The Role of Hashem Safi al-Din in Hezbollah: Is He Considered the Second in Command After Nasrallah?

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Heavy Israeli airstrikes on southern Beirut on Thursday evening were revealed by Hebrew media as potentially targeting Hashem Safi al-Din, the top candidate to succeed Hassan Nasrallah.

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The raid resembled the strike that targeted Nasrallah. According to Israel’s Channel 12, tens of tons of bombs were used to target Hashem Safi al-Din, with the claim that the strikes could penetrate the underground location where Safi al-Din was hiding.

Channel 13 also confirmed that Israel’s security services believed they had succeeded in targeting Hezbollah’s second-in-command, Hashem Safieddine, though the results of the operation remain unclear, and Hezbollah has yet to confirm or deny his death.

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What Is Hashem Safi al-Din’s Role in Hezbollah?

According to Israeli Army Radio, Hashem Safi al-Din is the man responsible for Hezbollah‘s “civil state,” overseeing civilian bodies that mirror the Lebanese state’s institutions and strengthen Hezbollah‘s Shiite base.

The report added: “These include the Islamic Health Organization (Hezbollah’s independent Ministry of Health), Jihad al-Binaa (Hezbollah’s independent Ministry of Housing), as well as other educational, sports, social, and economic institutions.”

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It further noted that “Hezbollah’s Executive Council is the most important body within the organization, even more significant than the military leadership council.”

According to Israeli media, Safi al-Din is on the U.S. terrorism list, and his brother, Abdallah Safi al-Din, is Hezbollah‘s ambassador to Tehran. In 2020, his son Reza married Zeinab, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani.

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The Second-in-Command, Nasrallah’s Shadow

The Israeli news site “Ynet” reported that Hashem Safi al-Din, born in 1964, has long been Nasrallah’s “shadow” and is regarded as Hezbollah’s second-in-command.

It added: “For three decades, Safi al-Din has overseen all sensitive daily matters, managed the organization’s institutions, and handled its finances and investments in Lebanon and abroad.”

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“Safi al-Din has close ties to the organization’s military wing, as well as to its executive leadership. He has been on the U.S. terrorism list since 2017,” the report added.

It also highlighted that “his relations with Tehran are strong, and he is a staunch supporter of the Iranian regime. His religious studies in Qom deepened his connections to Iran. Moreover, in 2020, his son Reza married Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike that same year.”

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According to the same source, Safi al-Din was born in 1964 in the village of Deir Qanoun en-Nahr in southern Lebanon and hails from a prominent family of religious scholars.

He married relatively young to the daughter of Shiite cleric Mohammed Ali al-Amin.

The report added that “according to reports, Safi al-Din was mentored by Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s former military leader, who was assassinated in Syria in 2008. Mughniyeh is said to have mentored Safi al-Din, Nasrallah, and other key Hezbollah leaders.”

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It added: “In recent months, Safi al-Din participated in many funerals of Hezbollah militants and delivered speeches on behalf of the organization. Just a few days ago, he attended the funerals of several members who were killed in a series of bombings.”

The report also noted that “the Executive Council, headed by Safi al-Din, manages a large investment portfolio aimed at financing the organization and ensuring its independence.”

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According to the report, “these investments are spread across Lebanon, the Arab world, Africa, Europe, the United States, and Latin America.”