In a speech to mark the 18th anniversary of the Israeli pullout from southern Lebanon, Nasrallah said that "From 1982 to 2000, [Hizbullah's] abilities were rather modest."
We are not interested in war with Israel," said Nasrallah, "but if such a war breaks out, we will win."
"Israel violates our airspace every day," he complained. "Yesterday, it bombed Syria from Lebanese airspace. Where is the sovereignty?"
He also called on the Lebanese state to stand up for citizens being slapped with sanctions by the United States.
Speaking in a televised address Friday, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the new government, which prime minister Saad Hariri has been appointed to form, cannot "turn its back" on those individuals.
The U.S., which considers the Iranian-backed militant Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization, has been imposing sanctions on the group for decades. The U.S. and its Arab allies however have issued a new wave of sanctions this month that targeted the group's top leadership, as well as businessmen and companies that Washington says are funding the group.
Nasrallah described it as a "losing battle" and said his group would not be impacted.
Nasrallah also denied supporting the Polisario Front in the disputed Western Sahara region and said there is no communication between them and his group.
Morocco severed ties with Tehran in protest over the alleged ties; its foreign minister has said his government had proof that Hezbollah has been providing training and financial support to the Polisario Front's fighters since 2016. Nasrallah said no such proof has been presented.
