Hashem Safieddine: meet the man expected to lead Hezbollah

With the death of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah, the Iranian backed terror group is poised to name Hashem Safieddine as his successor. Find out who he is and what he stands for.

Hezbollah lost their leader of 32 years with the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and now all eyes are on his cousin Hashem Safieddine who is expected to take up the mantle.

Nasrallah, 64, was assassinated on Friday when the Israeli Defence Force conducted an air strike on Hezbollah’s Beirut headquarters where he was holed up.

Slain Hezbollah top commander Ibrahim Aqil, left, and Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. Picture: Hezbollah Military Media Office.

Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine addresses mourners during the funeral of commander Taleb Abdallah who was killed in June. Picture: AFP.

Safieddine, who is related to Nasrallah on his mother’s side, is the leader of Hezbollah’s executive council which manages the group’s political affairs.

He also has a seat on the Hezbollah Jihad Council and has been on the US State Department designated terrorist list since 2017.

Around this time, Safieddine made scathing public remarks about then US President Donald Trump.

A woman holds a poster of fallen Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in front of the Israeli Consulate during a solidarity march and protest in Istanbul, Turkey. Picture: Getty Images.

“This mentally impeded, crazy US administration headed by Trump will not be able to harm the resistance,” Safieddine said in 2017.

Like the late Nasrallah, Safieddine is a descendant of the prophet Mohammed which gives him the honour of wearing a black turban.

Safieddine made headlines when he spoke out publicly in support of Hamas in the immediate aftermath of their October 7 attack on Israel.

“Our hearts are with you. Our minds are with you. Our souls are with you. Our history and guns and our rockets are with you,” Safieddine said at the time.

Hassan Nasrallah delivers a speech in 2013. Picture: AFP.

Safieddine also spoke out in June when Israel killed Hezbollah commander Taleb Abdallah, promising retribution.

“Let (the enemy) prepare himself to cry and wail,” Safieddine said at the time.

An expert on Iran-back Shiite militias, Phillip Smyth, told the New York Post by allowing Safieddine to make these comments on behalf of Hezbollah, Nasrallah had been quietly grooming his cousin as his successor for years.

A demonstrator holds a picture of Hassan Nasrallah during a protest vigil near the suspension bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone. Picture: AFP.

“(Nasrallah) started tailoring positions for him within a variety of different councils within Lebanese Hezbollah,” Mr Smyth said.

“Some of them were more opaque than others. They’ve had him come, go out and speak.”

Hezbollah has yet to officially name Safieddine as their new leader, but the Times of Israel reports insiders believe the high-ranking Safieddine’s status as a relative of Nasrallah who resembles him physically and comes from the line of Mohammed all point in his favour.

Originally published as Hashem Safieddine: meet the man expected to lead Hezbollah