Latest news with #SayyedHassanNasrallah
Al Manar
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Manar
Large Crowds Commemorate Tenth of Muharram in Beirut's Southern Suburbs
In a majestic scene that embodies the highest meanings of sacrifice and loyalty, thousands of believers gathered this Sunday morning in the southern suburb of Beirut, the suburb of resistance, the suburb of the martyr leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, to commemorate the tenth day of Muharram, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein bin Ali (peace be upon him), his family and companions in Karbala. Following a central council held by Hezbollah at the Sayyed al-Shuhada complex in the southern suburb, large crowds set out on an Ashura march. The march aimed to answer the call of Hussein (peace be upon him), with participants echoing the sentiment: 'We have not abandoned you… humiliation is far from us.' Millions of Muslims around the world commemorate today the martyrdom of Imam Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon him), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), on the tenth of Muharram, which this year corresponds to July 6, 2025.
Toronto Star
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Israeli drone strike kills 1, injures 3 near Beirut
Mourners carry the coffins of Abu Ali Khalil, the bodyguard and head of security for late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and his son Mahdi, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Iran on June 21, during their funeral procession in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) BH flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Nahar Net
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Hezbollah has stayed out of the Israel-Iran conflict but 'wild cards remain'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 June 2025, 12:53 Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran, triggering the ongoing Israel-Iran war, the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the fray — even after the U.S. entered the conflict Sunday with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has also remained mostly quiet. Domestic political concerns, as well as tough losses suffered in nearly two years of regional conflicts and upheavals, appear to have led these Iran allies to take a back seat in the latest round convulsing the region. "Despite all the restraining factors, wild cards remain," said Tamer Badawi, an associate fellow with the Germany-based think tank Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. That's especially true after the U.S. stepped in with strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran. The 'Axis of Resistance' Hezbollah was formed with Iranian support in the early 1980s as a guerilla force fighting against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. The militant group helped push Israel out of Lebanon and built its arsenal over the ensuing decades, becoming a powerful regional force and the centerpiece of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the " Axis of Resistance." The allies also include Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, and the group's former leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah once boasted of having 100,000 fighters. Seeking to aid its ally Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel's offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border. That drew Israeli airstrikes and shelling, and the exchanges escalated into full-scale war last September. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, killing Nasrallah and other top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal, before a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted that conflict last November. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes. For their part, the Iraqi militias occasionally struck bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis fired at vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and began targeting Israel. Keeping an ambiguous stance Hezbollah has condemned Israel's attacks and the U.S. strikes on Iran. Just days before the U.S. attack, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a statement that the group "will act as we deem appropriate in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression." A statement issued by the group after the U.S. strikes called for "Arab and Islamic countries and the free peoples of the world" to stand with Iran but did not suggest Hezbollah would join in Tehran's retaliation. Lebanese government officials have pressed the group to stay out of the conflict, saying that Lebanon cannot handle another damaging war, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who visited Lebanon last week, said it would be a "very bad decision" for Hezbollah to get involved. Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia — a separate group from Hezbollah — had said prior to the U.S. attack that it will directly target U.S. interests and bases spread throughout the region if Washington gets involved. The group has also remained silent since Sunday's strikes. The Houthis last month reached an agreement with Washington to stop attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea in exchange for the U.S. halting its strikes on Yemen, but the group threatened to resume its attacks if Washington entered the Iran-Israel war. In a statement on Sunday, the Houthis' political bureau described the U.S. attack on Iran as a "grave escalation that poses a direct threat to regional and international security and peace." The Houthis did not immediately launch strikes. Reasons to stay on the sidelines Hezbollah was weakened by last year's fighting and after losing a major supply route for Iranian weapons with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, in a lightning rebel offensive in December. "Hezbollah has been degraded on the strategic level while cut off from supply chains in Syria," said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst and associate professor at King's College London. Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. "The battle is still in its early stages," he said. "Even Iran hasn't bombed American bases (in response to the U.S. strikes), but rather bombed Israel." He said that both the Houthis and the Iraqi militias "lack the strategic deep strike capability against Israel that Hezbollah once had." Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iraq's Iran-allied militias have all along tried to avoid pulling their country into a major conflict. Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon — although its political wing is part of the government — the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition of groups that are officially part of the state defense forces. "Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state — they're benefitting politically, economically," Mansour said. "And also they've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well." Badawi said that for now, the armed groups may be lying low because "Iran likely wants these groups to stay intact and operational." "But if Iran suffers insurmountable losses or if the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) is assassinated, those could act as triggers," he said.
