RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large and fervent crowd of believers in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon’s Sayyidah al-Zahra Complex, Ayatollah Afif al-Nablusi warned about the presence of American officials in Lebanon, saying, “Any American official who travels to Lebanon will surely carry a message containing the demands of the Zionist regime.”
The senior Lebanese Shi’ah cleric added that these individuals want to either exhaust the financial resources of the Islamic Resistance [Hezbollah], emphasize upon the need for the withdrawal of the forces of the Islamic Resistance from Syria, demand the disarmament of the Islamic Resistance or seek to demarcate Lebanon’s land and sea borders.
Ayatollah al-Nablusi emphasized that these demands have nothing to do with the demands of Lebanon and that Americans will never think about the security and protection of Lebanon against the crimes of the Zionist regime or the national gas wealth that the Zionists seek to steal.
“From the past until now, we have believed that the Islamic Resistance is a part of Lebanon and its strength and sovereignty and we support and we will remain committed to the Islamic Resistance to confront the Zionist and Takfiri threats and terrorism to protect Lebanon’s wealth and the borders against invaders and thieves,” His Eminence said.
Ayatollah al-Nablusi said, “The Americans must understand that we will not accept any trade-off on our rights our rights and the understanding and consensus between the Prime Minister [Sa’ad al-Hariri], the President [Michel Aoun] and the Speaker of the Parliament [Nabih Berri] on the role of Islamic Resistance is essential to protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and protecting its wealth.”
Rex Tillerson, the United States’ Secretary of State, visited in Beirut on Thursday, on a brief stopover amid an increasing dispute between Lebanon and Israel over offshore oil and gas reserves.
The top American diplomat expressed concern over the involvement of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance movement, Hezbollah, in regional conflicts, claiming it posed a threat to the security of Lebanon. He also alleged that the movement was a destabilizing influence in the Middle East.
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