Nasrallah Dead: Who Will Lead Hezbollah?

The death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah marks a pivotal moment for the Lebanese terror group. With most of its top leadership wiped out by Israel, Hezbollah now looks towards its operations chief Hashem Safieddine as a likely successor. However, some reports claimed that Safieddine was also killed in the Beirut airstrike. Yet, a source quoted by Reuters confirmed he is alive.

Safieddine, designated a terrorist by the United States in 2017, oversees Hezbollah’s political affairs and is a member of the group’s Jihad Council. He also has ties to Iran’s regime as he is the father-in-law of Zainab Soleimani, the daughter of slain Iranian military general Qassem Soleimani.

Who is Hashem Safieddine?

Like Nasrallah, Safieddine is a cleric who wears a black turban and bears a physical resemblance to the former Hezbollah chief. These qualities may aid him in identifying as Nasrallah’s successor. The new leader will need to garner support from Hezbollah members and gain acceptance from the group’s backers in Iran, which provides most of Hezbollah’s funding, training, and weapons.

Born in 1964 in Deir Qanun al-Nahr in southern Lebanon, Safieddine has been designated as Nasrallah’s successor since the 1990s. He returned to Beirut from Iran, where he was pursuing his studies. Just two years after Nasrallah took over the leadership, Safieddine began heading Hezbollah’s executive council.

Over the next 30 years, he managed Hezbollah’s civilian operations, including its education system and finances, while Nasrallah focused on strategic matters. In 2017, Safieddine was also blacklisted by Saudi Arabia for supporting the Syrian regime.

In 2020, his son, Rida, married Zainab, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad the same year. As Nasrallah went into hiding following Israeli assassination attempts in 2006, Safieddine attended events and funerals of Hezbollah members killed in Lebanon.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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