The killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in air strikes on a Beirut suburb has put the spotlight on the man widely considered his heir, Hashem Safieddine.
Hezbollah confirmed that Nasrallah, who led the group for 32 years, was killed in a raid on Friday. The Iran-backed group now faces the challenge of choosing a new leader after the heaviest blow the group has faced in its 42-year history.
Below are some facts about Safi al-Din, who a source in the group said survived the Israeli attacks.
File – Senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safi al-Din speaks during a Saudi opposition conference in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
AFP Photos/Bilal Hussein
- As head of the Executive Council, Safi al-Din oversees Hezbollah’s political affairs. He is also a member of the Jihad Council, which manages the group’s military operations.
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- Wasfi al-Din is Nasrallah’s cousin and, like him, a cleric who wears the black turban that indicates descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
- The US State Department classified him as a terrorist in 2017, and in June he threatened a major escalation against Israel after the killing of Another Hezbollah leader. He said at the funeral: “Let (the enemy) prepare himself to weep and wail.”
- Safi al-Din’s public statements often reflect Hezbollah’s hardline stance and alignment with the Palestinian cause. At a recent event in Dahiya, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, he declared: “Our history, our guns and our missiles are with you,” in a show of solidarity with Palestinian fighters.
- “Nasrallah began sewing positions for himself within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah. Some were more mysterious than others. “They had him come out and talk,” said Philip Smith, an expert who studies Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
- Safi al-Din’s family ties and physical resemblance to Nasrallah, as well as his religious status as a descendant of Muhammad, all count in his favor.
- He was also frank in his criticism of American policy. In response to American pressure on Hezbollah, he said in 2017 that “this crazy and mentally disabled American administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance,” stressing that such actions would only strengthen Hezbollah’s resolve.
