Nasrallah Says Hezbollah Committed to Remain by Assad’s Side

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told supporters in Beirut’s suburbs Thursday, “We won’t bargain our presence in Lebanon, Syria and the axis of resistance for some ministerial portfolios” to form a new Lebanese government.

He said he is defending Syrian President Bassar al-Assad because he backs the “resistance” against Israel.

Nasrallah appeared in public, a rare occurrence, instead of beaming his message through video links. He spoke in a Beirut suburb as hundreds of thousands of people were celebrating a Shi’ite Muslim festival.

Hezbollah has helped Assad push back the opposition in the civil war but has paid a price, with hundreds of casualties and unprecedented criticism for dragging Lebanon, already dominated by pro-Syrian elements, deeper into the conflict.

The Lebanese government was dissolved seven months ago, and the civil war already has spilled over into the country, raising fears of a repeat of the former 15-year-old civil war in Lebanon.