Who is Hashem Safieddine, Likely to Head Hezbollah After Nasrallah?

Beirut: Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah Chief who was eliminated by Israel airstrikes, is likely to be replaced by Hashem Safieddine, cousin of Nasrallah. Who is Hashem Safieddine, know all about him…

Hashem Safieddine Likely to Replace Hassan Nasrallah

A designated terrorist by United States and cousin of deceased Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, Hashem Safieddine is most likely to succeed Nasrallah as the Secretary General of Hezbollah. While the reports suggest his name, the news update is yet to be confirmed by Hezbollah itself.

Who is Hashem Safieddine?

Hashem Safieddine has been looking after the political affairs of the Lebanese militant group. According to the US Treasury Department, Hashem Safieddine is a ‘key member’ of the Executive Shura Council of Hezbollah and also a ‘senior leader’. It must be noted, that the official announcement by Hezbollah about Nasrallah's death did not mention any name as a successor.

Hashem Safieddine was born in Lebanon in 1964 and has been the head of the organisation's decision-making body since the year 1992. After pursuing religious cities in the Iranian city of Qom, Hashem Safieddine joined Hezbollah and is believed to have strong connections with Ayatollahs and Iran. His son, who headed the operations command of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in an US airstrike in Iraq in 2020.

One of the six clerics, Hashem Safieddine was also the head of the Jihad Council and is one of the three key leaders of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah Announces Death of ‘Great Martyr’ Nasrallah

Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its long-serving leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut. The group, in an official statement, confirmed that Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for nearly three decades, had died as a “great martyr” in what it described as a 'treacherous' raid.

The statement, beginning with a religious invocation, hailed Nasrallah as a “heroic, daring, brave, wise, insightful, and faithful leader” who had led Hezbollah “from victory to victory.” His leadership, which began after the death of his predecessor in 1992, saw the group’s rise to prominence, most notably through the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation in 2000 and the 2006 war with Israel, which Hezbollah refers to as the “Glorious Divine Victory.”