Iran-backed Hizbollah hails ‘victory’ in Lebanon election

HIZBOLLAH yesterday hailed a “great victory” in Lebanon’s election, after the Iran-backed group and its allies looked set to secure a majority in parliament.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbollah, said that the results of Sunday’s vote were a “great political and moral victory for the resistance option that protects the sovereignty of the country”, as he refers to the movement, formed in the Eighties to fight Israel.

In a televised address made before the official results were announced, he said the significant gains made by Hizbollah and its allies vindicated the group’s military activities.

The Shia movement, grouped with the Christian party of Michel Aoun, the president, and the Shia Amal movement, is set to secure at least 67 seats in the 128-seat parliament.

Hizbollah supporters flew the group’s yellow and green flag in downtown Beirut on Sunday night and some shouted: “Beirut has become Shia.”

With backing from Iran, Hizbollah has grown from a fledgling resistance group to one of the most powerful militias in the region.

However, Saad Hariri still leads the biggest Sunni bloc in parliament and is expected to stay on as prime minister.