Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan NasrallahReuters

Counterterrorism and preserving stability in Lebanon are Hezbollah’s main priorities, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said Tuesday.

According to The Daily Star, Nasrallah’s comments were made during a meeting with the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani.

In light of “complex and unprecedented threats” constituting an “existential threat” to the region, “Hezbollah made it a priority to confront terrorism and prevent the spillover of the [Syrian] crisis into Lebanon,” read a statement released by the group’s media office Tuesday.

Nasrallah stressed that counterterrorism required “real action and not theatrics,” especially now that terrorist groups have threatened to execute their Lebanese hostages.

The Al-Nusra Front and the “Islamic State” (IS or ISIS) are holding at least 21 security personnel captive and have threatened to kill the hostages if the Lebanese government does not respond to their demands. So far ISIS has beheaded two soldiers, while Al-Nusra Front has killed one.

The Hezbollah chief called on all involved parties to refrain from engaging in “dubious deals” with terrorists.

Groups such as Al-Nusra Front and IS have been a concern for Hezbollah, which is heavily involved in the Syrian civil war, sending fighters to battle rebels alongside Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops.

Hezbollah’s involvement in Lebanon has made it a target for bombings in its strongholds in Lebanon.

Nasrallah recently warned that IS is an “existential threat” menacing Lebanon and the whole region. He later stressed, however, that while Hezbollah is against IS, it is also opposed to the intervention of the United States in Syria.