Speech held on the international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul, Türkiye.
Speech held on the international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The Center for National Strategy (USMER) has organized an international conference on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea on July 18 and 19 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Today, we present the speech of Dr. Ali El-Hajj Hassan, Youth Officer of Hezbollah – Lebanon.
By Dr. Ali El-Hajj Hassan, Youth Officer of Hezbollah – Lebanon.
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Peace be upon you all.
Let me begin by extending my sincere thanks to the management of the Center for National Strategy (USMER) and to our brothers and friends in the Vatan Party for inviting us to be part of this vital conference that brings us together from both shores of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, at a historic and critical juncture, where political, geopolitical, and humanitarian files intertwine, and where challenges and opportunities converge before our nations and peoples.
Today, we come together to tell the world: West Asia is not a field for greed and conflict, but rather a cradle for a new civilization led by free peoples who reject oppression, arrogance, hegemony, and crimes. And we declare from here that the era of Western dominance cannot continue—we will resist it until it fades and retreats.
We consider this conference not just a passing event, but an important milestone for asserting regional cooperation and confronting the projects of fragmentation and domination that aim to divide our countries, exhaust our capabilities, and reshape our political geography to serve the interests of global arrogance.
Before diving into my main message, allow me to pay tribute to the souls of the martyrs whose blood watered the soil of Palestine, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria—especially the leaders of the martyrs, foremost among them the Martyr of the Nation, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (may God be pleased with him). We also salute the steadfastness of our Ummah in the face of the most brutal American-Zionist killing machinery.
I greet you all on behalf of the youth of the resistance in Lebanon, and on behalf of a generation that refuses to live without dignity, honor, and pride.
At Hezbollah, with deep sorrow and grief—but also with pride and honor—we stand tall in the face of the martyrdom of the sacred Martyr of the Nation, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who ascended as a great martyr on the path to Al-Quds. By God, the martyrdom of His Eminence has only made us stronger, more determined, and more committed to his path of resistance. Yes, we are in a season of immense grief, but this grief will become revolutionary energy for revival, loyalty, and continued resistance.
I believe you’ll agree with me: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in the moment of his martyrdom, transcended time, space, and material limits—he became an eternal martyr with his reward and light at his Lord’s side. He became a global symbol of revolution, an inspiring icon for resisting Zionism and arrogance, a hero to all youth and the oppressed, a figure who embodies history, present, and future—a radiant, civilizational jihadist figure, with profound human, moral, intellectual, cultural, political, and resistance depth for the whole world.
West Asia: The Beating Heart of Geopolitics
Dear attendees,
West Asia has never been just a geographical space. It is a theater of major global interactions—its strategic location, its peoples, its identity, its wealth, and its vital waterways have always been the focus of power struggles. From ancient history to the present and the future, the rule remains: Whoever seeks control over the world must control West Asia, for it is—and will remain—the heart of both the old and new worlds. This region, stretching from Turkey and the Caucasus in the north to Yemen and the Arabian Sea in the south, and from the Eastern Mediterranean in the west to Iran in the east, is the essential bridge between continents, between East and West, between North and South. It is the cradle of divine revelations and civilizations, a global energy reservoir, and the hub of world trade routes. That is why hegemony over this region was and remains the first objective of Western powers, a prerequisite for the continuation of their dominance—economically, politically, culturally, militarily, and in security.
How the West Took Control of Our Region
- By dividing it,
- By occupying and colonizing it,
- By creating monarchies, emirates, and sultanates dependent on them, especially in oil-rich regions or near maritime choke points, to secure trade routes and plunder our wealth—excluding Jordan, whose primary function was assigned as safeguarding the rear of the Zionist entity,
- And by usurping Palestine to establish the Zionist entity as a Western forward base to perform their dirtiest roles in our region.
They chose Palestine, because it is the heart of the heart of West Asia— and whoever wants control over the region must control its core. So, Palestine is not just a land under occupation or the issue of an oppressed people—it is the core of the global conflict between two opposing projects:
• The Project of Falsehood, built on oppression, arrogance, colonization, genocide, and exploitation.
• And the Project of Truth, built on resistance, liberation, justice, and sovereignty.
Thus, Palestine was and remains the target, and the very presence of the Zionist entity in it is an existential threat to our entire region on all political, cultural, economic, military, and security levels.
The Reality of the American-Zionist Project: From Palestine to the Region and the World
Dear friends,
A thorough reading of today’s events—from Palestine to Syria, from Iraq to Yemen, from Lebanon to Iran—reveals that the American- Zionist strategy has reached the peak of savagery, absolute terrorism, and unprecedented criminality. It is thuggery in its most blatant form.
