Islamic Revolution helped resistance axis grow: Iraq’s Nujaba spox tells Press TV

Press TV has conducted the following interview with Nasr al-Shammari, the official spokesman of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement, on the occasion of the anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. 

Al-Shammari said the development the Islamic Resistance Axis can be divided into two eras: before and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, adding, “Today, Imam Khamenei is [seen as] a great strategic intellectual who was able to lead the fighters against the United States and arrogant powers in such a way as to become a world power.”

According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-‎Nujaba in Iran‎, the official spokesman of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement, while appearing on Press TV’s “Face to Face” talk show, offered his congratulations on the anniversary of the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution and described the role of the Islamic Republic in organizing and elevating the Islamic Resistance Axis as irreplaceable.

He said, “Islamic Resistance movements in the region were formed before the Islamic Revolution in Iran but were weak in all respects. The most important movement was formed in Palestine, which confronted the enemies with stones and even empty hands.”

Nasr al-Shammari added, “After the victory of the Islamic Revolution and its full support for the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, the Zionist regime was defeated; A regime that was occupying parts of the Arab world day by day and even entered Beirut. Israel could not do anything in the 22-day war against the Gaza Strip. Also, in Iraq, the United States occupied our country with hundreds of thousands of troops and committed all kinds of crimes, but nevertheless was defeated, and the Americans declared that more than 80% of the blows they suffered were from Iranian-backed groups.”

Emphasizing the growing progress of the Islamic Resistance and the influence of these groups on the international equations, he said, “The Islamic Resistance movements will remain in the region and after the formation of the full Islamic Resistance Axis, they will reach the goal of this phase, which is the expulsion of all American occupying forces, and these groups will prepare the region for the emergence of Hadhrat Sahib al-Amr [Imam al-Mahdi]. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Lebanon not only affects the balance of power but…is a key element in creating the balance of power in these countries.”

He continued, “You see in Lebanon that no movement can formulate a strategy to confront the Zionist regime without the presence of Hezbollah. In Iraq, too, the Islamic Resistance and the Popular Mobilization Forces were key elements in defeating Daesh and today they are ready to expel the American occupiers. Today, the Yemeni Islamic Resistance is seriously threatening the depths of Saudi Arabia with widespread attacks…The Ansarullah movement, despite all the facilities available to Saudi Arabia and its allies, has been able to impose its conditions on them, and on the other hand, the enemies declare that the Yemeni issue must be resolved through political dialogue, which shows the strength of the Yemeni Islamic Resistance and their defeat.”

Al-Shammari stated that the Islamic Resistance movements now have good political power, “In some countries, the Islamic Resistance has even taken over the majority of the political activists’ community. Internationally, it has reached a point where no movement can create a new equation in the region without the support of the Islamic Resistance.”

In another part, he addressed the statement on the Second Step of the Islamic Revolution by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and said, “We in the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement, consider ourselves the addressees of this statement, because Imam Khamenei, this righteous servant of God, is the religious leader and [serves as a] source of emulation for many people and warriors in the Islamic Resistance of Iraq. Accordingly, the Shia [Muslims] consider themselves obliged to obey their orders and follow their intentions. In addition, today Imam Khamenei is [seen as] a great strategic intellectual who was able to manage this great struggle in such a way that the Islamic Republic and its allies would form a world power against the arrogant powers.”

The deputy secretary-general of al-Nujaba emphasized, “Imam Khomeini has an important saying: ‘he who has a relationship with God will never fail,’ so we in the Islamic Resistance Axis will not be defeated. They threaten us with what we desire, which is martyrdom! Today, the United States is not talking about China, which is a major economic power in the world, as much as it is about the danger of the Islamic Republic because today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the leader in the confrontation with the United States, and…contrary to the axis led by the United States, it [the Islamic resistance axis] is progressing day by day. We heard from Martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Haj Qassem Soleimani how martyrdom was their dream and they asked all their faithful friends to pray for their martyrdom.”

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Al-Shammari pointed to the need to follow the Wali al-Faqih [Guardian-Jurist] and said, “The Wali al-Faqih is the source of emulation and Muslims follow him. He is the deputy of the Imam of the Age and therefore communication with Wali al-Faqih is a religious obligation. Look at the period before the practice of the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih [Guardianship of the Jurisprudent] and the period after that! Shias and other Muslims are now seen as a serious force against the United States and the arrogant powers. Martyr Muhammad-Baqir al-Sadr, who is one of the defenders of the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih, said, ‘Before the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih, we were like the dead, but today we seem to have been resurrected and we consider the relationship with the Wali al-Faqih as an honor for us.”

He added, “One who did not live in Saddam’s time cannot imagine the situation at that time. In that period, if you had a book, or participated in congregational prayers, or went to the shrine of Imam al-Hussein consecutively, you would be sentenced to death! With this situation, everyone thought that after the arrival of the Americans, the Iraqi people would welcome the occupiers with flowers, but the Islamic Resistance was formed in less than a year and our people welcomed them with weapons because people knew that Saddam was an American mercenary.”

The spokesman of al-Nujaba said the warriors of the present age have always been under the influence of the Islamic Revolution and Imam Khomeini, and that “Haj Qassem and Abu Mahdi were the real examples of Martyr al-Sadr’s words that ‘melt in Imam Khomeini, as he melted in Islam’ and these two high-ranking martyrs were melted in the founder of the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, later, they became a source of influence for others and formed a school that we believe will train thousands of warrior commanders such as Soleimani and al-Muhandis.”

He also said, “We are now in the process of the United States’ decline in the region and the rise of the Islamic Resistance,” and added, “During the Trump era, there were many pressures and problems, and more importantly, there were many internal seditions.”

But in the end, the Iraqi figure added, the enemies face defeat. “The most recent was the President of the United States, who was ousted from the White House in a scandalous manner. This claim is confirmed when we compare the glorious funeral of the holy commanders of the Islamic Resistance with the way the criminal Trump was expelled,” he said.

He predicted an imminent expulsion of the occupiers from Iraq and said, “In the first decade of the present century with 300,000 troops, countless facilities and equipment deployed, airpower and full control of Iraq, the Americans could not stay in this country and were inevitably defeated. Now that the United States is not able to protect itself and its ambassador is only concerned with protecting its troops and resources inside Iraq, it is no longer able to impose anything.”

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