Barely had the death of Hassan Nasrallah been officially announced by Hezbollah on Saturday September 28 when the question of his succession at the head of the Shiite party arose. After the death of most historical commanders, the potential candidates can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
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With our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh
Hachem Safieddine, maternal cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, is the most prominent candidate to take over.
This cleric in the black turban, which among Shiites means that he is descended from the prophet Mohammad, has been considered for years as the undeclared heir apparent of Hassan Nasrallah.
He heads the party’s executive council, which acts as government, which has allowed him to acquire extensive experience in political, financial, administrative and military matters.
Like his cousin, Hachem Safieddine studied theology in the holy city of Qom, in Iran. He is considered by experts to be a hard-line member of the party, therefore less inclined to compromise.
He was notably presented several years ago by Iran as being the potential successor to Hassan Nasrallah, and we also know that he has almost family ties with members of the Iranian regime. He is notably married to a member of the family of Qassem Soleimani, who died in 2020. So it is also possible that, in fact, if it is he who succeeds Nasrallah, the links with Iran will be even stronger and that we ultimately find ourselves, not in a kind of distancing between Hezbollah and its Iranian godfather, but rather in a structure which will come even closer. Hezbollah is indeed weakened, but it is not destroyed, it has not disappeared. Besides Safieddine, there are other important figures who are still in place, notably Naïm Qassem. So we see that he has the capacity to renew his organization chart. Now, with the death of Nasrallah and also of a large part of the military hierarchy, a whole experience has also disappeared and which means that, today, the movement will certainly take several months, if not several years to rebuild, to get back on the road.
Hachem Safieddine, a possible successor to Hassan Nasrallah
Naïm Qassem, companion of Nasrallah
Another potential candidate, Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naïm Qassem. This companion of Hassan Nasrallah without much military experience is a representative of the conservative religious wing of the party.
The general secretary is elected by the members of the Shura, which means the Consultative Council. This body will probably not meet in plenary session for security reasons. Votes will be collected individually, which means the process will take some time.
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