Mughniyeh revenge to go beyond minor targets, Nasrallah vows

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday denied any role in the terrorist attacks that apparently targeted Israeli diplomats this week, saying it was an “insult” to believe the Lebanese terrorist group would avenge the 2008 assassination of its military commander, Imad Mughniyeh, against such 'minor' targets.

Mughniyeh was killed in February 2008 when an explosion ripped through his car in Damascus. Hezbollah blamed the attack on Israel, which denied involvement.

“The Israelis are embarrassed and afraid because they know that revenge will come one day and they know where we will avenge martyr Mughniyeh,” Nasrallah said by satellite link. “They just don’t know when we will hit them. It will not be against soldiers or Israeli diplomats or civilians. It is insulting for Hezbollah to take revenge for its jihadi commander by killing normal citizens.”

“If we have to choose between an unsuitable quick revenge and an honorable revenge that will come at a distant time,” Nasrallah continued, “we choose the second.”

Nasrallah also renewed his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s isolated regime, accusing Arab states and the international community of double standards. He said nations were calling on Assad to leave power, but not the Sunni rulers of the Gulf kingdom in Bahrain. The uprising in Bahrain was crushed with the help of forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“All concerns today are about Syria, not Bahrain, whose people are left to their fate,” Nasrallah said.

Hezbollah is a Shiite group, and Syria’s leaders are from the Alawite sect, which is an offshoot of Shiism.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida reported Thursday that police in Singapore thwarted an assassination attempt on Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a visit to the country earlier this week. In Israel, the Defense Ministry refused to comment on the story.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו