News - Middle East: Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has described Iran as the “strong fortress of resistance” against oppressors, saying the Islamic establishment serves as a role model.

Sayyed Nasrallah addressed via video link from Beirut a ceremony in Tehran Thursday to mark the 40th day since the passing of President Ebrahim Raeisi in a helicopter crash, hailing the country for taking the upheaval in its stride with fortitude and composure.  

“The Islamic Republic of Iran emerged proudly and admirably from this tragic incident and presented an advanced and lofty model that is strong in facing all challenges,” he said.

Sayyed Nasrallah said the incident, in which President Raeisi lost his life along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others in mountainous terrain in northwest Iran, was "very painful and historic" which left Iran faced with a threat.

"However, the rule is that we must turn threats into opportunities, as always emphasized by Eminent Leader of the Revolution" Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, he said.

"We have faced similar big and dangerous incidents in recent years. As an example, we can point to the assassination of two dear commanders, Hajj Qassem Soleimani and Hajj Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, that was a huge damage and at the same time a threat," he added. 

Lieutenant General Soleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi, an Iraqi commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, were assassinated in a US airstrike ordered by then-president Donald Trump at Baghdad airport in January 2020. 

"But this threat turned into an opportunity. These bloodsheds marked the breakout of the uprising and a new life for the resistance and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all the resistance movements in the region," Sayyed Nasrallah said.

Iran responded to the assassination by launching a barrage of missiles at US bases in Iraq, causing  brain concussion injuries among at least 110 American soldiers stationed there. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to take further steps and imposed sanctions on individuals taking part in the crime.  

Source: Press TV