Who is Hashem Safieddine, the main candidate to succeed Nasrallah?

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday, raising questions about who might replace him after 32 years in power.

Although the process of selecting leaders for groups like Hezbollah is often secret, Hashem Safieddine emerges as the leading candidate if the rumors are true.

Safieddine, Nasrallah’s cousin and father of son-in-law Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force, has been groomed for leadership since 1994.

Safieddine closely resembles Nasrallah in appearance and mannerisms. He moved from Qom to Beirut to head Hezbollah’s Executive Council, which serves as the party’s governing body, under the supervision of late security chief Imad Mughniyeh.

For three decades, Safieddine was a key player in Hezbollah, managing day-to-day operations and financial affairs while leaving strategic decisions to Nasrallah.

Safieddine, who has been on the U.S. terrorist list since 2017, is a prominent Hezbollah official known for his close ties to both the group’s military and executive authorities.

His relationships within the party made him a significant player in its leadership.

Safieddine’s strong ties to Iran increase his leadership chances

Safieddine has strong ties to Tehran – she spent years studying at a seminary in Qom before Nasrallah summoned him to Beirut to take up key roles in Hezbollah.

In 2020, his son Rida married Zainab Soleimani, the daughter of Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad the same year.

Sixteen years ago, an Iranian newspaper suggested Safieddine as a possible successor to Nasrallah, but sources say the decision was made much earlier.

A former senior Hezbollah leader revealed that Safieddine was elected about two years after Nasrallah became secretary general in 1992, following the assassination of Abbas al-Mousawi by Israel.

In 1994, Safieddine was urgently recalled from Qom to Beirut to take up a position that would enable him to control the party’s financial and administrative operations.

His chances of succeeding Nasrallah are enhanced by similar paths within the party, although Nasrallah, who is just two years older, has a more prominent political presence.

Safieddine remained largely unknown in Lebanese politics until recently.

Due to increased security around Nasrallah, he has found himself in the spotlight at party events, especially at the funerals of members killed in Lebanon or while fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and other areas supporting Iran’s regional agenda.

Limited information is available about Safieddine. He was born in 1964 in Deir Qanun al-Nahr, a city in southern Lebanon, into a family with a strong social presence.

His family includes Mohammad Safieddine, a prominent member of parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as several famous religious figures.