its supporters to gather on Monday at its strongholds across Lebanon to express support for Iran "in the face of American-Zionist sabotage and threats."
Supporters on the southern outskirts of Beirut held pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as Hezbollah and Iranian flags.
Qassem also warned against any attempt to kill Khamenei.
President Trump last week reiterated Iran's warning that it would be "wiped off the face of the earth" if Tehran succeeded in killing the US leader, while Tehran and Washington both threatened a large-scale war if the leaders of the two countries were killed.
"The assassination of Khamenei will be the assassination of stability in the region and the world," Qassem said, adding that Hezbollah considers the threat "also directed at us, and we have full authority to act as we see fit."
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