Strikingly similar

Who could become the new Hezbollah leader

Hashem Safieddine, high-ranking member of Hezbollah

(Bild: AFP/Anwar Amro)

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli bombing raid in Lebanon. The decision as to who will succeed him will be made by the Shura Council, the organization's highest body. Hashem Safieddine is considered the "most likely candidate".

He is Nasrallah's cousin and looks strikingly similar to him. He also wears a long gray beard, glasses and the black turban of the Sayyed, who see themselves as direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. Safieddine is probably in his late 50s or early 60s, just a little younger than his maternal cousin.

He has close religious and family ties to Iran, the patron of the Shiite Muslim terrorist organization. Safieddine studied Islam. He has been wanted as a terrorist by the US and Saudi Arabian governments since 2017. 

Hashem Safieddine is a high-ranking member of Hezbollah.

(Bild: AFP/Anwar Amro)

"Religious personality"
"There have been rumors for several years that Safieddine is the most likely candidate to succeed Nasrallah," says Amal Saad, a Hezbollah expert at Cardiff University in the UK. "The next leader must be a member of the Shura Council, which consists of a handful of members, and he must be a religious figure."

In contrast to Nasrallah, who has hardly appeared in public since 2006, Safieddine is the face of the party at many political and religious events. Until the election in the Shura Council, however, the deputy head of Hezbollah, Naim Kassim, will take over the leadership for the time being (see video above).

"If one commander becomes a martyr in our resistance, another will take up the banner with strength and determination," Safieddine himself said in a speech in July.