Hashem Safieddine, a possible successor to his slain cousin Hassan Nasrallah, is one in every of Hezbollah’s most distinguished figures and has deep non secular and household ties to the Shiite Muslim motion’s patron Iran.
Safieddine bears a hanging resemblance to his charismatic maternal cousin Nasrallah however is a number of years his junior, aged in his late 50s or early 60s.
A supply near Hezbollah, requesting anonymity as they weren’t authorised to talk to the media, mentioned the grey-bearded, bespectacled Safieddine was the “more than likely” candidate for celebration’s high job.
America and Saudi Arabia put Safieddine, who’s a member of Hezbollah’s highly effective decision-making Shura Council, on their respective lists of designated “terrorists” in 2017.
The US Treasury described him as “a senior chief” in Hezbollah and “a key member” of its government.
Whereas Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem robotically takes over the Hezbollah management after Nasrallah’s dying, the Shura Council should meet to elect a brand new secretary-general.
Safieddine has sturdy ties with Iran after endeavor non secular research within the holy metropolis of Qom.
His son is married to the daughter of Normal Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ international operations arm who was killed in a 2020 US strike in Iraq.
Safieddine has the title of Sayyed, his black turban marking him, like Nasrallah, as a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed.
Not like Nasrallah, who lived in hiding for years, Safieddine has appeared overtly at current political and non secular occasions.
– ‘Strongest contender’ –
Normally presenting a relaxed manner, he has upped the fiery rhetoric through the funerals of Hezbollah fighters killed in almost a 12 months of cross-border clashes with Israel.
Nasrallah mentioned his forces had been appearing in help of Palestinian Hamas militants combating Israel in Gaza.
Amal Saad, a Lebanese researcher on Hezbollah based mostly at Cardiff College, mentioned that for years individuals have been saying that Safieddine was “the more than likely successor” to Nasrallah.
“The subsequent chief needs to be on the Shura Council, which has a handful of members, and he needs to be a non secular determine”, she mentioned.
Safieddine “has a variety of authority… he is the strongest contender” she added.
Hezbollah was created on the initiative of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and gained its moniker as “the Resistance” by combating Israeli troops who occupied southern Lebanon till 2000.
The motion was based through the Lebanese civil struggle after Israel besieged the capital Beirut in 1982.
In July in a speech in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Safieddine alluded to how Hezbollah views its management succession.
“In our resistance… when any chief is martyred, one other takes up the flag and goes on with new, sure, sturdy willpower,” he mentioned.
