Iran will not abandon Lebanon's Hezbollah movement after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers, the resistance group's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Saturday.
"Did Iran sell its allies down the river during the nuclear talks? No, there was no bargaining" between Iran and the United States, he said in a speech broadcast on a large screen to supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs, a party stronghold, AFP reported.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated Iran's position on the resistance movements and its allies, and Hezbollah occupies a special place among them," Nasrallah noted.
"The United States remains the 'Great Satan', both before and after the nuclear accord" reached on July 14 after intensive negotiations between Iran and permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.
On July 18, Ayatollah Khamenei said despite the deal, Iran would continue its policy toward the United States and its support for its friends in the region.
Founded in the 1980s, Hezbollah has become a powerful party advocating armed struggle against Israeli occupation.
On Friday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem also said the nuclear deal would not affect Iranian support for the Damascus government.
Iran "has ideological relations with its allies that prevail over political interests," Nasrallah said.
"We say this loud and clear: we receive material and financial support from the Islamic Republic, and we are proud of that fact."
