Hashim Safi Al-Din; the Most Prominent Candidate to Succeed “Hassan Nasrallah” in Hezbollah

In light of a lot of talking about the deteriorating health of the Lebanese Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, many speculations began indicating that the head of the party's executive council, Hashim Safi Al-Din, he is likely to be the man closest to succeed Nasrallah in the leadership of the party in the next stage.

Safi Al-Din, who is related to Hassan Nasrallah, in addition to the great similarity in figure and appearance, he is currently considered the second man in the Lebanese Hezbollah, by virtue of his presidency of the Executive Council, and he supervises the party's economic and social activities.

 

Close to Iran

Hashim Safi Al-Din, born in 1964, from the town of Deir Qanoun En-Nahr in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon, he completed his religious studies in the Iranian city of Qom, he is married to the daughter of the Shiite cleric Muhammad Ali Al-Amin, member of the Sharia Board of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in the country.

Safi Al-Din is the “brother-in-law” of the current Minister of Administrative Development Ibrahim Shams Al-Din (son of Imam Muhammad Mahdi Shams Al-Din), but relations were severed between of them because the man's approach to the “March 14” team, which revolted against the Syrian presence in Lebanon, after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

Hashim Safi Al-Din, is the cousin of Hassan Nasrallah's mother, and in addition to this close relationship, he is very similar to him as well, whether in figure or in the way of speaking and even in the Bite-R.

Safi Al-Din has a special relationship with Iran, which gives him influence within the leadership hierarchy of the Lebanese Hezbollah, because his brother Abdullah is the representative of Hezbollah in Tehran, in addition, his son, Reza Hashim, married Zainab, the daughter of former Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

In June 2020, Zainab, the daughter of Imad Mughniyeh -the leader of Hezbollah who was killed in a car bomb explosion in Damascus 2008- announced the marriage of “Zainab Qassem Soleimani” and “Reza Hashim Safi Al-Din”, this surprised many Iranians, it came less than 6 months after Soleimani was killed in an American raid in Baghdad.

Safi Al-Din is a supporter of the Iranian Regime, as he believes that “The theory of Wilayat al-Faqih is one of the most important theories that directed by Imam Khomeini, from legal and rational evidence to be a complete project, it addresses the most important problems facing the Islamic movements, which led to fragmentation”.

Alternative Leader

In a report published by “Asharq Al-Awsat” newspaper on October 25, 2008, it said that "Some of those close to the family of Hashim Safi Al-Din, they mentioned that Hashim was one of three who were the subject of the attention of Imad Mughniyeh”.

These three are: Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, one of the most prominent leaders of Hezbollah, and Hashim Safi Al-Din himself, it explained that Mughniyeh was the one who sent the trio to Qom, and facilitated their affairs there.

As these three became one of the most prominent leaders of “Hezbollah” in the early nineties of the twentieth century, Nasrallah became the Secretary-General, and Safi Al-Din became a chief executive officer of Hezbollah in the institutional scale, and served as the head of Hezbollah's government, as for Sheikh Qaouk, he became the actual leader of the southern region, which is of great interest to the Lebanese Hezbollah leadership.

In its report, “Asharq Al-Awsat” newspaper quoted one of those it called “well-informed” of the situation inside Hezbollah that the party was never without an auxiliary leadership, and that Safi Al-Din has been prepared since 1994 to be the alternative to Nasrallah.

Today, the position of the chief executive officer is considered the second leadership position in Hezbollah, it follows up on the daily details of party work and organizational procedures, it also controls all the joints of the party, because it holds the land and the public.

Also, the head of this council is automatically a member of the Shura Council, which is the actual leadership of the party, and it is elected for a renewable 3-year term.

The council is currently composed of 7 personalities; Chief among them is Nasrallah, where each of them holds a special file, and manages a sector of the party.

The executive council headed by Safi Al-Din also manages a large investment group that aims to secure the financial independence of Hezbollah, and funding its massive organizational body.

Safi Al-Din's experience is not limited to the daily operational, financial and administrative aspects, as the executive council itself included under its management the “Military Operations”, before the establishment of the “Jihad Council”, which is specialist in managing military operations, and separating its powers from the executive.

In July 2018, the U.S. Treasury designated Hashim Safi Al-Din on the terrorist list, similar to the United States' dealings with the Lebanese “Hezbollah” militia in general.

Expected Successor

In the last statements of Hashim Safi Al-Din, in May 2021, he said that: “The targeting of Ben Gurion Airport is a specific targeting, it is one of the blessings of defending Jerusalem, and all of this does not happen without sacrifices”.

Safi Al-Din considered that "What is happening today in Palestine is the motive that will make all parties join the axis of resistance”, noting that “The Quds Force today is making great achievements, on the level of vision, it appears that these are the results of what Hajj Qassem Soleimani did”.

On the Israeli side, the great interest in the person of Safi Al-Din was noticeable, where the Hebrew “Walla” website reported in June 2021, many of the news that talked about him and Nasrallah's illness.

According to the Hebrew website, the hopes of the Israelis were dashed after reports that Hassan Nasrallah had resumed his activity, he met with Hezbollah officials, pointing out that “It can be said that the man who will succeed Nasrallah will be none other than his cousin, Hashim Safi Al-Din”.

Walla added, “As early as 2008, the first reports were published that Safi Al-Din, a Shiite cleric and a prominent Hezbollah official, had been blessed by the Iranians as the expected successor to Hezbollah.

The Hebrew website added that another person whose name can be mentioned in this context is the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, although he is considered a symbolic figure, like the Deputy President of the United States.

Walla's Arab affairs analyst, Avi Issacharoff, said in this regard: “Unfortunately, Hezbollah will also stand firm in the event of Hassan Nasrallah's early departure, we must mention here that there are those in Israel who believed that the assassination of Abbas Mousavi (the former Secretary General of Hezbollah) would weaken the militia, but then Hassan Nasrallah came”.