Media: Body of Hezbollah Executive Council head found on outskirts of Lebanon

Lebanon's Civil Defense workers have discovered the body of former Hezbollah executive council head Hashem Safieddine while clearing rubble in the El-Mreij area on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon.

This Shia politician was considered a leading candidate for the position of Secretary-General of Hezbollah following the assassination of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in southern Beirut on September 27, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Safieddine was killed during a strike on a bunker in the El-Mreij area on October 3. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 23 Hezbollah members who were attending a meeting led by Safieddine from beneath the debris.

Safieddine was a maternal cousin of Nasrallah, and the two studied together in Iran in the early 1980s. Like Nasrallah, Safieddine was a vocal critic of Israel and the West, maintaining strong ties with the Iranian leadership. 

He served as the head of Hezbollah’s executive council and was viewed as a likely successor to the organisation’s top position following his predecessor's death. The executive council is one of five components of the Shura Council, which is Hezbollah's decision-making body, focusing on political issues, in contrast to the Jihad Council, which handles military matters, of which Safieddine was also a member. 

Safieddine previously highlighted the "strong relationship" between Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), particularly with Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad in 2020. 

Moreover, Safieddine’s son is married to Soleimani’s daughter. Born in 1964 in the southern Lebanese village of Deir Qanoun En Nahr, Safieddine, like the late Hezbollah leader, wore a black turban indicating he was a “Sayyid,” a Shiite title signifying descent from the Prophet Mohammed. 

In 2023, the 60-year-old cleric was prominently active in Hezbollah’s political arena, especially during the Gaza conflict, where he publicly condemned Israel's actions in both Gaza and southern Lebanon.

By Naila Huseynova