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| People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani in Ahvaz, Iran |
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday the U.S. military in the Middle East would pay the price for the killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, and U.S. soldiers and officers would return home in coffins.
Nasrallah, speaking in a televised addressed marking Soleimaniโs death in a targeted U.S. air strike, said responding to the killing was not only Iranโs responsibility but the responsibility of its allies in the region too.
He said attacks on the U.S. military presence in the Middle East would be โfair punishmentโ for the killing of Soleimani, listing U.S. bases, naval ships and military personnel.
Founded by Iranโs Revolutionary Guards in 1982, Hezbollah is a critical part of an Iranian-backed regional military alliance.
The United States has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
โWhen the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin to be transported โฆ to the United States, (U.S. President Donald) Trump and his administration will realise that they have really lost the region and will lose the elections,โ Nasrallah said, referring to the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Nasrallah said such an approach would force the United States to withdraw from the Middle East โhumiliated, defeated and in terror โฆ as they left in the pastโ.
Nasrallah also said that U.S. civilians in the region โshould not be touchedโ because this would serve Trumpโs agenda.
REUTERS
