Hezbollah Delays Qassem’s Announced Speech

Hezbollah quickly announced the delay of its leader Sheikh Naim Qassem’s speech, after initially stating he would address the public on Tuesday.

This announcement came as U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited Beirut to seek an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Hezbollah’s statement mentioned that Qassem would speak “today” without specifying a time. Later, they announced the speech’s postponement, as Hochstein declared at a Beirut press conference that there was a “real opportunity” to end the nearly two-month-long war.

Soon after, Hezbollah announced that Qassem’s speech “has been postponed to a date to be determined later.”

Sources told Al-Arabiya television that the postponement was due to a meeting between Speaker Nabih Berri and Hochstein that did not meet expectations. The meeting failed to resolve key issues, especially the clause regarding “the right to self-defense,” the sources added.