Nasrallah: Saudi Arabia Offered Syria Aid in Exchange for Cutting Ties with Iran

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, claimed that Saudi Arabia has "recently again" offered Syria assistance on the condition that Damascus distances itself from Iran and Hezbollah. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is aligned with Hezbollah, reported on Tuesday, April 7, that Saudi Arabia's "hundreds of billions of dollars" aid proposal to Syria was discussed during a meeting between officials from both sides. According to Nasrallah, the topics raised in the meeting between the Saudi and Syrian delegations were a repetition of proposals made during King Abdullah's reign. Nasrallah did not specify the time and place of the meeting he claimed took place and did not provide any details regarding Syria's response to Saudi Arabia's financial offer or the potential outcome of this meeting. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Syria has yet reacted to Nasrallah's claims, confirming or denying them. However, according to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the Saudi proposal involved "cutting Syria's relations with Iran" and also with the "Resistance Front." Hezbollah refers to itself and several armed organizations opposing Israel as the "Resistance Front"; however, the U.S. and parts of the international community consider Hezbollah and its allied organizations, along with the Iranian government, to be terrorist. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, which recently entered its eighth year, Iran and Hezbollah have intervened to support the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. While Hezbollah has openly declared the presence of its fighters in Syria, Iran still claims that its presence in Syria is "advisory"; however, hundreds of Iranian forces dispatched to the Syrian front have been killed. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, in his Nowruz speech in Mashhad stated, "International busybodies complain that Iranians interfere in the affairs of Iraq and Syria. What is it to you?" and added that Iran is present in the region with "rational and logical motivations" and "not out of emotions" and is invited by their legitimate governments. Nasrallah's claim regarding Saudi negotiations with Syria to distance Damascus from Iran and Hezbollah in exchange for "hundreds of billions" of Saudi aid comes at a time when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is currently visiting the U.S. and has discussed Iran's regional policies, including "Iran's interventions in Yemen," with President Donald Trump and other officials. Nasrallah: Houthi Missile Attacks on Yemen are a "Significant Progress". According to Al-Akhbar, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, in his latest remarks, referred to the missile attacks on Sunday night by Houthi militants of Ansar Allah in Yemen against Saudi Arabia as an "extraordinary military achievement" and stated that the capabilities of the Houthis have made "significant progress" compared to three years ago, at the beginning of the Yemeni civil war. Nasrallah's remarks in support of the Houthis come at a time when Hezbollah and Iran have been accused of providing military assistance to the Houthis to extend their missile range. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have emphasized that some of the missiles used by the Houthis were also "Iranian," which Iran has denied. The Patriot defense systems stationed in Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed seven missiles fired by the Houthis on Sunday night in the sky above Saudi territory, but the debris of the missiles falling in the outskirts of Riyadh left one dead and several injured. Saudi Arabia, which leads an Arab coalition supporting the Yemeni government in the civil war, warned Iran on Monday that it would "respond at the right time and place." Since the complete severance of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran three years ago, the two Islamic countries have openly confronted each other in various arenas across the Middle East. According to Al-Akhbar, Nasrallah stated in his recent remarks that Saudi Arabia wants to engage the Lebanese government and Hezbollah in conflict and cause Hezbollah's expulsion from the Lebanese government. The Lebanese parliamentary elections, which have been postponed for five years, are scheduled to be held on May 16. Last month, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Mr. Hariri emphasized that Lebanon should remain distant from the Saudi-Iranian conflict and also announced last month that his party, Mustaqbal, would no longer ally with Hezbollah to form a government after next month's elections.