Hezbollah softens tone towards new Syrian rulers after fall of ally Assad

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For years, Hezbollah broadly castigated the Syrian rebels opposed to president Bashar Al Assad, labelling them terrorists as the Lebanese armed group sent thousands of fighters to prop up the regime in the neighbouring country.

As recently as 10 days ago, while the rebels launched their lightning offensive across Syria, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem blasted the loosely aligned coalition as “Takfiri groups” who were “tools” sponsored by the US and Israel.

“We as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can,” he said.

But on Saturday, in his first speech since the fall of the Assad regime, Mr Qassem offered a seemingly more ambivalent tone. He said the Syrian people “have the right” to choose their leaders. Hezbollah “cannot judge these new forces until they stabilise” and take clear positions, he added, while expressing hope that the Lebanese and Syrian people along with their governments would continue to co-operate despite the sudden upheaval in Damascus, which saw Mr Al Assad and his family flee to Moscow last weekend.

Mr Qassem also urged the new government in Syria to be inclusive of all religions and to “consider Israel an enemy and not normalise relations with it”.

“These are the headlines that will affect the nature of the relationship between us and Syria,” Mr Qassem said.

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Hezbollah had long been an ally of Mr Al Assad's government, seeing it as an important part of the Axis of Resistance – the Iran-led coalition opposed to Israel and its chief ally, the US. Syria was a vital source of weapons for Hezbollah through a land supply route starting from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, then into Lebanon. Mr Qassem conceded that route was now lost, but did not rule out alternatives.

“Yes, Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria at this stage, but this loss is a detail in the resistance's work,” he said. “A new regime could come and this route could return to normal, and we could look for other ways.”

Much of his speech was focused on the future of Hezbollah and claiming victory in the group's 14-month war with ultimate foe Israel. The Hezbollah chief, recently appointed after Israel's assassination of long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah in September, pointed to the importance of the ceasefire holding with Israel, rebuilding the areas of Lebanon devastated by the war, and electing a new Lebanese president when parliament convenes on January 9.

This rhetoric was echoed by Hezbollah officials over the weekend. Senior Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah also lauded the group and claimed victory against Israel, while underlining that a key priority was rebuilding homes that had been destroyed.