Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem Says Truce Talks Possible Only if Israel Stops Aggression

Tehran: Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday said that only way truce talks between Lebanese Armed and Israel are possible on battlefield and political moves.

"I will tell you very clearly, our conviction is that only one thing can stop this war of aggression, and that is battlefield," said Qassem in a pre-recorded televised dress, ding that he did t believe "political action" would bring an end to more than year-conflict with Israel.

"When enemy decides to stop aggression, re is a path for negotiations that we have clearly defined - indirect negotiations through Lebanese state and Speaker (of parliament Nabih) Berri," Hezbollah Chief ded.

Furr, he emphasised that se talks could only proceed if y guaranteed " protection of Lebanese sovereignty in full, without anything missing;" however, he did t provide any furr details.

Qasem was elected as Hezbollah's secretary general after his predecessor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Israeli Strikes.

Who is Naim Qassem?

Naim Qassem emerged as he of Iran-backed militant group since killing of Nasrallah. 71-year-old was appointed Hezbollah's deputy chief in 1991 before Nasrallah took helm. Qassem was appointed as deputy chief by armed group's n-secretary general Abbas al-Musawi, who was eliminated by an Israeli helicopter attack following year.

As per media reports, Qassem is believed to oversee part of Hezbollah’s educational network and has also been involved in overseeing its parliamentary activities. militant group, in a written statement, said that its Shura Council h elected Qassem by its established mechanism for choosing a secretary general. Following Nasrallah's killing, reports suggested that senior Hezbollah leer Hashem Safieddine would take over reign. However, he too was killed in Israeli strikes a week later.

Post Nasrallah's assassination, Qassem has given three televised dresses, including one on October 8 in which he said armed group supported efforts to reach a ceasefire for Leban. Qaseem was born in Beirut in 1953 in town of Kfar Fila in sourn Leban. He studied Chemistry at Lebanese University before working for several years as a chemistry teacher. He led Association for Islamic Religious Education from 1974-1988 and was also founding member of Lebanese Union of Muslim Students. Later, Qassem rose to level of Secretary General after Abbas al-Musawi's assassination in 1992. A prolific writer, Qaseem is author of "Hizbullah: Story from Within"