Hezbollah Confirms that Top Official Hashem Safieddine was Killed in an Israeli Strikehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5074109-hezbollah-confirms-top-official-hashem-safieddine-was-killed-israeli-strike
Hezbollah Confirms that Top Official Hashem Safieddine was Killed in an Israeli Strike
Hashem Safieddine, the top Hezbollah official widely expected to succeed slain secretary general Hassan Nasrallah - File/Reuters
Hezbollah announced Wednesday that Hashem Safieddine, one of its top officials who had been widely expected to be the group’s next leader, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The announcement came a day after Israel said it had killed Safieddine in a strike earlier this month in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Safieddine, a powerful cleric within the party ranks, had been expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month, The AP reported.
Over the past several weeks, Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership.
Khamenei Message to Hezbollah Chief Reaffirms Ties, Sends Political Signalshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5257818-khamenei-message-hezbollah-chief-reaffirms-ties-sends-political-signals
A woman reacts as mourners gather on March 29, 2026, in the Choueifat area on the outskirts of Beirut during the funeral of journalists killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon. (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
Khamenei Message to Hezbollah Chief Reaffirms Ties, Sends Political Signals
A woman reacts as mourners gather on March 29, 2026, in the Choueifat area on the outskirts of Beirut during the funeral of journalists killed the previous day in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon. (Photo by ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A message from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, thanking him for condolences over the death of his father, “leader of the Islamic Revolution,” came at a pivotal moment of regional escalation, giving it clear political weight and signaling messages to both domestic and foreign audiences.
The message reaffirms the depth of ties between Iran and Hezbollah, reinforces the group’s place within Tehran’s strategy, and signals a push to sustain open confrontation.
It made no reference to the Lebanese state, even as officials in Lebanon seek to “disassociate” from Iran after Hezbollah opened the southern front in support of Tehran. Authorities have taken steps in that direction, including expelling the Iranian ambassador and banning the group’s military wing.
“Reaffirming the obvious”
Lebanese ministerial sources described the message as “a reaffirmation of the obvious,” saying it “offers nothing new, but reinforces an established reality.”
“The relationship between Iran and Hezbollah has never been severed,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, pointing to continued coordination and joint operations in the current war.
They said the message aligns fully with both sides’ declared positions, making it “a restatement of existing policy.” The core of the relationship, they added, is now explicit and entrenched, forming part of a fixed political landscape that goes beyond the traditional concept of the state.
One battle, with the US named as an enemy
Political analyst Ali al-Amine said the message underscores that Iran and Hezbollah see themselves as fighting a single battle against a common enemy, reflected in references to “steadfastness” against the United States and Israel.
He said the narrative, invoking Hezbollah and Iranian figures killed by Israel, reinforces a shared path and common fate in the war.
Al-Amine noted one sharper shift, the explicit placement of the United States alongside Israel as an equal enemy, highlighted in the closing reference to the “American-Zionist enemy.”
Khamenei told Qassem he is leading the movement at a defining moment in the resistance’s history, voicing confidence in his ability to defeat Israeli plans and restore pride to the Lebanese people.
He reaffirmed that Iran’s policy remains aligned with the path of the late imam and the “martyred leader,” pledging continued support for the resistance against Israel and the US.
Ignoring the Lebanese state, overlooking the cost
Al-Amine said the message pointedly omits any reference to the Lebanese state, addressing only the Lebanese people and speaking directly to Hezbollah.
“All the focus is on confrontation and the role of the party,” he said, with no acknowledgment of state authority or decision-making power.
He added that the message also overlooks the scale of destruction and displacement in Lebanon. More than one million people have been displaced, most from the Shiite community, including many Hezbollah supporters forced from their homes and scattered across the country.
‘Iran Data’ Guides Israel to Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5257808-%E2%80%98iran-data%E2%80%99-guides-israel-hezbollah-leaders-lebanon
Firefighters extinguish blazes in cars hit by an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Jnah area at dawn Wednesday, killing Hezbollah commander Youssef Hashem (AP)
‘Iran Data’ Guides Israel to Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon
Firefighters extinguish blazes in cars hit by an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Jnah area at dawn Wednesday, killing Hezbollah commander Youssef Hashem (AP)
The assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Youssef Hashem at dawn on Wednesday has laid bare signs of security breaches the group had previously said it had resolved before the latest war.
It has also exposed a mix of advanced techniques and what sources describe as Israeli data originating from Iran, alongside the persistent role of human intelligence in tracking targets, security sources and experts told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Since the war began on March 2, Israel has carried out a string of assassinations targeting Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guards commanders on Lebanese soil, most notably Hashem, who was killed in a missile strike on a parking garage in the Jnah area on the outskirts of Beirut.
Emerging security factors
Security sources tracking the killings and the pursuit of Hezbollah members said the major breach that existed before the previous war, which erupted in September 2024 and ended in November that year, appeared largely absent at the outset of the current conflict.
They attributed this to a set of changes. Hezbollah tightened security measures, shifted communication methods, evacuated headquarters and apartments, and abandoned communication devices altogether.
Newly appointed figures replacing assassinated leaders were largely unknown. Israel, meanwhile, was unable to rebuild the intelligence database it had compiled over the years in the short window between the two wars. It also diverted attention to gathering intelligence from Iran, reflecting a shift in priorities.
As a result, assassinations declined in Lebanon in the early phase of the war, despite limited breaches that still enabled targeted strikes on senior figures, including Hashem, whom Israel identified as Hezbollah’s southern region commander.
People stand near a damaged van beside scattered debris following an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Non-Lebanese data sources
The sources said the most decisive factor in identifying targets lay in non-Lebanese data, pointing to an intelligence bank compiled from Iranian and Palestinian networks.
That pattern is reflected in the profiles and locations of those targeted.
Israel said on Monday it killed Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Rakin in a strike on an apartment in Beirut’s southern suburbs, describing him as the deputy commander of Unit 1800, responsible for supporting Palestinian militants and managing Hezbollah operations in countries neighboring Israel.
Israel also said it killed several Iranian figures in Lebanon, including two central commanders in the Lebanon Corps affiliated with the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who were operating in Beirut, one of them in the Ramada Hotel in the Raouche area.
On March 11, the Israeli military said it had targeted Hisham Abdel Karim Yassin, describing him as a senior commander in Hezbollah’s communications unit and in the Palestine Corps affiliated with the Quds Force, the external arm of the Revolutionary Guards.
The sources said Israel’s Iran-based intelligence pool helped it track individuals inside Lebanon. Most targets maintained contact with Iranians, making them easier to trace through Iranian movements.
They added that Iranian figures killed early in the war were widely believed to have been carrying mobile phones, making them easier to locate and track, as were individuals linked to those handling the Palestinian file.
The pattern is not new. In the previous war, Hezbollah leaders were killed alongside Iranian figures, including a Revolutionary Guards official killed when Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated, and another killed with Radwan force commanders on September 20, 2024, reinforcing indications that Israeli intelligence sources extend into Iran.
Another hypothesis suggests that Iranian, Palestinian, and Lebanese figures coordinating with them are compelled to use communication devices, exposing them to surveillance.
Foreign operatives also tend to move through populated areas with surveillance cameras, making them easier to track through camera infiltration.
The sources did not rule out human intelligence breaches, pointing to operatives working for Israel’s Mossad in Lebanon, Iran, or the Palestinian territories.
Separately, Israel said on Wednesday it killed the head of the engineering branch in the Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force in a strike in the Mahallat area in central Iran.
The Israeli military said its air force targeted engineer Mehdi Vafaei, who had led infrastructure projects in Lebanon and Syria for two decades.
Huge Fire after Drone Attack Hits Engine Oil Warehouse in Iraqi Kurdistanhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5257723-huge-fire-after-drone-attack-hits-engine-oil-warehouse-iraqi-kurdistan
Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Huge Fire after Drone Attack Hits Engine Oil Warehouse in Iraqi Kurdistan
Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A drone strike caused a massive fire at the storage facilities of an engine oil firm in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan on Wednesday, the regional government and the company said.
Iraq has been increasingly and unwillingly drawn into the war started by Israel and the US on February 28, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.
The country's northern autonomous Kurdistan has not been spared.
The regional capital Erbil hosts a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisors attached to a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition. Both have been regularly targeted since the outbreak of war.
Erbil's governor Omed Khoshnaw said the attack had started at around 0700 am local (0400 GMT) and that four drones had targeted the facility, AFP reported.
He said a double-tap attack had occurred "while the teams were still working, the same site was attacked by another drone".
A fourth drone was "destroyed mid-air before reaching its target," he said, adding that the blaze was ongoing.
Iraqi firm Sardar Group confirmed in a statement that the facility, a warehouse located around five kilometres (three miles) from Erbil, was attacked.
It said there were no casualties.
The company said it was not involved in any way in the Middle East war and that its operations were limited to services and investment, including "the storage of lubricants for automobiles, agricultural equipment, and construction".
The strike followed a heavy night of attacks near the regional capital, with Khoshnaw saying some 20 drones had been shot down over the city.
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