USUP President Ibrahim Mrad: Hezbollah has been pursuing a 35-year policy of betrayal and murder, exploiting Lebanon and its respected Shiite community

BEIRUT — President of the Universal Syriac Union Party Ibrahim Mrad has called the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah an organization that has pursued “a 35-year policy of betrayal and murders” to gain and maintain control over Lebanon and its state. By only serving Iran’s interests, it reduced the Lebanese state to a near-failed entity, he said in an interview with Lebanon On TV. 

Mrad spoke at length about the complex political situation in Lebanon, focusing in particular on Hezbollah’s weapons, and emphasized that the vast majority of the Lebanese population is fed up with Hezbollah and its weapons. Lebanon has become a hub of narcotics and corruption, and a nuisance to the regional Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, and international community due to Hezbollah’s flooding of these countries with the Captagon drug. This forced Saudi Arabia and the U.S. to intervene to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty.  

Mrad stressed that Hezbollah is compelled to surrender its weapons because it has been militarily defeated. “Any defiance of this decision will be met with resistance, since the people of the Middle East, including its allies in Iraq and Iran, will not tolerate further war caused by Hezbollah,” he stated, calling on the Shiite community in Lebanon to rise up against Hezbollah and Iran. 

“Hezbollah trades in the lives of Shiites and gambles with Lebanon’s prosperity and with regional peace. It never fought Israel to protect Lebanon but only to serve the Iranian agenda. It monopolized the [Lebanon-Israel] conflict under the guise of the Lebanese Islamic Revolution. The intention, however, was never to create a free, independent Lebanon,” Mrad stated. 

He also rejected the idea that Hezbollah would continue solely as a political party. He labeled the organization a criminal organization responsible for massacres and murders. He urged President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to prosecute Hezbollah leaders. 

Mrad concluded by affirming Party’s unwavering support for the Lebanese Army and state institutions in defending national sovereignty. 

After the interview, Mrad issued a statement accusing certain media outlets, particularly those with ties to Hezbollah, of twisting his words and falsely accusing him of “inciting sectarianism.” In his statement, he emphasized that he makes a clear distinction between “the Shiite community as a respected national component” and “Hezbollah as an armed militia operating outside the state.”  

He further warned that the Universal Syriac Union Party has the right to legally prosecute those who purposefully misrepresent his statements or themselves incite sectarian strife.