The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has praised the recent downing of an Israeli F-16 fighter jet by the Syrian air defense systems as a “very big military achievement.” Nasrallah further noted that Israel launched the row with Lebanon over Block 9 on the account that the offshore oil and gas field, which lies in Mediterranean waters, is a boon to the Zionist regime. “Our dispute with Israel over energy reserves could not be simply explained as an economic issue. Israel is making use of the energy issue in order to receive the US green light to annex occupied Golan Heights since there are reports about huge quantities of oil there,” he pointed out. The Hezbollah secretary general went on to say that numerous reports have confirmed “significant” quantities of oil and gas inside Syria, and that is one of the main reasons behind foreign-backed militancy and the presence of US military forces in the war-ravaged Arab country. The Hezbollah chief said US President Donald Trump is a businessman-turned-political leader and views Iraq as a “big barrel of oil.” “Offshore oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea belong to Lebanon, and they are the most important source of income for the country,” Nasrallah said. Nasrallah added that the Lebanese government needed to take a “firm and strong” position on disputes with Israel, emphasizing that his resistance movement was ready to act if necessary. He said Lebanese officials must demand concessions from the US on the border dispute in return for “convincing Hezbollah to hold back from attacking Israel.” “Resistance is Lebanon’s sole trump card in the oil and gas battle with Israel,” Nasrallah commented. The Hezbollah chief then warned Lebanese politicians against US administration’s mediating role in the dispute with Israel over offshore gas drilling rights, stressing that Washington is not an honest broker. Elsewhere in his remarks, Nasrallah described assassination operation against Mohammed Hamdan, a member of the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, warning that intelligence reports have pointed to Tel Aviv regime’s efforts to target more individuals in Lebanon. Commenting on the 39th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Nasrallah said Tehran has never interfered in the domestic affairs of Lebanon. Nasrallah also pointed to the anti-regime campaign in Bahrain, saying people have continued their protests in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom despite seven years of heavy-handed crackdown. “Bahrain is the only country in the world whose government strips citizens of their nationality,” the Hezbollah secretary general said. Nasrallah also lauded Lebanon’s new election law, calling on members of the Future Movement to stay calm. He roundly dismissed allegations that Hezbollah is seeking to gain the majority of seats in the Lebanese parliament as “nothing but mere lies.”