Valiati: Hassan Nasrallah is the main victor of Michel Aoun's election as President of Lebanon

The international advisor to the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran considered Michel Aoun's election to the presidency of Lebanon as a victory for Hezbollah and especially its leader Hassan Nasrallah, an ally of Iran. The Lebanese presidency had been vacant for 29 months due to a deadlock in agreements among the country's political groups, particularly the obstruction by Hezbollah representatives and their allies in parliament until Tuesday, November 1. Iranian officials, including Hassan Rouhani, the president, and Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, congratulated Michel Aoun on his election. Velayati also stated to the Tasnim news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, that 'one of the main victorious figures in this arena is certainly Mr. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.' This Iranian official regarded 'Michel Aoun's election as... a great victory for the Islamic Resistance' and emphasized that 'the victory of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon is, in fact, a victory for Iran's allies and friends.' He added that the leader of Hezbollah, despite 'all internal and external pressures,' did not back down from his position of introducing Michel Aoun as a presidential candidate. The advisor to the leader of the Islamic Republic, without mentioning Iran's role in the political deadlock for the election of the president of Lebanon over the past two and a half years, accused 'the West' and some Middle Eastern countries, which he referred to as 'reactionary,' of having made many efforts to prevent the election of a president by creating disruptions, and that one of the factors prolonging the presidential election process in Lebanon, which lasted 30 months, was this issue. Since the early 1980s, when Iran established Hezbollah, it has provided this group with extensive financial and military assistance to the extent that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of this group, admitted last July that 'the revenues, expenses, everything that is eaten and drunk, the missiles and rockets' of Hezbollah 'are all received from Iran.' On Tuesday, it was announced that Michel Aoun, the main candidate of the 'Free Patriotic Movement' and Hezbollah, was elected as the new president of Lebanon. This occurred after the Future Movement, headed by Saad Hariri, which has 33 seats in the Lebanese parliament, eventually agreed to Mr. Aoun's presidency. Mr. Hariri is expected to be introduced as the new prime minister of the country. Reports from Iranian news agencies indicate that Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, also contacted Michel Aoun and congratulated him, stating: 'You have taken on responsibility at a very sensitive time; a period in which the region faces two threats: the rise of Takfiri movements and terrorist groups and the greed of the Zionist occupying regime, and we are confident that with your election, the Lebanese resistance front will be strengthened against these two threats.' The Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA, reports that Michel Aoun, in this phone call, stated that 'Lebanon is ready to stand with all its might against any threat from terrorist groups or the Zionist regime.' The 'Al-Manar' television affiliated with Hezbollah also reported on Hassan Nasrallah's congratulatory message to Michel Aoun. According to a tradition in Lebanon, the president of the country must be Christian, the prime minister Sunni, and the speaker of the parliament Shia. In this context, Saad Hariri supported Michel Aoun's presidency in Lebanon.