Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has hailed last week's framework deal over Iran's nuclear program, saying it will serve to strengthen the Islamic Republic's position in the Middle East.
"Iran will become richer and wealthier and will also become more influential," he told Syria's Al-Ekhbariya TV in a live interview Monday night, in comments translated by Lebanon's The Daily Star.
Such as scenario "will also reinforce the position of its allies," he added.
"A stronger and wealthier Iran, in the coming phase, will be able to stand by its allies, and especially the Palestinian resistance, more than at any other time in history," Nasrallah remarked.
The comments essentially echo warnings by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, who argue that western powers are making a "historic" error by separating the issue of the Iranian nuclear program from Tehran's regional aggression.
Not only does the deal, by President Obama's own admission, not actually prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons at some point in the future, but repealing sanctions would pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the Iranian economy, much of which would be used to fund the growing array of terrorist proxies set up by Tehran to project its power throughout the region.
As Iran's most powerful proxy, Hezbollah would be among the first to benefit from such an influx of cash. That would be a welcome development for the Shia Islamist terror group, which has seen its resources in both blood and treasure stretched to breaking point by extensive deployments beyond Lebanon in Syria and Iraq, to help prop-up pro-Iranian regimes in both countries.
In his interview, Nasrallah also asserted that opposition to the deal by Israel and Saudi Arabia - Iran's greatest foes - proved it was good for Iran and its allies.
"There is no doubt that an agreement will have repercussions on the region," he said, specifically claiming it reduced the likelihood of a regional war and made it far more difficult for Israel to carry out airstrikes against Iran's now-legitimized nuclear facilities.
Nasrallah touched upon several other topics in the interview, including Hezbollah's involvement in conflicts in Syria and Iraq - intervention which has angered many Lebanese, particularly among the country's Sunni Muslim population.
"Wherever we need to be, we will be," Nasrallah declared.