In his messages, Araqchi commemorated the Lebanese nation’s historic victory in forcing the Zionist regime to withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000.

He also reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s firm and continued support for Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as the Lebanese people’s legitimate resistance against the occupation and aggression of the Zionist regime.

The withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in May 2000 is widely regarded in the region as a historic victory for the Lebanese resistance movement after nearly two decades of occupation. The Israeli regime had occupied large parts of southern Lebanon since its 1982 invasion and later maintained a so-called “security zone” with the backing of the South Lebanon Army militia.

Over the years, Lebanese resistance groups, most notably Hezbollah, carried out sustained operations against Israeli occupation forces and their allied militias, gradually increasing the military and political cost of the occupation. The resistance campaign, combined with mounting casualties and growing domestic pressure inside the occupied territories, eventually forced the Zionist regime to withdraw its troops unilaterally from most of southern Lebanon in May 2000 without securing any agreement or concessions.

The liberation of southern Lebanon became a defining moment for the axis of resistance and was celebrated across the Arab and Islamic worlds as the first instance in which the Israeli regime was compelled to retreat from occupied Arab land through armed resistance. The anniversary is commemorated annually in Lebanon as “Resistance and Liberation Day.”