Ali Larijani's Special Assistant Denies Hassan Nasrallah's 'Heart Attack'

The special assistant to Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, denied reports claiming that Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, suffered a 'heart attack'. On Sunday, January 13, Hussein Amir-Abdollahian referred to the heart attack claim as 'the lie of the new Gregorian year' and 'Zionist claims' on his Twitter page. At the same time, 'a source close to Hezbollah' told media aligned with the organization that the published reports were so 'ridiculous' that they were not even worth denying. A day earlier, several Israeli newspapers, citing a tweet from Jerry Maher, a Lebanese journalist opposed to Hezbollah, claimed that Nasrallah had apparently suffered a heart attack and was transferred to a hospital in Lebanon. Jerry Maher claimed on Saturday that a 'Lebanese intelligence source' confirmed the transfer of a key Hezbollah leader to the hospital and that 'other Lebanese sources' stated that the hospitalized individual was Hassan Nasrallah. However, Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, in his tweet denying the illness of the Hezbollah leader, added: 'Undoubtedly, the day that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the leaders of Palestinian resistance pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Zionists will not exist.' Amir-Abdollahian, who previously served as Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, has had close communications and interactions with 'Resistance Front' organizations, including Hezbollah, Iran's most important regional ally, for many years. In a less common move, he published his tweet in Persian, Arabic, and English. Hassan Nasrallah, 58, has been the Secretary-General of Hezbollah for 27 years and has been living in hiding since his organization’s war with Israel 12 years ago. In an interview with the Iranian newspaper 'Jam-e Jam' in March 2017, he confirmed that he could not live a normal life and that 'the only exercise available to him is a treadmill, and not outdoors.' Some regional and Israeli media have claimed in recent years that he is suffering from cancer. Hezbollah has, at times, effectively denied reports about his poor health by releasing clips of Nasrallah's speeches on current issues. The Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah has been a part for many years and also a faction in the country's parliament, remains silent regarding the alleged reports about the health of this citizen due to Nasrallah's popularity in parts of Lebanese society, despite its differences with Hezbollah. Israel claims that the leaders of these enemy organizations live a 'borrowed life'; most previous Hezbollah secretaries-general, including Sayyed Abbas Moussaoui, have been killed in airstrikes attributed to Israel. Hezbollah's military cooperation with Iran and other members of the 'Resistance Front' has strengthened during the years of the Syrian war. Last year, Hassan Nasrallah stated that 'money, bread, water, weapons, missiles, and everything Hezbollah has comes from Iran, and as long as Iran has money, Hezbollah has resources.' Mohammad Jawad, one of Hassan Nasrallah's sons, was recently placed on the U.S. terrorist blacklist. This organization and its leadership have been sanctioned as a 'terrorist' organization by many countries and international bodies for many years. Mohammad Hadi, Nasrallah's eldest son, was killed in 1997 in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.