Aoun’s Election a Victory for Lebanese Resistance

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, hailed the election of Michel Aoun as new president of Lebanon, describing the choice as a victory for the resistance movement in Lebanon.

“Aoun’s election as Lebanon’s president is a great triumph for the Islamic resistance movement in Lebanon and for Iran’s allies and friends, given the former Lebanese Army chief’s prudence, experience, smartness and good record,” Velayati told Tasnim News Agency on Monday.

His comment came after Aoun, 81, secured the presidency by winning the support of 83 lawmakers, well above the absolute majority of 65 needed to win. Lebanon had been without a head of state for 29 months after Michel Sleiman stepped down as president at the end of his term in May 2014.

Since then, 45 sessions to elect a new leader had failed due to political infighting. Velayati said election of Aoun with a high number of votes in comparison with the same polls in Lebanon translates into a “major boost to the Islamic resistance”, given the role of president in Lebanon which is “a very significant ring in the chain of the Islamic resistance” that begins from Iran and includes Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine.

The Leader’s advisor noted that Aoun’s victory is a remarkable achievement for Lebanon’s Hezbollah, because he was the person constantly supported by the leader of the resistance group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

After around 30 months of dispute among Lebanon’s influential forces, “the Islamic resistance and Mr. Nasrallah’s pick” emerged victorious, the Iranian official said.

“With this victory, the aspirations of Lebanese people, namely independence, preserving territorial integrity and strengthening might in the face of aliens—the Zionist regime in particular—will continue,” Velayati said the election of such a “brave” president bolsters the Lebanese nation’s stance against Zionists.

Velayati finally stressed that the development will have a positive impact on the resistance front in Syria, saying it “reinforces Lebanon’s stances on support for the Syrian government and nation, and this victory will benefit [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad and the people of Syria”.