Khamenei's Advisor: Iran Will Support Hezbollah 'Firmly' in Confrontation with Israel

Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said on Sunday that his country will support Hezbollah "firmly" in confronting Israel.

Velayati's statements came while Lebanon faces American and Israeli pressures to disarm Hezbollah, which has been engaged in a military confrontation with Israel for over a year following the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Velayati said that "Hezbollah, as one of the most important pillars of the resistance axis, plays a fundamental role in confronting Zionism," according to what was reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency "IRNA."

He added, "The Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership and guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, will firmly continue its support for Hezbollah, which stands on the front lines of the resistance."

A ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has been in effect since November 27, 2024, but the Israeli army launches near-daily raids on Lebanon and continues to carry out incursions, bulldozing, and demolition operations in the south of the country.

The Lebanese government adopted an American paper in August to consolidate the ceasefire, which includes a timeline for disarming Hezbollah and deploying the Lebanese army in the south of the country. However, Hezbollah warned that moves related to disarmament could ignite a civil war.

Political Crisis

In November, a statement by Velayati sparked criticism after he considered that "the existence of Hezbollah is more important for Lebanon than bread."

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rjey responded in a post on the X platform, stating that "what is more important to us than water and bread is our sovereignty, freedom, and independence of our internal decision-making."

After the exchange, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi extended an official invitation to his Lebanese counterpart to visit Tehran "to consult on the development of bilateral relations and discuss regional and international developments," according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

However, Rjey apologized for not accepting the invitation and recently described Iran's regional role as "extremely negative" and "one of the sources of instability," especially in Lebanon.

In a post on X, Rjey considered that Hezbollah cannot "hand over its weapons without an Iranian decision, and its concern today is to buy time to maintain its internal existence in order to rebuild its capabilities," according to him.