Last night, the leader of Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech in memory of slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, yet his speech ended up launching an unprecedented attack against Saudi Arabia.
In the televised speech, Hassan Nasrallah remembered Qasem Soleimani and the former leader of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, who were both killed two years ago in a US-led airstrike near Baghdad's international airport.
2. #Nasrallah: I will dedicate my speech to the anniversary. The nature of the anniversary, and the time available, won't allow me to address domestic Lebanese issues, which I will address at length in the future.
— Haidar Akarar (@HaidarAkarar) January 3, 2022
Addressing Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz directly, Hassan Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia of decades-long work to "export extremism ideology across the Islamic world," saying that beliefs of terrorist ISIS stem from Saudi promoted interpretations of Islam.
#SaudiArabia #Lebanon :Strong anti-Saudi rhetoric in latest speech on 2nd anniversary of death of Qasem #Soleimani by #Hezbollah leader Hassan #Nasrallah sparks online Saudi response with hashtag #ابو_رغال_العصر - comparing him to traitorous Arab tribesman from Islamic tradition pic.twitter.com/U7FPGvvKJL
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) January 3, 2022
In response to the Saudi decision to designate Hezbollah's financial association, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, on terror lists last October, Nasrallah addressed King Salman saying: "Your Majesty, the terrorist is who exported the ISIS ideology to the world. The terrorist is the one who sent thousands of Saudis to conduct suicide operations in Iraq and Syria, and it’s you."
These statements triggered massive Saudi anger online, as they considered the attack a daring one that follows months of tension between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, based on Hezbollah's and Saudi's conflicting interests in the region, namely Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria, in addition to Hezbollah's strong ties with Iran.
Amongst the many outraged online comments, Saudi Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Musa'id Al Saud tweeted a series of remarks referring to Hassan Nasrallah as Abu Righal, in reference to historic pre-Islamic Arab character known for betraying his people amid a confrontation against another tribe.
أخيرًا يا كاذب العصر يا أبا رغاله:
— عبدالرحمن بن مساعد بن عبدالعزيز🇸🇦 (@abdulrahman) January 3, 2022
كدنا أن نصدق من خطابك أن ايران جمعية خيرية يعم خيرها وسلامها العالم ودستورها ينص على تصدير الورود وأعصان الزيتون الى العالم..
سماجة السيء:
أنت فاسق أتانا الليلة بنبأ لا يحتاج كذبه الى تبيان!
Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Musa'id accused Nasrallah of lying and of being "an Iranian instrument in the region."
Moreover, the Saudi prince hinted that "ISIS is more connected with Iran and its regional militia than Saudi Arabia," saying that the terrorist group "never attacked Iranian targets."
