BEIRUT — The chief of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has denounced as “baseless lies” studies that one in every of Syria’s most well-known drug sellers, who was killed earlier this week in an airstrike close to the Jordanian border, was linked to the Iran-backed group.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s televised speech on Friday got here 4 days after the uncommon strike that some Syrian opposition activists claimed was carried out by Jordan’s air drive. The activists and a warfare monitor stated the amphetamine Captagon kingpin killed Monday was among the many most wished by Jordanian authorities for drug smuggling throughout the border with the backing of a small militia.
Syrian activists say Merhi al-Ramthan, who was killed together with his spouse and 6 kids, labored carefully with militias linked to Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Western governments estimate that Captagon has generated billions of {dollars} in income for Assad, his Syrian associates and allies. Damascus has denied the accusations.
“Had we been making billions of {dollars} it will have been observed,” Nasrallah joked concerning the costs. Talking about linking al-Ramthan to Hezbollah, Nasrallah stated “these are lies and unjust costs.”
Nasrallah added that had it not been for Hezbollah’s assist, the Lebanese state wouldn’t have been capable of perform raids in opposition to drug sellers in Lebanon. Hezbollah enjoys broad affect in northeast Lebanon, a area that for many years has been a middle of drug manufacturing.
Monday’s strike in southern Syria that killed al-Ramthan and one other that destroyed a manufacturing facility got here a day after Arab governments reinstated Syria to the Arab League following the nation’s suspension for its crackdown on protests that in the end led to a prolonged civil warfare.
As Arab governments regularly restore ties with Damascus, one of many key subjects of dialogue has been Syria’s illicit drug business, which has flourished throughout the ongoing battle — particularly the unlawful amphetamine Captagon.
“These are baseless lies. For us Captagon and different kinds of medicine are religiously prohibited,” stated Nasrallah, a Shiite Muslim cleric and main political determine in Lebanon.
Talking about reconciliation between Syria and oil-rich Arab international locations, Nasrallah stated anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon are “disconnected from actuality” and are working to maintain Beirut’s relations with Damascus chilly.
“It’s in Lebanon’s curiosity to repair relations with Syria,” Nasrallah stated, including that the Lebanese authorities ought to ship a high-ranking delegation to Damascus to debate methods to handle the refugee disaster that has pushed a whole lot of 1000’s of Syrians to flee into in Lebanon.
Sentiments in opposition to Syrian refugees have been rising in Lebanon because the nation’s huge financial meltdown that began in 2019 that has left three quarters of the Lebanese inhabitants residing in poverty.
Hezbollah despatched 1000’s of fighters to battle alongside Syrian authorities forces throughout the 12-year warfare, serving to tip the stability of energy in Assad’s favor.