Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah raised the bar in his challenges to the Lebanese state, the United States, and Israel. Nasrallah, who almost certainly acts upon the instructions of and in coordination with the Iranian leadership, called on Lebanon in his August 22, 2021, speech to allow Iranian companies to drill in Lebanon’s economic waters to search for gas and oil. Nasrallah stressed that these drilling companies “are not afraid of Israeli bombings; let Israel bomb it.”

Hassan Nasrallah accused the U.S. Embassy in Beirut of seeking to damage Lebanon’s economy and internal stability since 2005 when Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. The Embassy work to ignite a civil war and sow internal chaos in Lebanon.

The Hizbullah leader revealed that a second fuel tanker will leave Iran on its way to Lebanon in the coming days following the departure of the first ship for Lebanon. Other Iranian fuel tankers will follow them. Their mission is to meet the needs of the Lebanese people and alleviate their suffering. Nasrallah stated that these tankers are sovereign Lebanese property, and any harm to them by the United States or Israel would provoke a response from Hizbullah.

Meanwhile, despite Lebanon’s resistance to Nasrallah’s moves and warnings that Hizbullah will drag Lebanon into a new war, Nasrallah continues to intensify the challenge to the Biden administration and the new government in Israel whose determination he continues to test.