Hizbullah Leader to Give Rare Address after Pompeo Slams Terror Group

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a rare address Tuesday, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed the terror group and its subordination to Iran. The top American diplomat on Friday visited Lebanon, where he stressed that “the Lebanese people face a choice: bravely move forward as an independent and proud nation or allow the dark ambitions of Iran and Hizbullah to dictate your future.” He added that Washington would “continue to use all peaceful means, everything at our disposal, to choke off the financing… [of] the criminal network and the misuse of government positions and influence.” While Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil described talks with Pompeo as “constructive and positive,” he revealed a fundamental divergence between Washington and Beirut by referring to Hizbullah as “a Lebanese party, not a terrorist group, [which] enjoys a wide popular base.” This comes after Hizbullah made huge gains in Lebanon’s 2018 elections, resulting in its allies receiving control of major ministries and thus raising concerns that state funds could be diverted for terror purposes. During Pompeo’s Middle Eastern trip, the US Treasury Department announced the sanctioning of 31 Iranian scientists and companies affiliated with the Islamic Republic’s Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which previously spearheaded the country’s nuclear program. State Department officials attributed the new sanctions in part to information obtained from a secret nuclear archive stolen by Israeli spies last year during a covert operation in Tehran. The documents allegedly show that prior to 2003, Iran was actively engaged in military research geared toward developing nuclear arms.