Hezbollah chief vows not to surrender weapons under Israeli threats – The Times of Israel
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Hezbollah chief: Our choice is Husseini; humiliation and surrender are not an option
Sheikh Qassem made the remarks on Sunday as the US and Israel mount pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. He said that Hezbollah rejects normalization with the occupying regime as an act of humiliation and disgrace. “Threats will not make us surrender, and it is unacceptable to ask us to soften our positions or abandon our weapons while the aggression continues,” he added. He also noted that Hezbollah was astonished by calls to hand over its rockets, which are the foundation of its defensive capability. He further said that Palestine will remain for its people and that Hezbollah will continue to stand by the oppressed nation.
Sheikh Qassem made the remarks on Sunday as the US and Israel mount pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah before a potential normalization deal between Beirut and Tel Aviv.
During a speech commemorating Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam, Sheikh Qassem said that Hezbollah rejects normalization with the occupying regime as an act of humiliation and disgrace.
“Threats will not make us surrender, and it is unacceptable to ask us to soften our positions or abandon our weapons while the aggression continues,” he added.
He also noted that Hezbollah was astonished by calls to hand over its rockets, which are the foundation of its defensive capability.
“Were it not for the resistance,… Israel would have overrun Lebanese towns and villages,” the Hezbollah chief said.
He further referred to last year’s ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, saying the regime has violated the truce thousands of times.
Israel, he emphasized, must implement the agreement, which means withdrawing from Lebanon, halting its aggression and overflights, and releasing prisoners.
Israel launched its aggression against Lebanon in October 2023 in response to Hezbollah’s determined pro-Palestinian strikes against the occupied territories.
It, however, agreed to the truce deal after failing to either stop the resistance operations or cripple Hezbollah as it had sought.
🔴 Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers speech:
🔺US supports Israeli violation of ceasefire deal with Beirut
🔺 Hezbollah will not accept normalization with Israel
🔺 We are ready for peace, defense at the same time pic.twitter.com/ql4ueR8SHU — Press TV Breaking (@PTVBreaking1) July 6, 2025
Additionally in his remarks, Sheikh Qassem expressed Hezbollah’s readiness for peace and state-building, along with confrontation and defense, saying, “We will not relinquish our rights, no matter the sacrifices.”
He also hailed Yemen’s operations against the Tel Aviv regime, saying Sana’a has managed to humiliate both the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Qassem praised the Iranian people for standing firm in the face of Israeli-US aggression during last month’s assault on the country.
He further said that Palestine will remain for its people and that Hezbollah will continue to stand by the oppressed nation.
Israel hits Iran nuclear site and kills October 7 mastermind in latest wave of attacks: live updates
Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, was killed in a strike in an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom. Israel said on Saturday it had also hit a nuclear enrichment site in Isfahan, Iran for the second time since strikes began. It comes after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit northern Iran today as Israel pounded the country with repeated waves of air strikes.
The state warned the conflict will be prolonged as US President Donald Trump said Iran could launch a nuclear war in just ‘weeks’ due to its nuclear capabilities.
Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, was killed in a strike in an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom, said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Calling his killing a ‘major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force’, Katz said in a statement that Izadi had financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said: ‘It is a tremendous amount of material, and I think within a matter of weeks or certainly within a matter of months, they will be able to have a nuclear weapon, and we can’t let that happen.’
Israel said on Saturday it had also hit a nuclear enrichment site in Isfahan, Iran for the second time since strikes began.
It comes after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit northern Iran today as Israel pounded the country with repeated waves of air strikes.
The quake struck at a depth of six miles, some 23 miles southwest of the city of Semnan, the USGS said, the US Geological Survey said.
State television said the earthquake measured 5.5 and ‘shook the area around the city of Sorkheh in Semnan province’.
It said the tremor was also felt in the capital Tehran, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Sorkheh. Official news agency IRNA reported no casualties and only ‘minimal damage’.
Live updates below