Naim Qassem during a speech last November. (Credit: Al-Manar via AFP)
BEIRUT — Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem as his representative in Lebanon on Wednesday.
A letter signed by the Iranian leader and published by the Iranian Tasnim news agency declares Qassem's appointment as "our representative for religious and Husseinite affairs in the Lebanon region." More specifically, Qassem's responsibilities will center around "religious affairs," Tasnim reported, without further details.
Qassem has been head of Hezbollah since Oct. 29, 2024, one month and two days after his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated by Israel in an attack that one Pentagon official said was the most bombs he had ever seen used against a single target. Around four buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs were leveled and it remains unknown how many civilians were killed.
Exactly a week after Nasrallah was killed, Israel launched an even bigger attack in the suburbs, killing his presumed successor Hashem Saffiedine, Nasrallah's cousin and the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council.
Hezbollah spokesperson Rana al-Sahili asserted that Qassem's appointment by Khamenei is purely religious in character and "has nothing to do with politics," adding that Nasrallah also held this title.
Nasrallah led Hezbollah for 32 years. He was a popular and charismatic leader with a reputation among supporters and adversaries alike for his impressive oratory skills. Qassem, on the other hand, lacks this presence and his legitimacy is contested even within his own party. When Hezbollah's Shura Council elected him to the position of secretary-general, a source close to the party indicated to AFP that this appointment was meant to be "temporary" and that a new secretary-general was to be elected "at the end of the war."
Wilayat al-Faqih
Qassem's new position will give him some stability, especially since it appears to be a public show of confidence from Iran, considering Hezbollah and its members adhere to the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih. Developed by Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, this doctrine is followed by some Shiites in Lebanon (particularly those affiliated with Hezbollah) and makes the wali el-faqih (the Iranian supreme leader) the earthly representative of the "hidden imam," Mohammad al-Mahdi, the 12th successor of the Prophet Mohammad, who disappeared in 939 and whose return is supposed to end oppression in the world.
This means Khameini's power cannot be challenged or limited by any temporal consideration. This creates a vertical link between all Twelver Shiites in the world and Tehran and makes Khamenei an incontestable arbiter in political and religious affairs in the eyes of Hezbollah, the "Party of God."
"The supreme leader's representative is the religious representative of the marjaa (the reference, in this case, Ali Khamenei)," explains Kassem Kassir, an analyst close to Hezbollah. This means that, in this case, Qassem represents this marjaa in religious and legal matters, but is also "responsible for receiving religious funds."
At a time when Hezbollah needs funds more than ever for the reconstruction of large swaths of the country devastated by Israeli bombardment, estimated at several billion dollars in costs, ensuring the procurement of these funds is crucial. Earlier this week, Iran was accused of transferring millions of dollars to its Lebanese ally in diplomatic suitcases and through Beirut International Airport. However, experts deemed this theory unrealistic.