Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that the U.S. military “will pay a price” for the assassination in Iraq on Friday of Iranian Quds Force commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the AP reported.
In a speech broadcast on large screens in southern Beirut, Nasrallah said that U.S. bases, warships and soldiers in the region were all fair targets, but that American civilians should not be targeted because it would play into U.S. President Donald Trump’s hands.
“The suicide attackers who forced the Americans to leave our region in the past are still here and their numbers have increased,” said Nasrallah, according to the report. “When American troops return [home] in coffins, when they come vertically and return horizontally to the United States of America, then [U.S. President Donald] Trump and his administration will know that they lost the region and will lose the elections,” he added.
The speech was interrupted as the crowd chanted “Death to America!” according to the AP.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands across Iran mourned Soleimani’s death on Sunday, according to Reuters. State TV showed huge crowds chanting and crying.
Separately on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Trump about the situation.
“Given the recent rise in tensions in Iraq and the region, the President of the Republic highlighted his total solidarity with our allies in light of the attacks carried out in recent weeks against the coalition in Iraq,” Macron’s office said in a statement, according to Reuters.
“He also expressed his concerns regarding the destabilizing activities of the Quds Force under General Qassem Soleimani and highlighted the need for Iran ... to avoid taking any measures that could lead to an escalation in the situation and destabilizing the region.”
