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Lebanon’s Hezbollah hails ‘courageous’ Iran-Saudi rapprochement

Thursday, 20 April 2023 6:41 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 April 2023 7:05 AM ]

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem (file photo)

A senior official of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has hailed as “a courageous decision” the recent move by Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem made the remarks in a speech broadcast by Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Manar television network on Wednesday.

“The region is moving towards peace, stability and political solutions, with the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia being the most important case,” he said.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its embassy in Tehran.

The two sides had held five rounds of negotiations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad since April 2021, and finally, after several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, they clinched a deal on March 10 to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions within two months.

Iran-Saudi deal to strengthen peace, stability in Persian Gulf and beyond: Spokesman

Iran says its enhanced relations with Saudi Arabia can not only help secure the interests of both nations but also boost joint cooperation.

Qassem further noted that the two countries agreed to work together on achieving political tranquility that favors themselves and other regional countries as well.

The Iran-Saudi agreement has changed the path on which regional developments were moving forward, particularly the attitude that the Israeli regime was working to enter into an alliance with some regional countries to counter Iran, he added.

The high-ranking Hezbollah official also maintained that the Israeli regime is facing internal problems while the resistance front is making progress and gaining more victories.

He pointed out that the crises in Syria and Yemen are also being resolved.

“These are examples showing that the region is moving towards stability,” he added.

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