Sheikh Naim Qassem: Martyr Khamenei Was an Exceptional Leader Rarely Matched in History
The Hezbollah chief hails the martyred Leader as guardian of the Muslim world and vows the US-backed framework agreement will not pass
The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has paid tribute to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, describing him as ”an exceptional contemporary leader rarely matched in history.”
Addressing Lebanese popular gatherings held in the late Leader’s honour in a televised speech on Wednesday evening, Sheikh Qassem said Ayatollah Khamenei had been unique in his era — the guardian of the Muslim world, the representative of the infallible Imam Mahdi (AJ), the twelfth Shia Imam, the supreme religious authority, and a scholar who fulfilled the conditions of guardianship and leadership.
He praised the martyred Leader as a visionary strategist across many fields and a founder of the fundamentals of contemporary Islamic civilisation: a mentor and educator, a guide who led Muslims toward liberation from materialism, an exemplary role model, a creative thinker, and a skilled statesman with a firm grasp of world affairs. Ayatollah Khamenei, he said, stood firm with courage, determination, dignity, confidence and reliance upon Almighty God, and was an astute politician who understood the dimensions of the international situation.
Recalling Hezbollah’s relationship with the Leader, Sheikh Qassem said Ayatollah Khamenei never asked any favour of the movement — rather, everything Hezbollah requested of him was granted.
‘Iran emerged with its head held high’
The Hezbollah chief said the martyred Leader had placed particular emphasis on state-building, on supporting the Axis of Resistance and Islamic unity, on directing the struggle toward the liberation of Palestine, and on the outright rejection of dependency.
The millions who joined the funeral processions across Iran and Iraq, he said, reflected a deep conviction, loyalty and commitment to the path Ayatollah Khamenei represented. The Leader’s assassination, he added, marked the beginning of a revolutionary path that would reshape the region’s landscape and its balance of power.
Turning to the recent US-Israeli war on Iran, Sheikh Qassem characterised it as a global act of aggression against a country that stood firm alone and thwarted the objectives of its attackers. The Islamic Republic, he said, had emerged more resilient and more united, with deeper popular solidarity and stronger support for its leadership. Iran, in his assessment, defeated both the United States and Israel, which failed to achieve their aims — the country emerging from the aggression, in his words, with its head held high and stronger before its adversaries.
‘Ending US tutelage over Lebanon’
Sheikh Qassem also called for an end to what he described as American tutelage over Lebanon. Addressing the Lebanese authorities, he asked what benefit the relationship with the United States brings when it humiliates the country, contrasting it with what Lebanon gains from its ties to Iran. Washington, he argued, is placing demands on Beirut that serve the interests of the Israeli enemy.
He sharply criticised the Israeli violations that have continued since the ceasefire took effect in November 2024, pointing to the killing of four people — among them the school principal Esperanza Ghandour — in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa on July 6.
Renewing his total rejection of direct talks with Israel, the Hezbollah leader noted that the word “withdrawal” does not appear anywhere in the US-sponsored framework agreement signed on June 26 between the Beirut government and Tel Aviv. He described the authorities’ participation in the process as an assault on Lebanon’s sovereignty and strength under Israeli supervision, arguing that the deal serves Israel’s interests and is intended to sow division within Lebanese society.
No provision of the agreement will ultimately pass, Sheikh Qassem said, adding that Hezbollah remains committed to the path of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran.
Reference: ABNA24