BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has marked the Shiite religious holiday of Ashoura with a speech warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against pushing the region into war.
Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Sunday that Netanyahu is working with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the Iran nuclear deal and start a regional war. He warned Israel not to underestimate Hezbollah’s capabilities.
Shiites across the region are marking the holiday with prayers and marches and, in some cities, self-flagellation.
Ashoura commemorates the day the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, was killed by a rival Muslim faction in Karbala, present day Iraq, in 680 A.D. Hussein and his descendants are seen by Shiites as the rightful heirs to the prophet.
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