Drone shot down over Israel was ours, says Hezbollah leader Nasrallah
Aircraft was designed by Iran and assembled by our experts, group's leader declares; Netanyahu had earlier blamed the Lebanese militants
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, declared that his fighters had assembled and piloted a drone that flew 55 kilometres into Israel.
He called Saturday's flight an unprecedented achievement in "the history of the resistance".
In a televised, 50-minute speech on Thursday, Nasrallah said the drone, which was shot down by Israel, had been designed in Iran and assembled by Hezbollah experts in Lebanon.
"It is our right to send other drones whenever we want," Nasrallah said, noting that Israel frequently violated Lebanese airspace. "It was not the first time and it will not be the last."
Hours earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accused Hezbollah, also a political organisation, over the episode, saying Israel had "thwarted over the weekend Hezbollah's attempt" to pierce its airspace. The group has sent a drone over Israel at least once before.
There was no official reaction from Israel to Nasrallah's speech, or warnings about the need for a military response against Hezbollah in Lebanon. If anything, there seemed to be an attempt to point a finger at Hezbollah's patron, the more distant Iran.
"It should come as no surprise that the military machine of Hezbollah in Lebanon is substantially made in Iran," a senior official said.