BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The resistance in Lebanon forms part of a defensive umbrella that will endure as long as the Israeli threat persists, the Hezbollah secretary-general said.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah delivered the new manifesto for his Shiite movement during a televised address.
The 32-page manifesto is only the second such document from Hezbollah since 1985, shortly after the group was founded. Hezbollah said last week a new political statement was needed to reflect a changing regional landscape.
Nasrallah said a viable resistance movement was necessary for Lebanon despite international pressure on Hezbollah to disarm.
"The resistance role is a national necessity as long as the Israeli threats and ambitions continue," he said.
Hezbollah was founded in part to counter Israel. The Shiite group, meanwhile, made modest gains in the Lebanese political landscape, securing two key ministerial portfolios in the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Nasrallah stressed that his movement envisions a united Lebanon free from external pressures.
"We want Lebanon for all Lebanese alike, and we want it unified," he said in statements published by al-Manar. "We reject any kind of segregation or federalism, whether explicit or disguised."
Despite its transition into a political force, Washington and several of its allies list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization for its links to Iran and aggressions targeting Israel. Nasrallah, however, blamed the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for sowing the roots of militancy.
"The U.S. terror is the root of all terror in the world," he said.
