Raeisi’s ‘historic’ visit to Syria shattered fallacy of US domination in region: Top Hezbollah official

The head of the religious council of the Hezbollah resistance movement has praised Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi’s landmark visit to Syria, saying the visit shattered the myth of US domination in West Asia and proved that US hegemony in the region has collapsed.

Speaking at a ceremony in the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek on Friday evening, Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek hailed Raeisi’s visit as “historic”, saying it dealt a sharp blow to the US-engineered and much-condemned Caesar Act, passed in 2019, highlighted the waning power of Washington in the region, and was in line of support for Syria-based resistance groups.

“The meetings, negotiations and cooperation agreements between the two sides perplexed the Zionist enemy, breathed new life into the Axis of Resistance, and created a new opening in the region,” he added.

President Raeisi: Syria visit a ‘turning point’ in bilateral ties

President Raeisi has described his two-day visit to Syria as a turning point in expansion of relations between the two countries.

Sheikh Yazbek also hailed the recent reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia in an agreement brokered by China, but hastened to add that religious scholars and clergymen have frequently censured normalization agreements between some Arab countries and the Israeli apartheid regime as a “dangerous precedent.”

Even though an atmosphere of agreement and concord has prevailed in the region, the top Hezbollah official said, Lebanese authorities have qualms about using such an ambiance of dialogue and understanding in order to improve the status quo and address existing concerns.

“Everyone in Lebanon desires formation of a strong and just government, which can exercise sovereignty through the country,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sheikh Yazbek denounced Israeli military raids, incursions into holy places and vicious assaults against Palestinian prisoners, calling for the wholesale condemnation of the regime following the martyrdom in prison of prominent Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan after an 87-day hunger strike.

Raeisi’s trip to Damascus ‘appallingly bad’ for Israel

Meanwhile, Hebrew-language Israeli media outlets on Friday described Raeisi’s visit to Damascus as a major step toward consolidation of an alliance between Iran, Syria, and the Hezbollah resistance group, calling the development “appallingly bad” for the Tel Aviv regime.

Israel’s Channel 12 military correspondent Nir Davori said “efforts are underway to further fortify a front against Israel,” adding that the Iranian president visited Damascus in order “to strengthen the Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah alliance. This is not good for Israel by any means.”

Strategic cooperation deal marks new chapter in Tehran-Damascus relations, Raeisi says

President Raeisi says the comprehensive agreement on long-term strategic cooperation between Iran and Syria marks the beginning of a new chapter in their mutual ties.

Davori highlighted that there is “great competition” among regional heavyweights in order to participate in Syria’s post-war era of reconstruction and development.

Earlier, Israeli media had reported that Raeisi’s visit to Syria comes at an important time, and conveys the message that “We (Iran) have won, and our strategic alliance cannot be broken.”

The Israeli Channel 13 television channel also reported that the Iranian president’s visit to Damascus reflects the fact that a new era of Iranian clout in the Middle East has just begun.

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