Nahar Net
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Why are Hezbollah and other allies staying out of Israel-Iran conflict?
by Naharnet Newsdesk 15 June 2025, 12:16 Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran this week, the Lebanese group has stayed out of the fray. A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has also remained mostly quiet — even though Israel used Iraq's airspace, in part, to carry out the attacks. Domestic political concerns, as well as tough losses suffered in nearly two years of regional conflicts and upheavals, appear to have led these Iran allies to take a back seat in the latest round convulsing the region. - The 'Axis of Resistance' - Hezbollah was formed with Iranian support in the early 1980s as a guerilla force fighting against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. The militant group helped push Israel out of Lebanon and built its arsenal over the ensuing decades, becoming a powerful regional force and the centerpiece of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the " Axis of Resistance." The allies also include Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, and the group's former leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah once boasted of having 100,000 fighters. Seeking to aid its ally Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel's brutal offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border. That drew Israeli airstrikes and shelling, and the exchanges escalated into full-scale war last September. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, killing Nasrallah and other top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal, before a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted that conflict last November. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes. For their part, the Iraqi militias occasionally struck bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis fired at vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and began targeting Israel. - Condolences to Iran, condemnations of Israel - Hezbollah and its new leader Sheikh Naim Qassem have condemned Israel's attacks and offered condolences for the senior Iranian officers who were killed. But Qassem did not suggest Hezbollah would take part in any retaliation against Israel. Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia — a separate group from Lebanon's Hezbollah — released a statement saying it was "deeply regrettable" that Israel fired at Iran from Iraqi airspace, something that Baghdad complained to the U.N. Security Council over. The Iraqi militia called on the Baghdad government to "urgently expel hostile forces from the country," a reference to U.S. troops in Iraq as part of the fight against the militant Islamic State group, but made no threat of force. Hezbollah was weakened by last year's fighting and after losing a major supply route for Iranian weapons with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, in a lightning rebel offensive in December. "Hezbollah has been degraded on the strategic level while cut off from supply chains in Syria," said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst and associate professor at King's College London. - A changing attitude to Iran - Many Hezbollah members believe "they were sacrificed for Iran's greater regional interests" since Hamas' attack on Israel triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war, and want to focus on "Lebanon-centric" interests rather than defending Iran, Krieg said. Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. "This depends on political and field developments," he said. "Anything is possible." Both the Houthis and the Iraqi militias "lack the strategic deep strike capability against Israel that Hezbollah once had," Krieg said. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iraq's Iran-allied militias have all along tried to avoid pulling their country into a major conflict. Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon -- although its political wing is part of the government -- the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition of groups that are officially part of the state defense forces. "Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state -- they're benefitting politically, economically," Mansour said. "And also they've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well." That leaves the Houthis as the likely "new hub in the Axis of Resistance," Krieg said. But he said the group isn't strong enough — and too geographically removed — to strategically harm Israel beyond the rebels' sporadic missile attacks. Krieg said the perception that the "axis" members were proxies fully controlled by Iran was always mistaken, but now the ties have loosened further. "It is not really an axis anymore as (much as) a loose network where everyone largely is occupied with its own survival," he said.
Nahar Net
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Netanyahu says decision to attack Iran was taken after Nasrallah was killed
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 June 2025, 11:49 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered an attack plan against Iran in November 2024, shortly after the elimination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah — one of Iran's strongest proxies. That's when Israel forecasted Iran would start rapidly advancing its nuclear program. In a video statement circulated to journalists Friday evening, Netanyahu said the attack was supposed to happen in April but was postponed.
