Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Friday that the US-Iran deal signed last week was a declaration of defeat by Israel and America, after the agreement also reduced fighting between his group and Israel. "They wanted a major war... to eliminate our existence," Qassem said in a televised address to mark Ashura. "We were able to stop this aggression and achieve a great victory... We have shattered the Israeli-American project and entered a new phase," he added. Iran "was able to reach the memorandum of understanding, which is an official declaration of the defeat of America and Israel.” Qassem also said Israel has "no option" but to unconditionally withdraw from Lebanese areas it occupies. "Israel has no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land... Israel must leave unconditionally," he said. As Lebanese and Israeli officials hold direct talks in Washington, Qassem said his group would accept "no normalization, no cancellation of the state of hostility, no gains for Israel, and no partial presence on Lebanese soil... Israel must leave humiliated and defeated, and that is what will happen."
