Hezbollah stands to lose out if it can’t leverage this crisis - analysis

The blast this week killed more than 100 and has left thousands injured and homeless. It is a national disaster. Hezbollah wants to take advantage of it.

AUGUST 7, 2020 18:30

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession (photo credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS) — Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession

(photo credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS)

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke in the afternoon on Friday. It was a much awaited speech because Hezbollah is in the spotlight for storing dangerous munitions in Lebanon.

The blast this week killed more than 100 and has left thousands injured and homeless. It is a national disaster. Hezbollah wants to take advantage of it.

When the French President visited Lebanon on Thursday he was greeted with applause. Hezbollah stands to lose out if it can’t leverage this crisis. Already Hezbollah allies like President Michel Aoun are spreading rumors about outside interference and the explosion.

Nasrallah began speaking at 5:30 p.m. He claimed he had already planned the speech for Wednesday but the explosion got in the way. He called the death toll a huge disaster and mentioned also the economy and tensions with Israel and also COVID-19 an fuel shortages. The Hezbollah leader said that words could not express his sympathy.

Nasrallah praised solidarity in Lebanon and claimed that Hezbollah from the “first moment” had tried to help. Nasrallah’s speech was tweeted in real-time by David Daoud and my quotes are drawn from his translation. He claimed that Hezbollah has experience in reconstruction due to the 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah used that war to benefit and profit financially.

26-Nasrallah: They set these differences aside until they get past such a disaster, and then they can reopen their disagreements. We even see this during war -- that there's a ceasefire if a disaster occurs
— David A. Daoud (@DavidADaoud) August 7, 2020

The terror leader said Lebanon was besieged by the US today. He contrasted that with friendly states like France. The French leader had met a Hezbollah member while in the country.

Nasrallah claimed a conspiracy may be afoot, arguing that Arab media in the region had a “pre-determined’ story they fed the media. He claimed media have blamed Hezbollah for storing weapons. “Even when officials came out and said this was ammonium nitrate that is used for agriculture, they insisted this was Hezbollah’s ammonium nitrate.”

Hezbollah now begins to play the victim. “It may have been caused by external actors, jets, missiles,” he said. But others have blamed Hezbollah, he complained. It is “unfair.” He wondered whether to dignify this issue with a response. “I want to be very clear and totally deny that we have anything in this warehouse. No missile, ammonium nitrate, no bullets, not now, not in the past.” It seems that by noting this he was acknowledging the accusations and going beyond them by mentioning bullets.

Then Nasrallah said US President Donald Trump had mentioned an “attack.” He said media should stop peddling this false narrative. “Others took the approach that Hezbollah knows everything that goes on in Beirut port. This is not true. We don’t know anything that goes on in Beirut Port.” He then admitted targeting Israel’s Haifa port in past speeches. He asked people to accept the findings of any investigation. He then said it was time for solidarity. He said whoever is found responsible must be held to account, “whatever sect” they come from.