Unconditional surrender, peace by force, deadly aid, and the imposition of a dominance that recognizes neither international law nor human values—this is their model. Anyone who thinks this is temporary or limited is delusional. They have embarked on a war of genocide, division, and subjugation by force across the region and the world. They can no longer retreat—their true nature has been exposed. Those who surrender to them will be crushed.
He who occupies land in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, and who steals the gas of the Mediterranean today, will steal the water of the Nile and the Euphrates tomorrow—and more after that. If we do not all stand up and resist together, no one will be spared.
What is happening today in Gaza is a blatant example of American- Zionist thuggery in broad daylight—a genocide, a declared holocaust. Even the International Criminal Court, which was established to serve Western interests, could not avoid indicting Netanyahu as a war criminal for genocide.
They bombed Gaza with American and European bombs equivalent to seven nuclear bombs, killing and injuring tens of thousands of women, children, and innocent civilians. There is no precedent in history for what is happening in Gaza. These American, Zionist, and European criminals have surpassed even the worst criminals in history.
But, paradoxically, the people of Gaza have proven themselves to be legendary in their patience and resilience—they cannot be broken. Their resistance is a miracle, a true school for the present and future.
Palestine—today, as always—remains the key to the solution and the compass that exposes the criminal West and its false claims of values. Today, it is either resistance or collapse. Either we resist to survive and preserve Palestine and our region, or we will fall one by one. Neither the normalizers, nor the traitors, nor the submissive, nor the sycophants will be spared—they will fall first. Only the free and the resistant will endure.
A Global Front of Resistance
In this context, we believe our responsibility—as resistance movements and free peoples—is to build a global resistance front, starting from West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. The choice today is resistance or annihilation, resistance or submission, resistance or a world ruled by savage criminals.
We need an international bloc of resistance that transcends narrow interests, built on dignity, sovereignty, and justice—not dependency, submission, or normalization. Our top priorities must be:
- Rejecting and confronting U.S. hegemony,
- Stripping the Zionist entity of any legitimacy as a filthy colonial tool,
- Unity in the face of division and fragmentation,
- Resistance, pride, and sovereignty for our nations,
- And above all, exerting every effort to stop the genocide in Gaza, prevent displacement of its people, and halt the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.
These principles are not theoretical—they stem from the living experiences of our peoples, with the resistance in Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen leading the way.
The Rising Civilization of Resistance: A Real Alternative to Western Hegemony
It is clear that the old global order is collapsing, and the features of a new order are beginning to form. In this emerging world, West Asia will not be merely a market or playground, but a global center of resistance and leadership.
We have a unique opportunity to build a rising civilization of resistance, not based on colonization but rooted in revolutionary spirit—not on exploitation but on partnership. We possess a tremendous wealth of youthful energy, bright minds, and natural resources that enable us to build our own civilizational model—one based on resistance, unity, cooperation, human dignity, cultural diversity, and shared development—far from polarization, conflict, and the sedition fueled by hegemonic projects.
This civilization, with its historical depth and cultural richness, can offer a more humane and just alternative to centuries of Western arrogance and imperial racism.
Resistance: An Inevitable Choice, Not Just a Slogan
Dear attendees, to conclude, let me say this clearly:
Confronting the project of hegemony can only be achieved through resistance. Resistance is not a mere slogan or optional path—it is an existential necessity. Resistance in all its forms—political, cultural, media, economic, scientific, and military—is the only way to liberate Palestine, reclaim our rights, protect our sovereignty, and fulfill the aspirations of our peoples for freedom, dignity, progress, and revival.
And you, the youth, are at the forefront of this confrontation. You are the hope, the difference-makers, the wall between an era of dominance and an era of liberation. Upon your shoulders lies the responsibility of building this future—together, hand in hand, with every honorable and free person around the world.
This region deserves for us to live for it, to die for it, to protect it, and to lift it up—not to surrender it to the arrogant powers.
Let us stand united, from the shores of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to the heart of Asia and Africa and across the globe, to shout loudly:
No to American hegemony, no to Zionism, no to European conspiracies. Yes to resistance! Yes to resistance! Yes to resistance!
Together—from Beirut to Tehran, from Baghdad to Ankara, from Gaza and Jerusalem to the entire world—we will build a new East and a new world: free, united, and resistant.
God is Great. Peace be upon you.