“There are some who are working on obstructing the battle against Daesh (ISIL/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant)”, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said in a televised memorial speech on Sunday afternoon.

If Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group stays in these areas (Syria and Iraq), this means that Daesh will conduct battles again because it has nothing else but the killing and destruction. And hence it will try to expand again. Daesh tried to control again the battle that these men were killed in and if it weren’t for the heroic confrontations that the men took, things would’ve taken a different course. Daesh is planning to return to all the areas that it was dragged from, [including Lebanon’s] Arsal. But Daesh is on the road to be eliminated.” Nasrallah added.

“But there are some who are working on obstructing the battle against Daesh. The Americans are the ones who are delaying the conclusion of the battle against Daesh. Here, some might say 'how is that so?'”
 
“Yes, there are areas where the Americans are holding up the fight against Daesh, the U.S. air force sometimes prevents the Syrian Army and the resistance fighters from moving against Daesh.”

“What do you call this? Isn’t this a protection of Daesh? Why is that the U.S. is looking to extend Daesh’s time? And even in Iraq, the United States was looking to prolong Daesh’s presence for another 10-years. And this is what I said before [in a previous speech], that the American's didn’t want Daesh to move from the outskirts of Lebanon.”

“The U.S. isn’t in a rush to remove Daesh. Daesh has a mission and that is to destroy Lebanon, Syria and this is the U.S.’s policy as well. In the Syrian desert, the forces are moving forward and Mayadin with be taken back and Al-Bukamal as well, then Iraq as well. The issue was a matter of time.”

“In Lebanon and the region, we are before a new situation.”
 
“There is a new project that is a Saudi Arabian-American scheme for the war in the region, in Syria and Iraq and others as well. But this project has failed, it failed in Iraq and Lebanon and Syria is on the road to it being finished. It failed in Yemen and Bahrain as well.”
 
“They will try to hold accountable those sides that stood against this scheme, this means Iran and the issue is no longer a nuclear weapons issue. The real issue between the U.S. and Iran is that Iran was the main power to stand against the Saudi scheme for the region.”
 
“We are going to see what is the strategy that [U.S. President Donald] Trump will announce regarding Iran and this strategy will impact the whole region because Iran is a true regional power.”

“There is a new American policy against Hezbollah that also falls within this. Even Russia is included in certain sanctions and now the Americans are saying us, because they consider that Hezbollah had the ‘honor’ to foil this project.

“It is natural, there is a project that was created in the region,” he said, then cited former Vice President Joe Biden and said that resources were used, militarily and economically and “The other camp tried to stand before us and this failed as well.”

“The beginning was is in the amendments on the Hezbollah financing, that the banks and companies that deal with Hezbollah will be punished. They say that this is support for terrorism to offer money and this is a form of pressure.”

“There is concern in Lebanon that this will impact the economic situation in the country, but this isn't new. It has been tightened a bit, but the Lebanese managed before. But no one is asking for anything and we are not demanding the state call for otherwise. The American decision is bigger than Lebanese state.”

“All the Lebanese efforts in past have been calling to keep the banks open and to avoid the implementation of these sanctions [or it will affect] the economic situation in Lebanon. We support the official effort that is trying to isolate the economic situation from these sanctions but on us, we take these [sanctions], they are part of the battle. On the part who sacrifices these men can take the burden of these sanctions.”

“And we would like to say that this will not change anything in Hezbollah's course.”

Nasrallah then turned to comments made Sunday by the House of Saud regime Minister of State for Persian Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan who called for an international coalition to fight Hezbollah.

“He doesn't deserve a response but I am going to respond: When I read this statement, I thought there are several positive aspects to it, ironically. He admits that the sanctions alone won’t work.”

“He admits that Hezbollah is big regional power in the region. He knows that forming an internal coalition to fight Hezbollah won’t work out because Hezbollah is bigger than this. He also admits that Saudi Arabia alone can’t do anything against Hezbollah and this is what he needs an international coalition.”
“He said that if everyone gathered and it was a collective effort to lead and create victory, peace will prevail when Saudi Arabia sits aside. Before Saudi Arabia interfered in Syria and Iraq things were better.”

“Let Saudi Arabia leave Lebanon alone and it will be fine, even in Yemen. In addition to Israel and even the United Nations, placed Saudi Arabia on the blacklist.”

“Hezbollah is among the factors that caused regional security to be threatened by Saudi Arabia, Israel and behind them Israel.”
 
“We will not let go. We are here and the battle is for those to know that this is what we believe in and we will not let it go. Neither the U.S. sanctions, Saudi Arabian talk or Israel. What passed was worse than what will come.”

“We want security and stability in the region. We want elections on time. We want the salary scale passed. We want the [Lebanese] state to take care of people’s needs. We need a unified Lebanon.”

“We will cut the hand that tries to impact this, those who conspire against Lebanon will fail.”