Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday reassured his supporters that he was well, in his first speech since his infamous "coughing speech" two weeks ago, in which he appeared frail and struggled to speak.
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Nasrallah cleared his throat, spoke in a quiet voice and appeared pale, but he joked about the rumors over his health.
"A human being is a human being, you get sick or tired sometimes," Nasrallah said in the speech, which was broadcast on the Iranian proxy's Al-Manar TV channel.
Referring to social media rumors suggesting he had a grave illness, he said: "Some people killed us off and some started looking for a successor. I reassure them."
Nasrallah has led Iran-backed Hezbollah for nearly three decades, turning it from one of Lebanon's many civil war militias into a group with regional influence.
"There are some people who expressed their love and distributed bread and salt and wrote and called and I reassure these," Nasrallah said. "I cherish their love and thank [them] all."
Nasrallah made his comments while delivering a speech on Lebanon's financial crisis and political deadlock.
He urged politicians to urgently form a new cabinet and said, without providing details, that Iran could alleviate his country's economic problems if a "courageous" decision was taken.
Lebanon's financial meltdown is escalating, with shortages of basic items such as food, fuel and medication worsening amidst political deadlock.
"We, Hezbollah, can go to Iran and negotiate with the Iranian government and buy shipments of fuel," Nasrallah said.
The purchases, he said, would be made in Lebanese pounds and would not require long waits for the central bank to approve dollar allocations.
"These scenes of humiliation, people should not bear," he said referring to long fuel lines in recent weeks.
Lebanon's financial situation is complicated by the political deadlock as prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri and President Michel Aoun squabble over naming ministers. Aoun is an ally of Hezbollah.
A new cabinet is needed to enact reforms that could unlock foreign aid.
"Those responsible for government formation need to listen to people's voices and look with pain at the cars queuing up for fuel and the loss of electricity and medication," Nasrallah said.
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