Following the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Hashem Safieddine has emerged as the most likely successor, according to various media outlets and experts.
Who is Hashem Safieddine?
Leadership Role: Safieddine currently heads Hezbollah’s Executive Council, which oversees the organization’s political affairs and civilian initiatives, including communications, education, health, economics, and trade unions.
Military Involvement: He is also a member of the Jihad Council, which directs the group’s military operations.
Longstanding Association: Safieddine has been integral to Hezbollah’s framework since the group’s inception in 1982.
Early Life and Education
Background: Born in 1964 in Deir Qanoun En Nahr, a town in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, Safieddine is a maternal cousin of Nasrallah.
Heritage: Like Nasrallah, he is recognized as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, which bestows upon him the title of sayyed and the privilege of wearing a black turban.
Education: Safieddine studied theology in Iraq and Iran alongside Nasrallah before returning to Beirut in 1994 to lead the Executive Council.
Family Ties: His son is married to Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Key Statements and Public Appearances
Safieddine has made several public appearances at political and religious events, including the funerals of Hezbollah fighters, where he has consistently expressed the group’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.
In October 2023, he stated in Dahiyeh:
“Our history, our guns, and our rockets are with you. Everything we have is with you.”
In a July speech, he discussed Hezbollah’s perspective on leadership succession, asserting:
“In our resistance… when any leader is martyred, another takes up the flag and continues with new, certain, strong determination.”
According to the Iranian newspaper Khoursid, Safieddine was designated as Hezbollah’s next leader in a general meeting in 2008, should “the Zionists succeed in assassinating Hassan Nasrallah.”