known for his tough style and the most popular acceptance, can safiedine take over the leadership of hezbollah in lebanon?
2024-09-30
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
[global times special correspondent huang peizhao in egypt global times special correspondent liu haoran] it was confirmed by israel on the 28th that nasrallah, the leader of lebanese hezbollah, was killed in an israeli air strike. the top leaders of hezbollah faced a short-term "power vacuum." according to reports from agence france-presse and other media on the 28th, hashem safieddin, an important figure in lebanese hezbollah who has close ties with iran, has become a potential successor to his cousin hassan nasrallah.
hashem safieddin photo source: foreign media
have high prestige
according to agence france-presse, internal insiders revealed that safiedine's "promotion" has been "almost certain". this statement is also recognized by lebanese political analysts. amal saad, an international relations expert at cardiff university in the united kingdom, said that nasrallah’s successor must be a member of the shura council, hezbollah’s highest decision-making body, and must also be a highly respected religious figure, while safi ding fully meets these conditions. saad said: "he (safiedine) has high prestige and is the most powerful contender."
israel's "jerusalem post" reported that safiedine and nasrallah have almost similar family backgrounds and appearance characteristics. hashem safieddin was born in 1964 in a prominent family in the tire region of southern lebanon. this family faction has produced many well-known shiite religious figures and politicians. in his early years, safieddin studied theology with his cousin nasrallah, and further studied in najaf, iraq, and the shiite holy city of qom, iran. safieddin was one of the first members to join hezbollah. he received specialized training in iran and quickly became a backbone of hezbollah, holding many important positions. in 1995, safieddin joined the shura council and was later appointed chairman of the executive committee. in addition to being a relative, nasrallah intended to cultivate this cousin, so he customized positions for safieddin in different committees to give him the opportunity to experience. unlike his reclusive cousin, safiedine mainly presides over hezbollah's "daily affairs" - such as social services, education and propaganda, and therefore needs to frequently appear and publicly participate in various rallies.
very close to iran
safiedine not only comes from a prominent family, but his family has close ties with iran and has a "deep background" within hezbollah. according to the "kayhan life" website, his brother abdullah safieddin is hezbollah's special representative in iran.
in addition to studying in iran, safieddin also has a family relationship with soleimani, a senior general of iran's islamic revolutionary guard corps who was killed in january 2020. in june 2020, the wedding of safiedine's son reza attracted great attention from the media of iran and lebanon because his daughter-in-law zeinab is soleimani's daughter. in the view of analysts, the combination of the two is a typical "political marriage", obviously to demonstrate the stance of "forever forming a good alliance and jointly defending against foreign enemies". according to the turkish "independent" report, with the strong support of iran, safiedine was actually designated as nasrallah's successor as early as 2008. in november 2010, he was appointed as the military commander of hezbollah in south lebanon.
although safieddin has been cultivated in many ways, nasrallah's popularity and aura are too strong, which makes almost none of his men famous. lebanese media said that after nasrallah's death, the hezbollah organization needs to choose its next leader through elections. according to the report, it is generally believed that safiedine is the most likely to become the next leader of hezbollah, and he is also the most competitive and popular among the people. some analysts believe that the 71-year-old deputy general secretary of hezbollah qasim is in name only and has a mediocre relationship with nasrallah. even though he may now become the interim leader, he may eventually be defeated by safi. ding's men.
criticized the us government by name
although safiedine has a scholarly demeanor, he is also known for his tough rhetoric, especially in his rhetoric against the united states and israel. the jerusalem post stated that safiedine has never been very angry with the united states. in 2017, he criticized the then-u.s. government and leaders by name as "sick" and "crazy," saying that the u.s. was targeting hezbollah. pressure "will only make us more determined". in 2017, safiedine was included in the "terrorist" blacklist by the u.s. state department, and was sanctioned by the united states and some arab countries the following year.
in a recent speech in beirut, safiedine expressed firm support for palestine, saying "our history and our guns are with you." the british "economist" magazine website reported that at the funeral of a hezbollah commander in june, he vowed to make his enemies "prepare to weep and wail" and direct his revengeful anger at israel.
