Arab Social Media Mocks Hezbollah Leader’s Claim He Earns $1,300 Per Month

In this Aug. 2, 2013, file photo, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah gestures during
AP/Hussein Malla
Ali Waked

TEL AVIV — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s claim that he earns a modest monthly salary of about $1,300 has drawn more than its share of skepticism from Arab commentators on social media.

He claimed that he earns “maybe $1400, but they take off all kinds of things like $50 to support the resistance fund and more,” during an interview with Al Mayadeen, a network connected to Nasrallah’s terrorist organization and Iran.

Nasrallah’s comments have provoked criticism across Arab social media, especially in the Gulf states, where the terrorist organization was accused of being Iran’s most prominent agent in its project to destabilize or control Arab states.

“Hassan the lying crook claimed in the past that all the expenses of the Devil’s party come from Iran,” tweeted Abu Dhabi government member Ali al-Katbi. “These things have become part of the slogans used by the protestors in Iran who are crying ‘death to Hezbollah.’ Today, the liar is lying about the Iranians and claiming that his salary is $1,300.”

“Soon Nasrallah will be tied with chains, that crook, and dragged through the streets of southern Lebanon,” wrote Saudi academic Mohammed Elaqi.

Kuwaiti cleric Abdelrahman Nassar played with the meaning of Nasrallah’s name (victory of Allah), changing it to Nasrashaten, which means victory of Satan.

“Hassan Nasrashaten claims he’s paid $1,300!!! Cheap… You sold your country and your humanity for $1,300 per month. That’s what you’re worth,” he wrote on Twitter.

Nassar’s tweet was commented on by social media user Fawaz, who wrote, “Why do you believe him? He has an income of millions just from the drug factories.” According to widespread reports, part of Hezbollah’s financing comes from dealing drugs in southern Lebanon.

“If Hassan Nasrallah is worth $1,300, $1,300 to be an agent of Iran, maybe we will raise donations for him to take back his betrayal and become an Arab who opposes the Ayatollah’s regime?” asked Europe-based Lebanese journalist Jerry Maher.

https://twitter.com/jerrymahers/status/949372753496477696

“Lol he’s trying to be clever the idiot,” tweeted Abdelrahman al-Khateeb, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Association of Producers and Artists. “Translate his comments to Persian. Let’s see him say he earns $1,300 after the weak and poor (in Iran) have taken control of things.”

Saudi social media activist Maae wrote, “Your salary, you crook, is $1,300. Why? Where is the Lebanese lira? Why aren’t you paid in liras? What about your drug trafficking and prostitution?”

Saudi blogger Bin Faqit also made fun of Nasrallah’s comments, writing, “Nasrallah’s salary is $1,300 after payments!! That’s a bigger lie than the lie of the liberation of Jerusalem by the axis of resistance!”

“I’m ready to confirm that Nasrallah’s salary really is $1,300 for two reasons,” wrote Saudi media figure Abdelaziz al-Qahtani. “The first is because Iran treats him like a prostitute of no worth as he cheats on Lebanon and the Arabs. The second reason is that he steals all the money from the poor and widowed supporters of Hezbollah. He puts some of that money in his account and the rest he gives to Iran to pay his salary.”

https://twitter.com/abdulaziz_flan1/status/949221519452004352

“The dirty dog Hassan is lying and saying his salary is $1,300,” tweeted United Arab Emirates politician Bu Ahmad. “What about the billions from the drugs you grow in southern Lebanon and smuggle? And what about the millions you get from Israel to protect its border?”

Lebanese journalist Tony Abi Najem, the editor-in-chief of the website IMLebanon, tweeted, “If Nasrallah’s salary is just $1,300 per month, he needs to go participate in the protests in Iran,” along with multiple smiley faces.

But there were also those online who expressed appreciation for Nasrallah’s allegedly modest salary.

“Nasrallah is paid $1,300 per month from which he gives to the resistance. So he gets cheers from the masses when he is interviewed on television because of his credibility and courage,” wrote Iraqi actor Khalil al-Refaii. “In Iraq we have wild dogs who traded in our blood that was robbed of us and claimed they were patriots. The wages and benefits are much higher than the presidents and the kings who sat in the Elysee Palace (in France).”

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